Bad Faith

We ask Marxist economist, journalist, and author Grace Blakeley about the revolutionary potential of the GameStop short, her read on America's economic response to the COVID crisis, and to explain what quantitative easing is just one more time. Virgil and Brie catch up after a brief hiatus and cover the important stories he missed: dog shampoo, parking, and some socialists on CNN.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

Consumer advocate, attorney, Presidential candidate, and Brie's personal hero Ralph Nader chats about the future of third parties, what the younger generation doesn't know about commanding public attention, and how a very small fraction of the population can effect very big change.

Produced by Ben Dalton (@wbend).

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

This week, we spoke to Seattle City Council member and Socialist Alternative member Kshama Sawant -- the first socialist to win a city-wide election since 1916. We talked about her political evolution, alternative theories of change, and how she managed to do what the left often struggles to do: win. We also covered her campaign to fight efforts to recall the results of her 2019 reelection, and to force her off the Seattle City Council.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

We talk the future of left organizing, the radical labor movement, socialists in Congress, and the inside/outside strategy with a diverse panel of communists, socialists, and/or podcasters with Bhaskar Sunkara, founder of Jacobin; Sean KB, co-host of The Antifada; and David Duhalde, Vice Chair of the DSA Fund and former political director of Our Revolution.

After briefly walking us through the history of contemporary economic systems from feudalism to capitalism, Marxist Economist Richard Wolff explains why we must move past capitalism before it's too late, and how to achieve that transition. He weighs in on the importance of third party candidates, the #forcethevote debate, his former classmate Janet Yellen's ideology, the efficacy of an "inside/outside" strategy, and how Bernie disappointed him.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

To help us understand how the left can beat the reactionary forces that culminated in the breach at the U.S. Capitol, we spoke to Corey Robin, author of The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump, and fellow podcasters Tarence Ray from Trillbilly Worker's Party and Tony Boswell of Minion Death Cult.

Glenn Greenwald and Zephyr Teachout join us to answer the big holdover question from last Wednesday's "coup attempt": What rights do we have on the internet? Was Twitter right to ban Trump? If so, by what standard? Should we cheer the de-platforming of Parler? And if so, what protections does the radical left have from being similarly treated? We tackle the politics of Section 230, explore anti-monopoly solutions to the internet speech and privacy problem, and pay homage to Glenn for all of our success.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

Virgil and Brie tackle all the takes of the week, from Kamala's Vogue cover to the plan to impeach Trump. Again. They debate whether banning Trump from Twitter is a positive development or a sign of Big Tech authoritarianism, whether economic anxiety motivated the coup attempt, and the comparative merits of the Death Star versus the Borg Cube.

When we scheduled an interview with historian & populism expert Thomas Frank, we didn't expect to be recording with a right wing faux-populist coup in the background. Turns out, he was an ideal guest. Frank helped us to understand our current political moment by examining history of populism in this country from the 1890s through the Bernie revolution. Virgil and Brie react in real time to the ongoing protests, Brie's groceries spoil, and Paul Robeson sings.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast 

Briahna works through her feelings about the speakership vote, Virgil details why you're not getting a $2000 check, and the pair talks CrossFit boyfriends, Julian Assange, Trump's latest attempt to stop the steal, and the future of the left.