Doomscroll 20.5: Vivek Chibber

This is a subscriber’s only episode. Professor Chibber and I dive deep into the history of the left and explore its transformation over the course of the 20th century. After the cultural turn, the march through institutions, and our current media environment, we ask — where did things go wrong? You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Vivek Chibber, a professor of sociology at New York University. He is the author of Confronting Capitalism, The Class Matrix and Postcolonial Theory & the Specter of Capital. Chibber is the editor of Catalyst Journal and the host of the Confronting Capitalism podcast. We discuss the cultural turn, the rise of identity politics and the crisis of academia. Chibber is deeply committed to a material analysis and is unflinching in his critique of class tourism on the political left. He describes the early theoretical foundations for socialism as it relates to liberal philosophical ideals. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Andrew Callaghan. We explore Andrew’s background in music and online subcultures, the ethics of publishing or "risk-for-harm", and his plans for the future of Channel 5 and more. Plus a few behind the scenes and personal stories that we could not include in the public version. This is a subscriber’s only episode. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter. Subscribe now on Patreon or Substack: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Andrew Callaghan, a documentary filmmaker and the host of Channel 5. He is the director of This Place Rules (2022) and Dear Kelly (2025), an in-depth portrait of a man he met at a ‘White Lives Matter' rally. We discuss the breakdown of consensus reality and how deplatforming can often lead to greater political extremism. Andrew describes his early origins in the anarchist movement and his participation in a group called Seattle Solidarity. His work explores the decline of the American dream along with the rise of political radicalism online and IRL. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Ezra Klein. We discuss the emerging political faction known as Degrowth, the carbon crisis and the policy arc of the neoliberal period. This is a subscriber’s only episode. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter. Subscribe now on Patreon or Substack: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Online radicalization is the result of three key factors. Support the show: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Ezra Klein, an opinion columnist at the New York Times, the host of The Ezra Klein Show. He is a co-author, along with Derek Thompson, of a new book titled Abundance. We discuss his promethean, energy-rich vision for the future, polarization in the attention economy and the end of the neoliberal consensus. We explore our new political era and the rise of superpower competition between the US and China. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Adam Friedland. We discuss the ethics of platforming and the art of the talk show interview. For a few reasons, we chose to put this part of the conversation on the private feed only. This is a subscriber’s only episode. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter. Subscribe now on Patreon or Substack: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Adam Friedland, a stand up comedian and podcaster. He is the host of The Adam Friedland Show. We discuss the influence of alt-media, a farewell to Cumtown (RIP), the ideas & inspiration behind The Adam Friedland Show and his many social media controversies. How did comedians become recast as public intellectuals for the digital age? You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter: www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Briahna Joy gray. We discuss irony politics, the alt-media to organization pipeline, and our shared admiration for Star Trek utopia. This is a subscriber’s only episode. You can get access to the full catalog for Doomscroll and more by becoming a paid supporter. Subscribe now on Patreon or Substack: https://www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella https://joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe