In this special episode of SPS, we discuss Joe Biden's inauguration and the relationship between Art and the capitalist state. Professional creative artists are facing unemployment at rates well above the national average. We take up the proposals for WPA-style intervention, a Ministry of Culture, and a White House Office for Culture. In the second half, we consider the artist Brad Troemel and his attempt to reinterpret “Liberal Cringe” into meme art.

Images and videos for this episode can be found at: https://caesuramag.org/montezsps01292021

SPS is a production of the Platypus Affiliated Society, more at: https://platypus1917.org/

Links for this episode:

Alison Hewitt Ward, 2010, RIP Art Trump

https://caesuramag.org/posts/rip-trump-art

Letter of resignation from the President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities (2017)

https://twitter.com/kalpenn/status/898547257062174724/photo/1

Chris Cutrone, 2010, What was postmodernism? -- Habermas’s critique

An incomplete project? Art and politics after postmodernism

http://chriscutrone.platypus1917.org/?p=955

Platypus Art & Politics syllabus

https://platypus1917.org/2020/06/17/art-and-politics/

Brad Troemel, Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/bst

Barbra Kruger’s Selfridges campaign in London with Behance,

https://www.behance.net/gallery/58329969/Selfridges-Co-Sale-campaign

Ryan Long, 2020, When Wokes and Racists Actually Agree on Everything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev373c7wSRg

Jason Farago, "The Arts Are in Crisis. Here’s How Biden Can Help," New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/arts/design/arts-stimulus-biden.html

Susan Buck-Morss, response to Visual culture questionnaire (1996)

https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/buckmorss_visualcultquest.pdf

Efraim Carlebach, “Forgetting Mark Fisher” Platypus Review 115 (April 2019)

https://platypus1917.org/2019/04/01/forgetting-mark-fisher/

Original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy

Hosted by Sophia and Pamela

In the latest episode of the cancel culture saga, social media companies have taken into their own hands to censor content. Trump’s tweets, Zero Book’s videos, & Brad Troemel’s memes, have all been subject to the policing eye of so-called “fact checkers.” In the first part of this episode, Laurie joins Pamela to discuss the new wave of censorship under our Silicon Valley dystopia and the realignment of liberals in the Age of Trump.

In the second part of the episode, we focus on how the German-speaking Left has responded to the recent terror attacks in France and Austria. Our European Correspondent, Andreas, joins Sophia and Pamela to discuss the responses by the anti-imperialist left, featuring Der Funke, the Austrian faction of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) and Marx 21 in Germany. Second, Andreas interviews Michael Fischer, an Austrian anti-fascist and recent contributor to the anti-German publication Bahamas. Fischer presents his critique of political islam and his thoughts on the anti-imperialist left today. Finally, Frankfurt Platypus member, Jan Schroeder joins us to reflect on the trajectory of the anti-German Left, from its origins through its opposition to the Balkan Wars and support for American intervention in the Gulf, and their present iteration as defenders of “class politics”.

Links:

Brad Troemel’s Biden-Clinton meme

https://www.instagram.com/p/CI3pSqUBevY/

Glenn Greewald, “Instagram is Using False “Fact-Checking” to Protect Joe Biden’s Crime Record From Criticisms” (December 2020)

https://greenwald.substack.com/p/instagram-is-using-false-fact-checking

Pamela C. Nogales C., “The Cancel Wars: The Legacy of the Cultural Turn in the Age of Trump” (Platypus Review, November 2020)

https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/the-cancel-wars-the-legacy-of-the-cultural-turn-in-the-age-of-trump/

Laurie Rojas, “The Culture Wars in the Age of Trump” (Platypus Review, November 2020)

https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/the-culture-wars-in-the-age-of-trump/

Der Funke, “Wien: Gegen Terror und nationale Einheit” (November 2020)

https://derfunke.at/aktuelles/oesterreich/11526-wien-gegen-terror-und-nationale-einheit

Marx 21, “Frankreich: Muslime unter Generalverdacht” (November 2020)

https://www.marx21.de/frankreich-muslime-unter-generalverdacht/

Efraim Carlbach, “The Unchanging Core of Marxism: Interview with Ian Birchall” (Platypus Review, December 2017 – January 2018)

https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/unchanging-core-marxism-interview-ian-birchall/

Spartacist League, "Down with the Islamic Reaction! For Workers Revolution in Iran! A Special Issue on Iran" (Women and Revolution, Fall 1979)

https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/w&r/WR_019_1979.pdf

Michael Fischer, “Die neue Rassenlehre: Moderne Rassenideologie im antirassistischen Gewand” (Bahamas 85 / 2020)

http://redaktion-bahamas.org/artikel/2020/85-die-neue-rassenlehre/

Jan Schroeder, “Althusser’s Marxism” (July–August 2019)

https://platypus1917.org/2019/07/02/althussers-marxism/

Jan Gerber, panelist on the “Crisis Of Neoliberalism” panel at the Platypus German Conference (January 2020) (in German)

https://archive.org/details/25.01crisisofneoliberalism/25.01+Crisis+of+Neoliberalism.mp3

SPS Reflections on the 2020 German Conference can be found here:

https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep22

Hosted by Pamela & Sophia

with European Correspondent, Andreas W.

music by Tamas Vilaghy

***U.S. election special***

On this episode Pamela and Sophia catch up with Conrad Cartmell (Class Unity caucus, DSA), Mara Henao & Kaitlin Buck (Philly Socialists) and Benjamin Studebaker (British Academic Union) to reflect upon the Left under Trump - and what lies ahead under a Biden administration.

This episode contributes to a larger body of work by the Platypus Affiliated Society, attempting to make sense of the Left’s reaction to the changing political reality. A panel event, with a similar topic was recently held at George Mason University(1).

Be sure to follow us on social media. On Instagram were ‘shitplatypussays’, and on Twitter: ‘platypussays’. Visit us on Facebook under the Platypus Affiliated Society or visit www.platypus1917.org.

If you like the podcast, share it, rate it, and write us a review!

(1) Platypus Panel, held at George Mason University: "The Future after the Election: What's Left?": https://youtu.be/7SPBRSfqB5Q

(2) Beyond the Vote: Base-Building for Class Independence in Philadelphia: https://regenerationmag.org/beyond-the-vote-base-building-for-class-independence-in-philadelphia/

(3) This Time Isn’t Different: DSA leadership should shut up about supporting Joe Biden, Class Unity: https://classunity.org/this-time-isnt-different-dsa-leadership-should-shut-up-about-supporting-joe-biden/

Hosted by Pamela, Sophia, with editing assistance by Michael W. Music by Tamas Vilaghy.

Pamela and Sophia discuss the shaming of black celebrities who dare to question the black loyalty to the Democratic Party. In particular we address the Left’s reception to Ice Cube’s ‘Contract for Black America,’ proposed to both the Democratic and Republican parties. Pamela sits down with Chris Cutrone to discuss what another four years of Trump--or Biden--might mean for the Left. In the last segment Sophia catches up with our new EU Correspondent, Andreas Wintersperger, to discuss the Left’s response to the on-going migrant crisis and their reaction to the recent fires that have destroyed large migrant camps in Greece.

Links:

(1) West Coast Platypus election watch party, Tuesday Nov 3, starting at 7:00pm Pacific time: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcuCvrTsjHtaNlh1UVGprn63LKqpSuV-K

(2) Chris Cutrone, Marxism in the Age of Trump, Articles from the Platypus Review 2015 – 2017: https://www.amazon.com/Marxism-Age-Trump-Articles-2015-2017/dp/0996206132

(3) Efraim Carlebach, Returning to Marxism in the Age of Trump, 2020: https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/returning-to-marxism-in-the-age-of-trump-in-2020/

Hosted by Pamela, & Sophia, with editing help from Michael W.

Music by Tamas Vilaghy

In this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela discuss the moral panic surrounding Netflix's new film, Cuties (2020), and take up the responses by Spiked Online and Jacobin magazine. Platypus members Marco Torres and David Faes join us to reflect on Polanski's critically-acclaimed J'Accuse (2019)and how it speaks to the present. In the final segment, Sophia interviews Jack Conrad from the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). They consider how the 'Left' uses and abuses Karl Kautsky's legacy in order to avoid Kautsky's Marxism and discuss what the CPGB is up to.

If you want to learn more about Platypus, and get involved, read the Platypus review, visit us on Facebook under the Platypus Affiliated Society or visit www.platypus1917.org. You can follow us on Instagram: ShitPlatypusSays, and on Twitter: @PlatypusSays. If you like the podcast, share it, rate it, and write us a review.

Mentioned:


(0) Theodor W. Adorno, "Sexual Taboos and the Law Today" (1963)

https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/adorno_sexualtaboostoday.pdf

(1) Brendan O'Neill, Cuties Review


https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/09/15/in-defence-of-cuties/

(2) Eileen Jones, Cuties Review


https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/09/cuties-scandal-netflix-controversy-french-movie


(3) The Spartacist League on Polanski, “Stop the Puritan Witchhunt Against Roman Polanski!” printed in the Workers Vanguard, No. 192, 10 February 1978

https://www.icl-fi.org/english/wv/944/polanski.html


(4) Platypus' 'Kautsky in the 21st Century' Panel (2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2TWNd1ntc

(5) Communist Party of Great Britain's website

https://communistparty.co.uk

(6) The CPGB's Weekly Worker website

https://weeklyworker.co.uk

(7) The CPGB's Communist University 2020

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOkaFWQNpCTrQfT65UszE4A

Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael Woodson, Audrey Crescenti and music from Tamas Vilaghy.

Pamela, Sophia and Laurie discuss the call to cancel artist, Jon Rafman, and the revenge campaign led by the @surviving_the_artworld instagram account and break down the anti-sex and anti-art impulses of the culture industry. Pamela & Sophia sit down with Platypus members, Ethan Kaimana (U. Penn) and Will Lushbaugh (San Francisco State), two organizers behind the recent panel, "Police Brutality and the Left," with speakers Andrea Pritchett (Berkeley Copwatch), Conrad Cartmell (Democratic Socialists of America), Larry Holmes (Workers World Party) and Gerald Smith (a former member of the Black Panther Party and the Spartacist League and current member of the Oscar Grant committee). We listen to clips from the panel recording and give our impression of the conversation.

In the last segment Pamela & Sophia talk with Joshua Citarella, an artist and cultural thinker whose books, Politigram & the Post-left (2018) and his most recent book, 20 Interviews (2020) offer an in-depth survey of young political spaces online, including interviews with Zoomers that provide and insight into the trajectory of their political education. We sit down with Joshua to discuss what motivates his work and his critique of the millennial generation.

Links:

(1) Police Brutality and the Left, a panel discussion by the Platypus Affiliated Society

https://youtu.be/jwf1_df6FiA

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police, against the backdrop of the covid shutdown, protests have erupted in every state across America raising the issue of police brutality. The relationship of the Left to these protests, however, has been unclear. Following disappointment with the Bernie Sanders campaign and the nomination of Joe Biden, the Left has sought to politicize the protests and police brutality in different ways. How can the Left address police brutality today? How has it sought to do so in the past? What is the role of the Left in the current moment?

(2) Joshua Citarella

Find 20 Interviews: https://www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella

- https://newmodels.io/proprietary/irony-politics-gen-z-2019-citarella

- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joshua-citarella/id1513817688?i=1000486940573

On this episode, Pamela and Sophia discuss the destruction of statues depicting American Revolutionary figures. Our members James Vaughn and Spencer Leonard join us to discuss the legacy of the American Revolution and the repercussions of the 1619 project. And Sophia catches up with Rory Hannigan and Clint Montgomery in light of our Summer Reading group on Kautsky’s Marxism. We reflect on Karl Kautsky as a leading figure in Second International Marxism and how it might be important to consider Kautsky today.

If you want to learn more about Platypus, and get involved, read the Platypus review or join the American Revolution lectures online, visit us on Facebook under the Platypus Affiliated Society or visit www.platypus1917.org.

If you like the podcast, share it, rate it, and write us a review!

(1) Trump’s address to the Young Conservatives of America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf8R3LTAarI

(2) American Revolution Lecture Series:

https://platypus1917.org/2020/06/06/the-legacy-of-the-american-revolution-a-platypus-lecture-series/

(3) Summer Reading Group on Kautsky’s Marxism: https://platypus1917.org/virtual/

Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia, with editing assistance by Michael W.

This episode of SPS is a new members edition, featuring new members of the Platypus Affiliated Society in the United States, Germany and Denmark. In the first segment, Sophia and Pamela ring up Carson Wright, a new member at the Oregon State University chapter. We chat about Planet of the Humans, a new documentary produced by Michael Moore, which takes a harsh look at green technology and the pitfalls of the environmental left. We reflect on the technocratic impulses of the climate left today and discuss Carson’s recent interview with the environmental activist Derrick Jensen, published in the April issue of the Platypus Review.

In the second segment, Sophia and Pamela chat with new members in Platypus chapters around the globe to ask them about their encounters with the Left before Platypus, their experience as new members and their thoughts on hosting the conversation on the left. This segment features Lisa Müller at Leipzig University in Germany; Rana Ürek at Columbia University in New York; Osiris Crutchfield at Virginia Commonwealth University; and Francisco Sánchez Acosta at Aarhus University in Denmark.

If you want to learn more about Platypus, and get involved, read the Platypus review or join the American Revolution lectures online, visit us on Facebook under the Platypus Affiliated Society or visit www.platypus1917.org.

If you like the podcast, share it, rate it, and write us a review!

(1) Platypus meme

https://twitter.com/suavememestash/status/1262561790392664064/photo/1

(2) “The Left has never been against civilization”: An interview with Derrick Jensen, by Carson Wright and Andony Melathopoulos, for the Platypus Review #125 (April 2020)

https://platypus1917.org/2020/04/02/the-left-has-never-been-against-civilization-an-interview-with-derrick-jensen/

(3)"What is Capitalism and Why Should We be Against It?" a panel hosted by the Aarhus chapter of the Platypus Affiliated Society on May 9th, 2020.

Recording: https://youtu.be/UsQ1DqmyoqQ

Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael W.

On this episode, Pamela and Sophia discuss the anti-quarantine protestors as the newly christened "deplorables" in the lead up to the presidential election, Brad Troemel's fake ad and the Biden campaign. Pamela interviews August Nimtz, Professor of political science at the University of Minnesota. Prof. Nimtz wrote a two volume book on Lenin’s electoral strategy from Marx and Engels through the Revolution of 1905 (vol. 1); & from 1907 to the October Revolution of 1917 (vol. 2). On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Lenin’s birth, we discuss the electoral area in his political strategy. We talk about the end of the Bernie Sanders campaign and then the legacy of the 1930s Popular Front today. On the second half of the episode, Sophia Freeman sits with to the current president of Platypus, Efraim Carlebach, who takes stock of the decline of the sectarian left, of the small Trotskyist and Maoists groups, and the waning influence of the party turn of the 1970s. They reflect on whether or not the mission of Platypus has changed in 2020, thirteen years after the organization's founding.

Feel free to send it your responses, questions, criticism -- we’d like to hear from you -- to [email protected].

From the Platypus Archives:

- Prof. Nimtz was on our Convention virtual panel, "The American Revolution and the Left," April 2020. Video: https://youtu.be/FvlbLgjnczo

- Efraim & Sophia's interview with Ian Birchall, December 2017, for the Platypus Review

https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/unchanging-core-marxism-interview-ian-birchall/

Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia, with editing assistance by Michael W.

Sh!t Platypus Says, special quarantine edition, comes in three parts: (1) Pamela talks to Platypus members about the left’s response to the Corona Virus. She talks to Laurie Rojas, Chris Cutrone & Stefan Hain to figure out just what, David Harvey, Naomi Klein, the Socialist Workers Party, U.S., Spiked online, and Žižek are saying in these times of Corona. (2) A record 3.3 million people filed claims for unemployment in the US last week. We hear from Wentai, our resident financial guru, to learn about how this pandemic is impacting the world economy. (3) In the last segment, Sophia sits down with Philip Cunliffe in London for a post-panel reflection on our "After the Election" panel at the London School of Economics: https://platypus1917.org/2020/01/29/after-the-election-whats-left-lse-29-1-20/ Philip is a political scientist and Senior Lecturer the University of Kent, he is also the founder of the Full Brexit: https://www.thefullbrexit.com/. They discuss the failure of “fully automated luxury communism” and the relationship between the Left and democracy.

The Platypus Convention 2020 will be hosted online, next week on Thursday 04/02 to Sat. 04/04. The panels are: (Th:) Politics of Environmentalism as Utopia, (Fr:) The American Revolution and the Left, (Sat:) Bonapartism: How is the State Revolutionary? , (Sat:)Socialism in the 21st Century? Speakers include Christian Parenti, August Nimtz, Alex Gourevitch, Helena Rosenblatt, John Beacham, Chris Cutrone and yours truly. Viewers will be able to ask questions on the online platform. Links to each panel on the FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/199797064708367/

Hosted by Sophia and Pamela

Edited with the help of Michael W.

e-mail: [email protected]