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Darts and Letters
Darts and Letters episodes
- EP13: Boss BattlesThe video game industry is a behemoth. It shapes our culture, it shapes our discourse, and it’s on its way to becoming something like a $200 billion industry. But what is it like for the people who make the games we enjoy? Unfortunately, many developers deal with long hours, precarious contracts, hostility, and harassment. There’s … Read More Read More52 min
- EP12: Left Jab (w/ Garth Mullins of CRACKDOWN)
As the pandemic drifts into its one-year anniversary, all eyes are on the end of the thing. Whenever that may be. Discovering, producing, and shipping vaccines is the big plank in the world’s plan to move beyond the coronavirus, but there’s more to it than that. We live in an era of distrust — of corporations, of governments, of experts, of science itself. We also live in an era of inequality. So, getting the vaccines out the door is one thing. Getting people to take them, including in communities that have traditionally been marginalized, is another.
But often these stories are told in a particular kind of way: distrustful people are dummies, and they simply have to be educated. If that doesn’t work, disciplined. We think that’s not going to work. Plus, it’s mostly punching down. Instead, Darts and Letters punches up. This episode looks at government miscommunication, political hypocrisy, journalistic obsequiousness, and industry profiteering. When you understand all that, distrust makes a lot more sense. But we still need that vaccine. So what to do about it?
- First, (@14:24) Garth Mullins is the host of Crackdown, a podcast about the drug war covered by drug users (co-owned and produced by Cited Media, the parent company of Darts and Letters). He warns that there’s no real, clear vaccine plan that can build trust in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side and with other marginalized communities. But Crackdown has some ideas. .
- Then, (@38:32) Srinivas Murthy is a clinician with British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital in Vancouver and Health Research Foundation of Innovative Medicines Canada Chair in Pandemic Preparedness Research. He takes us into the world of vaccine production and procurement, the public funding and private profit, and the inequities that this produces time and time again.
- Finally, (@55:22) Linsey McGoey is Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex and a critic of Big Philanthropy. She argues that free gifts come at a cost — often a high cost. While the Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation are reaping accolades for funding vaccine research, there’s far more to the matter than what you read in the headlines.
——————-FURTHER READING & LISTENING——————-
- For more on Fauci’s bungling, read Sam Adler Bell’s “Doctor Do-Little: The Case Against Anthony Fauci” in The Drift.
- To listen to journalists try to explain why they can’t ask tough questions, listen to“Extraordinary Times. Extraordinary Measures,” from March 2020.
- If you want to understand why COVID-19 is a policy failure, not an individual failure, then Nora Loretto of the podcast Sandy and Nora is where you have to go. She even meticulously compiled a Google Sheet on deaths in residential care homes.
- Plus, read Linsey’s No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy, from Verso Books
- Finally, Crackdown is a must-listen. We talk about EP 22, We’re Not Afraid of Needles Around Here.
——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW——————-
We need your support. If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters. Patreon subscribers — such as Janice, Hart, and Sean — usually get the episode a day early, and sometimes will also receive bonus content.
Don’t have the money to chip in this week? Not to fear, you can help in other ways. For one: subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. It helps other people find our work.
—————————-CONTACT US————————-
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected] or tweet Gordon directly.
—————————-CREDITS—————————-
Darts and Letters’ is hosted and edited by Gordon Katic. Our lead producer is Jay Cockburn, and our chase producer is Marc Apollonio. We had research and support from Addye Susnick, Polly Leger, and David Moscrop. We also had consulting from Professors Joel Lexchin and Sergio Sismundo. Our theme song was created by Mike Barber. Our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop.
This episode received support by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research, which provided us a research grant to look at the concept of “public intellectualism.” Professor Allen Sens at the University of British Columbia is the lead academic advisor. It was also part of a wider project, with Cited Podcast, looking at the politics of pharmaceutical research and policy. Professors Joel Lexchin and Sergio Sismundo are the academic advisors on that project.
Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is also produced in Vancouver, BC, which is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
1 hr 9 min - EP12: Left Jab (w/ Garth Mullins of CRACKDOWN)As the pandemic drifts into its one-year anniversary, all eyes are on the end of the thing. Whenever that may be. Discovering, producing, and shipping vaccines is the big plank in the world’s plan to move beyond the coronavirus, but there’s more to it than that. We live in an era of distrust — … Read More Read More1 hr 9 min
- EP11: Gaming the Stock Market (w/ Matt Christman of Chapo Trap House)
For a moment, all the eyes of the world were on GameStop. It’s unexpected, meteoric rise. It’s inevitable fall. The saga became a rorschach test for our politics. Was it a revolutionary moment, the many pushing back against the few? Was it an old school pump and dump, just folks out to make some money? And who was against whom, exactly?
Well, it was…a spectacle. That’s for sure. We dive into the wild world of stocks, the bubbles of present and the past, and the spectacularized social media environment that is distorting our very understanding of true politics. Abandon all hope, ye who enter.
- First, (@8:28) Karim Hummos is a high school senior in Chicago, Illinois. While he waits for college application decisions, he spends his time on r/WallStreetBets—and making a pretty penny too. He takes us into the world of the stock (or stonk) trading subreddit, including “loss porn” and more.
- Then, (@27:42) the “Cushbomb” himself. Matt Christman, is the co-host of the podcast Chapo Trap House, and he offers up a real poster’s lament. He argues that the GameStop phenomenon is a perfect example of just how unreal our politics has become. We post and we post, but will it ever change anything?
- Finally, (@41:34) James K. Galbraith is a titan of left-wing economics and Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He co-signs the argument that the stock market is all about spectacle– it always has been But our political leaders have decided to embrace the show. They’ve made the stock market so integral, but it didn’t have to be this way.
——————-FURTHER READING & LISTENING——————-
- Christman, Matt. “Voteball – Delenda Est.” CushVlog. Feb. 2, 2021.
- Galbraith, James K. Welcome to the Poisoned Chalice: The Destruction of Greece and the Future of Europe. Yale University Press: 2016.
- Galbraith, James K. Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press, 2016.
- Lydon, Christopher. “Market Mania.” Radio Open Source. Feb. 4, 2021.
- Taibbi, Matt. “Suck It, Wall Street.” TK News by Matt Taibbi Jan. 28, 2021.
——————-CORRECTIONS——————-
In an earlier version of this episode, Gordon says that Wall Street ‘put the squeeze on Robinhood, and Robinhood obliged.’ He was referring to widespread speculation about whether particular hedge funds influenced the company’s decisions. Robinhood was asked to testify before Congress about such questions. But they denied the accusations. Upon reflection, we really don’t have evidence to support our strong claim–so we retracted it, and re-uploaded a version of the podcast without that line.
Still, there are investigations about their revenue model, and a potential conflict of interest here between their funders and the retail investors they are supposedly serving. This deserves greater scrutiny.
——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW——————-
We need your support. If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters. Patreon subscribers usually get the episode a day early, and sometimes will also receive bonus content.
Don’t have the money to chip in this week? Not to fear, you can help in other ways. For one: subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. It helps other people find our work
—————————-CONTACT US————————-
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected] or tweet Gordon directly.
—————————-CREDITS—————————-
Darts and Letters’ lead producer is Jay Cockburn, and our chase producer is Marc Apollonio. With research and support from Addye Susnick and David Moscrop.
Our theme song was created by Mike Barber, and our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop.
This episode received support by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research, which provided us a research grant to look at the concept of “public intellectualism.” Professor Allen Sens at the University of British Columbia is the lead academic advisor.
Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is also produced in Vancouver, BC, which is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
1 hr - EP11: Gaming the Stock Market (w/ Matt Christman of Chapo Trap House)For a moment, all the eyes of the world were on GameStop. It’s unexpected, meteoric rise. It’s inevitable fall. The saga became a rorschach test for our politics. Was it a revolutionary moment, the many pushing back against the few? Was it an old school pump and dump, just folks out to make some money? … Read More Read More1 hr
- EP10: Whose Mine Is It Anyway?
Canada likes to trade on the “middle power” trope. Tucked away among the many, snuggled up with peer states just outside the focus given to global hegemons, the country goes about its business, friendly and mild. Nothing to see here.
But behind the facade is a past and present of neocolonial plundering. Canada is a mining powerhouse, off on extractive misadventures in the Global South. It’s also a notable contributor to the global arms trade, including a weapons deal that helps fuel the devastating Saudi-led war in Yemen.
We look at Canada’s role in ripping up the world and selling it military weapons. We also look back a 20th century movement that might have put a stop to all this.
- First, (@9:01), Rachel Small is an anti-war activist and organizer with the Canadian Chapter of World BEYOND War. On January 25th, she joined others in a protest aimed at disrupting the shipment of light armoured vehicles (LAVs) — also known as, well, tanks — destined for the Middle East. She breaks down Canada’s arm sales to Saudi Arabia and discusses direct action efforts against the country’s arms traders.
- Then, (@21:05) Todd Gordon is assistant professor of Law and Society at Laurier University and co-author of Blood of Extraction: Canadian Imperialism in Latin America. He busts the myth of Canada as a weak, subordinate power held down by bigger foreign states and runs down the country’s history of exploitative extractive projects in the Global South, especially in Latin America.
- Finally (@39:17) Vincent Bevins is a journalist and author of the extraordinary book The Jakarta Method, detailing the US Cold War policy of backing brutally repressive military regimes. He reminds us that the imperialism and colonialism of this century and the last were not inevitable. The Third World Movement was premised on the idea that non-Western and non-Soviet states would chart their own path and take their place alongside the “first” and “second” world countries in a post-colonial world. Washington, however, had other ideas.
——————-FURTHER READING & LISTENING——————-
- Bevins, Vincent. The Jakarta Method: Washington’s Anticommunist Crusade & the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World. Public Affairs, 2020.
- Gilmore, Scott. “Canada’s Racism Problem? It’s Even Worse Than America’s.” Maclean’s Magazine. Jan. 22, 2015.
- Global Affairs Canada. Exports of Military Goods: 2019. Government of Canada, 2020.
- Mining Watch. “Blog.”
- O, Keefe, Derrick. “Hamilton Activists Block Trucks Linked to Saudi Arms Shipments.” Ricochet, Jan. 25, 2021.
- Webber, Jeffrey R. and Todd Gordon. Blood of Extraction: Canadian Imperialism in Latin America. Fernwood Publishing, 2016.
——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW——————-
We need your support. If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters. Patreon subscribers usually get the episode a day early, and sometimes will also receive bonus content.
Don’t have the money to chip in this week? Not to fear, you can help in other ways. For one: subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. It helps other people find our work
—————————-CONTACT US————————-
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected] or tweet Gordon directly.
—————————-CREDITS—————————-
Darts and Letters’ lead producer is Jay Cockburn, and our chase producer is Marc Apollonio. With research and support from Addye Susnick, Polly Leger, and David Moscrop.
Our theme song and outro was created by Mike Barber, and our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop.
This episode received support by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research, which provided us a research grant to look at the concept of “public intellectualism.” Professor Allen Sens at the University of British Columbia is the lead academic advisor.
Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is also produced in Vancouver, BC, which is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
59 min - EP10: Whose Mine Is It Anyway?Canada likes to trade on the “middle power” trope. Tucked away among the many, snuggled up with peer states just outside the focus given to global hegemons, the country goes about its business, friendly and mild. Nothing to see here. But behind the facade is a past and present of neocolonial plundering. Canada is a … Read More Read More59 min
- EP9: The Founding Grift
Lately, things have been a little too heavy on this show. Insurrections, fascism, proto-fascism, weird apocalyptic visions. That stuff is important, but let’s get serious. You don’t think the society we live is actually dominated by people who hold anything resembling strong, well-articulated ideological programs, do you? Our society is dominated by grifters. Cheats, cons, frauds: people who don’t really believe what they tell you. They’re just what they need to do to get ahead or to sell you something. Isn’t that that really what capitalism is about? The grift!
- First (@4:30), Lyta Gold is a writer with Current Affairs. Each year, the magazine recognizes the most audacious grifts. This year, Lyta presented the 2020 “Griftie Awards.” She takes us into the world of the grift, the allure and the appeal, and runs down a big year for grifers: from Covid-deniers, to never-Trumpers, and on to identity thieves.
- Then, (@26:56), Gordon’s friend, let’s call him “Bill Faulkner,” writes papers for hire. Undergraduate term papers, master’s papers, even PhD dissertations. He talks about what his scheme tells us about higher education, and what we ought to do about it. As we might say, borrowing from Marx: ‘Thus far the grifter has only cheated the world in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.”
- Finally, (@58:36) Catherine Liu is a professor of film and media studies at UC Irvine and the author of the new polemic Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Managerial Class. She takes PMCs for scolding the working class, and for upholding their big grift: meritocracy.
——————-FURTHER READING & LISTENING——————-
- Abebe, Nitsuh. “Why Are We Suddenly Surrounded by Grift?” The New York Times Magazine. Dec. 4, 2018.
- Dante, Ed. “The Shadow Scholar.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. Nov. 12, 2010.
- Gold, Lyta. “Presenting the 2020 ‘Griftie Awards’.” Current Affairs. Dec. 31, 2020.
- Liu, Catherine. Virtue Hoarders. University of Minnesota Press, 2021.
- Mishan, Logaya. “The Distinctly American Ethos of the Grifter.” The New York Times Style Magazine. Sept. 12, 2019.
—————————-CONTACT US————————-
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. If you’d like to write us, email [email protected] or tweet Gordon directly.
—————————-CREDITS—————————-
Darts and Letters’ lead producer is Jay Cockburn, and our chase producer is Marc Apollonio. With research and support from David Moscrop.
Our theme song was created by Mike Barber, and our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop.
This episode received support by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research, which provided us a research grant to look at the concept of “public intellectualism.” Professor Allen Sens at the University of British Columbia is the lead academic advisor.
Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is also produced in Vancouver, BC, which is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
This is a production of Cited Media. We make other fine shows like Cited Podcast and Crackdown. You can find both of those and others wherever you find your podcasts.
1 hr 16 min - EP9: The Founding GriftLately, things have been a little too heavy on this show. Insurrections, fascism, proto-fascism, weird apocalyptic visions. That stuff is important, but let’s get serious. You don’t think the society we live is actually dominated by people who hold anything resembling strong, well-articulated ideological programs, do you? Our society is dominated by grifters. Cheats, cons, … Read More Read More1 hr 16 min
- EP8.1: Bantering with Bannon
In this bonus episode, host Gordon Katic speaks with Ben Teitelbaum, author of a fascinating new-ish book called War for Eternity. He spent over 20 hours with Steve Bannon, as well as a wider network of far-right thinkers and strategists. Honestly, the things they say will surprise you. These proto-fascist thinkers of today are Traditionalists, with a capital T. They’re nothing like old-school conservatives; they have a lot more in common with hippies and new age gurus than people like William F. Buckley. We touched on this school of thought in the last episode, but in this bonus episode we really dig in. Why do their bizarre ideas appeal, and what can we do to combat them?
—————————SUPPORT US————————
This is a bonus episode. And for now, they’re free. Patrons get them a day early, but they’re kind of irregular. We’ll make them every week if enough of you chip in. Go to Patreon.com/dartsandletters.
And if you can’t do that, please do us a favour and help us get this show to more people. The best way you can help is to share this with a friend. You can also rate and review Darts and Letters on whatever podcast platform you use.
—————————-CONTACT US————————
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. If you’d like to write us, email [email protected] or tweet Gordon directly.
—————————-CREDITS——————————
Our lead producer is Jay Cockburn, our chase producer Marc Apollonio, and our research coordinator is David Moscrop.Our composer is Mike Barber, and our graphic designer is Dakota Koop. Our host is Gordon Katic.We receive funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Our lead academic advisor is Professor Allen Sens at the University of British Columbia. We are also supported by a wider project looking at the rise of far political ideologies – that project is run by Professors Andre Gagne, Ronald Beiner, and A. James McAdams.Darts and Letters is made in two places: Toronto, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Toronto is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat People. Vancouver is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.This is a production of Cited Media. We make other fine shows like Cited Podcast and Crackdown. You can find both of those and others wherever you find your podcasts.1 hr 17 min
About Darts and Letters
From the publisher's feed
This is about ‘arts and letters,’ but for the kind of people who might hack a dart. We cover public intellectualism and the politics of academia from a left perspective. Each week, we interview…
thinkers about key debates that are relevant to the left. We discuss politics, culture, and intellectual history.
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