Jacobin Radio

The Left looks poised to pick up some big electoral wins in the midterm elections. But with virtually all of the Left’s victories since the first Sanders presidential primary coming through elections, are socialists and progressives at risk of devolving into electoralism?

On this latest episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek examine the structural and institutional pressures facing left-wing politicians and how we can build greater power outside the state.

Read Vivek’s obituary for Anwar Shaikh here: https://jacobin.com/2026/10/shaikh-obituary-marxism-political-economy

The latest issue of Catalyst is out and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM

Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com

Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, and published by Jacobin. Music by Zonkey.

Sam Stein, author of A Right to Housing?, investigates that proposition skeptically. Natasha Lennard, author of On Un/Certainty, talks about how doubt can be a mask for certainty.

Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.

After three years of slaughter in Gaza, some leading officials of the Biden administration are trying to justify their record. Figures like Antony Blinken and Brett McGurk have been on media tours recently giving their version of the story.

Meanwhile Akbar Shahid Ahmed, diplomatic correspondent for the Washington Sun, has been working to provide a serious account of what really happened. Akbar has been a guest on Long Reads several times before. He returns to the podcast to discuss his new book, Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War in Gaza.

Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

Featuring Chris Brooks on labor’s crisis and the strategic, militant class struggle that can turn it all around. Brooks, former chief of staff to UAW President Shawn Fain, urges organizers to be flexible in their methodology, explains the federal monitor’s anti-left lawfare against the UAW over Gaza—and why labor must build for 2028.

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Read more:

“Is Labor at the Point of No Return?” by Chris Brooks in New Labor Forum newlaborforum.cuny.edu/2026/01/15/is-labor-at-the-point-of-no-return

“Is Labor at the Point of No Return?” by Chris Brooks in New Labor Forum newlaborforum.cuny.edu/2026/01/15/is-labor-at-the-point-of-no-return

“Shawn Fain’s UAW Is Facing Strong Headwinds” by Nelson Lichtenstein in New Labor Forum newlaborforum.cuny.edu/2026/05/15/shawn-fains-uaw-is-facing-strong-headwinds

“The War on the UAW” by Ella Fanger in The Nation  thenation.com/article/economy/uaw-elections-monitor-gaza

Find Bad Energy and Songs My Mother Taught Me at Haymarketbooks.org

The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

Owen Zidar, co-author of The Everywhere Millionaire, reveals the world of the hidden rich. Plus: Jake Werner surveys the latest in US-China relations.

Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.