Jacobin Radio: The Americanization of a Russian Émigré w/ Emil Draitser

Featuring Quinn Slobodian on his book Hayek’s Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ, and the Capitalism of the Far Right. MAGA and its far-right populist siblings around the world aren’t just a backlash to neoliberalism. The far-right has also long been animated by extremist mutant neoliberal, anarcho-capitalist, and paleo-libertarian strains that in the 1980s and ’90s built a new New Fusionist politics of capitalist extremism — a politics that promoted IQ as the measure of individual and racial value; hard borders for humans with free trade for capital; and gold as the only true currency. Support The Dig at patreon.com/TheDig Register for the Socialism Conference at socialismconference.org Register for “Our Collective Is the Prize” at comrades.education before May 31 The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Leila Khaled and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups were the main challengers to the hegemony of Fatah. Although the Palestinian left has lost much of its influence since the 1980s, they still play an important role today. Red Star Over Palestine: Histories of the Palestinian Left is a six-part series from Long Reads exploring radical movements and progressive organizations of the region. We examine the experience of Palestinian communism and the left-wing currents inside the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. We also look at the outsized impact of the Left on Palestinian cultural life. Our fourth episode focuses on the movement’s turn to Lebanon, where Palestinian radicals found a new base and hoped to launch a wider Arab revolution. Red Star Over Palestine is hosted by Daniel Finn and produced by Conor Gillies. Music provided by Fadi Tabbal.

Emil Draitser — Soviet satirist turned American memoirist — joins Suzi to talk about his new book, Laughing All the Way to Freedom: The Americanization of a Russian Émigré. It's a sharp, funny, and moving account of his journey from censorship and conformity in the USSR to the chaotic freedoms of the 1970s United States. We explore how satire served as both survival and resistance in the Soviet Union, and how his identity was reshaped — culturally, politically, and personally — through the messy process of becoming American. Emil reflects on the welcome once extended to Cold War refugees like himself, and the stark contrast with today's hostile climate for immigrants. We also touch on the uneasy “friendship” between Putin and Trump, imperialists determined to redefine the character of politics. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.

Jeet Heer surveys Canadian politics and the recent election. Natasha Piano, author of Democratic Elitism, discusses Italian “elite theory.” Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/radio.html

Featuring Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing French party La France Insoumise. How the radical left confronts and then defeats the far right, in France and everywhere. Recorded before an audience at n+1’'s Brooklyn office. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Register for "Our Collective Is the Prize" at comrades.education Buy Reconsidering Reparations at haymarketbooks.com The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

It’s often said that the working class drifted away from the Democratic Party in response to cultural backlash and globalization. But what if the truth is more damning? In this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber speaks with Neal Meyer, author of “The Democrats Embrace Dealignment,” from the latest issue of Catalyst. They explore how Democratic leaders — from Clinton to Obama to Biden — consciously distanced the party from its working-class base, paving the way for today’s political crisis. Read the article here: https://catalyst-journal.com/2025/04/the-democrats-embrace-dealignment Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, and published by Jacobin. Music by Zonkey.

Vijay Prashad, executive director of Tricontinental, discusses the state of the US empire and the state of the global working class. Becca Rothfeld, author of All Things Are Too Small, speaks up for bigness. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/radio.html

Featuring Aziz Rana on the making of the American project and its legitimation through popular worship of the US Constitution. This episode, the final in a four-part series, traces the great unraveling of the American empire from the 1970s to our present MAGA 2.0 moment. Would you like to know more? Aziz made a bibliography for you: thedigradio.com/newsletter102 Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Buy Enemy Feminisms and I Didn't Come Here to Lie at Haymarketbooks.com The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Leila Khaled and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups were the main challengers to the hegemony of Fatah. Although the Palestinian left has lost much of its influence since the 1980s, they still play an important role today. Red Star Over Palestine: Histories of the Palestinian Left is a six-part series from Long Reads exploring radical movements and progressive organizations of the region. The podcast examines the experience of Palestinian communism and the left-wing currents inside the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. We also look at the outsized impact of the Left on Palestinian cultural life. In our third episode, we discuss two of the most prominent figures associated with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine: Ghassan Kanafani and Leila Khaled. Get a digital subscription to Jacobin for just $1, or $10 for the print magazine, by following this link: https://jacobin.com/subscribe/?code=MAYDAY2025 Red Star Over Palestine is hosted by Daniel Finn and produced by Conor Gillies. Music provided by Fadi Tabbal.

To celebrate International Workers’ Day, we’re offering solidarity digital subscriptions for $1 and print subscriptions for $10. Subscribers get four new issues a year and access to our entire back catalog. At Jacobin, we’re trying our best to reach millions with the argument that creating a better world requires challenging those who profit from the misery and exploitation of others. Over the past decade, we’ve put out over 15,000 articles, and, thanks to the support of subscribers like you, we’ve made thousands of those articles available for free online. Help support our work by subscribing today. And if you've already subscribed, get a gift subscription for a friend or comrade. Use the code MAYDAY2025 at checkout or follow this link: https://jacobin.com/subscribe/?code=MAYDAY2025 New York listeners: Join Jacobin in Brooklyn for a special May Day celebration tonight! Featuring Bhaskar Sunkara, Matt Bruenig, and Nancy Fraser: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/may-day-2025-charting-a-socialist-future-tickets-1308797010089