Varn Vlog

Jamie Merchant, the author of Endgame, joins us to talk about the current chaos. Start with the spectacle and you miss the structure. We step past the daily outrage to map Trumpism as a regime built by a new insurgent...

What if the “techno-feudalism” boom is a symptom of our confusion rather than a diagnosis of the age? We sit down with Alex Hochuli (Bungacast, American Affairs ) to interrogate the feudal metaphor and make a sharper...

Politics feels louder than ever and somehow emptier too. We open the hood on liberalism—what it claims to be, how it actually behaves, and why Trump’s rise didn’t just bend norms but exposed tensions baked into the...

Start with a simple question: if investment drives productivity and growth, what happens to a society that keeps choosing consumption over capacity? We trace a straight line from Marx’s core mechanics to Kalecki’s...

What if America’s “anti-intellectualism” isn’t a decline in smarts but a culture built to distrust theory? We trace that paradox from Puritan moral rigor and pragmatist “cash value” truths to the postwar professional...

The hardest problems don’t fit into a slogan. We invited the editors behind Heatwave Magazine to unpack why national fixes can’t solve planetary crises, why tariffs and “reindustrialization” won’t restore a high‑wage...

What if the renewed fascination with Domenico Losurdo says more about our appetite for stability than about Marxism’s future? We sit down with Ross Wolfe to unpack how a Verso‑to‑Monthly Review pipeline, a revived faith...

What happens when a Protestant Christian delves into the philosophy of Russia's most controversial thinker? Jay Rogers, a heart transplant survivor and longtime student of Russian culture, takes us on a fascinating...

What defines Iranian identity, both within Iran and across its global diaspora? In this thought-provoking conversation with historian Keanu Heydari, we peel back layers of complexity surrounding one of the world's most...

A shock win feels like a movement—until the math starts. We dig into Zoran Mamdani’s ascent with a clear-eyed look at why voters broke for him, what “anti-politics” actually signals, and how a mayor’s bold promises get...

What happens when the revolutionary fervor of Marxism meets the probing depths of the psychoanalytic couch? In this intellectually stimulating conversation, Andrew Flores (host of The Parallax Viewer) explores the...

What does it mean to build a socialist party in America today? The Marxist Unity Group, a left caucus within the Democratic Socialists of America, offers their perspective on this critical question while unpacking the...

In this riveting conversation with Dave Stockdale of Nightmare Masterclass, we dive deep into the crumbling foundations of media trust and how dark money shapes our information landscape. The discussion begins with a...

What makes a radical left movement actually succeed in the 21st century? In this deeply illuminating conversation, Henry Wallis of New International Magazine breaks down how France Unbowed has become one of Europe's...

This episode was released patreon's only in 2021. Mario Tronti and Antonio Negri stand as towering figures in the forgotten history of Italian radical Marxism. Their theoretical frameworks - operaismo and autonomia...

What if blockchain technology could emancipate us rather than just enrich speculators? In this wide-ranging conversation with Victor Vernissage, researcher, economist, and founder of Humanode.io, we explore how emerging...

What happens when grief becomes inheritance? When poet Miller Oberman became a father himself, he suddenly understood something that had shaped his entire life: he had been parented by someone traumatized by the loss of...

From theoretical battles to publishing controversies, this episode dives deep into the fault lines dividing today's left through the lens of "Flowers for Marx," a new collection exploring Marxist humanism and scientism...

What makes a book of Marxist theory so controversial that publishers back out after initially accepting it? The answer takes us deep into the heart of leftist intellectual debates that have shaped revolutionary...

What if our personal stories are more valuable than we realize? In this thought-provoking conversation, William Welser, founder of LOTIC and innovative technologist, explores how our narratives shape not just our...

What happens when artistic rebellion becomes just another commodity? In this thought-provoking conversation, Adam Turl unpacks his book "Gothic Capitalism: Art Evicted from Heaven and Earth," taking us on a journey...

Money isn't just about personal comfort—it's the foundation of sustainable social change. In this compelling conversation, attorney and business coach Courtney Teasley challenges conventional thinking about the...

Journey into the often-overlooked intersection of Buddhism and critical theory with Tom Pepper, author of "The Faithful Buddhist" and "Indispensable Goods." Tom challenges conventional Western Buddhist practices by...

What happens when you read Lenin completely, chronologically, and in context? You discover a thinker far more complex and pragmatic than most portrayals suggest. In this illuminating conversation, Professor Alex Herbert...

What makes human thought distinctive, and can machines ever truly think like us? In this profound conversation with Nicholas Villarreal, author of "A Soul of a New Type: Writings on Artificial Intelligence and...