Workers' Lit

Nothing says “declining empire” like an all-out show of ruling class decadence!

In this episode Jen, Lenore, and Jacob discuss Trump’s increasingly wild vanity projects, Republican (and one very big and very dumb Democrat) attempts to defend them, and what it means to live in a country that couldn’t care less about its 250th birthday.

Go support us on Patreon!

Also, shout out to RXKNephew for his John Fetterman song, from which we have added tasteful snippets where appropriate.

Sources for this episode:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-white-house/

https://www.foxnews.com/media/fetterman-why-he-supports-trumps-ballroom-his-shock-democrats-who-doubt-last-assassination-attempt

https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/01/politics/what-we-know-ufc-fight-white-house

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/30/trump-considers-dropping-freedom-250-concerts-in-dc-after-artists-pull-out.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Triumphal_Arch

Y’all loved the Neon Hemlock episode, so here’s yet another episode where we sit down with someone in weird, queer, independent publishing!

Eric Raglin of Cursed Morsels press talks to us about why us queers love horror, the definition of antifascist art (and how it differs from/intersects with action), and the ongoing battle of writing versus slop.

Go support Cursed Morsels’ incredible work below:

https://cursedmorsels.com/

Go support Workers’ Lit on Patreon here;

www.patreon.com/workerslit

What do you do when the video game comedy website you write for is bought out and you stop getting paid and everything gets a lot worse?
You start your own worker-run, people-first, video game comedy website that rules, that's what!
We are joined by the founders of the GG Tribune to discuss the horrific behavior of the new owner of Hard Drive Magazine, their break from it, and the work they're doing to make actually cool stuff!
This is a story of labor struggle, the fight for artistic autonomy, and of course...the battle for the narrative.
Go support GG Tribune today!
https://ggtribune.com/
Also, don't forget to support Workers' Lit on Patreon!
www.patreon/com/workerslit

Yes, THAT Wallace Shawn wrote a play about reckoning with capitalism’s horrors as a privileged person in the imperial core. Written in 1990, it hits like a dozen punches to the gut.

Ethan of People’s New Republic and The Sandcastle Business joins us to discuss his own staging of this show, the impacts it’s had on him, and the brutality of the challenge it poses.

Listen to Ethan read the entirety of the play here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4xJMz8zB5xbHHU1hFbifGb?si=0gEWZZLjTSeqJVrNzPnrAQ

Check out the Workers’ Lit Patreon below!

Www.patreon.com/workerslit

Check out Jacob’s guest appearance on People’s New Republic, alongside the show Sandcastle Business!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7LFMgtdTVjhnoed8eRbUjl?si=xpK7lfGwS8iFRMptdw4kyg

https://open.spotify.com/show/5Zys77kT2JBZPByOUXrvvZ?si=fxuUfUvmRDaG6MaYG4krXg

Buy the book you goofballs you know you want to.
Buy Adam Johnson's "How to Sell a Genocide: The Media's Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza" today!
Brilliant media analyst and host of the "Citations Needed" podcast Adam Johnson joins the pod to discuss his book about the media's truly criminal coverage of Israel and Palestine, as well as the U.S. (and its proxies') relationship to the Middle East more generally.
You listen to this podcast because we discuss the battle for narrative. This is that at its most quintessential.
Check out Citations Needed!