Christina Heatherton speaks with historian David McNally about slavery, capitalism, and abolitionist struggles.

Conjuncture is a web series and podcast curated and co-produced by Jordan T. Camp and Christina Heatherton with support from the Trinity Social Justice Institute. It features interviews with activists, artists, scholars, and public intellectuals. Taking its title from Antonio Gramsci and Stuart Hall’s conceptualizations, it highlights struggles over the meaning and memory of particular historical moments and geographical contexts.

David McNally is Cullen Distinguished Professor of History and Business at the University of Houston where he also directs the Project on Race and Capitalism. He is the author of seven books including, most recently, Slavery and Capitalism: A New Marxist History (UC Press: 2025).

Christina Heatherton is Associate Professor of American Studies and the inaugural Everett and Joanne Elting Associate Professor for Human Rights and Global Citizenship at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.