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Everyday Anarchism

Graham Culbertson

The core idea of this podcast comes from David Graeber, who wrote that our everyday life is mostly run on anarchism, and at the same time people believe that anarchism doesn’t work. One of these is wrong.

I hope to illuminate how our communities already depend on Mutual Aid, in big and small ways. I'll do that by excavating the historical events and cultural trends you already know about, but have never thought about in terms of anarchism.

Find me at https://www.everydayanarchism.com

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21 episodes
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#199
Wednesday · 47 min
199. Utopian Thinking -- Rhiannon Firth
Rhiannon Firth joins me to discuss Journey Through Utopia, Mary Louise Berneri's anarchist survey of utopian thinking. Rhiannon and I discuss why so many utopias seem so totalitarian, and how we can imagine a better world without falling into that trap. Here's a link to the Berneri book: https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1008 And Rhiannon's book Disaster Anarchy: https://www.plutobooks.com/product/disaster-anarchy/
#198
August 19 · 47 min
198. The Age of Revolutions in the Americas -- Arturo Chang
It's generally accepted that there was an "age of revolutions" in Europe in the 18th and 19th century. Sometimes the American revolution is added. But there were many, many revolutions in the Caribbean and Latin America in that same time. Shouldn't we have an "age of American revolutions"? And if so, doesn't that mean the American revolution (or "United States Revolution") was just one American revolution among many? Arturo Chang joins me to discuss A New World of Revolutions, his book about the rise of "American political thought" and the various revolutions across the Americas that sprang from these political ideas. We also spend a great deal of time talking about how looking at history as the story of states prevents us from seeing what was actually happening across the wider landscape. You can learn more about Arturo and his book here: https://www.arturochang.com/ This episode is part of the "Radicalism in the American Revolution" series
#197
August 12 · 54 min
197. Seeing Paris Behind the Postcard -- Amit Chaudhuri
Amit Chaudhuri rejoins me to discuss his new novel/memoir/essay, Chateau Rouge. The book is about a writer who finds himself in a region of Paris, Chateau Rouge, filled with immigrants and their small business hustles, not cafes and patisseries. Shocked by how different Chateau Rouge is from the Paris of Hemingway and Proust, the narrator has to find a new way to understand what Paris is and what it means, without reliance on Parisian cliche. Amit and I discuss all of this, and also the broader question of how you find the meaning in the mundane. We also conclude the interview talking a bit about the filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu, whose films were also about the meaning of the mundane. I recommend starting Ozu with his film Good Morning, linked below. Amit recommends I was Born, But... also linked below. And you may be interested to learn that Good Morning is Ozu's own remake of I was Born, But... Chateau Rouge: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9798896230878 Good Morning: https://archive.org/details/good-morning_202012 I was Born, But...: https://archive.org/details/i-was-born-but
#196
July 22 · 58 min
196. Shay's Rebellion as Honorable Anarchy -- Daniel Bullen
Shays' Rebellion was a nonviolent, popular movement designed to stop corrupt Massachusetts elites from lining their pockets at the expense of workers. It worked, and is thus a perfect example of "self-regulation" or, as we might put it, anarchy. Jefferson called it "anarchy" and also "honorable." So what was the result of this honorable anarchy? The US Constitution, which was designed to prevent such anarchic uprisings from ever happening again. Dan Bullen joins me to discuss the rebellion (or regulation), its legacy, and its similarity to Occupy Wall Street. The lesson is: Join or Die. Or, as Dan puts it, "If we don't stand together, they're going to take all we have." You can find Dan's book here: https://honorablerebellion.com/ Here's Jefferson on the anarchy of Shays Rebellion: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/105.html
#195
July 8 · 54 min
195. The Fascist Appeal of The Movies -- David Thomson
David Thomson joins me to discuss his new book, A Sudden Flicker of Light. Although we both love movies, we've noticed that movies have distorted our way of seeing the world, changed our sense of reality, and most of all, turned politics into a fascist mass spectacle. After all, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and Mussolini all loved movies. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin love putting themselves on screen. Totalitarianism and the cinema have always been linked, and politics is less democratic, and more cinematic, than ever. Here's a link to the book: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9781668205730
#194
July 4 · 54 min
194. The Boston Tea Party as Direct Action -- Benjamin Carp
Historian Benjamin Carp joins me to discuss The Boston Tea Party and how we should remember it today. We particularly discuss the tea party's place in revolutionary history, the radicalism embedded in the New England colonies, and whether or not labels like "direct action" or "civil disobedience" should be applied to it.
#193
July 1 · 44 min
193. Ancient Anarchy -- Christopher B. Zeichmann
Christopher B. Zeichmann joins me to discuss his new book about ancient anarchism. We discuss the way the origins of the word anarchy, the way that democracy and anarchy have long been linked, and how to remember the radical communities that the historians of that time wanted to forget or attack. Here's the link to the book: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9780745350394
#192
June 24 · 54 min
192. Can AI be Saved From Capitalism? -- Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow joins me to discuss how capitalist ideology has made AI worse than useless, and if there's a way for us to make AI useful rather than malicious https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9780374621568
#191
June 10 · 51 min
191. The Deep American Constitution -- Mark Peterson
In this episode of Radicalism in the American Revolution, Historian Mark Peterson joins me to discuss his new book The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution: A Thousand-Year History. We discuss the way the constitution emerged from a long British tradition, Thomas Jefferson's ironic place in American imperialism, and the new understanding of the constitution as a mere piece of paper which threatens to render it irrelevant. Here's the link to the book: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9780691180014
#190
May 27 · 55 min
190. Anarchism is...Cooking -- Mark Bittman
The fastest, easiest way to anarchize your life is to buy food locally and cook it yourself (or grow it yourself). It won't create an anarchist society. But it's a great first step. Mark Bittman and I discuss that first step, what might come after it, and what difference it'll make in today's episode. We also talk for a while about why processed food is poison and what that means for Ozempic-style drugs.
#189
May 20 · 1 hr 5 min
189. What's East of "the West" ? -- Anthony Kaldellis
Before it became west of Islam, or China, or "the Orient," "The West" was simply the Western Roman Empire, and what it was east of was the Eastern Roman Empire. But the westerners wanted to be the true inheritors of the classical tradition, so they renamed it "western civilization," and made up reasons why the Eastern Roman Empire was actually something exotic and foreign and decadent and queer. They called it Byzantium. That's the argument of Anthony Kaldellis' new book, Phantom Byzantium, and Anthony joins me to discuss those ideas and what they mean for our understanding of "the West" and the ideas about politics that European thinkers appropriate from Rome. You can also listen to Anthony's first appearance on the podcast: https://www.everydayanarchism.com/the-roman-empire-lasted-because-its-rulers-were-in-a-constant-state-of-terror-anthony-kaldellis/ Anthony has his own wonderful podcast, Byzantium and Friends. I highly recommend it! https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/
#188
May 11 · 1 hr 7 min
188. Rewilding Crossover with Peter Michael Bauer
This episode is a crossover with Peter Michael Bauer's Rewilding Podcast. Peter and I talk about rewilding, everyday anarchism, and the connections between rewilding and anarchy We recorded this episode in support of Peter's new documentary film series on rewilding. It has successfully funded on kickstarter, but you can still back the project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/villagevideo/rewilding-101-a-survival-strategy-for-humanity
#187
May 6 · 1 hr 23 min
187. Imperial Delusions -- Luke Kemp
Luke Kemp rejoins me to discuss the second part of Goliath's Curse, "Imperial March and Fall." Luke and I start off talking about why empires and states are actually the same thing, and move from there to various ways that people justify imperial politics, what it's like to be anti-empire when surrounded by defenders of empire, and how we can try to get the machine of empire to stop. Here's the link to buy the book: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9780593321355 And here are Luke's previous appearances on the podcast: https://www.everydayanarchism.com/166-goliaths-curse-luke-kemp/ https://www.everydayanarchism.com/146-james-c-scotts-two-cheers-for-anarchism-luke-kemp/ https://player.captivate.fm/episode/2c8105f0-611f-4545-b632-e868e5039840/
#186
April 29 · 39 min
186. Thomas Jefferson: Radical, Revolutionary, Enslaver -- Annette Gordon-Reed
For this first episode in the Radicalism in the American Revolution series, historian Annette Gordon-Reed joins me to discuss her new book Jefferson on Race, a collection of writings by Jefferson on the topic of race from throughout his entire career. Anette and I grapple with a pair of irresolvable facts about Jefferson: he was a race radical and an enslaver. You can find the link to Annette's book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691122069/jefferson-on-race Here's the letter to Jefferson from "A Slave" that strikes an apocalyptic tone on slavery and uses Jefferson's own words: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-9200
#185
April 22 · 15 min
185. Radicalism in the American Revolution
Here's an introduction to a new series on Radicalism in the American Revolution, in honor of/in frustration with 250 years of America. Soon to come: Jefferson on Race, the American constitutional tradition, Thomas Paine's basic income, and more!
#184
April 15 · 52 min
184. The Horizontal Transcendence of the Everyday -- Clare Carlisle
How do you know your life is worthwhile? How do you connect to the world around you? What sort of life is worth living? In her new book, Transcendence for Beginners, the philosopher and biographer Clare Carlisle works through answers to these questions, answers inspired by the philosopher Spinoza and the novelist George Eliot. And those answers, rather than pointing to something beyond, point us to transcendence in the here and now. Plus we talk about tradwives. Here's the link to the book at the publisher's website: https://www.nyrb.com/products/transcendence-for-beginners
#183
April 1 · 44 min
183. Mrs. Orwell -- Andrea Chalupa
Eric Blair, known as George Orwell, had all of his successes after he met and married Eileen O'Shaughnessy. The graphic novel Mrs. Orwell, written by Andrea Chalupa, is the story of how George Orwell became a couple, and helps re-introduce Eileen to history as the dynamic, radical activist and editor who has been left out of the Orwell story. You can get a copy of the book here: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9781250877857
#182
March 18 · 50 min
182. A Door Into Ocean -- Joan Slonczewski
Joan Slonczewski joins me to discuss their novel A Door Into Ocean, a science fiction novel about an all-female society of "sharers" on an ocean planet, Shora. Joan's sharers are one of the best speculative depictions of what an anarchist society would look like, so Joan and I discuss the inspirations for the world, including Gene Sharp, Ursula Le Guin, and Gandhi, and what we can draw on from those figures in our current struggles. You can find Joan at https://biology.kenyon.edu/slonc/slonc.htm Buy the book: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9780312876524
#181
March 11 · 1 hr
181. The Language of Incompleteness -- Amit Chaudhuri
Amit Chaudhuri joins me to discuss his new collection of essays, Incompleteness. In these essays and his novels, Amit is constantly searching for new language that will acknowledge the instability and flux of the world around us. It is intellectual anarchy of the highest order, as well as artistically breathtaking. You can find all of Amit's books published by NYRB here: https://www.nyrb.com/collections/amit-chaudhuri
#180
February 25 · 1 hr
180. Aurora -- Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson comes back to discuss Aurora, his novel of a generational starship, in which generations of humans are born, live, and die onboard without ever seeing a planet. We discuss the generational starship as a science fiction genre, whether humans will ever be able to travel to the stars, and what it would mean for science fiction if we can't. We also take a detour into the question of "hard," scientific science fiction vs. "soft," humanist science fiction. Here's a link to Stan's article for Boing Boing, arguing that we won't ever reach the stars: https://boingboing.net/2015/11/16/our-generation-ships-will-sink.html Thanks to Nick Gaskill for suggesting an episode on Aurora!

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