Pop the Left #3: The Conspiracy Conspiracy

Pop the Left #3: The Conspiracy Conspiracy

Author: Douglas Lain, Nicholas Pell, C Derick Varn February 27, 2013 Duration: 0:00

 

<a href="http://skepoet.wordpress.com/">C Derick Varn</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Douglas-Lain/e/B004Z9W0QO">Douglas Lain</a> return for the third episode of Pop the Left, a podcast dedicated to moving beyond the impasse in Left politics.  This week we take a look at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories">conspiracy theories</a>, the psychology behind them, and the Left's inability to cope with the prevalence of this approach to politics. Does the bourgeois left benefit from conspiracy thinking?  Can we get beyond our own tendency to blame conspiracies for our ideological and political failures?  Was 9/11 an inside Job?  Did we ever land on the moon?  What about entryism?

Three years out of the Zero years and the attendant Bush administration, are we finally ready to face up to the how the Left turned over radical politics to the likes of Alex Jones and David Icke?

Next time on Pop the Left <a href="http://blog.nicholaspell.com/">Nicholas Pell</a> will return. Possible subjects to mull over:  What is Historical Materialism?  What should we make of the Arab Spring?  Marxist Humanism and the Self Thinking Idea.

Do you have a suggestion or topic you'd like to hear us discuss? Leave a comment.  Special thanks to the North Star blog for helping to promote Popping the Left.  <a href="http://douglaslain.net/pop-left-3-conspiracy-conspiracy/pop2-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-1514"><img src="http://douglaslain.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/pop2-300x270.jpg" alt="pop2" width="300" height="270" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1514" /></a>

 


Douglas Lain, Nicholas Pell, and C Derick Varn host Pop the Left, a conversation that digs into the intersections of politics, philosophy, and popular culture. This isn't a surface-level chat about current events; it's a deeper examination of the ideas shaping our society and the often-unseen forces at work within art, media, and daily life. The discussions feel like a thoughtful, sometimes contentious, but always engaging dialogue between friends who aren't afraid to challenge prevailing narratives, including their own. You'll hear them dissect everything from a blockbuster film or a trending novel to underlying philosophical concepts and breaking political news, all through a critical lens that questions both mainstream and alternative viewpoints. The result is a podcast that feels urgent and substantive, avoiding easy answers in favor of nuanced exploration. Tuning in means joining a conversation that treats culture seriously and politics critically, offering listeners a space to reconsider what they think they know about the world. The hosts bring their distinct backgrounds and perspectives to each episode, ensuring the analysis is never one-dimensional. For anyone weary of predictable commentary, this series provides a compelling alternative.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 4

Pop the Left
Podcast Episodes
Pop the Left #6: Historical Materialism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
This month Douglas Lain, C Derick Varn and Nicholas Pell discuss the Marxist notion of historical materialism.  According to Wikipedia "historical materialism" is: Historical materialism is a methodological approach to…
Pop the Left #5: More Thoughts on Zerzan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
John Zerzan is an American anarchist and primitivist philosopher and author. Â He is a critic of civilization and especially agriculture and he wants to return to a more primitive collective life. Â He advocates the noma…
Pop the Left #4: The Zerzan Reification [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
This month both C Derick Varn and Nicholas Pell are missing and instead there is a special guest. John Zerzan is an American anarchist and primitivist philosopher and author. Â He's fairly well known, especially in the P…