E294: Hot Communist Summer Part 1 w/ C. Derick Varn

As history repeats itself, we dissect Zohran Mamdani's stunning Democratic primary victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo in NYC's mayoral race—a win that sent shockwaves through Wall Street and sparked what hedge fund CEO Dan Loeb dubbed "Hot Commie Summer." How did the Democratic Socialist candidate pull of one of the biggest political upsets in recent New York history? And what potentials does the win provide outside political spectacle? For the second half of the episode, including discussion Thiel and Zuckberg's leaked emails plotting to kill the millennial left, support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifadaLinks:ICE Update in LAZohran wins "Broad Middle"NYT Commie Corridor AnalysisBillionaire Meltdown CompilationChris Hayes with Ezra KleinWall Street ReactionsPeter Thiel's Millennial LetterRoss Douthat on ThielSong: Childish Gambino - Feels Like Summer

Our final predictions and analysis for the 2025 NYC Democratic mayoral primaries with Mattie Lubchansky of the No Gods, No Mayors podcast.For the full episode sign up at http://patreon.com/theantifadaModern Ferret Monthly: https://web.archive.org/web/20070610044439/http://www.modernferret.com/pressreleases/nyc05212001.htmlMcMansion Hell endorsement: -https://mcmansionhell.com/post/786540193484341248/mcmansion-hell-urges-all-new-yorkers-to-rankLander will keep Jessica Tisch: https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/02/lander-would-keep-nypd-commish-jessica-tisch-several-his-mayoral-opponents-would-too/403280/Pre-order Mattie’s new book Simplicity: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739012/simplicity-by-mattie-lubchansky/Intro music: Avalon Emerson DJ snippet: https://www.instagram.com/p/DK9xVm6sMxa/?img_index=1Outro music: Avalon Emerson - Treat Mode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R7XLqeDRmk

Part 2 of our April, 2024 discussion with Middle East scholar Arya Zahedi of Insurgent Notes about the essay Class Struggle, Autonomy, and the State in Iran from Ill Will Editions. He talks about the uprisings in Iran, including the murder of Mahsa Amini, and his feelings about Iran's role in the proxy wars surrounding the siege of Gaza.Listen to Part 1 here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101536326For all our bonus content support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifadaRead the essay here: https://illwill.com/iranSong: Tudeh Party's Hymn to Socialism

Report-back from the streets of LA with Victor Artola, author of Los Angeles, Or the End of Assimilation from Ill Will Editions.For the full episode subscribe at http://patreon.com/theantifadaFurther reading: https://crimethinc.com/2025/06/08/los-angeles-stands-up-to-ice-a-firsthand-report-on-the-clashes-of-june-6TACO Trump backing down at behest of farm and hotel lobby: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/us/politics/trump-ice-raids-farms-hotels.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/opinion/ice-protests-la.htmlNewark ICE facility riot: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/nyregion/newark-ice-detainees-escape.html Song: Doors - LA Woman

Sean and Andy chat with S.H. Fernando Jr., aka Skiz, the author of Chronicles of DOOM Unraveling Rap's Masked Iconoclast. We cover some hip hop history, DOOM's origins in underground hip hop and his emergence as crossover phenomenon in the aughts, his Nuwaubian background, getting kicked out of the US, and much more!Sign up for our Patreon to hear the fun half, in which we talk about DOOM's relationship with Kanye and Diddy, his philosophy on art, what baseball team he likes, and hear some of Skiz's music recommendations.Doom's Kanye assassination video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V5jOg_VGMASongs in order: King Geedorah - No Snakes Left AliveKMD - Humrush KMD - Who MeMadvillain - Late Night TailsDANGERDROOM - Crosshairs

For the full episode (FREE!), sign up at http://patreon.com/theantifadaThe following is the audio from the Independent Labor Club of New York's assembly on Education and Labor:Education in the US is at a crossroads. In recent months the Trump administration has proposed to abolish the Department of Education, and has threatened to rescind federal grants to universities across the country unless they accede to its demands. Meanwhile public education continues to lose ground to charter and private schools, where unionization rates are much lower, as lawmakers consider providing vouchers and tax credits in the name of “school choice.” Teachers and professors at every level face increased precarity, lower pay, larger class sizes, and deteriorating work conditions, even as their political speech off the job comes under greater scrutiny.Featuring:Susannah Grossman, former private school teacher Alexander King, Assistant Professor (The New School & NYU) | ACT-UAW 7902 Tom Quick, NYC DoE | United Federation of Teachers MCR, charter school teacher Lauren Wolfe, Brooklyn Institute for Social ResearchModerated byJake Kinzey, NYC DoE | United Federation of TeachersSong: Pink Floyd - Another Brick in The Wall Pt 2 ( v a p o r w a v e )

John returns for our special miniseries discussing his decades of experience theorizing and organizing, current events and life/work in New York City. On this episode he and Sean talk about this article from Dandy Andy at Three Way Fight, John's historical taxi driver organizing campaign and what it takes for commies to be accepted at the workplace.If you like this episode, want to talk about in our discord, or want access to all our bonus material, please support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifadaSong: Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey

Our French correspondent joins us to talk about the SLAP heard 'round the world. We also get some updates on Melanchon's US tour, discuss Hasan Piker's detainment, death with dignity, the abundance agenda, Zohran, Robert Moses vs. Tammany Hall, the 5 year anniversary of the George Floyd Uprising.Subscribe at http://patreon.com/theantifada for the fun half, in which we listen to some clips from Jordan Peterson's debate with 20 Reddit Athiests, and talk about what the "radical left" means.Check out https://newintermag.com/ and subscribe for updates.articles mentioned: https://newintermag.com/assisted-suicide-or-social-murder/https://newintermag.com/the-defeat-of-biopolitics/https://newintermag.com/abundance-big-techs-bid-for-the-democratic-party/song: Ludacris - Slap

Malek Rasamny walks us through the moving gears of Middle East geopolitics in the wake of Trump's visit to Riyadh, opening relations to the Syrian regime under Ahmed Al-Saraah (fka Mohammed al-Julani), nuclear talks with Iran, PKK disarmement, the current situation in Lebenon, and much more.Listen to the full episode for FREE by becoming a free member at http://patreon.com/theantifada. Or show your support by signing up for a $5/mo, $10/mo or discounted annual Patreon membership Malek is one directors of Native and the Refugee a film about the commonalities native american life on reservations and palestinian life on refugee camps"Beyond the Axis of Resistance" panel: https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-beyond-of-118617202US/Israel/Arab League ceasefire talks: https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/trump-netanyahu-saudi-arabia-arab-gulf-hamas-qatar-ceasefire https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/witkoff-hamas-trump-deal-edan-alexander-lift-blockade”Saudi-US investment forum” clip: https://x.com/hxhassan/status/1922390556740550962Trump on Syria sanctions: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/5/16/trumps-decision-to-lift-syria-sanctions-fuels-dreams-of-economic-revival PKK disarmament and its regional significance: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/5/14/what-does-the-pkks-disarming-mean-for-its-regional-alliesSong: Logic - 44 More

Tech and finance writer David Z. Morris talks us through the mental illness behind Silicon Valley's fascist immortalists, rationalists, effective altruists, abundists, etc.Support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifdada for the fun half, in which we speculate on Luigi's connection to this world, what's behind the assassination attempts on Trump, and if we should "buy the dip" on the technofuturist dystopiaread/subscribe to his substack: https://davidzmorris.substack.com/Especially on the Zizians: https://davidzmorris.substack.com/p/deepseek-and-the-ai-murder-cultOn Tesla: ​https://davidzmorris.substack.com/p/tesla-enters-its-memetic-death-spiralhttps://davidzmorris.substack.com/p/tesla-is-on-fireIn Luigi Mangione: https://davidzmorris.substack.com/p/luigi-mangione-reformed-techno-rationalistExcerpt from his upcoming book on Sam Bankman-Fried: https://davidzmorris.substack.com/p/the-ai-timelines-scam-expanded-free Song: Madvillain - Accordion