Millennials Are Killing Capitalism

In this conversation we talk with Garrett Felber about their latest book A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre [https://www.akpress.org/a-continuous-struggle.html].  In discussing this new political biography, we cover Sostre’s ideological and political journey, history as a jailhouse lawyer, his forms of organizing practice, and the ways that people supported his campaign for freedom from political imprisonment. We talk about the influence of Great Depression era Harlem, Black and Puerto Rican Nationalism, Marxism-Leninism, national liberation movements, armed struggle, Women’s Liberation, and Anarchism on Sostre’s political thought and practice. Although much of what we know about Martin Sostre has to do with political letters and writings during the time of his incarceration, Felber also shares insights that few know about Sostre’s life, community organizing, and institution building on the outside. Garrett Felber is an educator, writer, and organizer. They are the author of Those Who Know Don’t Say: The Nation of Islam, the Black Freedom Movement, and the Carceral State [https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/episode-45-the-nation-of-islam-against-the-carceral-state-in-garrett-felbers-those-who-know-dont-say], and coauthor of The Portable Malcolm X Reader, with Manning Marable. Felber is a cofounder of the abolitionist collective Study and Struggle and is currently building a radical mobile library, the Free Society People's Library, in Portland, Oregon. Yesterday we hosted Garrett Felber along with Russell Shoatz III on a livestream [https://www.youtube.com/live/Y36mezR7Dmk?feature=shared] where we talked about some of the resonances between Martin Sostre’s life, political thought, and approaches to political prisoner defense work and that of Russell “Maroon” Shoatz and we also discussed CURBfest which is expanding to the West Coast for the first time this year.  Tomorrow Thursday the 29th we will host a livestream [https://www.youtube.com/live/E-zdyzOUKZo?feature=shared] on Sundiata Jawanza [https://www.thejerichomovement.com/profile/jawanza-sundiata-darvin-allen]’s Freedom Campaign including a quickly approaching parole hearing. We encourage all of you to go to the website [https://www.sundiatajawanza.com] and send letters of support for his release. The website says that letters were due on May 19th, but there is still just a little time if you can get a letter in the mail today or at least submit one electronically or contribute to the legal support fund [https://givebutter.com/unchainSJ] that would be great.  There are a number of other initiatives we want to share related to this episode, the campaign to free the Mississippi 5 which Garrett Felber mentions in this episode and the exoneration effort for Martin Sostre and his codefendant who is still with Geraldine (Robinson) Pointer. Links for that are in the show description. If you like the work that we do, please contribute to our patreon [https://patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism] or BuyMeACoffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/makcapitalism] accounts. These episodes each take hours of preparation, recording time, and production time and listeners like you are the only means of support for that work. Over the last month we’ve seen a 10% decline in recurring support. We know people are under financial strain right now, but if more of you who listen are able to contribute even a dollar a month it helps make this show possible and sustainable. Thank you for your support! Links:  Martin Sostre and Geraldine (Robinson) Pointer's names should have been cleared after they were framed. By signing and adding your name, you're supporting our effort to make what's been delayed for far too long a reality for these two transformational former political prisoners (Petition [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5UTONsRF9wIGsAEc6myNaGii_BoZ5wSPWGRSIs-gVklPnOw/viewform] / for more information [https://www.martinsostre.com/geraldine-robinson-pointer]) Sundiata Jawanza (livestream [https://www.youtube.com/live/E-zdyzOUKZo?feature=shared], legal support fund [https://givebutter.com/unchainSJ], website [https://www.sundiatajawanza.com], Jericho Movement page [https://www.thejerichomovement.com/profile/jawanza-sundiata-darvin-allen]) Free the Mississippi 5 [https://www.studyandstruggle.com/ms5] Garrett Felber along with Russell Shoatz III on a (MAKC) livestream [https://www.youtube.com/live/Y36mezR7Dmk?feature=shared] Those Who Know Don’t Say: The Nation of Islam, the Black Freedom Movement, and the Carceral State [https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/episode-45-the-nation-of-islam-against-the-carceral-state-in-garrett-felbers-those-who-know-dont-say] (MAKC episode) A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre (version for people outside the walls [https://www.akpress.org/a-continuous-struggle.html]/ incarcerated readers edition [https://www.akpress.org/a-continuous-struggle-incarcerated-readers-edition.html]) Martin Sostre - Letters From Prison [https://trueleappress.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/33.-sostre-prison-letters.pdf] Orisanmi Burton episode on the Rx Program [https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/a-statecraft-of-torture-orisanmi-burton-on-the-cia-mkultra-new-york-prisoners-and-indigenous-children]

This is the conclusion of our two part conversation with Tariq Khan on his book The Republic Shall Be Kept Clean: How Settler Colonial Violence Shaped Antileft Repression [https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p087431]. In part one [https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/like-were-at-war-with-a-foreign-nation-how-settler-colonial-violence-shaped-anti-left-repression-with-tariq-khan] of the conversation we laid out many of the general dynamics between anti-indigenous settler colonial violence in the 19th Century and the development of the earliest iterations of anticommunism in the so-called United States, long before McCarthyism or even what’s recognized by historians as the first Red Scare. In this conversation we talk about some of the legal precedents that the Trump administration has dusted off for some of his attempts to remove or exclude people for political views.  Because we recorded this conversation in December before Trump took office for his second term, we did not directly address several of his actions that draw from this history. The renaming of Denali as Mt. McKinley, drawing directly on laws used to deport anarchists to go after immigrants for their political views, and continuing the genocidal legacy of this settler colonial empire in fueling the genocide in Gaza. In addition to McKinley who was assassinated by an anarchist motivated in part by the US’s war in the Philippines, we talk about contrasting figures like Teddy Roosevelt, John Hay, and Albert and Lucy Parsons and the influence that the later half of the 19th century, and 1877 in particular, had on their political trajectories. In addition we talk about the history of lynching and sexual violence and the relationship this practice had to disciplining anarchists alongside its roles for white society and as a repression mechanism against solidarity across racial lines.  Dr. Tariq Khan is a historian with an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the intertwined forces underlying and shaping our social, political, economic, and cultural institutions. He has wide-ranging research, writing, and teaching experience in the fields of global capitalism, transnational studies, U.S. history, psychology, sociology, ethnicity & race studies, gender studies, colonialism & postcolonialism, labor & working-class history, radical social movements, history “from below,” public history, and community-based research and teaching. A few things to shout-out. Recently I had the pleasure of joining the good people of Tankie Group Therapy [https://youtu.be/_9Hgo7Ot_7U?feature=shared] on the East is a Podcast. I also recently joined Nick Estes from the Red Nation Podcast for a discussion of J. Sakai’s book Settlers [https://www.youtube.com/live/lh-YU8mb75M?feature=shared] and went on Saturdays with Renee [https://www.youtube.com/live/wq8hV0RCnEc?feature=shared] with Renee Johnston and Jared Ball. Recent episodes on our YouTube channel include Freedom Archives [https://www.youtube.com/live/6VXQXSUpyKc?feature=shared], Abdaljawad Omar [https://www.youtube.com/live/wdaJ_odLCsE?feature=shared], Momodou Taal [https://www.youtube.com/live/JdRRSzL63yA?feature=shared], Steven Salaita [https://www.youtube.com/live/pWC9GlznUhk?feature=shared], and a couple of discussions on Pakistan, India [https://www.youtube.com/live/l3lIo_6zDWs?feature=shared], and Kashmir [https://www.youtube.com/live/w5Luva5A0PQ?feature=shared]. Make sure you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@MAKCapitalism] so you can catch all of that work as well. If you like the work that we do, please support our show via patreon [https://www.patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism] you can do so for as little as $1 a month and now you can also make a one-time contribution through BuyMeACoffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/makcapitalism]. Your support is what makes this show possible.

In this episode, we speak with Edward Ongweso Jr about "artificial intelligence" and its implications, particularly concerning corporate interests and historical parallels with labor control. Edward critiques the term “artificial intelligence” for obscuring the underlying digital technologies and algorithmic systems that serve corporate agendas, emphasizing the narrow view of intelligence that excludes human cognitive elements. The conversation delves into the historical roots of computation, drawing parallels between modern AI and 19th-century plantation management techniques aimed at maximizing productivity and control.  We also explore the exploitation of global south workers in AI development, likening it to racialized regimes of chattel slavery. Furthermore, Ongweso critiques the concept of surveillance capitalism, arguing that surveillance has been integral to capitalism since its origins, particularly post-World War II, through marketing revolutions, the military-industrial complex, and financialization. The discussion concludes with an analysis of techno-authoritarianism, highlighting Silicon Valley's historical hostility to democracy and its prioritization of technologies that advance surveillance and social control. Edward is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, NY. Most of his work centers around tech criticism, labor and financial reporting, and book reviews. He is also the co-host of This Machine Kills, a podcast started in 2020 to discuss the political economy of technology. Support us via Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism] or BuyMeACoffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/makcapitalism]   Relevant Links:   Surveillance capitalism vs techno-feudalism vs techno-authoritarianism [https://thetechbubble.substack.com/p/ai-slavery-surveillance-and-capitalism?open=false#%C2%A7surveillance-capitalism-vs-techno-feudalism-vs-techno-authoritarianism]   A Materialist Approach to the Tech Industry: From Household to Military Tech with Dwayne Monroe [https://www.youtube.com/live/TLue-ZDo04Y?feature=shared]

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III about the increasingly repressive conditions on university campuses, particularly in the context of Columbia University's caving in to federal pressures under the thumb of Trump’s administration. We explore the broader implications of these concessions at the expense of liberalized notions of intellectual and academic freedom, student activism, and the role of universities as sites of political struggle. Dr. Davis highlights the historical and ongoing repression of student activism, particularly pro-Palestinian movements, and critiques the legal and institutional frameworks that perpetuate these violences. We also delve into the limitations of liberalism in fending off fascist infringement and the active participation of universities in maintaining these structures of domination. We also touch on the historical collaboration between Zionist organizations and U.S. universities, the erosion of diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the broader implications for the future of higher education. Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III is a third-generation educator, organizer, and artist. He is a faculty member in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education and director of the Campus Abolition Research Lab at the University of Michigan. His research and teaching broadly explore the racialized consequences of higher education on society, including the role of colleges and universities in limiting the life-making possibilities of Black and other racialized communities. Edited/produced by Aidan Elias, music as always is by Televangel If you like what we do and want to support our ability to have more conversations like this. Please consider becoming a Patron [https://www.patreon.com/c/millennialsarekillingcapitalism] or supporting us at BuyMeACoffee.com/MAKCapitalism [https://buymeacoffee.com/makcapitalism]. You can do so for as little as a 1 Dollar a month at patreon or by making a one time contribution through BuyMeACoffee.   Longer bio:  Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III is a third-generation educator, organizer, and artist committed to the lives, love, and liberation of everyday Black people. Dr. Davis is a faculty member in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education and director of the Campus Abolition Research Lab at the University of Michigan. His research and teaching broadly explore the racialized consequences of higher education on society, including the role of colleges and universities in limiting the life-making possibilities of Black and other racially minoritized communities. Dr. Davis has produced nearly three dozen scholarly publications, which have been cited in amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the United States and included as expert testimony before the California State Assembly. He is co-editor of Student Activism, Politics, and Campus Climates in Higher Education (Routledge) and author of the forthcoming Campus Abolition and Police-Free Futures on Johns Hopkins University Press. For his intellectual contributions, Dr. Davis been nationally-recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, as a 2020 Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, a recipient of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, a 2024 Inductee to the Martin Luther King, Jr. College of Ministers and Laity’s Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College and, most recently, was named a Senior Fellow at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. At the institutional level, Dr. Davis’ teaching and service have been recognized as the 2023 recipient of the John Matlock Cornerstone Award for his contributions to the success of African American students at the University of Michigan and the 2024 Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Equity Award at the U-M Marsal Family School of Education.

In this episode we interview Tariq Khan on his book The Republic Shall Be Kept Clean: How Settler Colonial Violence Shaped Antileft Repression.  We’ll be releasing this conversation as a two part episode on this excellent book which studies how anticommunism within the US is deeply intertwined with settler colonialism, anti-indigenous thought, and genocidal violence. This helps us to reframe our often twentieth century centric view of anti-left repression in the US. Khan’s work on the 19th century in particular also helps us to see the ways things like race science, eugenics, and phrenology were formed a backbone of the original assumptions of US policing, anti-anarchist repression, lynching, and regimes of deportation. Alongside and related to settler colonial violence against indigenous people, and anti-Black violence, we also through this conversation really get into how central the repression of anarchists in the 19th century was to the development of logics and technologies of anti-left repression in the so-called United States.  It is also important to see the resonance between US genocidal violence and state repression and that of the so-called State of Israel on Palestinians, something we explore a little bit more in part two of this discussion along with delving into William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt and more. This conversation was recorded this past December so we don’t reference a lot of what has happened in the last couple of months, but pairing this conversation with a discussion we hosted on our YouTube channel a week ago with Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly (CBS) [https://www.youtube.com/live/tkT580jvJXc?feature=shared] helps us to see how many things we are constantly told represent the crossing of new red lines, or the onset of a fascism that is foreign to the US, are actually foundational pillars of US statecraft, warfare and policing with very long histories.  On the subject of our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@MAKCapitalism], we have once again been very busy over there, releasing eight episodes over the last two weeks. We are only 13 subscribers away from 10,000 on our YouTube page, so now is a great time to sign up for free if you haven’t, and help us to hit that milestone. And you can catch up on all the conversations we’ve had over there recently and over the past year and a half if you’ve been following us there. We also set-up a “Buy Me A Coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/makcapitalism]” account which allows people to offer us one time support if they prefer doing that instead of the recurring contributions of patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/millennialsarekillingcapitalism]. You can support us in either place, and that is the only financial support we receive for these audio episodes, so we really appreciate whatever you can give to keep these conversations coming.  Music by Televangel [https://televangel.bandcamp.com]  Guest bio: Dr. Tariq Khan is a historian with an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the intertwined forces underlying and shaping our social, political, economic, and cultural institutions. He has wide-ranging research, writing, and teaching experience in the fields of global capitalism, transnational studies, U.S. history, psychology, sociology, ethnicity & race studies, gender studies, colonialism & postcolonialism, labor & working-class history, radical social movements, history “from below,” public history, and community-based research and teaching. A few examples of his published works are his chapter “Living Social Dynamite: Early Twentieth-Century IWW-South Asia Connections,” in the book Wobblies of the World: A Global History of the IWW [https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745399591/wobblies-of-the-world/],  his chapter “Frantz Fanon,” in the forthcoming anthology Fifty Key Scholars in Black Social Thought [https://www.choice360.org/choice-pick/forthcoming-titles-in-african-american-studies-2023/], and his new book The Republic Shall Be Kept Clean: How Settler Colonial Violence Shaped Antileft Repression [https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p087431]