May 1st is recognized as the international day of labor. Over 50 countries recognize the day as an official holiday while dozens of others mark the day with large marches and protests. Yet, the nation in which it all began, the United States, does not recognize May 1st as a day for workers, instead the day is curiously observed as "Law Day". In this episode we interviewed Jonah Walters, a writer for Jacobin Magazine who recently published a piece on May Day, to explore the origins of May Day as well as the the peculiar  history and specific struggles that made this day the day of international labor.  Further resources on the history of May Day   Industrial Workers of the World, "The Brief Origins of May Day"  Articles from our guest on the show, Jonah Walters, "Labor Day is May 1"  and "Today is Our Day"  

LEFT OUT: A Living Holiday, May Day

Left Out creates in-depth conversations with the most interesting political thinkers, heterodox economists, and organizers on the Left.

News & Politics

In this Left Out teaser, Raúl Carrillo and Tousif Ahsan explain the roles of divestment, investment, and the function of a public bank.

Our full episode with Raul and Tousif about the coalition effort to bring a public bank to NYC will air on Friday, March 29.

[TEASER] Raúl Carrillo and Tousif Ahsan on divestment, investment, and the function of a public bank

In this teaser, Raúl Carrillo explains how commercial banks work and the issue of redlining.

Check back soon for our full episode with Raúl Carrillo of New Economy Project and Tousif Ahsan of NYPIRG about the coalition effort to bring a public bank to NYC.

[TEASER] Raúl Carrillo on redlining & how banks "lend" money

In this episode of Left Out, Paul Sliker speaks with Pavlina Tcherneva at the Levy Economics Institute about the macroeconomic effects of a federal job guarantee, the common criticisms around its design and implementation, and much more. 

Pavlina Tcherneva is a leading American economist and Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) scholar. She’s currently the Director of the Economics Program at Bard College and a Research Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute. Follow her on Twitter: @ptcherneva

LEFT OUT: Pavlina Tcherneva on the macroeconomic effects of a job guarantee

In this Left Out teaser, economist Pavlina Tcherneva explains how if the US Government were to initiate a federal job guarantee, it would be pegging the US Dollar to labor and creating a condition where human labor becomes the anchor for the currency.

Our full episode with Pavlina Tcherneva on Keynes, Minsky, a federal job guarantee and much more, will release this week.

[TEASER] Pavlina Tcherneva on how a job guarantee pegs the dollar to labor

One of the main features of Minsky’s work is that he took an “institutionalist” approach and argued that abstract economic theory could not be applicable in all times and places but must be institution-specific.

In this teaser, Pavlina Tcherneva explains the importance of Minsky's incorporation of post-Keynesian theory with an “institutionalist” recognition for the different kinds of past, current, and future economic institutions.

Our full episode with Pavlina Tcherneva will release this we

LEFT OUT: A Living Holiday, May Day

Download our free app to listen on your phone