Diet Soap - a podcast

The Manifesto Handbook describes the hidden life of an undervalued genre: the conduit for declarations of principle, advertisements for new “isms,” and provocations in pamphlet form. Often physically slight and small in scale, the manifesto is always grand in style and ambition. A bold, charismatic genre, it has founded some of the most important and revolutionary movements in modern history, from the declaration of wars and the birth of nations to the launch of countless social, political and artistic movements worldwide.

Julian Hanna provides a brief genealogy of the genre, analyses its complex speaking position, traces the material process of manifesto making from production to dissemination, unpacks its extremist underbelly, and follows the twenty-first century resurgence of the manifesto as a re-politicised and reinvigorated digital form.

In this episode Derick Varn and Douglas Lain discuss the idea of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat in the works of Marx, Lenin and beyond. Why did Marx call it a dictatorship? Why should the proletariat? Why would this dictatorship "wither away"? How did really existing socialist movements understand the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat and does the idea have any meaning for the left today?

Ashley Frawley hosts the podcast and discusses Marxism and Fascism with Taimur Rahman.

Taimur Rahman is a Pakistani academic, musician and socialist political activist from Pakistan. He teaches political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is the band leader and spokesperson for the political music band named Laal. Rahman uses Laal to advance causes which he holds dear, such as socialism, the plight of labour and the suffering Pakistanis/Kashmiris have endured at the hands of religious fundamentalism and authoritarian rule in India.

Since the failure of the Bernie Sanders campaign and the onset of the covid-19 lockdown Matt Christman, of Chapo Traphouse fame, has developed a solo career as an internet live streamer. His daily rants include day drinking, divine logorrhea, and some keen insights as well. In this Zero Books live stream Matt Chapman will be dropping by the channel to discuss what he's learned and is learning.

Derick Varn and Douglas Lain tackle the question of political parties. Just what are political parties, why do they exist and would they exist under socialism? Is there a structural difference between a revolutionary party and bourgeois party? What is a party for and will the party ever stop?

Ankur Dynanmote returns to the podcast to discuss Adam Curtis' "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace." Ankur Dnyanmote does research in Bioinformatics, Cell Biology and Computational Systems Biology and is a semi-regular interloctur on the Zero Squared podcast.

If you enjoy Zero Squared support us on Patreon. Patrons get access to more podcasts, usually two a week, and help to make sure that we can continue making digital content from a left perspective.

Ankur Dynanmote returns to the podcast to discuss Adam Curtis' "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace." Ankur Dnyanmote does research in Bioinformatics, Cell Biology and Computational Systems Biology and is a semi-regular interloctur on the Zero Squared podcast.

If you enjoy Zero Squared support us on Patreon. Patrons get access to more podcasts, usually two a week, and help to make sure that we can continue making digital content from a left perspective.

A.M. Gittlitz is a journalist and social critic based in Brooklyn, New York. He has contributed to The New Inquiry, The New York Times, The Outline, Baffler, Real Life, Salon, and Vice. He is also the author of a book on Posadism entitled: "I Want to Believe." Drawing on considerable archival research, and numerous interviews with ex- and current Posadists, I Want to Believe tells the fascinating story of this most unusual socialist movement and considers why it continues to capture the imaginations of leftists today.

Leo Cookman is a writer and musician based in Kent. He is currently a researcher and writer of scripts for the YouTube channel Wisecrack, which boasts over two million subscribers. He has written for the Hong Kong Review of Books, Philosophy Now magazine and has written features on Philosophy and Theory for several other publications. He is also the author of Time's Lie which is out today from Zero Books. Time's Lie helps decode how news and media have changed drastically since 2016 and examines the polarisation of the Left, the Right and the fight to control the Narrative.

C Derick Varn and Douglas Lain continue their exploration of the history of socialism by discussing Karl Kautsky. From the Encyclopedia Britannica:

Marxist theorist and a leader of the German Social Democratic Party. After the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895, Kautsky inherited the role of the intellectual and political conscience of German Marxism.

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