ABC With Danny and Jim

In this episode we take a break from our usual format - to coincide with our 1st 'birthday' we discuss the first two pieces to be published in our new newsletter: 'Ten Years on the Turn' and 'People Just Do Something', both written by Danny as reflections on the past decade of politics. We also use this as an opportunity to reflect on the past year. 

You can subscribe to the newsletter here: https://bit.ly/3tPBcgS

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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

In this episode we discuss Paul Avrich's classic 'Kronstadt 1921' (Princeton University Press, 1970), marking 100 years since this pivotal event in radical history. Along the way we discuss anti-Semitism within critiques of communism, the perils of a mechanistic understanding of class struggle and historical change, the nature of Bolshevik smear campaigns, and the significance of 1921 to the prospects of internationalist socialism. 

The book is available online here: https://libcom.org/library/kronstadt-1921-paul-avrich-0

There are many, many pieces to recommend about the Kronstadt uprising and its suppression. A number of useful introductions are available on libcom.org, including:

See also the excellent Solidarity publication 'Kronstadt Uprising' by Ida Mett, available here: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ida-mett-the-kronstadt-commune. 

Over the weekend of 20-21 March 2021 Danny participated in the conference 'Kronstadt as Revoutionary Utopia, 1921-2021 and Beyond'. The conference website hosts a wide range of pieces reflecting on the event and its legacy: https://kronstadt2021.wordpress.com/

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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 poster Kronshtadtskaia karta bita! (The Kronstadt Card Is Trumped!) by Vladimir Kozlinskii for the Petrograd office of the Russian Telegraph Agency in 1921, available in the public domain. The image depicts a reactionary White Guard as synonymous with a Kronstadt sailor, both vanquished by RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Republic). Thanks to Dr Hannah Parker for her help interpreting this image. 

In this episode we're delighted to be joined by Martha Ackelsberg (Smith College, Massachusetts) to discuss her classic study of Mujeres Libres, 'Free Women of Spain,' on the 30th anniversary of its original publication. 

Martha's work has been hugely influential in the study of anarchism, gender and the Spanish Civil War, and has shaped the work of both Danny and Jim. We were thrilled that she could join us for this discussion, which covers the history of anarchist feminism in Spain, sexism within the movement, the problems of equating gender emancipation with fighting, and the lessons of the Mujeres Libres for today's radicals. 

You can find more about Martha's extensive work on these subjects here: smith.edu/academics/faculty/martha-ackelsberg

In 2016 Danny and Jim were delighted to guest edit a special issue of International Journal of Iberian Studies on transnationalism and Spanish anarchism, featuring a brilliant article by Martha on the links between radical feminists in Spain and Argentina. The journal is available here, or you can get in touch with the show for access. 

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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 isa photograph of a Mujeres Libres section during the Spanish Civil War, which is available in the public domain

In this episode we were delighted to be joined by our friend, colleague and comrade Dr Matthew Kerry (University of Stirling) to discuss his book 'Unite Proletarian Brothers!: Radicalism and Revolution in the Second Spanish Republic' (Institute of Historical Research, 2020), which is available to everyone as an Open Access publication here: bit.ly/3is39X9

We discuss radicalism, fascism, the state and proletarian unity during the 1930s, exploring why and how the mining valleys of northern Spain erupted into revolution in October 1934, in what can be seen as the last attempt to seize state power through mass insurrection by the working class in Europe. 

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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 poster 'Aprieta fuerte compañero!' ('Squeeze tightly, comrade!') created by Germán Horacio Robles in 1936 and available in the public domain. 

A short overview of the new book by Agustín Guillamón, La matanza del cuartel Carlos Marx. Bellaterra, mayo de 1937 (Serra de Tramuntana: Calumnia, 2020), which details the investigation into the torture and murder of twelve anarchists during the Barcelona May days, 1937.

In a break from our usual set up, this episode features Danny and Jim speaking to Alan McGuire of the Sobremesa podcast about the history of anarchism in Spain. 

Sobremesa is weekly podcast which covers subjects about contemporary Spanish society, politics and history, you can subscribe using your usual podcast app and find more information here: alanmcguire.com/the-sobremesa-podcast/ and via the show's Twitter account: @Sobremesacast. We're really grateful to Alan for inviting us on, so do subscribe and support this great new podcast. 

Given the scope of the subject, and the fact that we love talking about it, this is an extra-long episode, so settle in....

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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://freemusicarchive.org/music/Stealing_Orchestra__Rafael_Dionsio/_Rafael_Dionsio_-_Uma_Desgraa_Nunca_Vem_S/Gente_da_minha_terra_que_mete_um_nojo_do_caralho

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://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Left_Book_Club_logo.png

The image in this episode is a poster by Josep Obiols for the collectivised transport industry of the CNT, produced in Barcelona, 1936. This image is available in the public domain. 

In this episode we were delighted to be joined by Professor Kathy Ferguson (The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa) to discuss her fascinating work on anarchist printing over the turn of the twentieth century. Along the way we discuss the formative role that creating print had in anarchist communities, the value of considering the 'materiality' of radical politics, and reflect on the relationship between media and movements in the current context. 

Kathy's book 'Anarchist Letters' will be published in the near future, until then you can discover more of her work here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kathy_Ferguson. We particularly recommend her article 'Anarchist Printers and Presses: Material Circuits of Politics' which was published in Political Theory in 2014. 

Some of Kathy's other work includes Emma Goldman: Political Thinking in the Streets (2011) which has a companion website here: www2.hawaii.edu/~kferguso/

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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://freemusicarchive.org/music/Stealing_Orchestra__Rafael_Dionsio/_Rafael_Dionsio_-_Uma_Desgraa_Nunca_Vem_S/Gente_da_minha_terra_que_mete_um_nojo_do_caralho

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://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Left_Book_Club_logo.png

The image in this episode is a photograph of Tom Keell and Alfred Marsh in the Freedom office at 127 Ossulston St in 1927, which is available in the public domain and here: https://freedompress.org.uk/history/

In this episode we discuss Julius S. Scott's 'The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution,' an extraordinary text which began life as a PhD thesis in the 1980s, and has gained an almost cult reputation amongst scholars of transnational radical history until it's publication with Verso in 2018. 

You can watch a video featuring  Scott, Robin Kelley, Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker celebrating the launch of the book in 2018 at the University of Pittsburgh here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlSXrxFXSsw

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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://freemusicarchive.org/music/Stealing_Orchestra__Rafael_Dionsio/_Rafael_Dionsio_-_Uma_Desgraa_Nunca_Vem_S/Gente_da_minha_terra_que_mete_um_nojo_do_caralho

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://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Left_Book_Club_logo.png

The image in this episode is a photograph of the statue 'Le Marron Inconnu',  in Port au Prince, Haiti (2012), which is available in the public domain here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Marron_Inconnu#/media/File:Le_Marron_Inconnu,_Haiti_2012.jpg