Coffee with Comrades

This week, my friend George stopped by to talk about the intersections of straight-edge and radical politics. We talked about being sober, punk and hardcore, and the how revolutionaries might benefit from the clarity and focus of being drug-free.

But, fear not--neither of us are here trying to provide some prescriptive dogma. Honestly, it was just fun to catch up and shoot the shit.

George also talks a bit about the new Stick to Your Guns EP, The Meaning Remains, which comes out this week so stick around 'til the very end of the episode to hear a bit more about the record.

• Pick up a copy of The Meaning Remains EP.
• Follow George on Twitter and follow Stick to Your Guns while you're at it!
• Pick up a copy of Sober Living for the Revolution.
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is proud to be part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Coffee with Comrades is an affiliate of the Firestorm Books & Café. Check out our reading recommendations!
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Music:

• Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World Anymore" by Woody Guthrie
• Interlude: "Amber (Acoustic)" by Stick to Your Guns
• Outro: "Hasta La Victoria (Demo)" by Stick to Your Guns

After we put out our three-part series introducing socialism, communism, and anarchism, I had a flood of folks message me on Twitter or shoot me an email and ask, "What happened to the social ecology episode?" As I've said before, sadly, it got lost to the eldritch gods of audio-editing. Rest assured that we'll do a deep-dive into social ecology at some point in the near future as it's a branch of leftist theory I'm profoundly interested in, but—in the mean time—hopefully this week's episode of the podcast can tide you over.

I recently sat down with Daniel Baryon, better known by his YouTube alias, Anark, to discuss possibly the most important text of Murray Bookchin's career, The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy. Daniel and I spent some time digging into some of the text's major themes, argued that The Ecology of Freedom is a work as monumental as Marx's Capital, and offer some critiques of the text, as well.

• Check out Anark on YouTube and follow Daniel on Twitter.
• The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy .pdf
• Episode 61 of Coffee with Comrades, "Anarchy or Annihilation"
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Music:

• Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World" by Woody Guthrie
• Interlude: Interlude: "Solar" by Northlane
• Outro: "Wake the Dead" by Comeback Kid

On January 15, in Tallahassee, FL, the FBI arrested Daniel Baker, a local leftist, veteran, and a former combat medic with the YPG, on trumped-up charges meant to silence dissent and criminalize community armed defense. FBI agents bullrushed Dan's apartment, guns drawn, broken open the front door, and threw a flash bang grenade before making the arrest. Dan, who has been described by various news outlets as being involved in some insidious "Florida Cspitol plot" and having connections with a "Marxist guerilla organization" has been charged by the federal government, denied bail on the grounds that he's a flight risk, and held in solitary confinement in a segretated housing unit because authorities fear he will "radicalize" other prisoners. Allegations surrounding Dan's arrest stem from flimsy, circumstantial evidence, derived almost entirely from social media posts Dan allegedly made, some fliers Dan allegedly printed off and distributed in the community calling for folks to arm themselves against a possible white supremacist coup, and a few pithy memes he allegedly reposted on the internet. Should Dan be convicted, he could face up to 5 years in prison and over $250,000 in fines.

But who is Dan Baker, really?

Today, we set the record straight.

In this edition of Coffee with Comrades, I am joined by Eric, Dan's friend and former roommate, and our mutual comrade, Jack, to discuss the allegations, the anti-repression work surrounding Dan's case, the DeSantis administration's anti-protest bill, and a whole lot more. I want to preface by saying I think this is an immensely vital case of vindictive, opportunistic repression against the left, the opening salvo of the repression that is sure to come from Biden's neoliberal administration which has made no pretense of being friendly with the left. But this moment can prove instructive to folks interested in doing the hard work of defending their communities from the horrors of white supremacist and fascist violence by understanding how the state will crackdown on those of us who choose to stand up for our neighbors and take proactive measures to ensure our communities can continue to survive in spite of the crises engendered by capitalism and the state.

You can write to Dan at the following address:

Daniel Baker

Reg. No. 25765-509

FDC Tallahassee,

501 Capital Circle NE

Tallahassee, FL 32301

If you wanna help Dan:

- Follow @GuerillaGalleryTLH to stay up to date with Dan's case on Instagram

- Venmo or PayPal @echampagneart

- Circulate this flier as widely as you can

- Read Jacobin's coverage of Dan's case

• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Honestly, this is probably one of my Top 5 favorite Coffee with Comrades episodes so you should probably stop reading this description and just listen.

No, seriously.

You sure?

Okay, then.

This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Carla Bergman, one of the authors of Joyful Militancy and co-host of Silver Threads and Grounded Futures, to discuss militant joy. This conversation lead us on a whirlwind of topics. We discussed unschooling, ridiculed rigid radicalism, analyzed Joyful Militancy and The Dispossessed, geeked out over Ursula K. Le Guin's rendition of the Tao Te Ching, talked about Breaking Bad, and generally just shot the shit.

Truly, it was a lovely time.

• Follow Carla on Twitter and Instagram.
• Pick up a copy of Joyful Militancy from AK Press.
• Check out Silver Threads and Grounded Futures wherever you get your podcasts.
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Music:

• Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World" by Woody Guthrie
• Interlude: "Whirring" by the Joy Formidable
• Outro: "Joy Will Find a Way (A Song About Dying" by Bruce Cockburn

On this week's edition of Coffee with Comrades, Pearson sits down with James, a member of the Oglala Lakota nation, co-host of the Voices of the Resurgence podcast, and an activist with the Creek Patrol to talk about Camp Mniluzahan, an encampment on indigenous land in the Black Hills providing food, shelter, mutual aid, and even DIY COVID-19 tests to houseless relatives in need.

• Donate to Camp Mniluzahan and support their fundraising efforts.
• Follow Camp Mniluzahan on Twitter and Instagram and visit their website.
• Follow James on Twitter.
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Music:

- Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World" by Woody Guthrie

- Interlude: "Burn Your Village to the Ground (Neon Nativez Remix)" by A Tribe Called Red

- Outro: "Warpath" by Drezus

In light of current events, we're bringing you the program a little early this week and, in case you haven't already guessed it, yes, this is yet another lefty podcast about the far-right insurgency and attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol Building earlier this week.

We at the CZN are definitely interested in the possibility of doing more of these roundtable discussions with different members of the network so if you dug this vibe, be sure to reach out.

• Follow IGD News, Indigenous Action, Sole, and Ransom Notes on Twitter.
• Check out IGD's website for the latest reports on the far-right from an anti-fascist perspective.
• Read up on the IAF-FAI's Survival Skills Series, check out CrimethInc.'s Demonstrator's Guide collection, and peruse the zine library of Sprout Distro.
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Music:

• Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World" by Woody Guthrie
• Outro: "The Only Good Fascist is a Very Dead Fascist" by Propagandhi

Happy New Year!

Episode 114 of Coffee with Comrades features our conversation with John, one of the folks behind the Working Class History project. In this edition of the program, we discuss WCH's new book, Working Class History: Everyday Acts of Resistance and Rebellion, WCH's unique approach to historical records and story-telling, how to use WCH's new book to enrich historical education, the efficacy of punching Nazis, and the secret history of tea breaks.

• Follow Working Class History on Twitter and Instagram, visit their website, and support them on Patreon.
• Pick up a copy of Working Class History: Everyday Acts of Resistance & Rebellion.
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Music:

• Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World" by Woody Guthrie

• Interlude: "Failed State" by David Rovics
• Outro: "Punch a Fascist in the Face" by the String-Bo String Duo

I recently got the chance to sit down with my friends in ABC w/Danny and Jim for a collaborative episode to interview Ruth Kinna about her book, The Government of No One. The resulting discussion was an absolute blast and I can't wait to share it with you all. But, first, a couple quick announcements.

• Pick up a copy of Ruth's book, The Government of No One
• Follow ABC w/Danny & Jim on Twitter
• Our conversation with Danny in 75 of Coffee with Comrades
• Our conversation with Ruth in 99 of Coffee with Comrades
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Music:

• Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World" by Woody Guthrie
• Interlude: "Brick Wall" by A Day to Remember
• Outro: "Desperate Pleasures" by Every Time I Die

This week, we're sharing a recent collaboration we did with our friends over at Dumb & Awful, discussing Florida in all its weirdness and excess.

• Follow Dumb & Awful on Twitter, pick up their merch, and support them on Patreon. Follow Rob and Brett on Twitter, too!
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

This week, my pal Kevin from Turnip Greens Radio and Open Source Farms joins me to talk about mutual aid and why it is good and we should do more of it. We also talk about the forthcoming Biden presidency, Obama being in the news again, and much more.

• Support Turnip Greens Radio on Patreon, follow them on Twitter, and buy some tea from Open Source Farms!
• Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
• Coffee with Comrades is a proud part of the Rev Left Radio Federation.
• Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Music:

- Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World" by Woody Guthrie

- Outro: "Black Lungs" by Architects