Housing and economic mythology
Dear friends, When you think about it, a striking indictment of capitalism’s fundamental absurdity is that, humans remain the only species on Earth forced to...
The kids aren’t alright – they’re banned
Dear friends, Twice in one day! A new record. Yesterday the ALP passed into law legislation that bans all young people from social media [1]. This has been...
On immunity and the ruling class
Dear friends, I woke to news that France was refusing to arrest Netanyahu despite the ICC’s ruling on his creation and maintenance of genocide. So yes, in...
Spectacular populism, technology, and division
Dear friends, The acceleration of populist movements globally presents an interesting contradiction for analysis. Populism, a peculiar (if increasingly...
Liberals, whinging and performance politics
Dear friends, I’ve been “experiencing” liberal American post-election analysis on every form of media I visit. I’m sure you’re in the same boat as...
Identity politics and the crisis of working class solidarity
Dear friends, We live in a time of intensifying identity-based conflict, where every social and political issue becomes refracted through the lens of...
Fascism returns, and it’s everywhere all at once
Dear friends, I’ve heard a few (bad) hot takes on US politics lately and this has really got my hackles up about fascism. We need a common literacy to...
Some thoughts on Fedora on a Yoga
Dear friends, We’re doing a tech one today – why not. My tech journey over the last year has seen me rapidly disentangle myself from Apple’s locked-in...
It can’t happen here
Dear friends, It is happening here. The polarisation, the extremism, growing xenophobia and racism, anti-intellectualism, hatred, violence and climate-...
“For the economic policies”: the reason you may no longer have any rights
Dear friends, I accidentally engaged with some US election coverage in the last 24 hours. Amidst flitting between various streaming services, noticing how...
Singing gently to my soul: on youth alienation and precarity under late capitalism
Dear friends, What the heck do I have in store for you today? Well naturally I have been enjoying pop music and thinking about the “climate” that the youth...
On forestalled innovation
Dear friends, I spent a little of my time today listening to other contemporary Marxists [1] – and then wondering about how to add to some aspects of their...
Cognitive bias, attribute substitution and politics
Dear friends, Astute stalkers amongst you may remember some 14 years ago I made a YouTube video by the same title. Let’s not go there. I want to talk with...
Grim realities, emancipatory futures
Dear friends, We live in existentially challenging times – between actively unfolding western-backed genocides on several fronts, growingly desperate climate...
Assimilation and rebellion
Dear friends, An attendee at a presentation I gave once said to me “it seems you just truly wish to belong in the academy”. This remains one of the most...
Making meaning at the end of time
Dear friends, I have been necessarily pondering “end times” – conceptually a troubling thought. We’re seeing the slow motion collapse of ecology, social...
They’re telling us what’s next
Dear friends, We’re not listening, but the oligarchs are signalling the next phase of climate denialism. We’ve talked fairly extensively about AI and its use...
The struggle for liberation, perils of individualism, and radical praxis
Dear friends, I have been pondering the theoretical landscape of anarchism, particularly anarcho-syndicalism, and its tensions and harmony with Marxist...
Productively “slow,” or just bourgeois?
Dear friends, I am fortunate to hold a role which affords me the ability to take leave. And gladly, I have a few days off this week, mostly to pack up our...
The “power” of AI
Dear friends, Today I have some off the cuff thoughts about global heat death – revisiting an early theme (actually, the earliest in this particular...