A.K. 47 - Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai

Kristen Ghodsee reads the first part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 text: "The Workers Opposition." 

Mentioned in this episode are these upcoming events:

• Online - How To Academy, August 3 (6:00pm GMT)
• Online - Second Life Book Club, August 9 (12:00pm Pacific Time)
• In person - Society for Ethical Culture Sunday Platform, August 13 (11:00am EDT)
• In person - Half King Reading Series, August 15, (7:00pm EDT)

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

On the eve of a possible UPS strike in the United States, Kristen Ghodsee reads a 1968 introduction to Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 pamphlet written in support of the Workers Opposition. This was a fundamental critique of Bolshevism from within the Party ranks, which was squashed and ended Kollontai's political career in the USSR.

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Total Liberation Podcast with Mexie (Livestream), “Building Utopia with Dr. Kristen Ghodsee,” July 7, 2023
• Upstream Podcast, “Everyday Utopia and Radical Imagination with Kristen Ghodsee,” June 19, 2023
• RevolutionZ, “Diverse Utopias with Kristen Ghodsee,” June 18, 2023
• “Gender Oppression isn’t inherent in human nature,” Jacobin Magazine, June 23, 2023

More recent writing from Kristen Ghodsee:

• “Living Communally Can Make Us Less Lonely,” The Nation, June 28, 2023
• “The Ukrainian Utopia that almost Existed,” The Washington Post, June 23, 2023
• “To Smash the Patriarchy, We Need to Get Specific About What It Means,” Jacobin Magazine, June 10, 2023

Also check out these upcoming events, all information will be posted here:

• Online - City Lights Bookstore, July 19 (6:00pm Pacific Time)
• Online - How To Academy, August 3 (6:00pm GMT)
• Online - Second Life Book Club, August 9 (12:00pm Pacific Time)
• In person - Society for Ethical Culture Sunday Platform, August 13 (11:00am EDT)
• In person - Half King Reading Series, August 15, (7:00pm EDT)

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

Kristen Ghodsee reads Cathy Porter's 1980 translation of Kollontai's 1922 short story, "Conversation Piece," about a woman having to choose between the man she loves romantically and the man she loves intellectually and spiritually.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Listen to Kristen Ghodsee on the New York Times's Ezra Klein Show (also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc). Full transcript here
• Read a 2000-word abstract from Everyday Utopia in Jacobin Magazine
• Watch the Everyday Utopia book discussion with Arwa Mahdawi at the Free Library of Philadelphia
• Watch the Everyday Utopia book discussion with Juliet Alekseyeva at Politics & Prose
• Listen to Kristen Ghodsee on the Little Atoms podcast

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

Kristen Ghodsee reads an April 25, 1982 review of a [then] new English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's collection, "A Great Love," translated by Cathy Porter. 

Mentioned in this episode are:

A list of utopian summer reading recommendations at Literary Hub.com.

A new podcast interview at Revolutionary Left Radio.

An excerpt of Everyday Utopia in Penn Today.

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

Kristen Ghodsee reads an article about the creation in 2019 of the Kollontai Vodka Antisessista by a group of self-managed workers in Milan. Sales from this vodka are used to finance a autonomist literary cafe in Bari. The whole project is a wonderful example of the contemporary legacy of Kollontai and her continuing inspiration for feminists and activists around the world.

In Italy, buy Kollontai Vodka here (The proceeds from the sale of the vodka will finance mutual aid projects for women and LGBTIQ subjects)

Preorder Everyday Utopia at 25% off at Barnes & Noble in North America on April 26, 27, and 28, 2023

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

Kristen Ghodsee reads the second half of a biographical article written by the American Katharine Anthony and published in The North American Review in September 1930. At this point in time, Kollontai was serving as the Soviet ambassador to Norway, and Katharine Anthony was introducing Kollontai to an American audience as a feminist and women's rights activist, and playing down her connections to the Bolsheviks.

Please help me with the pre-order campaign for Everyday Utopia!

• If you are in North America, the book will be out on May 16, and you can pre-order Everyday Utopia through Bookshop.org and your purchase will support independent bookstores. (You can also order it from Amazon and Barnes & Noble)
• In the UK, the book will be out on May 18, and you can order it from Waterstones, Amazon, WH Smith, or your local bookshop.

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

Kristen Ghodsee reads the first half of a biographical article written by the American Katharine Anthony and published in The North American Review in September 1930. At this point in time, Kollontai was serving as the Soviet ambassador to Norway, and Katharine Anthony was introducing Kollontai to an American audience as a feminist and women's rights activist, and playing down her connections to the Bolsheviks.

Please help me with the pre-order campaign for Everyday Utopia!

• If you are in North America, the book will be out on May 16, and you can pre-order Everyday Utopia through Bookshop.org and your purchase will support independent bookstores. (You can also order it from Amazon and Barnes & Noble)
• In the UK, the book will be out on May 18, and you can order it from Waterstones, Amazon, WH Smith, or your local bookshop.

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

To celebrate International Women's Day in 2023, Kristen Ghodsee reads an abridged version of Clara Zetkin's article on the official establishment of March 8 as International Communist Women's Day. The article is from International Press Correspondence, Vol. 2 No. 18, published on 8 March 1922. 

Clara Zetkin was the leader of the women's section of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany, and a close friend and mentor to Alexandra Kollontai when the latter was in exile in Western Europe. Both Kollontai and Zetkin were in attendance in 1910 at the 2nd International Conference of Socialist Women where the assembled delegates voted to establish an international women's day once a year. The date of 8 March, however, was only firmly established internationally after the 1922 congress in Moscow, in honor of the women's demonstration that kicked off the February revolution in Russia (which occurred on 8 March by the Western calendar). Zetkin's passionate article clearly shows that IWD was meant to do more than merely celebrate women. It was supposed to be a mass recruitment event to bring new men and women into the struggle against the continued ravages of capitalism.

Mentioned in this episode is the starred review in Publishers Weekly of Ghodsee's forthcoming book, Everyday Utopia.

From the archives: my pre-pandemic ode to International Women's Day in the New York Times (paywall)

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

Kristen Ghodsee reads two news items about Alexandra Kollontai from December 25, 1926 and April 21, 1927, during the time that Kollontai served as the Soviet ambassador to Mexico.  Ghodsee also shares some exciting news about her forthcoming book.

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen 

Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses Alexandra Kollontai's 1918 essay, "The First Steps Towards the Protection of Motherhood." Kollontai saw motherhood as a "obligation" and "sacred duty" of women, and was very pro-natalist in her politics. But many of the policies she implemented between 1917 and 1918 reflected the desires of working women who attended the conferences Kollontai organized in Petrograd. In many ways, Kollontai may be the reason that policies and programs like daycare, parental leaves, and child allowances (or tax credits) exist in the present day. 

Send us Fan Mail

Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you'd like to support the work being done here, please spread the word with your networks.

Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve critically acclaimed books published in over 20 languages, and a University of Pennsylvania Professor of Russian and East European Studies. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: 

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee’s free, episodic newsletter at: https://kristenghodsee.substack.com

Learn more about Kristen Ghodsee's work: www.kristenghodsee.com or request to follow her on Instagram @prof_kristen