Give Them An Argument

James Lindsay is very very worried about communists. He sees "communists," "wokeists," "woke Marxists" and "CRT neo-Marxists" under every bed and stashed in every cupboard and he wants the government to pass laws to stamp out the threat although he also sort of thinks they control the government. (Confusing!) So Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew brought on an actual communist (Sean KB of Antifada) to tell us what's wrong with the dude. We're also joined by (ahem) "world-level James Lindsay expert" (we'll explain that one in the episode) Sam Hoadley-Brill. In the philosophy segment, Ben and his wife Professor Jennifer Burgis do a deep dive on how confused Ayn Rand was about utilitarianism. Nando Vila joins us to hang out in the postgame.

Order Ben's new book on Hitchens:

https://redemmas.org/titles/36536-christopher-hitchens--what-he-got-right--how-he-went-wrong--and-why-he-still-matters

Take the Speakeasy class on G.A. Cohen vs. Jason Brennan starting next Sunday:

https://www.speakeasy.com/e/g-cohen

Take the Renegade University class on Marx in January:

https://renegadeuniversity.com/product/marx/

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want! 
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

Slavoj Zizek comes back on the show to explain what he means by "communism" and how it relates to other ideas about socialism and capitalism. Later, in the philosophy segment, Ben and (since Professor Jennifer Burgis is still sick) Matt McManus discuss the question apparently being asked in the Washington Post about whether Immanuel Kant was a Critical Race Theorist. Also, Ben and the crew talk Christopher Hitchens, Henry Kissinger and Theranos, and there's preview for the patron Saturday bonus ep w/Gregory Sadler (on moral luck, Stoicism, and teaching philosophy in prison). Speaking of patrons (ahem: patreon.com/benburgis), in the postgame Djene Bajalan joined to talk about Prager U's love of the British Empire and what Milo has been up to since the mainstream Right dropped him.

Buy Slavoj's new book:

https://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Disorder-Slavoj-%C5%BDi%C5%BEek/dp/1682192814/ref=sr_1_2

Buy the Hitchens book:

https://redemmas.org/titles/36536-christopher-hitchens--what-he-got-right--how-he-went-wrong--and-why-he-still-matters

Take Ben's Speakeasy class in December:

https://www.speakeasy.com/e/g-cohen

Follow Matt McManus on Twitter: @mattpolprof
Follow Gregory Sadler on Twitter: @philosopher70
Follow Djene Bjalan on Twitter: @djenebajalan

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want! 
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew watch a U.S. Senator say (really) that people who believe that man-made global warming is a serious problem are "Trotsky-like wokesters" and Ben Shapiro says climate change isn't a big deal since only a few thousand people will die. Havey J. Kaye discusses his recent Twitter run-in w/Shapiro. (Actual) friend of the show Ana Kasparian comes on for a deep dive on her Shapiro debate last month at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Jenn is out sick this week but Georgia State University philosophy professor Ryan Lake subs for her to do a philosophy segment on Ben Shapiro's claims about "natural law morality" in his book "The Right Side of History." That's right, guys. It's an all-Shapiro episode. But you should listen anyway. It's fun.


Ben's Speakeasy class on Cohen vs. Brennan in December:

https://www.speakeasy.com/event/g-cohen-1

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want! 
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

Marxist analytic philosopher G.A. Cohen wrote a book called, "Why Not Socialism?" Libertarian philosopher Jason Brennan wrote a response called, "Why Not Capitalism?" Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew debunk some claims that Brennan makes in a lecture  on all of this. Also: Ben's going to be teaching a three-week class on both books (and his larger critique of Brennan and defense of Cohen) in December.

Later in the show, returning GTAA champ Thaddeus Russell comes on the show to talk a little Karl Marx. Thad is a critic of Marx. Ben, obviously, is a big fan. Plot twist: After Ben's Cohen/Brennan class in December, Ben and Thad are going to be teaching a buddy-cop-movie of a Marx class in January. Should be fun!

Finally (before the postgame for patrons) Ben and his wife Professor Jennifer Burgis do a philosophy segment on Ben's exchange w/Charlie Kirk about "objective truth." (We promise we'll start doing some not-about-Charlie-Kirk philosophy segments soon!

Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @profjennburgis

Follow Thaddeus Russell on Twitter: @ThaddeusRussell

Sign up for the G.A. Cohen/Jason Brennan class in December:

https://www.speakeasy.com/e/g-cohen

Sign up for the Marx class co-taught by Ben and Thaddeus:

https://renegadeuniversity.com/burgis 

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want! 
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

Ben Burgis debates Charlie Kirk on "democratic socialism vs. Trumpian populism." Yes, that's right, we can finally air this. Ben and the crew do about half an hour of introductory material, discussing Kirk's role on the contemporary Right and the "platforming debate" as well as showing a classic TMBS clip with Michael Brooks, Matt Lech, and David Griscom weighing in on Charlie's odd way of referencing philosophers. The full first hour of the debate (the part that was filmed as an episode of "Debate Night with Charlie Kirk") is then played without interruption. When it's over, Ben, Professor Jennifer Burgis, and the crew weigh in on what they just heard and Ben and Jennifer pop some champagne and have a glass on air. The bonus hour of the debate is then played without interruption. When it's over, Ben and Jake have a quick celebratory shot of whiskey, everyone does some postgame commentary, and Ben announces a new class he's teaching on Sundays in December.

Guys, this was really, really good.

The Speakeasy class Ben is teaching on G.A. Cohen's "Why Not Socialism?" vs. Jason Brennan's "Why Not Capitalism":

https://www.speakeasy.com/event/g-coh...

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want!
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

Ben Burgis talks to Jacobin's Meagan Day about Erik Olin Wright's analysis in his book Class Counts of all the different (and sometimes contradictory) class positions different people can have under capitalism, and how that analysis helps us understand the current limits of oppositional groups like DSA, the class coalitions defining the PMC-dominated Democratic Party and the Trumpified Republican Party, and how all of this can help us to understand (to tweak the title of another of Wright's books) how to be an anti-capitalist in the 2020s.

Also: Ben has a new book coming out! (You can preorder it here from worker-owned Red Emmas: https://redemmas.org/titles/36536-christopher-hitchens--what-he-got-right--how-he-went-wrong--and-why-he-still-matters ) Lin Wood has accused Marjorie Taylor Greene of being a communist. Ben and his wife Professor Jennifer Burgis break down Charlie Kirk's confusion about Rawls and the Veil of Ignorance. Lot going on in this episode even before we get to the postgame for patrons!

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want!
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, and much more.

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

Ben Burgis talks to "Left Reckoning" hosts Matt Lech & David Griscom about cryptocurrency. Ben and his wife Professor Jennifer Burgis unpack Charlie Kirk's confusion about social contract theory and Rawls. Ben and Producer Jake talk about Charlie's "sexual anarchy" rant and Gene Epstein's argument against minimum wage increases.

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want!
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

Ben Burgis is back from Arizona where he debated Charlie Kirk. Sadly the video won't be available for a few weeks but we'll be sharing some thoughts about it now. Ben and Producer Jake talk about that, as well as Sam Harris's conflict with Bret Weinstein. GTAA graphic designer J. Andrew World joins to talk about IATSE's strike vote. (Sign the petition! https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-amptp-to-make-a-deal-with-behind-the-scenes-workers) Also, Lillian Cicerchia from the Free University of Berlin is back on to talk about the materialist theory of history. Ben is teaching an "Analytic Marxism and the Materialist Theory of History" class on for Michael Albert's online "School for Social and Cultural Change" starting next Sunday (October 10th) so this seemed like a good time to bring one of our favorite past guests on to talk about that.

Follow Lillian on Twitter: @LILCICERCH

Follow What's Left of Philosophy (co-hosted by Lillian and three other excellent people) on Twitter: @leftofphil

Register for Ben's class "Analytic Marxism and the Materialist Theory of History" at the School for Social and Cultural Change (meets on Sundays from 1-3 EST starting on the 10th): https://sscc.teachable.com/p/analytic...

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want!
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

SHOW LESS

Ben and the crew watch Charlie Kirk and Jen Psaki say revolting things about Haitian migrants and talk about the Democrats rejecting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and claiming the Senate parliamentarian made them do it.  Cataylst editor Vivek Chibber (honestly one of the best and most valuable Marxist thinkers alive today) makes his debut appearance on GTAA to talk about (a) why conservatives are morally bankrupt, (b) the philosophical basis of socialist politics, (d) what class-based left politics looks like, and (c) what parts of the Marxist theory of history still make sense. Professor Jennifer Burgis comes on for the second installment in the weekly philosophy segment at the end of the show.

Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want! Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com

Ben Burgis has Joshua Blanchard (https://twitter.com/philoshua) on the show, who is currently a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Oakland University in Michigan. Ben and Josh discuss a paper that Josh recently wrote that addresses epistemic peer disagreement, and more specifically, being in bad company when it comes to those who agree with you about something.
THIS IS A SEGMENT OF A PATREON ONLY EPISODE.
Independent creators rely on your support to create the content you want!
Support Give Them An Argument on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benburgis. Patrons get a bonus episode every Thursday, access to the Discord server, a “Sopranos” Recap Bonus Episode every month with Mike Recine, Nando Vila, and Wosny Lambre, a monthly Discord Movie Night, and "Discord Office Hours" (regularly scheduled group voice chats).

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenBurgis
Like, subscribe, and get notifications on Ben’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/BenBurgisGTAA
Visit benburgis.com