Left Anchor

Ryan Cooper & Alexi the Greek

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Philosophy, politics, and the left.

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312 episodes

The ACLU Stabs Labor in the Back - 308

Today we have Matt Bruenig back on the podcast to talk about his new publication NLRB Edge https://www.nlrbedge.com/, the problems with US labor law, and why the ACLU is filing a lawsuit https://www.nlrbedge.com/p/the-aclu-is-trying-to-destroy-the attempting to blow a giant hole in union rights.

1h 6m
Mar 16
Orwell on Nationalism - 307 PREVIEW

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5m
Mar 08
Who Is Grieved? - 306

Today we are discussing Donald Trump's numerous legal fines, and then Judith Butler's concepts of precarity and grievability, specifically as they apply to the war in Gaza. 

1h 2m
Feb 29
Russia and Ukraine Update PREVIEW - 305

Subscribe now to hear the full episode! https://www.patreon.com/posts/98768734?pr=true

4m
Feb 19
The House Republican Pratfall - 304

This time we've got David Dayen to talk about House Republicans' failed effort to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, pass an immigration bill, or get through military aid to Israel, as well as David's piece about the failings of American democracy https://prospect.org/politics/2024-01-29-america-is-not-democracy/. Enjoy!

1h 3m
Feb 09
The Genocide Case Against Israel PREVIEW - 303

Subscribe now to hear the whole thing! https://www.patreon.com/posts/97785000?pr=true 

11m
Feb 03
Oppenheimer Reconsidered - 302

We're talking Oppenheimer in time for awards season. Enjoy!

1h 10m
Jan 25
Trump’s Legal Morass Deepens - 301 PREVIEW

This time we're talking about the weenie Trump apologists, his bad day in court, Gaza, and broken airplanes. Subscribe here to hear the whole thing! https://www.patreon.com/posts/96303938 

7m
Jan 11
Age of Insecurity UNLOCKED - 294

We're taking the week off, so enjoy our episode with Astra Taylor speaking about her book The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart https://houseofanansi.com/products/the-age-of-insecurity. We discuss how modern capitalism came to produce insecurity on a personal scale, who benefits from it, whether a modern economy can be run with a secure population, and more. 

1h 13m
Jan 03
Children of Men, a Christmas Movie - 300

Merry Christmas! This time we are doing another holiday movie review episode, this time about Children of Men and Die Hard. Subscribe here to hear the full episode https://www.patreon.com/leftanchor!

10m
Dec 26, 2023
Nordic Labor, and the US Economic Sentiment Problem - 299

Today we're posting an interview with Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/ that was part of a telethon holiday livestream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNjqRDN4dkM for The American Prospect. (Find the donation page here https://prospect.org/telethon.) We discuss what happened when McDonald's crossed the Danish labor movement https://mattbruenig.com/2021/09/20/when-mcdonalds-came-to-denmark/, how the same thing is happening to Tesla, why Americans seem so down on the economy https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2023/12/04/one-more-time-on-the-economy/, and more. Enjoy! 

57m
Dec 20, 2023
The War on Gaza III - 298

We're continuing the discussion on the Gaza war with Adam Johnson. Check out his articles we discuss at The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/world/hunt-hamas-narrative-gaza-israel-palestine/ and Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2023/11/biden-administration-powerlessness-israel-gaza-war-military-aid-media.

1h 6m
Dec 13, 2023
Kissinger Is Dead TEASER - 297

Subscribe now to hear the full episode! https://www.patreon.com/posts/94162194?pr=true 

6m
Dec 06, 2023
The War on Gaza II UNLOCKED - 292

We're unlocking our Gaza discussion with writer and organizer Layla Al-Sheikh, talking about the history of Hamas and Israel, the plausibility of a two-state solution, what people in the West can do to help, whether the Biden administration might think twice about its support for Netanyahu, and more. Check out Layla's article in Dissent https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-case-for-a-ceasefire/ and Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2023/10/new-polling-palestinian-cause-gaza-popular-us-uk-israel-war, and you can find the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund here https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/pcrf1/campaign.jsp?campaign=14&fundraiser=4929&.

1h 4m
Nov 30, 2023
Corporate Bullshit PREVIEW - 296

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7m
Nov 22, 2023
The Neoliberal Education Fantasy - 295

Today we've got political science Professor Neil Kraus on to talk about his book The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform Movement https://tupress.temple.edu/books/the-fantasy-economy. We discuss how all the promises that increasing educational attainment would cut poverty and inequality failed, how that can actually be accomplished with unions and the welfare state, and how a proper higher education system should work. Enjoy!

1h 12m
Nov 15, 2023
Age of Insecurity TEASER - 294

Today we are speaking with Astra Taylor about her book The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart https://houseofanansi.com/products/the-age-of-insecurity. Subscribe now https://www.patreon.com/posts/92533910?pr=true to hear the whole thing! 

7m
Nov 08, 2023
Who Is Mike Johnson? - 293

Today after a brief update on the Gaza situation, we are talking about the new dark horse House speaker, and the end of democratic government in North Carolina. Enjoy!

59m
Oct 30, 2023
The War on Gaza II - 292 PREVIEW

We are continuing our Gaza discussion with writer and organizer Layla Al-Sheikh. Subscribe to listen to the whole thing https://www.patreon.com/posts/91519577! Check out Layla's article in Dissent https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-case-for-a-ceasefire/ and Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2023/10/new-polling-palestinian-cause-gaza-popular-us-uk-israel-war, and you can find the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund here https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/pcrf1/campaign.jsp?campaign=14&fundraiser=442859&.

14m
Oct 23, 2023
The War on Gaza - 291

Today we've got David Klion on to talk about Gaza--what has happened on the ground, the immediate and historical contexts, whether this marks the end of Benjamin Netanyahu's career, and if Israel can learn that the occupation is at the root of its most intractable security problems. Check out David's article in n+1 here https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/have-we-learned-nothing/.

1h 10m
Oct 16, 2023
Damp Labor Autumn - 290

The WGA won their strike against the Hollywood studios, President Biden is on the UAW picket line, Trump is talking with scab parts workers, and New York City was flooded briefly. We talk about it. Note: we discuss the possibility of replacing Dianne Feinstein at the beginning, before it was known that California Governor Newsom would nominate former labor organizer and Uber lobbyist Laphonza Butler https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/01/politics/laphonza-butler-dianne-feinstein-successor/index.html to serve out the remainder of her term. 

58m
Oct 02, 2023
Barbie Reconsidered PREVIEW - 289

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6m
Sep 25, 2023
Finland’s Cooperative Culture - 288

Apologies for the radio silence over the last couple weeks, Alexi has been in Greece, Denmark, and Germany, and Ryan has been on a reporting trip in Finland. We just haven't had time to record. But we're back to discuss what Ryan learned about Finland's S Group cooperative retailer and how the broader Finnish society compares with America. Enjoy!

1h 8m
Sep 15, 2023
Liberalism vs. Socialism - 283 UNLOCKED

Ryan is traveling in Finland, so for this week we're unlocking a recent theory episode. How is socialism related to liberalism? This time we read two works on this question: "The Relationship Between Liberalism and Socialism https://www.jstor.org/stable/41714354," by Ed Rooksby, and "Why I Am Not A Liberal https://sootyempiric.blogspot.com/2022/04/why-i-am-not-liberal.html," by Liam Kofi Bright. We discuss how liberalism evolved, if socialism contradicts it or evolves out of it, and why billionaires are ontologically unhappy. Enjoy!

1h 1m
Aug 25, 2023
Lock Him Up - 287

Donald Trump has now been indicted four times (though this was recorded before the most recent Georgia indictment). We discuss why this is different from the Mueller investigation, how Trump might escape justice by dragging it out until after the election, and Ulysses S. Grant's view on what happens to people who attempt to overthrow the government, plus some more optimistic news. Enjoy!

1h 4m
Aug 15, 2023
The Art of Loving - 286 PREVIEW

In this preview of our latest bonus episode https://www.patreon.com/posts/87358508?pr=true, we discuss how capitalist inequality breaks people's brains. Subscribe now to hear the whole thing https://www.patreon.com/posts/87358508?pr=true!

4m
Aug 08, 2023
Green Energy in a Red State - 285

In this episode, first Ryan discusses his Heatmap article https://heatmap.news/u/ryancooper about Tesla and Elon Musk, as well as the book Ludicrous https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/692346/ludicrous-by-edward-niedermeyer/ by Edward Neidermeyer. Then he interviews the Prospect's Luke Goldstein about his investigative article https://prospect.org/environment/2023-07-27-green-industrial-policy-deep-red-georgia/ about Q-Cells, a South Korean solar panel company that has set up shop in Dalton, Georgia--the district represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene.

49m
Jul 29, 2023
Fully Automated Fruit Communism - 284

Today we are talking the death of Tony Bennett and socialism banana discourse https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/07/will-there-be-bananas-under-socialism.html. Subscribe now to hear the whole episode https://www.patreon.com/posts/86609780! 

14m
Jul 25, 2023
Episode 224 UNLOCKED - The Man Question

We are taking this week off, so this time we're unlocking an old episode with Phil Christman, talking about his book How to be Normal https://beltpublishing.com/products/how-to-be-normal, a collection of essays about the pandemic, masculinity, whiteness, religion, and much else besides.

1h 4m
Jul 12, 2023
Episode 283 PREVIEW - Liberalism vs. Socialism

Subscribe now to hear the full episode! https://www.patreon.com/leftanchor

13m
Jul 06, 2023