Workers' Lit

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!

How do you feel about gay trauma? How about getting disabled because of your annoying twink brother? How about some mild, one-sided incest? How about two of the best ladies in podcasting on their absolute A-game?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, listen to our episode on Sarah Monette's 2006 fantasy novel, "The Virtu."
If you want the backstory before you proceed, we did an episode (with the great Lee Mandelo!) on the first book in the series, "Melusine."
For more fun content and to help us keep the lights on, go support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/WorkersLit

The White House has rolled out a new counter-terrorism strategy. It’s nuts.

Are you Muslim? How about trans? Are you an immigrant, or related to one? How about on the left in any way? How about opposed to fascism?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I’ve got bad news: you’re on the list.

We get into Trump’s bizarre counter-terrorism czar, Sebastian Gorka, the narratives involved in justifying “pre-crime” arrests, and the need to kick this nonsense in the teeth ASAP.

Also, a tangent on Chick-Fil-A lemonade and respecting the troops.

Go support us on Patreon!

Links mentioned in episode:

https://open.substack.com/pub/kenklippenstein/p/insane-pre-crime-strategy-unveiled

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-USCT-Strategy-1.pdf

https://thegrayzone.com/2024/11/25/sebastian-gorka-british-intelligence-asset/amp/

It’s our first Patron chosen episode! Shout out to all who submitted and voted, especially Dark Jackal who submitted Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1974 work of political sci-fi, “The Dispossessed.”

Want to suggest and vote on an episode for next month? Become a Patron and support our work!

Imagine an imperfect but noble anarchist utopia in space, now imagine it’s orbiting a capitalist world. Can you imagine trouble ensuing? You should, because it does.

In this episode we get into the brilliant life and work of one of the greatest sci-fi writers of all time, discuss how chairs can make you horny, look at the sexism/bigotry that can crop up in leftist circles, and ask ourselves: is it gay to hook up with your homie for a single decad?