Current Affairs

The team shares their thoughts on "the college experience", the recent failed NBA strike, and how we feel about Covid six months in.

The panel this week was associate editor Vanessa A. Bee, finance editor Sparky Abraham, lieutenant editor Brianna Rennix, and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson. Your host this week was Nick Slater.

Nick's article on the UCSC strike: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/02/why-should-you-care-about-the-ucsc-strike

Current Affairs Patreon: www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

The team pays tribute to anarchist anthropologist David Graeber, who passed away on September 2nd.

"What's the Point If We Can't Have Fun?": https://thebaffler.com/salvos/whats-the-point-if-we-cant-have-fun

Fetishism as social creativity: https://www.sduk.us/money/graeber_fetishism_as_social_creativity_or.pdf

In this super-special episode, Nathan and Oren speak to Lee Weiner, defendant in one of the most notorious trials of the 1960s—the trial of the Chicago Seven. Lee speaks about his childhood as a red diaper baby, becoming involved with radical anti-war politics, and being put on mass-televised trial for conspiracy and inciting to riot outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention. This episode was originally aired on our Patreon bonus feed, but we're making it available to everyone now!

Lee's memoir Conspiracy to Riot: The Life and Times of One of the Chicago 7 https://beltpublishing.com/products/conspiracy-to-riot

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Sparky and Pete discuss what it means to love a place, to be from a place, and to center our organizing around smaller places.

This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

Full episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41065491

Nathan and Sparky speak to Ryan Cooper (@ryanlcooper) of The Week and the Left Anchor podcast about 'truck bloat'—the phenomenon of increasingly big, dangerous trucks and SUVs, the environmental damage they cause, and their role in the violent fantasies that bubble under the surface of the culture wars.

This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

The panel discusses "The Tyranny of Structurelessness" by Jo Freeman, taking over politicians' houses, and how political movements become appealing.

The print magazine is real, and it's good. Subscribe at https://www.currentaffairs.org/subscribe or, if you're already a Patreon subscriber, you can upgrade to the $10 tier for access to the print magazine, the digital magazine AND the podcast bonus episodes.

"The Tyranny of Structurelessness" can be read here: https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Music:

Acid Trumpet by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3340-acid-trumpet

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Wind Of The Rainforest by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5729-wind-of-the-rainforest-preview

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this super-special episode, Nathan and Oren speak to Lee Weiner, defendant in one of the most notorious trials of the 1960s—the trial of the Chicago Seven . Lee speaks about his childhood as a red diaper baby, becoming involved with radical anti-war politics, and being put on mass-televised trial for conspiracy and inciting to riot outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

This is a preview of an episode now available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

"When it comes to jokes, The Simpsons uses every part of the animal." Current Affairs newsletter editor Nick Slater, amusements editor Lyta Gold and editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson discuss the most iconic sitcom of all time, why it's lodged so powerfully in our minds, and how it portrays bosses, government, schools and everything else.

This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!

The team answers your questions! Topics include crowdfunding, teachers' strikes, Trump removal, cats versus dogs, positivity versus negativity, and the FBI. No-one asked a question about stamps, but the team talks about stamps anyway.

The panel this week was finance editor Sparky "Spiky" Abraham, poet-at-large Cate Root, associate editor Vanessa A. Bee, and business manager Allegra Silcox. Your host this week was Nathan J. Robinson.

New Orleans story where the guy says "neighborhoods are businessses":

https://thelensnola.org/2020/07/28/a-major-paradigm-shift-new-orleans-hires-former-short-term-rental-executive-to-lead-land-use-regulation-with-new-business-minded-approach/

Prologue to Jane McAlevey's book with "Florida 2000" story: https://janemcalevey.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Florida-Recount.pdf

Lev Menand on the Federal Reserve: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36068735

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA.

Brianna Rennix, Lyta Gold and Allegra Silcox discuss the online culture of writing erotic stories about fictional characters, the portrayal of romance and sexuality in media, and what it means to remake a story according to our own desires.

This is a preview of an episode available in full to our $5 Patreon subscribers. To listen to the whole episode, as well as lots of other brilliant bonus episodes, please consider becoming one of our subscribers at www.patreon.com/CurrentAffairs!