Podcast
The Regrettable Century
Hosted by Chris, Jason, Kevin, Ben · EN
The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism.
A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you.
Check us out on Patreon for regular Patron Book Clubs, Regrettable Geopolitics updates, Real Nerd Hours, and more...
Visit the NEW AND IMPROVED Regrettable Century Merch Shop
39episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Gang Goes Full Tankie: The Results and Prospects of Digital Stalinism
Feb 2501:36:34Tap to summarizeThis week, the boys got together and discussed the perpetual battle between the digital Stalinists and the digital Third Campists. To what extent have those demonized as tankies been right or wrong? To what extent do any of these archaic political designations matter? New Tankies and Digital Neo-Stalinism: How the Conservative Left is Incubated https://europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article73701 Don’t Be a Tankie: How the Left Should Respond to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine https://theintercept.com/2022/03/01/ukraine-russia-leftists-tankie/ What Is a Tankie-and Why You Don’t Want to Be One https://medium.com/@ksutherland2727.ks/what-is-a-tankie-and-why-you-dont-want-to-be-one-0fb84611233a Everything you ever wanted to know about tankies, but were afraid to ask https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-always-against-the-tanks#toc2 Why are ‘anti-imperialists’ defending dictators? https://www.972mag.com/tankies-left-authoritarians-imperialism/ The ‘Anti-Imperialism’ of Idiots https://itsgoingdown.org/the-anti-imperialism-of-idiots/ JFK Files Reveal CIA Role in the 1956 Hungarian Uprising https://www.joewrote.com/p/jfk-files-reveal-the-cia-role-in Join the Regrettable Century Patreon Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Transcribe →Patreon Preview: Regrettable Geopolitics 02/21/2026
Feb 2200:14:58Tap to summarizeKeep up with Burkina Faso, Trump is Killing Cuba, Iran is a Formidable Opponent, Iranian Dead Protester Psyop, Pedophile Country Provides Security for Epstein, Spook Dictators on the Rise in Ukraine, The Ukrainian Counteroffensive that Wasn't... Join the Regrettable Century Patreon Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Transcribe →Patreon Preview: Disaster Nationalism by Richard Seymour (Part III)
Feb 1800:19:02Tap to summarizeFinally, the long awaited return of 'Disaster Nationalism' by Richard Seymour. The gang dives into chapters three and four. Catch up with us by joining the Discord. From the publisher: Liberal civilization is in crisis - now is a time of monsters. While the spotlight often shines on the actions of charismatic right-wing leaders such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, defeating these people will not stem the tide behind them. They are the embodiment of profound forces that are rarely understood. With meticulous analysis and compelling storytelling, Richard Seymour delves into the ideologies fueling the contemporary right and distorting modern politics into something abhorrent and nihilistic. The battle against disaster nationalism is not just political; it is a struggle for our collective soul and the future of civilization. Join the Regrettable Century Patreon Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Transcribe →The Red Jacobins and the Thermidor of 1921: Revisited (UNLOCKED)
Feb 1101:44:47Tap to summarizeThis week, we returned to a discussion about a not very well-known article from an obscure Trotskyist journal written over a decade ago... It generated a little bit of a buzz, but was mostly ignored. We think that was a mistake, and we are going to tell you all about why you should care about the decisions of the 10th Party Congress of the Russian Communist Party. You won't want to miss this episode. The Article in Question: The Red Jacobins: Thermidor and the Russian Revolution in 1921 Join the Regrettable Century Patreon Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Transcribe →Patreon Preview: Regrettable Geopolitics 02/07/2026
Feb 1000:20:14Tap to summarizeThe Greenland Nothingburger, Regime Change in Iran Wouldn't be Quick or Easy, Epstein Was Mossad, Epstein in Ukraine, Ukraine's Internal and Military Collapse... Join the Regrettable Century Patreon Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Transcribe →Patreon Preview -- Boundless and Bottomless Seas: Dugin's 4th Political Theory (Part XI)
Feb 600:18:06Tap to summarizeThe boys are back and are nearing the end of the book. Chapters 11 and 12 are where Dugin's animating principle of "Dasein" comes into conflict with his understanding of global geopolitics and the project of "Fourth Political Praxis." Work Cited: Dugin, Alexander (2012). The Fourth Political Theory. Translated by Sleboda, Mark; Millerman, Michael. Arktos Media. Join the Regrettable Century Patreon
Transcribe →Pessimism is an Optimism: A Return to Dialectical Pessimism (REDUX)
Feb 301:21:55Tap to summarizeThis is a repost of an episode from 2003, but with an added leadoff that we recorded recently. This episode discusses a topic that bears constant revisiting: our pessimism (because of intellect) and our optimism (because of will). No, it's not just a doomer affectation that we can use to sound as cool as we look; it's a critical method of engaging with the bleak reality that faces us. The only way out is through, but getting through is possible. Revolutionary Pessimism: The Worst is Yet to Come https://www.christiansocialism.com/2020/05/12/covid-peter-fleming-revolutionary-pessimism-capitalism/ Pessimism of the Will https://viewpointmag.com/2020/05/28/pessimism-of-the-will/ CRITICAL PESSIMISM AND THE LIMITS OF TRADITIONAL MARXISM https://www.jstor.org/stable/657342 For A Refresher: The Proper Amount of Bumming People Out: Pessimisms and Optimisms of Intellect and Will https://regrettablecentury.podbean.com/e/the-proper-amount-of-bumming-people-out-pessimisms-and-optimisms-of-intellect-and-will/ Scattered Thoughts on Melancholia and the Organization of Pessimism https://regrettablecentury.podbean.com/e/scattered-thoughts-on-melancholia-and-the-organization-of-pessimism/ Pessimism of the Intellect, Pessimism of the Will https://regrettablecentury.podbean.com/e/pessimism-of-the-intellect-pessimism-of-the-will/https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/889740-pessimism-of-the-intellect-pessimism-of-the-will Music- Англия - Сказочный мир
Transcribe →Half a Revolution: The Pink Tide and 21st Century Socialism
Jan 2701:09:38Tap to summarizeThis week, we get together to talk through a sort of brief overview of the era of the Pink Tide in Latin America and try to draw out some of the lessons and implications for the future of Socialism for the 21st Century... What Happened to the Pink Tide? https://jacobin.com/2016/07/pink-tide-latin-america-chavez-morales-capitalism-socialism/ The Rise and Fall of the Latin American Left https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-ebb-and-flow-of-latin-americas-pink-tide/ What Is Socialism for the Twenty-First Century? https://monthlyreview.org/2016/10/01/what-is-socialism-for-the-twenty-first-century/ 21st Century Socialism: What It Will Become and Why? https://ibw21.org/commentary/21st-century-socialism-what-it-will-become-and-why/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Transcribe →The Ever Present Present: The Long Now and the Cancellation of the Future
May 12, 2025Tap to summarizeThis week we return to an always prescient question: What happened to the future? What Lies Ahead?https://jacobin.com/2023/01/slavoj-zizek-time-future-history-catastrophe-emancipation Mark Fisher’s Specters of Scarcityhttps://jacobin.com/2025/01/mark-fisher-neoliberalism-acid-communism ‘Culture has lost the ability to grasp the present’https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/mark-fisher-ghosts-retromania/How the pandemic messed with our perception of timehttps://www.vox.com/science/23823507/pandemic-memory-time-perception-lockdown Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Transcribe →