Actually Existing Socialism

After a long hiatus, AES is back — and we're kicking things off with the return of a favorite guest: Holly High! In this episode, we dive into Holly's latest project, her substack Laos: Revolutions in Reproduction, exploring how socialist ideals shape everyday life.

We discuss: socialist housing and urban planning in Laos, property ownership under socialism, the evolving role of the socialist state  and much more!

Join u...

For this long awaited episode on Vietnam - Jen (@HowTheRedWasWon) joins to talk about her recent unique experience of visiting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a country that her grandparents fled from in the 1960s! Jen guides us through her journey there, what she learned, and some important reflections about revolution in the USA she had as a result. 

Listed below are links to Jen's social media pages which are home to her...

Since March of this year I have been the co-host of another podcast called Prolespod (my tenure starts on Episode 49). On that show we have been working extensively on producing a special event series known as The Stalin Eras. The key focus of this series is to illuminate the early history of the Soviet Union and the life of its longest lasting leader, Joseph Stalin, using some of the latest scholarship. It featur...

In this fascinating episode Andre Schmid joins to discuss his book "North Korea's Mundane Revolution". As always on this show, we're covering something new by talking about the early years of the North Korean revolution in the aftermath of the Korean War which "ended" in 1953.

Andre Schmid's research and teaching focus on 19th and 20th century Korea and East Asia, as seen in the broader context of globa...

In this fascinating episode Alexander Herbert joins to discuss his book "What About Tomorrow?: An Oral History of Russian Punk from the Soviet Era to Pussy Riot". As always on this show, we're covering something new  by talking about both counterculture music and the late Soviet Era. I myself have virtually no understanding of the punk genre, so don't think you need to be a Punk Rock enthusiast to enjoy this episode as the top...

In this episode, Samantha Lomb returns as a guest to talk about a recent book she edited entitled:  Win or Else: Soviet Football in Moscow and Beyond, 1921-1985.

In Win or Else, the late soviet historian Larry E. Holmes shows us how Soviet football culture regularly disregarded official ideological and political imperatives and skirted the boundaries between socialism and capitalism. Drawing on rich archival materials as well ...

Gabriel Rockhill joins to talk about a controversial concept for Western socialists: "siege socialism". A term coined by the great Michael Parenti.

Unlike most episodes of this show we won't be focusing on a specific country but examining the variety of past and present socialist countries through the lens of historical materialism and dialectics, two concepts Gabriel explains for us. 

Ga...

Sardana returns to finish our discussion on her recent study published through Ziibiing Lab "Indigenous Diamonds : Extractivism and Indigenous Politics in the Diamond Province of Russia." 

In our discussion we delve into the impacts extractivism has had on the people of the Sakha Republic before, during, and after the Soviet Union (USSR). Sardana, who is Sakha, also gives her own personal and community experiences of growing u...

Sardana Nikolaeava joins this episode to discuss her recent study published through Ziibiing Lab "Indigenous Diamonds : Extractivism and Indigenous Politics in the Diamond Province of Russia."

In our discussion we delve into the impacts extractivism has had on the people of the Sakha Republic before, during, and after the Soviet Union (USSR). Sardana, who is Sakha, also gives her own personal and community experiences of g...

In this episode we'll be discussing Sopo's article on Jacobin entitled "How Free-Market Ideologues Dismantled Health Care in Post-Soviet Georgia". In doing so we will be talking about not only her memories of Soviet Georgia, but the memories of her family members and Georgian workers, doctors and nurses. We delve into the origins of the soviet socialist healthcare system, its operations, its historic outcomes, as well as its catast...

In this episode, Charles Xu of the Qiao Collective (a diaspora Chinese media collective challenging U.S. aggression) joins to walk us through the long history of solidarity between China and Palestine.

We do this through discussing "The Gates of the Great Continent: Palestine, China, and the War for Humanity's Future" which is Charles' recent article published on the Qiao Collective website. We're going to be talking about the...

This episode features Dominique Petit-Wagner discussing her masters thesis entitled: "Briefing the Ambassador: Joseph Davies and the U.S. Press Corps in Moscow, 1936-1938." 

Our discussion focuses on American Ambassador Joseph E. Davies and a few American journalists who bought into the socialist realist presentation of the Soviet Union during the tumoulotus 1930s. We talk about what socialist realism...

This episode features sociologist Dr. Agata Zysiak talking about her recent work  "Limiting Privilege: Upward Mobility Within Higher Education in Socialist Poland" (2023), which examines first-generation students' struggles with reluctant academia in a developing socialist world that was looking for equality.

We talk about the successes and failures of this ambitious socialist program, its similarities and differences to race ...

This episode features Zoe Stephens (@Zoediscoversnk), an experienced tour guide to North Korea (DPRK). Using her own experience, knowledge, footage and education - Zoe's goal is to present a image of North Korea that aims to humanize the people of the DPRK in ways that are rarely seen in the West.

She tells us what is required to visit on a guided tour, what to expect, what are some common misconceptions, and even the fascinating o...

Iskolat, a Latvian communist, returns to teach us more about the shrouded history of Latvia, which was a part of the Soviet Union, officially known as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic continuously from 1944 to 1990.

In this second and final part we'll be discussing the post-World War II era of building socialism in Latvia and the Baltics at large. We cover the successes of socialist construction, its weaknesses, and ultimately...

Iskolat, a Latvian communist, joins to show to teach us about the shrouded history of Latvia, which was a part of the Soviet Union (officially known as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic) continuously from 1944 to 1990.

In this first part we'll be discussing the pre-history of the socialist republic by delving into the conditions of what would become Latvia in the early 20th century to the eventual socialist revolution of the ea...

Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century".

In this final part of a three part discussion we'll be discussing the propaganda war against China and the socialist developments all leftists should be following. 

Carlos Martinez is an author and political activist from London, Britain. His f...

Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century".

In this second part of a three part discussion we'll be delving into how China operates as a socialist democracy. We'll be answering what that means, talk about some accomplishments as well how it differs from Western liberal democracies. 

Carl...

Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century".

In this first part of this three part discussion on China we'll be delving into why socialist China remains but the USSR doesnt. We'll be tackling this question through the lens of how these two communist juggernauts approached the necessity of controversial pol...