Bedour Alagraa [https://www.bedouralagraa.com/] argues that “the word ‘catastrophe’ as an anchor for understanding our earth’s ecology has yet to account for the manner in which the catastrophic is ongoing, yet still tied to an ‘original’ detonation of sorts. A prompt given to us by Kamau Brathwaite. And so, the “enigma of catastrophe as a word, as a concept, lies in this tension—that is, between a desire to evade the originary Event in favor of the repetition, while also recognizing the Event as it were.” It is in following Brathwaite’s insistence on both the ongoing presence of an original or inaugural moment and the repetition, that Alagraa suggests constitutes the most pressing theory-problem. For Alagraa, part of the problem with our thinking concerning this theory-problem, is the manner in which liberal scientist formulations have remained relatively unchallenged. Cedric Robinson adds clarity to this assertation, in his essay titled “On the Liberal Theory of Knowledge and the Concept of Race,” when he wrote: “The examples are legion in physical science and in social science. One does a little hand-jive, a little mechanical magic, produces an illusion and looks for uncritical acceptance and obedience from the audience. [Liberal] scientific thought does not resolve mysteries so much as it defines them out of existence.” It is from here that we can see that Alagraa is urging us to think “against the claim that we need simply to believe science, or have better science, or better mechanics so that we might address the problem of our earth’s ecology and its assumed lifespan. Without destabilizing our core assumptions about catastrophe, we run the risk of rendering theory inept for confronting this predicament ...” Today, we explore this in more detail as well as the role of Caribbean radical thought; Sylvia Wynter; Black Studies as the praxis of Black life; and beyond the anthropocentric frames with Bedour Alagraa. Bedour Alagraa is an Assistant professor of Political and Social Thought in the Department of African and African diaspora studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and is currently a Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. Bedour’s work explores the contours of Black radical genealogies in political theory, history/ies of political concepts, Caribbean thought, African anti-colonial thought, and Black Marxism(s). Dr. Alagraa is also the co-editor of a volume of Chairman Fred Hampton’s Speeches alongside Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., titled I Am a Revolutionary!: Speeches by Chairman Fred Hampton, forthcoming from Pluto Press in early 2023. Her book, The Interminable Catastrophe (forthcoming from Duke University Press), writes against the discourse of imminent disaster and considers the predicament of catastrophe as a grammar-problem, which requires a re-reading of Black radical thought in order to find an escape from circulating discussions concerning our planet’s ‘bad infinity’ (borrowing from Hegel) status and lifespan. Dr. Alagraa has published in several peer-reviewed journals, including Critical Ethnic Studies, Contemporary Political Theory, The CLR James Journal of Caribbean Philosophy, Small Axe, and Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society. She is currently co-editor, alongside Anthony Bogues, of the ‘Black Critique’ book series at Pluto Press. Our show was produced today in solidarity with the Native/Indigenous, African, and Afro Descendant communities at Standing Rock; Venezuela; Cooperation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi; Brazil; the Avalon Village in Detroit; Colombia; Kenya; Palestine; South Africa; Ghana, Ayiti, and other places who are fighting for the protection of our land for the benefit of all peoples! Listen intently. Think critically. Act accordingly. Enjoy the program! Image: https://offshootjournal.org/the-interminable-catastrophe/