Rev Left Radio

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In this episode, Breht sits down with Ahmed and Luisa - two members of the Democratic Socialists of America’s National Political Committee and leaders within the Springs of Revolution Platform [https://sordsa.org/]. With the August 2025 DSA Convention approaching, this episode dives into the growing struggle between the organization’s revolutionary left and its more moderate, staff-driven tendencies. Representing a strategic coalition of rank-and-file organizers from across the country -including Red Star, Liberation Caucus, MUG, and Emerge - Springs of Revolution is fighting to remake DSA into a bottom-up, anti-imperialist, and internationally rooted revolutionary organization. From prioritizing local chapters and doubling their funding, to instituting anti-Zionist political commitments and unified electoral strategies, their platform directly challenges the right-wing of the organization and sets out a more radical vision for this evolving organization. We discuss what it means to build DSA into a revolutionary mass force, why Palestine is the “moral compass” of the left, the material lessons of recent uprisings like the George Floyd rebellion and Pro-Palestine Campus Uprisings, and how deep organizing is key to seizing future ruptures. If you’re a delegate heading into convention, a DSA member on the fence, or an outsider wondering what the internal political battles of the U.S. left really look like, this episode is essential listening. Learn more about the platform here: https://sordsa.org/ [https://sordsa.org/] ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio [https://www.patreon.com/revleftradio] Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio [https://buymeacoffee.com/revleftradio] Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/ [https://revleftradio.com/] Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood [https://www.youtube.com/@flipaynahood]

In this episode of Red Menace, Breht and Alyson dive into Mao Zedong’s pivotal 1957 speech On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People. This foundational text offers insight into Mao’s dialectical approach to politics, particularly in navigating the complex terrain of class struggle within socialist society. Together they explore Mao’s crucial distinction between antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions, and how this distinction can guide revolutionary praxis. The discussion includes an analysis of the “unity–struggle–unity” dialectic, the historical context and lessons of the Hundred Flowers and Hundred Schools campaigns, and the subsequent Anti-Rightist backlash. They also examine Mao’s critique of Han chauvinism and draw parallels to white chauvinism in the contemporary U.S., as well as Mao's position on Tibet and the historical legacy of how that conflict played out, and how it is still weaponized today. ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio [https://www.patreon.com/revleftradio] Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio [https://buymeacoffee.com/revleftradio] Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/ [https://revleftradio.com/]

In this episode, Breht is joined by Alex Zambito, the voice behind the Instagram account Southern Catholic Worker, for a wide-ranging conversation on the intersections of Christianity and revolutionary struggle. Together, they explore Alex’s journey into the Catholic Worker movement, how his Southern roots and spiritual convictions shaped his politics, and what the life and teachings of Jesus Christ - himself a Palestinian born to working people - have to offer a world ravaged by capitalism, empire, and despair. The conversation dives deep into liberation theology, the legacy of figures like John Brown, St. Francis of Assisi, Fanny Lou Hamer, Dorthy Day and Thomas Merton, and the ways theology can inform and animate anti-capitalist resistance. Alex discusses the contradictions between mainstream American Christianity and the gospel's radical call to justice, post-atheism, and the possibilities for a spiritual reawakening amid the decay of late capitalism. ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio [https://www.patreon.com/revleftradio] Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio [https://buymeacoffee.com/revleftradio] Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/ [https://revleftradio.com/] Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood [https://www.youtube.com/@flipaynahood]

One of the most radical things you can do is live your life in direct opposition to the forces that control our society. Not just fighting for policies or organizing your community, although those are certainly important parts of it, but also living with values that oppose the values of our dominant society. And even more importantly, raising the next generation to embody those values—not in a coercive way, but through organic parenting and role modeling that make radicalism irresistible. This is how we raise revolutionaries: instilling community, love, egalitarianism, and a need for justice into children. And this is just what our guest in today's episode has devoted himself to doing. Breht O’Shea is an activist, organizer, political educator, and host of the podcast Revolutionary Left Radio [https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/] and co-host of the podcasts Red Menace [https://redmenace.libsyn.com/] and Shoeless in South Dakota [https://sites.libsyn.com/476973]. He is a father of three based out of Omaha Nebraska. In this conversation, Part 3 of our Post Capitalist Parenting series, Breht shares with us insights about parenting that he's learned over the years as a father of three and what Marxism teaches us about parenting. We discuss the classic text by Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, which is a dialectical materialist analysis of patriarchy and the family, tracing the emergence of the patriarchal family and it took through various iterations of class society but also exploring what families have looked like under actually-existing socialism and also what it might look like under communism. We also explore the anti-natalist position which attempts to argue that having children is immoral, why this perspective is deeply flawed, what Buddhism can teach us about parenting, and much, much more. Support Breht and Rev Left Radio, and join their community HERE [https://www.patreon.com/c/RevLeftRadio] Further Resources * The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, Freidrich Engels [https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1884/origin-family/] * Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kristen-r-ghodsee/why-women-have-better-sex-under-socialism/9781568588896/?lens=bold-type-books], by Kristen Ghodsee Related Episodes: * Post Capitalist Parenting Pt. 1: Parenting Under Capitalism w/ Toi Smith [https://sites.libsyn.com/435210/post-capitalist-parenting-pt-1-parenting-under-capitalism-w-toi-smith] * Post Capitalist Parenting Pt. 2: Reimagining the Family w/ Kristen Ghodsee * Revolutionary Leftism with Breht O'Shea [https://sites.libsyn.com/435210/revolutionary-leftism-with-breht-oshea-in-conversation] * Buddhism and Marxism with Breht O'Shea [https://sites.libsyn.com/435210/buddhism-and-marxism-with-breht-oshea-in-conversation] * What is To Be Done? with Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante [https://sites.libsyn.com/435210/bonus-what-is-to-be-done-with-breht-oshea-and-alyson-escalante-in-conversation] * Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism w/ Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante [https://sites.libsyn.com/435210/imperialism-the-highest-stage-of-capitalism-w-breht-oshea-and-alyson-escalante] * Red Menace: "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 1) [https://redmenace.libsyn.com/the-origin-of-the-family] * Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism w/ Kristen Ghodsee [https://sites.libsyn.com/435210/why-women-have-better-sex-under-socialism-w-kristen-ghodsee] Intermission music: "Cool 4 U" by Club Cafe [https://clubcafe.bandcamp.com/album/cool-4-u] Upstream is a labor of love—we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/upstreampodcast [https://patreon.com/upstreampodcast] or please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support [https://www.upstreampodcast.org/support] If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at  upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship [https://upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship] For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org [https://www.upstreampodcast.org/] and follow us on Twitter [https://twitter.com/upstreamPodcast], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/upstreampodcast/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/UpstreamPodcast], and Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/upstreampodcast.bsky.social]. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/upstream/id1082594532] Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4KwWOMp24P9cVVR6d0i7Zq?si=ec90ca944bcb43cf&nd=1], or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.