Literate Machine

Eric Rosenfield

Literate Machine explores media through the lens of culture, history, and politics, examining the ways capitalism, power, and ideology shape and are shaped by the stories we love.

Written and performed by Eric Rosenfield, Literate Machine is available as blog entries, newsletter, podcast, and YouTube channel.

Literate Machine is available on Apple Podcasts and finer podcast apps everywhere.

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Avg 47 min
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October 23 · 39 min
Lanterns is a show about US Imperialism
Lanterns is a superhero TV show that's really about the US war in Iraq and US imperial policy Get Your Copy of The Book: The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization! Order now at https://mdsh.io/gxywsbjxoy and use code LITERATE10 for a 10% discount. This episode is sponsored by Hungry Minds. Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield for early, ad-free episodes, exclusive author's notes, and more for only $1. Text: https://literatemachine.com/2026/10/23/lanterns-is-a-show-about-us-imperialism/ Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/10/23/lanterns-is-a-show-about-us-imperialism/#bibliography
October 8 · 1 hr 3 min
The Technofeudal Roadmap to Socialism
What if they were already giving us the tools we need to beat them? Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield where you can get early, ad-free episodes, exclusive author's notes, and more for only $1/mo Video version: https://youtu.be/QaDtAOWgKdQ Text version: https://literatemachine.com/2026/10/08/the-technofeudal-roadmap-to-socialism/ Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/10/08/the-technofeudal-roadmap-to-socialism/#bibliography
September 22 · 25 min
50k Subscriber Q&A
I hit 50k subs! Here's some questions and answers! Join my Discord server: https://discord.gg/sfHRjccnt9 Support this channel at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield for early, ad-free episodes, exclusive author's notes, bonus essays, and more for only $1/mo. Bibliography: Video about the problems with DeleteMe and Incogni: https://youtu.be/iX3JT6q3AxA Video about the problems with VPNs: https://youtu.be/mIwfNw5UaHA?si=oi065lcla5vGw_0Y How Meta used a VPN to spy on people: https://twinsilos.substack.com/p/zuckerbergs-120m-spy-app-how-meta How the advantage of centrism on "electability" has disappeared: https://www.ms.now/opinion/study-moderate-progressive-turn-out-abdul-el-sayed-mike-rogers Megastudy about how undocumented immigrants don't increase crime rates: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02542-0 How immigrants increase economic activity: https://govfacts.org/immigration/the-economic-case-for-immigration-what-the-data-shows-about-americas-workforce/ Police don't solve crimes: https://theconversation.com/police-solve-just-2-of-all-major-crimes-143878 Prisons increase recidivism back making the transition back to society difficult: https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.095931 Trump wants to skip FDA inspections for meat: https://newrepublic.com/post/214909/trump-beef-fda-inspections-america-sick
September 7 · 41 min
The Medievalization of Work and the Cooperative Cure
With the economy getting more technofeudal, work is getting more medieval. What if this could play into the hands of creating a more cooperative economy that's better for everyone and not just the rich? Text version: https://literatemachine.com/2026/09/07/the-medievalization-of-work-and-the-cooperative-cure/ Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/09/07/the-medievalization-of-work-and-the-cooperative-cure/#bibliography Audio version on your favorite podcast app. Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield for early, ad-free videos, exclusive authors notes, and bonus material for only $1/mo. Apologies for the sound quality: I normally don't do hand-held and the mic is usually farther from my mouth, so I forgot to turn the gain down before recording and as a result there's more distortion/clipping in the sound than I would like. I used a bunch of filters and even overdubbed some bits to mitigate the problem, but it's not perfect.
August 16 · 32 min
Is Ground News a Right Wing Psy-Op?
There's some evidence this was done on purpose Text: https://literatemachine.com/2026/08/16/is-ground-news-a-right-wing-psy-op/ Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/08/16/is-ground-news-a-right-wing-psy-op/#bibliography Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield for early, ad-free episodes, exclusive authors notes, and bonus material for only $1 a month Discord: https://discord.gg/sfHRjccnt9
July 29 · 53 min
Ground News and the War on Truth
Ground News bills itself as a way to evaluate bias in the news, but the way it does so plays into the hands of those who have a reason to make you think all news bias falls into a simple left-right spectrum Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/07/29/ground-news-and-the-war-on-reality/#bibliography Text version: https://literatemachine.com/2026/07/29/ground-news-and-the-war-on-reality/ Support this channel at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield and get early, ad-free episodes and more for only $1, including the bonus chapter to this episode about Walter Lippmann ("The Manufacture of the Manufacture of Consent"): https://www.patreon.com/ericrosenfield/posts/manufacture-of-164895857 Thanks to all my patrons! Support some journalism coops: * 404 Media: https://www.404media.co/ * Defector: https://defector.com/ * Aftermath: https://aftermath.site/ * RANGE Media: https://www.rangemedia.co/ * Hell Gate: https://hellgatenyc.com/ * Flaming Hydra: https://flaminghydra.com/
July 13 · 21 min
25k Subcribers Q&A
Here's the 25k subscriber Q&A! Passion Project vs. Ambition, Democratic Socialism vs. Market Socialism, Predictions for 2028, 3 Crises that worry me, and the story of the channel. Relevant links: How Can I Save You? Gravity's Rainbow Over Palestine Mooks Clip of Hasan Piker saying Fox News is making the DSA look good
June 21 · 27 min
Why Infinite Growth is not Possible
Innovation and the stars will not be enough to give us infinite growth in a capitalist economy and all you have to do to know why is look at the evidence Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield and get early, ad free episodes, exclusive author's notes, and more for only $1. Support via one-time donation at: https://ko-fi.com/literatemachine Text Version: https://literatemachine.com/2026/06/21/no-infinite-growth-is-not-possible/ YouTube version: https://youtu.be/MLhhlgB59mY Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/06/21/no-infinite-growth-is-not-possible/#bibliography
May 26 · 24 min
Anti-Life or How Capitalism Will Die (with Math)
It seems like the entire economy is being sucked up into the realm of the ultra-rich. Let's explore why this looks like the beginning of the end. Support this project on Patreon at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield and get early, ad-free episodes, exclusive author's notes, and other extras for only $1. Text version: https://literatemachine.com/2026/05/26/anti-life-or-how-capitalism-will-die-with-math/ Video version: https://youtu.be/M-_W1qVE9Ks Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/05/26/anti-life-or-how-capitalism-will-die-with-math/#bibliography
April 30 · 33 min
Mooks
Let me challenge your assumptions Support this project on Patreon at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield where you can get early, ad-free episodes, exclusive author's notes, exclusive content and more for only $1. Full text: https://literatemachine.com/2026/04/30/mooks/ Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/04/30/mooks/#bibliography
March 24 · 59 min
Anarchy and the Promise of Revolution (V for Vendetta)
The book V for Vendetta posits a battle for the soul of the country between Anarchism and Fascism, freedom and oppression. But what if revolution doesn't happen the way we think it does? Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/03/24/anarchism-and-the-promise-of-revolution-v-for-vendetta/#bibliography
January 19 · 1 hr 5 min
Superman and the Case for Open Borders
What does Superman tell us about the ethics of closed borders? Support this project on Patreon at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield Especially since at this moment Warner Brothers did a copyright claim on this video to take all the revenue despite the fact that I only use small clips for the purposes of review and commentary which is definitionally fair use. I've disputed it, and we'll see how it goes, but I've never had such small clips mostly without sound get copyright striked in my videos before. Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/01/19/superman-and-the-case-for-open-borders/#bibliography 00:00 Superman 2025 and the rightwing backlash 03:26 Superman as an immigrant 06:28 The moral case for open borders 10:40 Immigration and crime 12:42 Immigration and social services 13:59 Immigration and labor 21:35 Immigration and space 23:55 Immigration and history 31:50 Immigration and racism 35:46 Right-wing obsession with birthrates 37:45 They're punking us, right? 45:50 It doesn't have to be this way 51:40 The problem with Superman (2025) 59:23 Politics is something we do, not something done to us
Sep 20, 2025 · 1 hr
Gaiman/Trump and the New Thought Behind the Abuse
How the New Thought and Positive Thinking movements helped create Neil Gaiman and Donald Trump and undermined our economy and lives Support this project on Patreon at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield Thanks to all my Patrons! Full bibliography at: https://literatemachine.com/2025/09/20/gaiman-trump-and-the-new-thought-behind-the-abuse/#bibliography Other formats, text, and more information at https://literatemachine.com
Apr 13, 2025 · 57 min
Our Coming Cyberpunk Dictatorship (Snow Crash)
There's a worst case scenario looming here, isn't there? Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Curtis Yarvin, Freedom Cities, "Anarcho-Capitalism", and the Neofeudal Order Still to Come Special thanks to my Patrons Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield for exclusive author's notes, deleted material, and other goodies Blog version: https://literatemachine.com/2025/04/13/our-coming-cyberpunk-dictatorship-snow-crash Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2025/04/13/our-coming-cyberpunk-dictatorship-snow-crash#bibliography Music: "What Shall We Do Now?" written by Roger Waters, performed by me Lossless audio version now up on Patreon
Nov 11, 2024 · 3 hr 13 min
Gravity's Rainbow Over Palestine
How Jewish Socialists Made an Outhouse for the European Soul Apologies I had a cold through part of the recording of this and you can hear that my voice is hoarse Extra content, ad-free content, early access, exclusive authors notes and more at: / ericrosenfield Thanks to my patrons! Tip me: https://ko-fi.com/literatemachine Text of the episode and information about the podcast version: https://literatemachine.com/?p=933 Full Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2024/11/1... Including links to cited articles and videos
Nov 7, 2024 · 8 min
What Do We Do Now?
https://literatemachine.com/2024/11/07/what-do-we-do-now/What do we do now that the orange fascist is back? Support me at: https://literatemachine.com Support me at: / ericrosenfield , https://ko-fi.com/literatemachine Sources: People like Biden's policies but not Biden: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio... Bernie Sanders on the election: / dcc3tfubbko Berlesconi's ownership of the media: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.or... Get your news from: https://www.404media.co, https://hellgatenyc.com (New York City area only), and other journalist cooperatives Progressive legislators have: Helped secure housing for the homeless: https://citylimits.org/2023/07/13/nyc... And healthcare for undocumented immigrants: https://www.amny.com/news/care-for-al... A Mind Forever Voyaging into Neoliberalism: • A Mind Forever Voyaging into Neoliber... Thanks to my Patrons: Curtis Shea, Craig DeHaan, Emre Bagdatoglu, Christopher Paul Bettridge, Sven Terje Bang, Tyler Smith, Milo, Michael Kelly, Daniel Warren, Adam Roesner, Christopher Keidong, Hey You, Robin Podolsky, DKO, Macy Morrow, Max Lawson, B R, Austin Armstrong, Mariano Muñoz, Christian Frost, Mike Gillis, Kathryn Carruthers, Gabi Ghita, Hristo Kolev, Kevin Cafferty, Ulysse Pence, Wilma Ezekowitz, Nancy S. Rosen, IndustrialRobot, Adam Hill, Arthur Rosenfield, and Jason Quackenbush Thank you all so much!
Sep 24, 2024 · 14 min
10,000 Subscriber Q&A
This a Q&A episode in honor of the YouTube channel hitting 10,000 subscribers. Topics include degrowth and socialism, private cities, anime, Loki Season 2, and my cat In this video I say I couldn't think of a source talking about alienation, work, and mental health, but after I made it I came across this video that does a pretty good job at the basics: https://youtu.be/aNKiBJJFXZIsi=AoqtG4tl8niq3N4O Thanks for listening! You can support me on Patreon at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield and get early access to videos like this one, extra content, exclusive author's notes and more! You can also tip me at https://ko-fi.com/literatemachine
Jun 25, 2024 · 35 min
How Capitalism Becomes Feudalism (Severance and Technofeudalism)
As commerce transforms around the new rent-extracting digital fiefdoms, algorithms and AI become a way to transform skilled labor into machine-learning piecework. In Severance, technology is used to "sever" people's working selves from their actual selves, creating the perfect, dehumanized work force. Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2024/06/25/how-capitalism-becomes-feudalism-severance-and-technofuedalism/#bibliography Blog version and links to the podcast and mailing list at https://literatemachine.com You can support this project at Patreon.com/ericrosenfield where for as little as $1 an episode you can get exclusive authors notes, early access to episodes, and other goodies Special thanks to all my Patrons: Kathryn Carruthers, Gabi Ghita, Hristo Kolev, Kevin Cafferty, Ulysse Pence, Wilma Ezekowitz, Mike Gillis, Christian Frost, IndustrialRobot, Not Invader Zim, Jason Quackenbush, Arthur Rosenfield, and Nancy S. Rosen
Apr 1, 2024 · 37 min
Elon Musk, Wokeness, and the Myth of Meritocracy
How Tony Stark, the myth of meritocracy, and our unspoken beliefs about genius explain Elon Musk and the (re)turn of eugenics to the right wing Blog version and information about podcast and mailing list: https://literatemachine.com/2024/04/01/elon-musk-wokeness-and-the-myth-of-meritocracy If you enjoyed this, please tell someone, as word-of-mouth is how projects like this grow. For as little as $1 an episode, you can get exclusive authors notes, excerpts, and early access to episodes by supporting me on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ericrosenfield Thanks to my current Patrons: Kathryn Carruthers, Gabi Ghita, Hristo Kolev, Kevin Cafferty, Ulysse Pence, Wilma Ezekowitz, IndustrialRobot, Not Invader Zim, Jason Quackenbush, Arthur Rosenfield, and Nancy S. Rosen Bibliography and Further Reading Interview with Stan Lee where he talks about the creation of Iron Man: https://screenrant.com/stan-lee-iron-man-unlikable-hero-creation-marvel/ How Albert Einstein was no "lone genius": https://www.nature.com/articles/527298a The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn, 1962 How many filaments Edison tried in creating the lightbulb: http://uncommoncontent.blogspot.com/2015/05/how-many-times-did-edison-fail-in.html Talented and Gifted programs and their legacy of Eugenics: https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/the-forgotten-history-of-eugenics/ On the creation of the IQ Test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2bKaw2AJxs Alfred Binet thought intellegence couldn't be reduced to a number: https://www.verywellmind.com/history-of-intelligence-testing-2795581 while Lewis Terman disagreed: https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-vexing-legacy-of-lewis-terman Terman study subjects results more about socioeconomic status than intelligence: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beautiful-minds/200909/the-truth-about-the-termites and the high performers and low performers had about the same IQ: https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/07/science/75-years-later-study-still-tracking-geniuses.html The Bell Curve is based on junk, fraudulent "science": https://youtu.be/UBc7qBS1Ujo?si=UMJKOTiArp9qSnca What Intelligence Tests Miss, Keith E. Stanovich, 2009 On "Gifted Kig Syndrome": https://thehowleronline.org/6490/viewpoint/former-gifted-child-syndrome/ Local education systems are funded by property taxes: https://www.npr.org/2016/04/18/474256366/why-americas-schools-have-a-money-problem DeSantis campaign says "woke" is awareness of systemic injustice: https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2022/12/desantis-ron-woke-florida-officials/ Someone working 40 hours a week at minimum wage is still below the poverty line: https://www.cnn.com/factsfirst/politics/factcheck_7e5bc7fa-1a5a-4c29-958f-53a07ac1b9ab# Why DEI was created: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/5-reasons-support-affirmative-action-college-admissions/ Study where resumes were sent out with stereotypically black and white names and their results: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/mar/15/jalen-ross/black-name-resume-50-percent-less-likely-get-respo/ On the long, toxic history of "Cultural Marxism": https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/13/opinion/cultural-marxism-anti-semitism.html Cultural Marxism and the "vast, Jewish conspiracy": https://www.dailydot.com/debug/what-is-cultural-marxism/ The "Hyperloop" is an idea that can never work: https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/elon-musk-hyperloop/ and was just a ploy to disrupt the development of trains in California: https://time.com/6203815/elon-musk-flaws-billionaire-visions/ Wired story from 2018 about Musk mistreating his employees: https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/ Some More News on Musk: https://youtu.be/5pNL7MlUpmI?si=GNFvsKQQRpyfw-MH Tesla cars fall apart in motion: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/ Tesla cars suspected of turning off self-driving moments before a crash: https://futurism.com/tesla-nhtsa-autopilot-report Musk not interested in labor laws or regulations: https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-spacex-twitter-inc-technology-business-8912c2a2f282b395d3630b3589fa25bc More on Musk mistreating employees: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-11-14/elon-musk-toxic-boss-timeline Musk spreading lies on Twitter: https://futurism.com/elon-musk-black-students-low-iqs Musk antisemitic tweets: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/16/elon-musk-antisemitic-tweet-adl Musk racist tweets about asylum-seekers: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/elon-musk-great-replacement-conspiracy-theory-1234941337/ Musk the eugenicist: https://disconnect.blog/why-silicon-valley-is-bringing-eugenics/
Nov 16, 2023 · 1 hr 16 min
How Will Capitalism End? The Orville, Eduard Bernstein, and What is to Be Done?
What does comedic science fiction television show The Orville tell us about how capitalism will end? How did Germany go from having the largest and most powerful socialist movement in the world to finding its movement gutted and its country given over to fascists? How did Eduard Bernstein, despite his best intentioned, upend the Marxist movement and provide cover for those who wanted to destroy it? And was he actually right all along? All this and more will be answered! The previous video, Star Trek into Socialism, is not necessary for appreciating this one, but the two inform each other: https://youtu.be/LJKDF0BwepI Also mentioned in this video: * Loki and How Conservatives Become Fascists: https://youtu.be/kBfTYUadGts * How the Hippies Became Yuppies: The Trial of the Chicago 7: https://youtu.be/LONtgVNaa7A?si=DvWznzsFnMZyYHR2 Not by me: Using Corporate Governance to Understand Socialism: https://youtu.be/MmeIGcI60oc Text of the episode and other ways in which you can access it at https://literatemachine.com/2023/11/16/how-will-capitalism-end-the-orville-eduard-bernstein-and-what-is-to-be-done/ Excerpts of deleted material on the Patreon at https://patron.com/ericrosenfield, which you can get access to for as little as $1 an episode, and also get exclusive author's notes, draft excerpts, and early access to episodes. There's also a whole thing I wanted to get into here about the role of identity politics in all this, but it was too complicated and too much of a digression from the main point, so I'll probably talk about it there. Bibliography My primary literary sources were: - *The Preconditions of Socialism* by Eduard Bernstein, 1899, edited and translated by Henry Tudor, 1993 (originally published in English as *Evolutionary Socialism*) - *Eduard Bernstein on Socialism Past and Present: Essays and Lectures on Ideology*, edited and translated by Marius S. Ostrowski, 2021 - *The Quest for Evolutionary Socialism* by Manfred B. Steger, 1997 - *The Dilemma of Democratic Socialism* by Peter Gay, 1952 - *The German Revolution 1917-1923* by Pierre Broué, 1971 (translation 2005) - The Manifesto of the Communist Party by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles, 1848 - Capital Vol. 1 by Karl Marx, 1867 - Critique of the Gotha Programme by Karl Marx, 1875 - "The Bourgeoisie and the Counter-Revolution" by Karl Marx, 1848 - "Speech to the International Workingman's Association" by Karl Marx, 1863 - Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Friedrich Engles - Anti-Dühring by Friedrich Engels, 1877 - Reform or Revolution? by Rosa Luxemburg - "The Russian Revolution" by Rosa Luxemburg, 1918 - *Capital in the 21st Century* by Thomas Piketty, 2014 More sources can be found at https://literatemachine.com/2023/11/16/how-will-capitalism-end-the-orville-eduard-bernstein-and-what-is-to-be-done/

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