Cocktails & Capitalism

What is mutual aid? Joshua Potash helps me answer this question in an episode that connects the dots between mutual aid, capitalism and policing. We examine the anarchist origins of the term before we discuss how the practice of mutual aid can help us start to build a world outside of capitalism. 

Joshua Potash is an anticapitalist abolitionist who helped to found WSP Mutual Aid – a group that provides food, tenets, sweep defense, and other support for folks experiencing houselessness. He also works for Slow Factory, an institute that uses science, education, and regenerative design to advance climate justice and social equity. I am constantly sharing Joshua’s brilliant takes from Twitter, where he uses his following to shine light on issues like policing, activism, and the rise of fascism. 

Follow WSP Mutual Aid on Twitter & IG 
Support their work via Venmo or CashApp
Follow Joshua Potash on Twitter and Instagram

Reading list:

 Solidarity Not Charity, Dean Spade
Mutual Aid, Dean Spade
Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution by Peter Kropotkin
Jackson Rising

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Mutual Lemon-Aid
(spirit -free mocktail)

Makes one drink

1        Large lemon

60    ml    Juice from the one lemon

40    ml    Sugar

250    ml    Water

            small pinch of salt

            Optional: 1 cardamom pod
  

Makes approximately 2 liters of Lemonade

6        Large lemons

350    ml    Juice from the 6 lemons

250    ml    Sugar

1.5    L    Water

            large pinch of salt    

            Optional: 5 cardamom pods  

Peel lemons with a vegetable peeler, getting as much of the peel off as possible w/o much white pith. Put the peels in a container & cover with granulated sugar and massage the peels with your hands or a muddler to release the oils into the sugar. Cover & let stand for 3 to 24 hours. Periodically stir to incorporate the oil into the sugar. 

Juice the lemons & filter out seeds. After letting peels and sugar sit, add lemon juice, water, & salt. Stir until sugar is incorporated. Strain out lemon peels and chill well before serving. To serve, simply pour over ice and garnish with a lemon peel. Enjoy!

Add your favorite spirit for a boozy option.

Pro tip: take about five cardamom pods and smash to break open. Gently toast the pods in a pan on the stove until fragrant—just a few minutes. Add the pods to the lemon peel and sugar mixture and let steep while the sugar is drawing out the oils from the peels. Remove the pods when you filter out the peels.     

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

We’re back with season 3! We begin by interviewing Chris Smalls – the founder and president of the Amazon Labor Union and the face of the growing labor movement in America. Chris tells us about his #hotlaborsummer tour and his travels across the country to lead protests in front of CEO mansions and penthouses. We discuss his “new school” approach to organizing that has done so much to energize young workers across America and beyond. 


On top of bringing the party to the picket line, Chris and others at the ALU are showing the world what solidarity looks like. Tune in to hear us discuss how the ALU provides mutual aid to fellow workers in a way that has created a powerful culture of support and solidarity.

Amazon is the second largest employer in America, so the fact that Chris, Derrick, and their fellow organizers have succeeded in unionizing the first Amazon location in history is a phenomenal accomplishment. 

Don’t miss this episode, where we discuss how the labor movement is working to combat the heartless, exploitative forces of capitalism.

You can support the ALU by contributing to their fund! This will help to

HOT LABOR SUMMER COCKTAIL

To celebrate Hot Labor Summer — a hashtag popularized by Chris Smalls — our resident anticapitalist bartender Jesse Torres crafted a delicious spicy cocktail by the same name. It’s perfect for on the patio, by the pool, or on the picket line.

60ml Kentucky Bourbon or Cognac (other spirits substitute nicely)

30ml Pineapple juice

15ml Good quality Grenadine

15ml Lime juice

1 dash Aromatic Bitters

Jalapeños (for muddling)

Method:

Muddle 2-3 slices of jalapeños in a shaker tin with the bourbon. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake well with ice. Double strain into a rocks glass rimmed with chili lime salt like Tajin, and fill with ice. Garnish with a grilled pineapple spear or jalapeño slice.

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

Strap in for season 3 of the Cocktails & Capitalism podcast!  Here's a sneak preview of my recent interview with Chris Smalls, the founder and president of the Amazon Labor Union.  Don't miss this powerful episode, which drops next Tuesday, October 18th!

This season will focus heavily on the growing labor movement. I'll be collaborating with organizers and activists who help me dive deep into topics like corporate propaganda, mutual aid, and capitalism's decay into fascism. Stay tuned for amazing interviews with inspirational individuals like Amy Westervelt, Joshua Potash, and PrepperPig.

Tune in Tuesdays for your weekly dose of anticapitalist storytelling!

Cheers & solidarity!

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support our work with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to strengthen the class consciousness of folks suffering under capitalism around the globe.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

America’s healthcare system is not only broken – it's exploitative. This reality became incredibly clear to Christy Snodgrass during her time as a nurse, leading her to leave nursing and throw herself into reforming the field of medicine to better serve struggling patients and healthcare workers. In the season 2 finale of Cocktails & Capitalism, Christy and I discuss the experiences that led her to become a patient advocate who has devoted her life to helping others navigate this expensive, convoluted, heartless system. Her story was so powerful that it made me cry, and that’s saying a lot on this often dark and heavy podcast. 

I came across Christy’s work when bartender Jesse sent me one of her many fantastic TikTok videos – one that offers clear steps for negotiating down your hospital bills. Her other videos show you how to save money in this expensive, fucked up medical system, how to apply for charity care, and how to find patient advocacy services. GO FOLLOW CHRISTY ON TIKTOK AND INSTAGRAM for more clear, practical advice on how to navigate our healthcare system.

Christy is the founder of Healthcare Reformed – a company that provides patients and healthcare workers with the resources necessary to support their physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing. As stated on their website, Healthcare Reformed “strives to bring transparency to our complicated and often exploitative healthcare system.”

Big thanks to Jesse Torres for crafting the perfect cocktail!


The Christy PRN Cocktail

This is a riff on the classic Whiskey Smash, a class of mixed beverage from the late 1800s. It is a direct descendant of the famous Julep category of drinks, of which, the Mint Julep reigns supreme. The Smash, while similar to the Julep, has the addition of some ornamental fruits (in our case, blackberries) for garnish and is always shaken so that the mint is “smashed”—hence the name.

One of the earliest examples of a smash appears in the form of a Julep recipe in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 How to Mix Drinks, or, The Bon Vivant’s Companion. Though Thomas doesn’t mention the Smash by name, his definition of the Julep clearly lays the foundation for the future of the category. 

Fast-forward to 1888 and turn to barman Harry Johnson, who, unlike Thomas, addresses the Smash directly as a separate cocktail from a Julep. Though he’s not especially wordy on the topic, Johnson does include four distinct Smash recipes. His Old Style Whiskey Smash is a casual concoction of sugar, water, mint, “small pieces” of ice and one “wineglass” of whiskey (about 60ml). He added that to a glass with “fruits in season,”, gave it a mix and served it with a Julep strainer.

Blackberry Whiskey Smash

60    ml    Bourbon or Rye Whiskey

22    ml    Simple Syrup (2:1)

            Half a medium lemon cut into four equal pieces

            About ten mint leaves

            Four Blackberries

Add simple syrup, lemons, mint, and blackberries to a shaker tin and muddle well to smash the blackberries and to press all the juice out of the lemon pieces. Fill the shaker with cubed ice and shake vigorously until properly chilled and diluted. Fine strain into a rocks glass filled with cubed ice. Garnish with a bouquet of mint, a thinly-sliced lemon wheel, and a couple of blackberries.

Glassware:      Rocks or old fashioned glass

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

Saadia Mirza joins us from Texas to break down the insanity of America’s gun violence epidemic. Our discussion takes place in the aftermath of the Uvalde school shooting, at a time when there are too many mass shootings in America for the media to cover. Saadia shares how her connection to a victim of the Sandy Hook massacre led her to become incredibly outspoken about this ongoing American nightmare. She completely dismantles common myths pertaining to guns, including the myth that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. In addition, she explains the enormous human and financial cost of gun violence in America.

Tune in to hear us discuss how the NRA, gun manufacturers, and the republican party have distorted the gun debate, pitting Americans against one another to amass wealth and power. 

Be sure to follow Saadia Mirza on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter for more crystal clear political commentary!

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

If we want to have any chance of countering the rising power of the right, we need to start healing the divides that have only deepened on the left. A big part of this is engaging in productive conversations with folks who aren't as far left but who nevertheless hold a lot of fundamental views in common. This is why I thought it would be good to dive into a discussion about how we can start to communicate across political divides.

In this episode, I speak with Desmond Price about how he has learned to have good-faith conversations with folks across the political spectrum. Desmond is the host of Independent Thought – a podcast that brings a psychologically-savvy approach to politics. Tune in to hear how he's learned to engage in political discussions that change peoples' minds.



Listen to Independent Thought wherever you get your podcasts! (Spotify, Apple,,etc)
Follow IT on Twitter and Instagram

COCKTAIL:

HEALING TEA  (spirit-free)

2 bags of camomile tea

300 ml hot water

1 dashes cinnamon

3 dashes turmeric

2 shakes of ginger powder or a few slices of fresh ginger

A few goji berries 

Mix all ingredients in a heat proof mug with hot water and let steep. If using real ginger, remove this and add in the goji berries. Stir and enjoy!

HEALING TEA COCKTAIL

54 ml tequila

2 bags of camomile tea

300 ml hot water

1 dashes cinnamon

3 dashes turmeric

2 shakes of ginger powder or a few slices of fresh ginger

A spoonful of honey (or more if you’d prefer)

Juice from half a lemon

Mix all ingredients in a mug or a heat-proof container, let steep and cool or refrigerate to chill. Add ice and shake. Strain into a glass with ice and enjoy! 

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

Speaking of Disney, Kane Lynch remarks that “their power and wealth is more like a nation than an entertainment company.” As you'll learn in this episode, they even have a secret police force called Global Intelligence and Threat Analysis. 


Previously, we explored Disney’s role in exporting American capitalism around the globe. This week, Kane joins us again to discuss the corporation’s efforts to recapture the whimsy and magic of Walt’s legacy while reaching their corporate tentacles across the globe. We also explore the company’s shady labor practices, their decisions to move jobs overseas rather than negotiating with striking animators, and their recent involvement in the culture wars with Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Tune in to hear how to company went from exporting right wing capitalist ideology to being canceled by conservatives.

Kane Lynch is a cartoonist and educator whose non-fiction and journalism comics and illustrations have appeared on The Nib, Slate, and Psychology Today and in the 2020 graphic novel titled Guantanamo Voices. He has a kids graphic novel coming out in 2024 titled First Steps. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter and check out his website here!





Duck Blur

30    ml    Shadow Ridge Gin

15    ml    St. George Raspberry eau de vie

15    ml    Giffard Crème de Peche de Vigne Liqueur

    15    ml    Giffard Blue Curaçao 

22    ml    Lemon Juice

Optional:    Egg White

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin and fill with cubed ice. Shake vigorously until properly chilled and diluted. Fine strain into a chilled coupe of martini glass. Garnish with a little rubber ducky and smile. 

If using an egg white, add all ingredients except egg white to one half of a shaker. Add egg white to other shaker tin. Combine both tins and shake hard with ice for about 10 seconds. Strain out ice and shake hard for another 10 seconds. Fine strain into a large coupe or martini-style glass. Garnish with a little rubber ducky and smile.


Huge thanks to Jesse Torres for crafting the perfect drink for this story! 

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

Speaking of Disney – the company that has forced us “to share the same formative dreams” – film critic Richard Schickel writes, “As capitalism, it is a work of genius; as culture, it is mostly a horror.” In this episode, I speak with cartoonist and educator Kane Lynch, who walks us through the story of Walt Disney, the birth of the Disney empire, and the many ways the company has helped to export capitalist ideology around the globe. Tune in to hear how Disney cartoons were used as propaganda during WWII and later as a means of combating the spread of communism in Latin America. 

Kane Lynch is a cartoonist and educator whose non-fiction and journalism comics and illustrations have appeared on The Nib, Slate, and Psychology Today and in the 2020 graphic novel Guantanamo Voices. He also has a kids' graphic novel coming out in 2024 titled First Steps. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter, and check out his website here.

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I'm brokenhearted to report that the creator of our amazing intro song, Tim Hunt, (a.k.a. DRMWVR), recently suffered a terrible accident.  He fell from a balcony, smashing 5 vertebrae and 7 ribs. He is currently paralyzed from the waist down, unable to feel or move his legs. While he is going to fight like hell for the chance to walk again, the mental, logistical, and financial challenges in front of him are insanely daunting. Everything that has the potential to give Tim the best chances of recovery is ridiculously expensive, including rent near his rehab center and a $30,000 electrode machine that will allow him to keep exercising his legs once he leaves the facility. If any of you have the ability to contribute to Tim’s mutual aid fund,  it would do so much to help Tim take on the many challenges that lie ahead. I would appreciate it so much! You can contribute through his GoFundMe page right here, or through the link in his bio!

Follow Tim on Instagram to see his art and watch his inspirational healing journey. I'm constantly being blown away by his strength in the face of adversity. I can barely navigate this capitalist hellscape on a good day! Also, check out his rad electronic music on SoundCloud and Spotify!

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

We’re joined by filmmaker, storyteller, and poet Zachary Marlow, who tells us about his personal journey in relation to alcohol consumption. He shares how he was driven to drink to escape the alienating aspects of our capitalist hellscape, relating this addictive drive to society’s destructive addiction to capitalism. 

Marlow is one of 3 hosts of the Moneyless Society podcast – a show that aims to envision a world free of the corrupting influence of the profit motive. This project is closely tied to the work of the Moneyless Society nonprofit, which is actively building out a networking and resource hub through which people can use their skills to satisfy the needs of society without the exchange of money.


Follow Moneyless Society on FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, and support them on Patreon. You can listen to their podcast on all major platforms (Google, Apple, Spotify, etc.)



Escape from Capitalism Cocktail 

Makes two drinks

1    med.    Mango, peeled and pitted 

75    ml    Honey Ginger Syrup

150    ml    Cream of Coconut (REAL, Coco Lopez, or freshly made)

100    ml    Coconut Water

10     drops    Cannabis Tincture (if not using Cannabis-infused Honey Ginger Syrup)

200    g    Ice Cubes

50    ml    Tart Cherry Juice, for each drink (fresh or bottled)

Add all ingredients except cherry juice to blender, blend on high for 20 seconds. Pour into your two favorite cups and top with the tart cherry juice to float. Add a straw if you like, and garnish with a fresh cherry.

Glassware:      Collins-style glass

Garnish:         Fresh cherry

ABV:             0%

Honey Ginger Syrup

100ml     Ginger, freshly juiced

100ml     Honey

75ml    Hot Water (~60°C)

Peel fresh ginger root and juice through a centrifugal or masticating juicer. Combine honey and hot water and stir until honey is dissolved. Add ginger juice. Taste to ensure consistency, bottle, and label. Honey Ginger Syrup must be refrigerated and is good for up to two weeks.

If you don’t have a juicer you can make Honey Ginger Syrup using your stove. 

250ml    Honey

250ml    Water

175ml    Ginger, peeled and sliced

Peel and slice ginger. Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and gently simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Fine strain, bottle, and label. Honey Ginger Syrup must be refrigerated and is good for up to two weeks. 

Note: You can also add the cannabis to the honey for the Honey Ginger Syrup. For this recipe, add 1g of cannabis to 250ml of honey. Add more or less depending on your tolerance. 

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

We’re joined once again by Indigenous advocate, bartender, and doom metal queen Chockie Tom, as well as our resident anticapitalist cocktail creator, Jessie Torres. In this episode, we discuss how the art of crafting cocktails can be used as a medium for storytelling, exploring the role of the bartender as a sort of subversive educator. This brings us to the incredible drink these two created for our previous episode on Indigenous empowerment in the drink and hospitality industry. Recipe below!

Going forward, we plan to release bonus episodes as exclusive content for our wonderful Patreon supporters. But don’t worry– our regular episodes will continue to feature the sidebar with Jesse :) 

Got feedback for us about bonus content? Hmu via Instagram DM or email [email protected] 

Padrekiller Cocktail

Makes two drinks

250     ml     Tepache (recipe below)   or   Pineapple Sour Beer

100    ml    Nixta Nixtamalized Corn Liqueur

200    g    Frozen pineapple chunks 

100    g    Steamed sweet corn

30    ml    Cream of Coconut (REAL, Coco Lopez, or freshly made)

200    g    Ice Cubes

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high for 20 seconds. 

Pour into two cups and garnish with pineapple leaves, corn husk, and edible flowers.

Glassware:      Collins-style glass

Garnish:         Pineapple leaves, Corn husk, and edible Flowers

ABV:             2-6%

Tepache recipe

1             Pineapple, medium

4.5    L        Water

140    g        Piloncillo (raw sugar)

2             Cinnamon sticks

5    g        Allspice corns

3    g        Cloves, whole

5    g        Salt, coarse

Remove the pineapple’s head and save to use leaves as garnish, OR  grow a new pineapple from the head! Wash pineapple thoroughly, then peel it and remove all of the rind so that your pineapple ends up completely yellow. Save the flesh of the fruit, chopping it into chunks and freezing them to use later.

In a large pot, heat ~1 litter of water, add the piloncillo and spices and allow it to boil. Lower heat and stir frequently until piloncillo is dissolved. Turn off the heat & allow  to cool  until it reaches room temperature. Add the remaining water and pineapple rind to the piloncillo water and stir. 

Transfer the Tepache to a container and cover with a piece of cloth or cheesecloth that will allow it to breathe but will keep insects out. Tie a string tightly around the mouth of the container to make sure that the cloth will stay in place. Place in a warm corner of your kitchen, away from drafts, open windows, AC units or vents. The natural yeast present in the rind will ferment the drink! It’ll take ~ 3 days to ferment.

Fine-strain into a clean container. Drink alone or as an ingredient in the Padrekiller cocktail!

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!