148 - A.K. 47 - The New Morals

Kristen Ghodsee revisits her discussion about arguments for socialism with Bowdoin College professor of philosophy, Scott R. Sehon. This conversation focuses on the role of esteem and how it is increasingly commodified in a capitalist society. Mentioned in this podcast: Book by Scott R. Sehon: Socialism: A Logical IntroductionArticle in the Wall Street Journal: "$1 Trillion of Wealth Was Created for the 19 Richest U.S. Households Last Year"Interview in Jacobin Magazine:, Part 1: "Tradwi...

29 Huhti 29min

Kristen Ghodsee shares a conservation with a previous guest from March 2022, a self-described anarchist activist, about the value of feeling one’s political despair and using it to generate political creativity. Mentioned in this episode: I Want a Better Catastrophe Also this article: "Kollontai: Leaving behind Menshevik pacifism" Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. ...

21 Huhti 17min

Kristen Ghodsee reads Aleksandra Kollontai’s March 8, 1947 International Women’s Day address, taken from the book: Alexandra Kollontai: The Plight, Struggle, and Liberation of Women Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the word, share with your friends and networks, and consider exploring the following l...

8 Maalis 20min

In this special bonus episode, recorded on Valentine's Day 2025 in Dublin, Kristen Ghodsee and her daughter discuss the book Intermezzo, the latest by the Irish novelist, Sally Rooney. Rooney identifies herself as a Marxist and often mixes politics and social commentary into her stories. Kollontai's ideas about "comradely-love" and of troubling the confines of the nuclear family find interesting resonances in this 2024 novel. The episode has many SPOILERS for Intermezzo. Send us a...

16 Helmi 26min

Kristen Ghodsee reads the final section of Alexandra Kollontai's 1915/1916 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This is especially salient today because the United States is on the eve of a trade war with Mexico and Canada. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, which claims that the essay was written while Kollontai was in exile in Norway. She sent it...

2 Helmi 20min

Kristen Ghodsee reads the fifth section of Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This is especially salient today because of the narrow confirmation of the new U.S. Secretary of Defense under the Trump Administration, and the emergence of the reinvigorated oligarchy in the United States. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, ...

26 Tammi 21min

Kristen Ghodsee reads the fourth section of Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, which claims that the essay was written while Kollontai was in exile in Norway. She sent it to Vladimir Lenin (then in exile in Switzerland) who also edited it before publication. The final pamphlet was fir...

3 Joulu 202418min