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Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will focus on different planks and demands in our program, featuring expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and will discuss why, how, when, and exactly what in society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change.  In this episode, we talk with Bailey, a member of Louisville DSA and an army veteran, about how he grew into a socialist out of his war experience, how joining DSA has been important to his journey, and how we encourage others with his experience to get involved, organize, and win the demand to End the US War Machine.  If you’re current or former military looking to get involved with DSA and help organize veterans in the socialist movement, Bailey wants you to reach out! His personal email address is listed below.  To read DSA’s program, Workers Deserve More, go here.  If you’re interested in helping organize veterans in DSA, reach out to Bailey: [email protected] Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

In this episode, we celebrate Eugene Debs’s powerful insights and brilliant writing on the occasion of his passing 100 years ago. If you like what you hear and want to read more Debs, let us know by sending us a message!  Debs's writings featured on this episode: The Power of Persistent Effort Labor, the Genius of Civilization Abolitionists Why We Have Outgrown the United States Constitution Statement to the Court Upon Being Convicted of Violating the Sedition Act Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will zoom in on different planks and demands raised in our program with expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and talk about the why, how, when, and exactly what society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change.  On this episode, we talk with Paul Heideman (Jacobin, Catalyst) about the theory and practices of penal or carceral minimalism, which has recently been suggested as an alternative to abolitionism by some social theorists and political strategists and which has been influencing debate within DSA and elsewhere (as listeners to the last two episodes may realize). This is the third in a series discussing socialism and abolition, related to the “End Mass Incarceration and Police Immunity” plank in Workers Deserve More.  To read Workers Deserve More, DSA’s program, go here. To read Paul’s article, "The Case for Carceral Minimalism," go here.  Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will zoom in on different planks and demands raised in our program with expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and talk about the why, how, when, and exactly what society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change.  On this episode, we talk with Alec Karakatsanis, author of the book Copaganda and executive director of the Civil Rights Corp, about the aggregation of the punishment bureaucracy under capitalism, and recent left-wing criticisms of the abolitionist horizon that Workers Deserve More demands. We did make an error on the introduction to last week’s episode with Alex Vitale, and the introduction was mismatched — human error on the backend. This *is* the Alec episode, fully collated. DSA's Program Alec’s Copaganda Newsletter Usmani and Lewis’s article Center for Working Class Politics “The Left’s Coalition Crisis” report Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will zoom in on different planks and demands raised in our program with expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and talk about the why, how, when, and exactly what society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change.  On this episode, we talk with Alex Vitale, professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and the author of The End of Policing. We focus on the latest left-wing criticisms of Workers Deserve More's "End Mass Incarceration" plank and its abolitionist horizon, or what Alex critically calls "carceral socialism."  Workers Deserve More Alex Vitale’s Substack Center for Working Class Politics “The Left’s Coalition Crisis” report Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Workers Deserve More, DSA’s new national program, has become a widely discussed phenomenon across national media and elections, making headlines and chyrons over the last few months as the right lashes out with fake outrage and centrists hand-wring over “the DSA takeover." Upcoming Class episodes will zoom in on different planks and demands raised in our program with expert guests and organizers from across DSA and the left, and talk about the why, how, when, and exactly what society must change, as well as the role of Workers Deserve More in that change.  On this episode, we talk with Aziz Rana, a professor of law at Boston College and the author of the recent book, The Constitutional Bind, about various demands for democratic reform, the histories and complexities of these interlocking demands, and the importance of socialists pointing the way to a radically just and equal socialist future.  Read Workers Deserve More here. You can find out more about Aziz and his work here. Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Clarissa Redwine and JS Tan, authors of Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World’s Most Powerful Industry, discuss the political and economic motivations behind their organizing and writing, and the class-conscious role tech workers can play in building a truly democratic society.  JOIN NPEC, DSA’s National Labor Commission, our Tech Committee, Haymarket Books, and EWOC on Monday, September 14th, 12:30 PT/3:30 ET to kick off the Against Tech Oligarchy reading group! Attend the event, and you can get a copy of the book for free!  RSVP for the ATO event HERE  Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Hayley and John from DSA’s National Political Committee (NPC) discuss the planning, programming, vibes, and takeaways from DSA’s first—but definitely not last—Socialist Summit in Chicago, held at the end of July. Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Sebastian and Kelly discuss the exciting rise of tenant unionization on the socialist left and how it fits into the broader scope of working-class organizing and the crucial fight for decent housing. To learn more about how you can organize with your neighbors, join the ETOC summer cohort, starting August 8th! Join the Emergency Tenant Organizing Committee’s Summer Cohort, starting on August 8th!  Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

On this episode, Luke talks with Michaela about DSA’s new Workers Deserve More Program. We talk about the program’s origins, the drafting process, and all of the cool demands it contains. We also discuss some of our favorite parts, the initial media reaction, future political education opportunities revolving around Workers Deserve More, and how DSA’s elected officials can support the program. Check out a recording of the mass call announcing the program. And of course, the program itself!  Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

It's the summer of sports and socialism! Connell (River Valley DSA) and Jason (Connecticut DSA) join us to talk about socialist fandom, the political economy of sports in the US, and how sports can bring us together as an organization. Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Right-wingers have attacked public schools for decades as training grounds for future “woke” Marxists. Our guests Kevin, Mie, and Sudip turn that on its head with their new study, identifying what they’ve termed “social justice nationalism," a pedagogy that avoids class analysis and a real critique of power, and isolates social activism and politics from collective action.  Join the National Political Education Commission  Check out Kevin's book, I Guess This is Activism? here Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Jalil Muntaqim and Sid C. W. discuss the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, national liberation struggles, and the Spirit of Mandela coalition's July 4 National Mobilization Against Genocide. Jalil is a member of the Spirit of Mandela coalition, and Sid is a member of DSA's National Political Committee (NPC).  Information about the mobilization can be found here. DSA is one of many organizations endorsing the mobilization, and members interested in attending or hosting a watch party can email Sid at [email protected] Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

How should socialists position ourselves and our movement in the face of American decline and ongoing threats to democracy? Aziz Rana, DSA-endorsed candidate for Congress Oliver Larkin, and St Petersburg, FL’s socialist in office, Richie Floyd, discussed the current political terrain on a mass call recorded Weds 05/20, presented here as a podcast.  Join DSA’s National Electoral Commission. Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.

Gabriel from Portland DSA joins Class to discuss the complex political and class struggles around unpopular hyperscaled data center construction in Oregon, and how the moratorium campaign influenced the State House primaries happening now, where a DSA candidate, Tammy Carpenter, is competing against the Democratic establishment and tech capitalists. Read about the OR data center struggle in PDX DSA’s blog here. The two Jacobin articles mentioned in the episode include Holly Buck's “Democratic Governance of AI is the Real Solution" and Aaron Regunberg's “Stop the AI Build-out, Start the Fight."  Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter, Red Letter.