Red Menace

By Red Menace

What's Red Menace about?

Red Menace is a podcast that explains and analyzes revolutionary theory and then applies its lessons to our contemporary conditions.

Hosted by Alyson Escalante and Breht O'Shea.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Red Menace episodes:

04.11.2024
Ghosts in the Machines: Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, & Capitalism
In this episode, Alyson and Breht wrestle with the possible rise of artificial general intelligence and its implications. Together they discuss the Silicon Valley Techno-Cult and their dark religious search for immortality, their hubristic attempts to "build god" and escape...
03.19.2024
"The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte" by Karl Marx
Alyson and Breht explain and explore this famous text from Karl Marx, in the process they discuss French history, class conflict, the peasantry and lumpenproletariat, Bonapartism and Fascism, history, the role of the State under capitalism, and how all of...
02.29.2024
Man on Fire: Aaron Bushnell's Sacrifice for Palestine
Rest in Peace, Aaron. Free Palestine! "To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance. There is nothing more painful than burning oneself. To say something while experiencing this kind of...
02.20.2024
On Mysticism: Ego, Suffering, & Love
On this episode of Red Menace, Alyson and Breht had some things come up such that they couldn't record their planned episode on Marx's 18th Brumaire (coming soon!), so instead they have a deep, organic and wide-ranging conversation on mysticism;...
12.14.2023
Apartheid in South Africa: An Investigation
In this Rev Left Family Annual Collab (Rev Left+Red Menace+Guerrilla History), Alyson, Henry, Adnan, and Breht sit down for a deep dive on South African Apartheid. Together they discuss its euro-colonialist origins, explain the significance of the Boer Wars, define...
11.01.2023
Decolonizing Palestine: Toward National Liberation in the Levant
Alyson and Breht discuss the ongoing national liberation struggle in Palestine (recorded Oct. 30th 2023). Together, they discuss the incredible shift in public opinion on Israel and Palestine, the internal and external contradictions culminating in unison for Israel, the discussion...
10.23.2023
What Is To Be Done? with Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante (Upstream Interview)
What Is To Be Done? This is the question so profoundly posed by the Russian Revolutionary and Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, in his landmark text of the same name. Although it was written well over a century ago, this text, the...
10.11.2023
Toward Liberation: Palestine on Fire
Breht discusses the current situation in Palestine, helps listeners navigate and dismantle common Zionist talking points, and (hopefully) brings some much needed moral clarity and intellectual honesty to a topic that, especially in the West, often lacks both...
10.09.2023
[RE-UPLOAD] Decolonization is Not a Metaphor - Tuck & Yang
Originally Aired on Oct 31, 2021 On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht teach, discuss, and apply the lessons of 'Decolonization is Not a Metaphor' by Tuck and Yang Support Red Menace and get access to bonus monthly...
08.08.2023
"The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 3)
Alyson and Breht finish their 3-part series on Friedrich Engels' text "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State", and reflect on the text as a whole. Together, they wrestle with questions, like: What is family abolition? How...
07.02.2023
American Rot: SCOTUS' War on the American People
Alyson and Breht discuss the recent rulings by the Supreme Court, a wildly anti-democratic, thoroughly corrupt, and staunchly reactionary institution that the American right has spent years and billions of dollars capturing in order to impose its minoritarian rule on...
06.20.2023
INTRODUCING: Shoeless in South Dakota
Introducting a brand new podcast, Shoeless in South Dakota! Part comedy, part exploration of the human condition. Easy Listening for Dark Nights (of the soul). Find the show HERE, or subscribe to Shoeless on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
05.25.2023
"The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 2)
In this second installment of our three-part series on Friedrich Engels' famous work "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State", Alyson and Breht discuss chapters 4, 5, and 6 titled "The Greek Gens", "The Rise of...
03.23.2023
"The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 1)
In this episode of Red Menace, Alyson and Breht summarize and discuss the first three chapters of Friedrich Engel's important work of historical materialism, "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State". Together they discuss the core...
02.01.2023
Big Announcement: Tripling Our Patreon Output + More
Join the Rev Left Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio Join the Red Menace Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace Changes Starting Mid-Feb: - Tripling our monthly patreon output - Covering the headlines more consistently - Being more selective about the topics we cover on the...
12.15.2022
"Desert" by Anonymous (Anarchism)
Alyson and Breht summarize, discuss, and critique "Desert", an anarchist text by an anonymous author. Summary: start 7:20 Discussion & Critique: start 45:06
11.07.2022
"The Conquest of Bread" by Peter Kropotkin
Alyson and Breht summarize and reflect on the famous "Bread Book" by Peter Kropotkin: The Conquest of Bread. After summarizing the text and its main arguments, Alyson and Breht discuss the similarities and differences between Marxism and Anarchism, and both...
10.03.2022
Lyndon LaRouche: A Warning & Lesson for the Communist Left
Donald Parkinson from Cosmonaut Magazine joins Breht to talk about the life, political theory, and legacy of Lyndon LaRouche. In our own time we see LaRouche-type deviations manifesting on the so-called socialist left, and by studying LaRouche and his...
09.30.2022
MAGA Communism: Opportunism, Social Chauvinism, and Terminally Online Tailism
Alyson and Breht reflect on the recent online stir caused by "MAGA Communism" and analyze the ideas of some of its main represenatives and proponents. Together they discuss and clarify core marxist concepts, criticize and explain the specific errors...
08.31.2022
Neither Liberalism nor Reaction: Centering the 3-Way Fight
In this episode, Alyson and Breht use Devin Zane Shaw's work (specifically his Philosophy of Antifascism) as a jumping off point for exploring the concept of the three way fight, and how principled Marxists and revolutionaries can avoid falling...
08.01.2022
AMA July '22: Freedom & Responsibility (...and Dialectical Materialism)
Alyson and Breht respond to questions from our patrons. Topics discussed include: how to properly evaluate uprisings abroad, important virtues for communists to try and cultivate, and finding hope and solidarity in the face of tragedy and despair... Mao on...
06.24.2022
The Concept of the Political - Carl Schmitt
Alyson and Breht summarize, discuss, and criticize Carl Schmitt's famous work of political philosophy, The Concept of the Political. Schmitt was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Support Red Menace and get access to...
06.02.2022
[UNLOCKED] American Carnage: Mass Shootings, Gun Policy, & Root Causes
Breht and Alyson discuss the recent barrage of mass shootings, how Marxists should think about these issues, what the root causes of american mass shootings are, policies/reforms that the socialist left might be able to support, and much more. Outro...
05.12.2022
Roe V. Wade, American Institutional Decay, & Geopolitical Forecasting
On this episode of Red Menace, Alyson and Breht discuss the recent Supreme Court leak and the implications of Roe's dismantling, then they turn to George Friedman's thesis in his book "The Storm Before the Calm: America's Discord, the Coming...
04.25.2022
Ride the Tiger - Julius Evola
Alyson and Breht summarize, respond to, and discuss "Ride the Tiger", a major work of the Italian fascist/traditionalist/reactionary intellectual Julius Evola. In part 1, they introduce and summarize the text. In part 2, they respond to Evola's critiques of Marxism...
03.12.2022
War in Europe: Understanding the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Alyson and Breht discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and wrestle with the following questions: Is Russia imperialist, and is this an inter-imperialist conflict? What is the nature of the Ukrainian State? Is Ukraine really fighting for democracy? Are we entering a...
02.19.2022
On The Transgender Question
On this episode of Red Menace Alyson is joined by Rey and Esperanza to address the transgender question. Support Red Menace and get access to bonus monthly content on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
02.03.2022
German Philosophy: Schopenhauer and Nietzsche
In this episode, Alyson and Breht introduce, teach, and discuss the philosphy of two giants in western philosophy: Arthur Schopenhaur and Friedrich Nietzsche. They discuss their respective philosophies, how they relate, how they differ, the subsequent thinkers and movements they...
01.08.2022
Climate Leviathan: A Political Theory of Our Planetary Future
In this episode of Red Menace, Alyson and Breht discuss and analyze "Climate Leviathan" by authors Geoff Mann and Joel Wainwright. Book description: "Despite the science and the summits, leading capitalist states have not achieved anything close to an adequate...
11.30.2021
Revisiting On Practice
On this episode of Red Menace Alyson revisits 'On Practice' by Mao. Text can be found for free here: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_16.htm Additional material suggested by Alyson https://www.google.com/amp/s/kites-journal.org/2021/04/18/a-call-for-communist-social-investigation-a-year-after-the-summer-of-rebellion/amp/ Support Red Menace and get access to bonus monthly content on...
09.11.2021
On Patriotism...
Alyson Escalante joins Breht to respond to arguments that the US left should embrace American patriotism. Together they discuss revolutionary v. reactionary nationalism, US history, settler colonialism, proletarian internationalism, Browderism, anti-imperialism, the CPUSA, tailism, accusations of ultra-leftism, and much...
09.08.2021
UNLOCKED - Code Red for Humanity: the IPCC Report 2021
In this unlocked Red Menace patreon episode, Alyson and Breht discuss the latest IPCC report on climate change and discuss its implications. Support Red Menace and get bonus episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
08.30.2021
Pedagogy of the Oppressed - Paulo Freire
On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht teach, discuss, and apply the lessons of 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed' by the Brazilian educator and Marxist humanist Paulo Freire. This is essential reading for all teachers, organizers, and political educators! ...
07.25.2021
AMA: Socialism, Climate Chaos, Pedagogy, & Contradictions
Alyson and Breht answer questions from listeners! Topics discussed: Maoism and AES, contradictions present and future, the climate crisis, cryptocurrency, Marxist pedagogy and the role of teachers, reasons to maintain revolutionary optimism, how to build relevant skillsets and engage...
07.09.2021
A Decolonial Feminism w/ Françoise Vergès
In this special crossover episode between Guerrilla History and Red Menace, Alyson and Henry come together to interview Dr. Françoise Vergès about her new book A Decolonial Feminism. Françoise Vergès is an activist, public educator, and is the author of...
06.29.2021
Alexandra Kollontai: Marxist Feminism and Love After Capitalism
In this episode, Alyson and Breht teach and discuss two works by Alexandra Kollontai: her 1909 essay "The Social Basis of the Woman Question" and her 1923 essay "Make Way for Winged Eros". They contextualize each essay, walk the listener...
06.03.2021
[UNLOCKED] A Brief History of Jewish Anti-Zionism
For this month's bonus episode, Alyson gives a basic historical overview of the history of Jewish Anti-Zionism. Support Red Menace here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
05.30.2021
Understanding Settler Colonialism in Israel and the United States
In this episode, Alyson and Breht use texts from Fanon, Cesaire, Mao, and Lenin to help make sense of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the history of zionism, the role of the United States in the conflict, and more. They...
04.30.2021
Discourse on Colonialism - Aimé Césaire
On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht teach, discuss, and apply the lessons of 'Discourse on Colonialism' by Aimé Césaire. Support Red Menace and get access to bonus monthly content on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
04.30.2021
UNLOCKED: Afghanistan, The Chauvin Trial, and the Indian Covid Crisis
*recorded on April 28th* In this unlocked patreon-only episode, Alyson and Breht discuss the Biden administrations ostensible withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Chauvin Trial and what it represents, and the ongoing Covid crisis ravaging India and how its connected to...
03.25.2021
A Profoundly Sick Society and its Machinations
In this episode, Alyson and Breht analyze current events, including the recent stimulus bill, the ongoing pandemic, the rolling out of vaccines, and the horrific recent mass shooting in Atlanta. Support Red Menace here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
02.27.2021
Philosophical Trends in the Feminist Movement - Anuradha Ghandy
On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht discuss 'Philosophical Trends in the Feminist Movement' by Anuradha Ghandy Free text here: http://massalijn.nl/theory/philosophical-trends-in-the-feminist-movement/ Support Red Menace and get access to bonus monthly content on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace Learn...
01.31.2021
The Fundamentals of Marxism: Intro to Political Economy
In this episode, Alyson and Breht introduce the core concepts of Marxist political economy by an analysis of the history of political economy, core economic concepts in Marxism, and much more! Outline for this episode...
01.08.2021
American Decay: The Fascist Riot on Capitol Hill
Alyson and Breht discuss recent events and what they mean. Outro Music: 'Sound of Violence' Other Lives Support Red Menace here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
12.29.2020
Climate Change, Human Civilization, and Questions Answered
Our beloved co-host Alyson is out sick for this month, so Breht takes over at the last minute to read some passages from the new Cli-Fi (Climate Science Fiction) Novel "The Ministry for the Future" and the non-fiction book "The...
11.29.2020
The Blue Shift... Into Yet More Neoliberal Misery
In this episode, Alyson and Breht discuss the election results, Trump and the GOP, the coming Biden administration, Covid-19 and the Vaccine(s), the causes of conspiracy thinking, and much more. Outro music: 'Wildflowers' by No Thanks Check out their music...
10.28.2020
...On the State of Things
In this episode, Alyson and Breht discuss the mental health fallout from the Covid Crisis, the possible futures of the American Right, the political economy of the pandemic, what comes next, and much more. Outro music: 'Chum' by Earl Sweatshirt...
09.29.2020
The Fundamentals of Marxism: Dialectics, Historical Materialism, and Class Struggle
In this episode, Alyson and Breht summarize and discuss the fundamental ideas, concepts, and arguments within Marxism. We want this episode to stand as a resource for *everyone* interested in Marxism - from those who are brand new to the...
08.27.2020
The Empire in Decay: Blood in the Streets and Storms on the Horizon
Alyson and Breht discuss current events, the 2020 elections, climate change, and the future of this broken society. (This was recorded before the events in Kenosha developed) Outro music: 'Werewolf' by CocoRosie ------- Support Red Menace and get access to...
07.27.2020
The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels
On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht discuss 'The Communist Manifesto' by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Free text here: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ Support Red Menace and get access to bonus monthly content on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace Learn...

What's Red Menace about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Red Menace episodes:

Ghosts in the Machines: Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, & Capitalism

"The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte" by Karl Marx

Man on Fire: Aaron Bushnell's Sacrifice for Palestine

On Mysticism: Ego, Suffering, & Love

Apartheid in South Africa: An Investigation

Decolonizing Palestine: Toward National Liberation in the Levant

What Is To Be Done? with Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante (Upstream Interview)

Toward Liberation: Palestine on Fire

[RE-UPLOAD] Decolonization is Not a Metaphor - Tuck & Yang

"The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 3)

American Rot: SCOTUS' War on the American People

INTRODUCING: Shoeless in South Dakota

"The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 2)

"The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 1)

Big Announcement: Tripling Our Patreon Output + More

"Desert" by Anonymous (Anarchism)

"The Conquest of Bread" by Peter Kropotkin

Lyndon LaRouche: A Warning & Lesson for the Communist Left

MAGA Communism: Opportunism, Social Chauvinism, and Terminally Online Tailism

Neither Liberalism nor Reaction: Centering the 3-Way Fight

AMA July '22: Freedom & Responsibility (...and Dialectical Materialism)

The Concept of the Political - Carl Schmitt

[UNLOCKED] American Carnage: Mass Shootings, Gun Policy, & Root Causes

Roe V. Wade, American Institutional Decay, & Geopolitical Forecasting

Ride the Tiger - Julius Evola

War in Europe: Understanding the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

On The Transgender Question

German Philosophy: Schopenhauer and Nietzsche

Climate Leviathan: A Political Theory of Our Planetary Future

Revisiting On Practice

On Patriotism...

UNLOCKED - Code Red for Humanity: the IPCC Report 2021

Pedagogy of the Oppressed - Paulo Freire

AMA: Socialism, Climate Chaos, Pedagogy, & Contradictions

A Decolonial Feminism w/ Françoise Vergès

Alexandra Kollontai: Marxist Feminism and Love After Capitalism

[UNLOCKED] A Brief History of Jewish Anti-Zionism

Understanding Settler Colonialism in Israel and the United States

Discourse on Colonialism - Aimé Césaire

UNLOCKED: Afghanistan, The Chauvin Trial, and the Indian Covid Crisis

A Profoundly Sick Society and its Machinations

Philosophical Trends in the Feminist Movement - Anuradha Ghandy

The Fundamentals of Marxism: Intro to Political Economy

American Decay: The Fascist Riot on Capitol Hill

Climate Change, Human Civilization, and Questions Answered

The Blue Shift... Into Yet More Neoliberal Misery

...On the State of Things

The Fundamentals of Marxism: Dialectics, Historical Materialism, and Class Struggle

The Empire in Decay: Blood in the Streets and Storms on the Horizon

The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels