ABC With Danny and Jim

In this episode we are joined by Arturo Zoffmann Rodriguez of Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal. Arturo's work focuses on the transnational and comparative history of revolutions and radical ideas, with special focus on Russia and the Hispanic world. Our discussion focuses on Arturo's studies on the impact of the Russian revolution of 1917 on anarchist movements around the world, with a particular emphasis on the CNT in Spain, which can be found in the publications Revolutionary Russia and the European History Quarterly. A more comprehensive bibliography of Arturo's work can be found here: https://fcsh-pt.academia.edu/ArturoZoffmannRodriguez

This was a fascinating and lively chat with an exciting young scholar, which we both thoroughly enjoyed. Arturo is currently transforming his PhD thesis, which centres on the subjects we cover in this episode, into a book and we look forward to seeing this come out in the near future. 

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You can keep in touch with the podcast via email: [email protected], and Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, all @abcdannyandjim.

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: https://abcwithdannyandjim.substack.com/

The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio,  'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode is a Spanish campesino brandishing a hammer and sickle, taken in Aragon in the early stages of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. 

This episode provides an overview of the biographical essay on the Spanish anarchist activist Juan Santana Calero (1914-1939) contained in Miquel Amorós, Los incontrolados de 1937. Memorias militantes de los amigos de Durruti (Aldarull, 2014).

In this episode we discuss Eric Hobsbawm's classic - and much-criticised - study of social banditry, millenarian insurrection and mob politics, 'Primitive Rebels' (1959). 

This key text remains a touchstone for discussions of anarchism, and is often the first port of call for English speakers interested in the Spanish movement. We reflect on Hobsbawm's approach, its strengths and shortcomings, and how the book resonates with contemporary political analysis. 

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You can keep in touch with the podcast via email: [email protected], and Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, all @abcdannyandjim.

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: https://abcwithdannyandjim.substack.com/

The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio,  'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode is an illustration of Davide Lazzaretti, leader of a mid-19th century 'millenarian' movement which is one of Hobsbawm's subjects. 

This episode is something a little different, a recording of a live event we held with in Liverpool in December 2021 with Joe Glenton (@joejglenton), discussing his recent book Veteranhood: Rage and Hope in British Ex-Military Life, published by Repeater. You can buy the book directly from Repeater here: https://repeaterbooks.com/product/veteranhood-rage-and-hope-in-british-ex-military-life/

Veteranhood is a fantastic book; poignant, witty and angry, as well as highly readable. We wanted this event to be as open as possible, with a couple of readings from Joe and questions from ourselves, but mainly letting the conversation run through the audience.

As a live event, some of the sound quality isn’t great throughout, but we hope you find it as interesting and as fun as we did at the time….

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You can keep in touch with the podcast via email: [email protected], and Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, all @abcdannyandjim.

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: https://abcwithdannyandjim.substack.com/

The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio,  'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode is the cover art of Joe’s Book, designed by Johnny Bull

*Note, this episode contains some strong language*

In this episode we were joined by Max Farrar to discuss his forthcoming biography, 'Arthur France MBE: The Life and Times of an African-Caribbean-British Man' (Hansib 2021). Arthur France was born in the tiny Caribbean island of Nevis, where he began his activism in trade unionism and black power. After moving to Leeds in 1964 he became a key figure in the emerging black radical cultural movements in the UK through the 1960s and 70s, most notably in his work founding Leeds Carnival. 

This was a fascinating, wide-ranging and fun conversation with Max. You can find more of Max's writings, over a lifetime of activism and reflection, at https://www.maxfarrar.org.uk/

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You can keep in touch with the podcast via email: [email protected], and Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, all @abcdannyandjim.

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: https://abcwithdannyandjim.substack.com/

The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio,  'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode is a photograph of the early pioneers of Leeds Carnival, with Arthur France in the centre. 

This episode is something of a special, a recording of our first ever ‘live’ event, which was held on Friday 8 October on Zoom. We were delighted to be joined by Mike Finn and Dana Mills, to mark the recent publication of Mike’s book ‘Debating Anarchism’ (Bloomsbury 2021). 

Mike’s book is a brilliant, provocative introduction to the debates which surround anarchist history and theory, so we felt this would be a good opportunity to explore some of these with Mike himself, and Dana, an activist and author of – amongst many other works – a brilliant biography of Rosa Luxembourg, published in 2020 with Reaktion Books. Towards the end of the conversation we opened up for some audience questions.

If you're interested in buying 'Debating Anarchism,' you can get 35% off paperback and e-book editions when buying from the Bloomsbury website, using the following codes:

UK: GLR TW9UK

US: GLR TW9US

Canada: GLR TW9CA

Australia: GLR TW9AU

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You can keep in touch with the podcast via email: [email protected], and Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, all @abcdannyandjim.

You can subscribe to our newsletter here at abcwithdannyandjim.substack.com. The latest post, Revolution number Ja Danke, by Danny, explores the 1969 Summer of Soul and ‘the Black Woodstock’ and is well worth a read. 

The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio,  'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode is a screenshot of Mike, Dana, Danny and Me, having a lovely time on a Friday evening. 

In this episode we discuss A.M. Gittlitz's 'I Want to Believe' (Pluto Press, 2020), a study of the remarkable development of a branch of Cold War Trotskyism under the direction of the Argentine J. Posadas. 

Gittlitz combines an astute reading of the Posadist movement with humour and pathos, bringing together stories of nuclear apocalypse, 'coffee shop wankers' and armed guerrilla struggles in Latin America, resonating with present struggles around migration, science fiction, Bogdanov's dispute with Lenin, Carl Sagan, the arrival of the conquistadors in South America, memes, the Argentinian worker's movement and the X-files. Stay tuned for Jim's revelation about dolphins at the end of this conversation....

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You can keep in touch with the podcast via email: [email protected], and Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, all @abcdannyandjim.

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: https://abcwithdannyandjim.substack.com/

The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio,  'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode is an ironic pin-badge, playing on the classic Danish anti-nuclear symbol The Smiling Sun, to fit with Posadism's adherence to nuclear apocalypse, Ufology and the position of dolphins in the revolutionary struggle. 

A short overview of the book Joan Puig Elías. Anarquismo, pedagogía y coherencia by Valeria Giacomoni (Barcelona: Descontrol, 2016), a biography of the anarchist teacher and leading light of the Escuela Natura who presided over the Consejo de la Escuela Nueva Unificada (CENU) during the Spanish civil war.

In this episode we discuss Loren Goldner's collection of essays 'Revolution, Defeat and Theoretical Underdevelopment' (Haymarket 2017), which examines the promise and failings of four revolutionary episodes in the twentieth century: Russia, Turkey, Spain and Bolivia.

Goldner's blog 'Break Their Haughty Power' is well worth exploring, you can find it here: http://breaktheirhaughtypower.org/

Danny discusses some of the themes we cover in last week's newsletter, which you can read here: https://abcwithdannyandjim.substack.com/p/anarchism-as-non-integration

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You can keep in touch with the podcast via email: [email protected], and Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, all @abcdannyandjim.

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: https://abcwithdannyandjim.substack.com/

The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio,  'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode is a 1920 poster from the Soviet Industrial Propaganda Bureau, captioned 'Only a close and unbreakable union of workers and peasants will save Russia from economic destruction and starvation.' Available here: https://www.posterplakat.com/posters/PP%20416

In this episode we were joined by Dr Pascale Siegrist of the German Historical Institute London. Pascale is an intellectual historian whose first book project examines the ‘global’ thought of fin-de-siècle anarchists. You can find more on Pascale's research interests here: https://www.ghil.ac.uk/team/our-team/pascale-siegrist.

For this episode we read two brilliant pieces by Pascale on anarchism and geography: ‘Historicising ‘Anarchist Geography’ in the collection Historical Geographies of Anarchism (London, 2017) and ‘Cosmopolis and Community. Élisée Reclus and Pëtr Kropotkin on Spatial and Moral Unity, 1870s to 1900s’, Global Intellectual History [published online 8 September 2020].

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A reminder that we have recently launched a newsletter via the platform SubStack: https://substack.com/profile/34666794-abc-with-danny-and-jim

You can keep in touch with the podcast via email: [email protected], and Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, all @abcdannyandjim. 

The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio,  'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode is an orographic map of Eastern Siberia from 1875 by Peter Kropotkin, which is available in the public domain and here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orography#/media/File:Map_of_Eastern_Siberia.png