Better Off Red Podcast

04/29/2019

It is with great regret that we have to inform you that we will no longer be producing new episodes of Better Off Red. The year that we spent producing the podcast was an incredible learning experience and we were really excited to bring weekly analysis, coverage of activism that often flies beneath the radar and interviews with some really fantastic guests. We loved hearing from our listeners and your support meant so much to us.

Unfortunately, at the moment we no longer have the capacity to continue producing new episodes. The socialist organization that the podcast crew were all members of for decades has dissolved (https://socialistworker.org/2019/04/19/taking-our-final-steps). For us, that makes this a time of reflection and regrouping as we figure out our next steps in contributing to the new socialist left we have been inspired to see emerge in recent years.

We once again want to thank everyone who has supported us through this year. Special thanks to people who provided production help throughout the process - Maria Silvestri, Jon Kurinsky, Josh Wilner and John Snowden. Thanks also go to the incredible comrades and activists who created the stories and analysis that we were so lucky to share with you all. We strongly believe that those stories will continue to be created and hope that they find a wide hearing in a growing left. We'll be right there alongside you all as they do.

03/06/2019

45: Women in tech talk organizing

New episode of Better Off Red! Featuring Zee McGeeagain and Kristin talking about workplace organizing inside the dystopian belly of the tech industry.

In this episode, Kristen and Zakiya join us to talk about recent developments in technology worker organizing. From walkouts at Google over sexual harassment to demands that companies like Microsoft c

03/02/2019

44: Here comes Bernie, Joseph Graves Jr. on the scientific fiction of race

Ep 44 is live. Evolutionary biologist Joseph Graves exposes the racist pseudo-science that peddles the fiction of biological racial differences. In our intro, Danny and Eric talk about what Bernie 2020 means for the left.

Show notes forthcoming

02/22/2019

43: Wyomia Tyus takes no prisoners; socialism is coming to the USA

Episode 43 is (finally) live! Wyomia Tyus is a legendary sprinter, feminist pioneer, participant in the '68 Mexico City Olympics protests for Black Power and human rights, and a badass who danced in the starting blocks to psych out her opponents before setting a world record. Wyomia is the co-author with Elizabeth Terzakis of "Tigerbelle: the Wyomia Tyus Story" and the two of them joined us for this fun and inspiring conversation.

In the opener, we ever so respectfully disagree with Trump's state of the union vow that socialism will never come to the US.

In this episode, we talk to three-time gold medalist Wyomia Tyus about her memoir Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story. We are also joined by her co-author Elizabeth Terzakis. In our intro, we discuss Tr

01/25/2019

41: LA Teachers’ Strike; Helen Scott on Rosa Luxemburg’s Legacy

Ep 41 is live! Helen Claire Scott on Rosa Luxemburg's legacy 100 years after her death. We discuss reforms, revolution, the mass strike and the relevance of Luxemburg's ideas today. Our intro, recorded before the incredible victory in LA, features Gillian Russom on the stakes of that fight.

In this episode, we talk to Helen Scott about the life and legacy of Rosa Luxemburg on the 100th anniversary of Luxemburg’s murder. We discuss her most essential works, The Mass Strike and Reform or R

01/16/2019

40: LA Teachers; Women’s March; Holly Lewis on The Politics of Everybody

Happy new year! We hope you've missed us. We're happy to be back. Our first episode of 2019 features Holly Lewis about her book "The Politics of Everybody". We talk about Marxism, feminism, queer theory, social reproduction, trans liberation, solidarity and more. In our intro we talk about the controversy around the Women's March and we do a brief intro about the LA teachers' strike (impending at the time of recording). We've been gone for a while, so please share widely to let everyone know we are back. You can expect us to drop episodes weekly.

In this episode, we talk to Holly Lewis about her book the The Politics of Everybody: Feminism, Queer Theory and Marxism at the Intersection (http://bit.ly/LewisEverybody). We talk about what Holly me

01/02/2019

Critical Reading

This summer we interviewed Kevin Cooper from California's death row. Now Kevin has won the new DNA testing that could exonerate him. Read this article that provides a backdrop to his case and why this is a critically important victory - and then listen to the full interview at: https://soundcloud.com/betteroffredpod/22-kevin-cooper-live-from-death-row

Cameron Sturdevant provides the backdrop to last month’s order for new DNA testing in the case of wrongfully convicted California death row prisoner Kevin Cooper.

12/21/2018

Sounds of Better Off Red: October 2018, a playlist by Better Off Red Podcast on Spotify

Earlier this fall, we had 42 financial supporters and set a goal of reaching 100 by the end of the year. There's 11 days left in 2018 and we're at 88. Help us meet our kind of arbitrary, but still worthwhile goal, by heading over to our Patreon account at patreon.com/BetterOffRedPod and signing up. Any amount will do. We've even started giving small goodies to our patrons - like a monthly playlist of music from our episodes. Here's October's to give you a taste.

Music from October episodes. 28: Hadas Thier explains capitalism , 29: #MeToo w/ Emily Comer, Jen Roesch, Sherry Wolf & Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, 30: Todd St. Hill & Jesse Hagopian on Fighting for Black Lives, 31: Building fighting unions at UPS and Delta, 32: Aldo Coreiro Sauda on Bolso...

12/20/2018

39: Yellow Vests; The Red Nation’s Melanie Yazzie & Nick Estes

Our last episode of 2018 and it's a good one. We asked Ragina Johnson and Brian Ward to guest host an interview with Melanie Yazzie and Nick Estes of The Red Nation about the fight for Indigenous liberation. They go deep into a discussion about settler colonialism, how they envision and make concrete their politics of solidarity, Marxism and Native liberation and the centrality of Indigenous land to the struggle against capitalism. It's a lot and we hope to have them back soon. You won't want to miss it.

Great show this week! We talk with Melanie Yazzie and Nick Estes of The Red Nation, an important new revolutionary organization fighting for Indigenous liberation. Melanie is a Diné scholar and acti

12/10/2018

38: Socialists in Congress; David Renton on Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League

This week we talk to David Renton about Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League, which defeated the rise of the fascist National Front in Britain in the 1970's. It's an inspiring history rich in lessons. In our opener, we discuss the experiences thus far of the new socialists in Congress.

This week we talk to British socialist David Renton about the history of Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League. RaR and the ANL were a cultural and protest movement against the rise of the Nati

12/05/2018

37: The migrant and refugee caravan needs our solidarity now

This week is all about the border: the struggle at the border, solidarity efforts with the migrant caravan and the politics of the border. Jo Morales reports from Tijuana on the conditions there and the attack on migrants with teargas and rubber bullets. Claire Douglas (Dougy Fresco) reports on the solidarity efforts in San Diego and Fermin Solidaridad shares his experience talking to refugees sheltered in Mexico City. Then we have an interview with Justin Akers Chacón in which he demolishes Angela Nagle's "case" against open borders.

We have an especially powerful episode this week about the increasingly desperate situation facing the migrant and refugee caravan that is now spread all the way from Mexico City to Tijuana. First,

11/27/2018

36: Sean Larson on history’s lost revolution; the return of anti-Semitism

This week we talk to Sean Larson about the German Revolution on its 100th anniversary. For anyone seeking to transform the world today, this lost revolution is rich in lessons. In our intro, we talk about the return of anti-semitism and its current roots in a resurgent white supremacist far right.

This month marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the German Revolution. Never heard of it? Don’t worry, most people haven’t, even though the revolution—or rather its failure—is arguably one of t

11/20/2018

35: Sumaya A. on the fight for socialism; Thanksgiving thoughts

We’re taking a partial break this week for the holiday, but that doesn’t mean we’re leaving you hanging. Sumaya A., who joined us in Episode 8 to discuss anti-imperialism and Palestine, gave a brilliant speech at the closing plenary of last week’s Marxism conference in New York City. So we’re sharing it with you to help recharge your batteries over the holiday weekend.

And for our opener, Eric joined Jen and Danny to talk about the swirl of personal and political questions that Thanksgiving poses for radicals. We discuss the ugly history behind the holiday’s myth, what we think about Black Friday, and our approaches to the inevitable political arguments around the Thanksgiving dinner table.

We’re taking a partial break this week for the holiday, but that doesn’t mean we’re leaving you hanging. Sumaya A., who joined us in Episode 8 to discuss anti-imperialism and Palestine, gave a brillia

11/20/2018

A listener responds to our discussion of socialism and religion

In Episode 34, we dedicated our intro section to a discussion of socialism and religion in response to a listener question. Here, our listener offered his thoughts after listening to our discussion. You can hear the full episode at bit.ly/BetterOffRedOnline

In Ep 34, we dedicated our intro to a discussion of socialism and religion as a response to a question from a listener. Here, our listener responds after hea...

11/12/2018

34: Midterms and the meaning of life

This week's episode features an interview with Lance Selfa, author of "The Democrats: A Critical History" and "US Politics in an Age of Uncertainty", about the midterm elections and what they tell us. In our opener, we answer a question from a listener about religion and socialism. Listen at bit.ly/LanceSelfa and please share widely.

Lance Selfa comes on the pod this week to discuss what midterms tell us about the state of U.S. politics. In addition to being an associate editor of the International Socialist Review and a frequent

11/07/2018

Leandros Fischer on Die Linke's Strategy

Leandros Fischer, of Germany's Die Linke, on Berlin's massive #Unteilbar demonstration last month, and fusing the fight against fasicsm and racism with the fight against austerity. Listen to the whole episode at bit.ly/LeandrosBOR

11/06/2018

33: Solidarity with the caravan; Leandros Fischer on Die Linke’s strategy

We talk to Die Linke's Leandros Fischer about the rise of the right in Germany and the debates on the left about strategy. In our opener, we're joined by immigrant rights activist Héctor A. Rivera and veteran Rory Fanning to talk about the migrant caravan and confronting Trump's racist rhetoric.

33: Solidarity with the caravan; Leandros Fischer on Die Linke’s strategy This week, we talk to Leandros Fischer of Germany’s Die Linke (The Left Party). In the wake of a wave of refugee migration in

11/04/2018

How We Won Abortion Rights

Listen to the full discussion about the threat to Roe vs Wade and how we fight back in Ep 19 of Better Off Red at http://bit.ly/BOR19

11/02/2018

October Playlist | Better Off Red Podcast on Patreon

Better Off Red is doing a fall drive to increase our listeners and our financial supporters. One of our goals is to reach 100 supporters on Patreon by the end of the year. We're 2/3 of the way there. If you want to help, head over to our Patreon page and make a small (or large) donation. We're hoping this support can open all kinds of potential for where to take the podcast in 2019. AND, you get little goodies like this patron-only, monthly playlist of our music (a collaboration of Danny Katch, Eric Ruder and our guests).

https://www.patreon.com/posts/22455496

10/30/2018

Brazilian socialist Aldo Cordeiro Sauda explains the terrifying rise of Bolsonaro, while Todd Chretien draws lessons for US-based socialists. In our opener, we talk about the hard right turn in US politics and how to fight it.

https://soundcloud.com/betteroffredpod/32-right-turn-in-us-politics-aldo-cordeiro-sauda-on-bolsonaros-brazil

10/24/2018

31: Building fighting unions at UPS and Delta

This week's episode looks to some of the flash points of rank-and-file labor organizing. First, Flynn Murray joins us a co-host for a conversation with rank-and-file UPS workers organizing against a sellout contract. Then we talk to an activist trying to reverse years of union-busting by unionizing 16,000 workers at Delta Airlines. If you want an on-the-ground feel for developments in the labor movement, this is your episode.

The U.S. labor movement is in an interesting place. The strikes of first teachers and now hotel workers are showing the depths of anger among workers about years of disrespect and stagnant wages—and a

10/17/2018

30: Todd St. Hill and Jesse Hagopian on fighting for Black lives in Chicago and beyond

We talk to Chicago activist Todd St. Hill about the struggle to win justice for Laquan McDonald, the recent conviction of Jason Van Dyke and the fight for Black lives in Chicago. We then turn to Seattle educator and activist, Jesse Hagopian, about Black Lives Matter at school and why this struggle is so important for the new teachers' rebellion to take up.

This week we discuss the conviction of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke for the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald—the first conviction of a Chicago cop for an on-duty shooting in 50 years. Ou

10/16/2018

We were lucky to get time to sit down with Seattle educator, socialist and BLM activist Jesse Hagopian after an event at the Schomburg Center about his new book (co-written by Wayne Au and Dyan Watson) on Teaching for Black Lives. Here he is with our producer Eric Ruder in our makeshift studio in his hotel room. Because we recorded on Sunday, this week's episode won't be out until mid-week, but keep an eye out. It features two great, interconnected segments - one with Chicago activist Todd St. Hill about the struggle around Laquan McDonald that led to the conviction of Van Dyke; the other with Jesse about the role that teachers' unions can play in the fight for Black lives. It's really powerful and we can't wait to share it.

10/09/2018

29: #MeToo with Emily Comer, Jen Roesch, Sherry Wolf and Elizabeth Wrigley-Field

#metoo, #metoo, #metoo This week's episode is all about the uprising of survivors against Kavanaugh - and what it means for the future.

29: #MeToo with Emily Comer, Jen Roesch, Sherry Wolf and Elizabeth Wrigley-Field This week is all about #MeToo and the tremendous struggle against Kavanaugh. We recorded before the confirmation. We k

10/08/2018

29: #MeToo with Emily Comer, Jen Roesch, Sherry Wolf and Elizabeth Wrigley-Field

#metoo, #metoo, #metoo This week's episode is all about the uprising of survivors against Kavanaugh - and what it means for the future. Featuring discussions with some brilliant women socialists - Sherry J. Wolf, Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, Emily Comer, as well as one of our hosts, Jen Roesch.

29: #MeToo with Emily Comer, Jen Roesch, Sherry Wolf and Elizabeth Wrigley-Field This week is all about #MeToo and the tremendous struggle against Kavanaugh. We recorded before the confirmation. We k

10/05/2018

28: Hadas Thier explains how capitalism doesn’t work

Want to understand the economy? Why massive profits and Wall Street gold don't mean much to people working two jobs to survive? How capitalism works and how it doesn't? You won't find a more accessible, funny and smart guide to capitalist economics than Hadas Thier.

In the opener to episode 26 we discussed the political impact of the Great Recession and promised to soon have a guest to help explain the economic side of the story. We take our promises very serious

09/26/2018

27: #MeToo vs Kavanaugh; Ashley Dawson on Climate Change and Capitalism

This week's episode is live. You don't want to miss our conversation with Ashley Dawson on capitalism and climate change. He does a great job breaking down the causes of climate change, painting a vision for an alternate future and mapping the ruling class debates and false solutions. In our opener, we get really angry about Kavanaugh- and talk about why #metoo is so important for the left.

This week we talk to Ashley Dawson about capitalism and climate change. In our intro, we talk about the unfolding and cascading allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — and what thi

09/19/2018

26: The Great Recession’s legacy; Daphna Thier on Israel’s working class

This week we interview Daphna Tr about her great new ISR article about what's different about the Israeli working class, a crucial topic as the campaign to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism reaches a new level of intensity. In our intro, we talk about the legacy of the 2008 financial crisis 10 years later and how it has shaped politics as we know it.

This week we speak to Daphna Thier on the theme of “What’s the matter with the Israeli working class?” That’s the provocative title of Daphna’s new article in the International Socialist Review, and