Against the Grain

Art About Debt

Cassie Thornton’s art investigates the nature of debt and the impact of economic regimes on individuals and society. In one project, Thornton hired someone to have breakdowns on her art school campus. Another project involved touching surfaces in bank lobbies and offices and using the dirt collected to create rubbings on paper. The Feminist Economics … Continued


With Arun Gupta, journalist and co-founder of The Indypendent and the Occupied Wall Street Journal. In this episode he speaks with Mitch Jerserich about the state of American politics. A long time third party voter, for the first time he urges voters to vote against Trump, in voting for Clinton. His latest article is The Left Underestimates the … Continued


“I Called You to Help Me, But You Killed My Brother”: Police Shoot Dead Unarmed African-American Man; What Drives Trump Supporters?: Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild on Anger & Mourning of the Right; Alabama Guards Stage Work Strike Months After Prisoner Uprising at Overcrowded Holman Facility; Hunger Strikes, Marches & Work Stoppages: Unprecedented National Prison Strike … Continued


Against the Grain

Spinoza on Fortitude

Radical political projects suffer when people burn out, get distracted, or otherwise drift away. What can help socialists and other leftists stay on course and even deepen their commitment over the long term? Ted Stolze finds in the writings of the philosopher Baruch Spinoza conceptual resources that he thinks can help radicals persevere. Rethinking Marxism