Jacobin Radio Folgen

Suzi talks to Sebastian Budgen in Paris about the collapse of Prime Minister François Bayrou’s government and the “Block Everything” mobilization against Macron’s austerity agenda, which brought unions, students, and grassroots activists into the streets. Another national strike is set for September 18. What makes this mobilization different — and what does the crisis mean for the Left, the far right, Macron’s presidency, and the future of the Fifth Republic? Suzi then talks to Joe Allen about his new book Teamsterland, exploring the Teamsters’ notoriety and contradictions, the near-strike at UPS, and how Teamsters president Sean O’Brien’s embrace of Trump mirrors the challenges facing US labor today. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.

Émile Torres, who co-wrote an article with Timnit Gebru for First Monday about AI, discusses tech moguls’ dreams of transcending the merely human. Daniel Wortel-London, author of The Menace of Prosperity, looks at the fiscal history of NYC, and considers how we could do better than subsidizing the rich. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.

Populism is in the air, providing unique opportunities and challenges to the Left. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber discusses how populist sentiment — popular anger at elites and a demand for economic redress — helped socialists reinsert economics back into politics. Recent electoral victories, such as Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City Democratic primary, have shown the success of centering material demands with widespread appeal. While not populist in the classic sense, campaigns like Mamdani’s have been able to harness this broader mood of popular discontent. The strategy is not without its limitations, but it holds important lessons for how the Left can reshape a political environment that has been hostile to workers for decades. The latest issue of Catalyst is out, and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, and published by Jacobin. Music by Zonkey.