I'm joined by Alfie Kohn to discuss No Contest: The Case Against Competition, his 1986 book about how competition hurts rather than helps people do their best. We cover the problem with grades, the reason why excellence and competition are opposed, and whats wrong with rewards and what makes awards even worse.

For more from Alfie, check out his website:

https://www.alfiekohn.org/

The Debt series returns, hopefully to finish by early 2025.

This my reading of Chapter 8 (and a little of Chapter 7), soon to be followed by a discussion with Luke Kemp.

This episode publishes on the hundredth anniversary of Colin Ward! Colin was one of the popularizers of many of the ideas featured in this podcast, and I've stayed away from covering him for fear of copying him. But my guest today, Roman Krznaric, convinced me to do an episode on Colin's thought, and we had a thrilling conversation about anarchy, city planning, protest, and Kim Stanley Robinson.

I highly recommend Colin's book Anarchy in Action from PM Press: https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=814

Here's Roman's website for more from him: https://www.romankrznaric.com/

Here's a crossover episode from my other podcast, Plumbing Game Studies.

Things have been crazy lately, and I have emails from back in April I haven't responded to. My apologies if you've emailed me and not heard back. I hope to get caught up soon, or at least in 2024!

Who create the modern theory of political sovereignty?

Thomas Hobbes.

What was Hobbes afraid of?

Anarchy.

What made Hobbes so afraid of anarchy?

The English Revolution.

Today's guest is Alison McQueen, who can be found at https://www.alisonmcqueen.info/

Clif Mark, host of the Good in Theory podcast, joins me to discuss honor and degradation in Graeber's Debt. Also I make Clif talk about representation in Star Wars, for some reason.

One of the most famous author's in the English language, John Milton, was a 17th century English radical who not only supported but also worked for the English revolutionary government. I'm joined by Nigel Smith, a returning guest, and Nick McDowell, author of Poet of Revolution: The Making of John Milton, to discuss Milton's radicalism and its relationship to the English Revolution.

A little belatedly, here's my episode about Graeber's Debt, Chapter 7. A discussion on honor and dignity will be coming later this month with Clif Mark of the Good in Theory podcast!

Kate Peters, author of Print Culture and the Early Quakers, joins me to discuss the Quakers, the last of the radical groups we're covering the English Revolution series. You can hear about how the Quakers can be seen as the end of political radicalism in the revolution, or alternately as a different form of radical organizing, as evidenced by William Penn's political declarations in the 1701 charter for Pennsylvania:

https://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/1701-pennsylvania-charter-of-liberties

In this debt discussion, Fuad and I discuss Chapter 6 of Debt, "Games with Sex and Death," and especially the way that Graeber is writing in the grand theory tradition of anthropology. Fuad also taught with David at the London School of Economics, and is able to explain how Graeber approached these same concepts in anthropology as a teacher and colleague.

You can find Fuad's anthropological work on activism here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/dasa/musallam-fuad