UPSTREAM INTERVIEW W/ BREHT AND ALYSON: 

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 questions it asked, and the paths forward that it provided, are just as relevant today as they were a hundred years ago. And just as urgent.

What roles do spontaneity and disciplined organization have in leftist movements? Can we focus simply on economic reform, or do our actions need a larger political framework to structure, guide, and propel them? 

Why does it feel like even though so many of us are motivated to work towards structural change, that things continue to get worse? Why does it seem like potential revolutionary struggles in the West always seem to stall and fail to move from a singular moment to a protracted movement? 

These are old and familiar questions — a lot of ink has been spilled and speeches made exploring them — and in this Conversation, we’ve brought on two guests who've not only thought about these questions in depth, but who have some pretty compelling answers that draw from revolutionary theory and practice in both their personal lives and from the deep well of wisdom bequeathed by theorists Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Mao. 

Breht O’Shea is the host of the podcast Revolutionary Left Radio and a co-host of Guerrilla History. He’s been on the show multiple times so you may already be familiar with his voice. Alyson Escalate, who has also been on the show, is the co-host, along with Breht, of Red Menace, a podcast that explains and analyzes revolutionary theory and then applies its lessons to our contemporary conditions. 

Further Resources:

• Red Menace – What Is To Be Done? - V.I. Lenin 
• Revolutionary Left Radio – Politics in Command: Analyzing the Error of Economism 
• Red Menace – The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon: On Violence and Spontaneity
• Red Menace – Understanding Settler Colonialism in Israel and the United States
• Revolutionary Left Radio on Instagram
• Upstream – Buddhism and Marxism with Breht O'Shea (In Conversation)
• Upstream – Trans Liberation and Solidarity with Alyson Escalante (In Conversation)
• Upstream – Revolutionary Leftism with Breht O'Shea (In Conversation)

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In this critical episode of Guerrilla History, we bring on Max Ajl and Patrick Higgins to discuss some recent history and the ongoing situation regarding Palestinian resistance to the Zionist project and the ongoing bombardment on Gaza.  Max and Patrick provide some absolutely crucial information here, so be sure to tune in, and forward the episode along to anyone you think would benefit from it.

Our guests recommend you to donate to the Middle East Children's Alliance, read the work of Electronic Intifada and Mondoweiss, as well as follow their respective social media pages @intifada and @Mondoweiss, and keep up to date with the Palestinian Youth Movement and Within Our Lifetime.

Max Ajl is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ghent University, and is author of the fantastic A People's Green New Deal.  Read Max's other written work on his Researchgate page.  Max also has a twitter page, but you must find it yourself!

Patrick Higgins is a researcher at the University of Houston's Center for Arab Studies.  You can find Patrick's writings on the internet by searching for his name and his affiliation, or with the keyword Palestine.

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory 

Breht returns with another monologue episode on the ever-evolving war in Palestine, this time with a focus on the history of the Nakba, the weakness of a two state solution, the widening global implications of the conflict, and where things might be headed...

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...

Originally Aired on Dec 22, 2019

In our third and final installment of "The Wretched of the Earth" Alyson and Breht summarize, examine, and apply the lessons of the final chapter and conclusion of Frantz Fanon's masterpiece work, then they reflect on the text as a whole.

Originally aired on Nov 23, 2019

In our second installment of "The Wretched of the Earth" Alyson and Breht summarize, examine, and apply the lessons of the third and fourth chapters of Frantz Fanon's masterpiece work. 

 Originally Aired on Oct 22, 2019

In our first installment of "The Wretched of the Earth" Alyson and Breht summarize, examine, and apply the lessons of the first two chapters of Frantz Fanon's masterpiece work.

Originally aired on Jun 3, 2021

In this classic mini-episode, Alyson Escalante summarizes and analyzes the history of Jewish Anti-Zionism. 

Originally aired on May 30, 2021 In this classic 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 define settler colonialism and imperialism, show how they are operative in the conflict, and then have a wide ranging conversation on the recent attack on Gaza, ongoing Isreali settlements, the principle contradiction of the conflict, why we should advocate for a one state solution instead of a two state solution, the importance of BDS, and more! 

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[Originally released Jun 2020]

Nu'man joins Breht to discuss the Palestinian Struggle, the Intifadas, the historical solidarity between black revolutionaries in the US and Palestinian revolutionaries, settler colonialism, Frantz Fanon, and SO much more. This was a really engaging interview, and we are positive that our listeners will love it! Follow Nu'man on Twitter

Check out Students For Justice in Palestine (website made by Nu'man!)

Outro Music: 'Al Kufiyee 3arabeyyeh' Shadia Mansour ft. M1 (Dead Prez)

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