Upstream

This is a free preview of the episode "Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) w/ Fadhel Kaboub." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/upstreampodcast
As a Patreon subscriber, you'll get access to biweekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a great way to make Upstream a weekly show, and it will also give you access to our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes along with stickers and bumper stickers at certain subscription tiers. You'll also be helping to keep Upstream sustainable and allowing us to keep this project going.
In this episode we're joined by Fadhel Kaboub for a conversation about the US dollar, its hegemony over the globe, and the emerging challenges to this hegemony. Fadhel Kaboub is associate professor of economics at Denison University, president of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity, and author of Global South Perspectives on substack.
Our conversation begins with an introduction to moden monetary theory, providing a brief introduction to how this idea first emerged. In doing so, Fadhel first walks us through traditional monetary theory, the idea that money emerged as a more efficient form of barter. We then discuss how MMT challenges this traditional theory and what the implications are when it comes to economic policy and politics. 
Fadhel then talks about the structure of modern monetary theory and how inflation, debt (both soverign and foreign), and deficits are understood within the MMT universe. We discuss how MMT theorists understand government spending and why they insist that "finding the money" to pay for social services is not a real thing, using the example of a Green New Deal and WWII mobilization to illustrate their point. 
Fadhel then responds to some of the critiques of MMT from the left—specifically, the Marxist critique that MMT doesn't fully understand how power works. This critique centers on the contention that it's naive to think of the nation state is a neutral arbiter which has the ultimate goal of resolving capitalism's contradictions on behalf of the working class.
We then expand our conversation out to include a global perspective, exploring the issue of monetary sovereignty in the global South, along with debt and other structural traps that the West uses to keep global South states at the bottom of the value chain. We end by discussing the interests of the working classes of the global South and the global North and how the workers of the world can unite to fight for a world that's better for everyone. 
Further resources:
Global South Perspectives (Fadhel Kaboub's Substack)
Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity
Finding the Money (Documentary)
Related episodes:
The Rise (and Fall) of the US Dollar w/ Fadhel Kaboub
Decolonizing Money (plus an Introduction and Exchange on Anarchism) w/ Julio Linares
The Problem with Modern Monetary Theory w/ Doug Henwood
Our ongoing series on China
Our ongoing series on Venezuela
Our ongoing series on the Alliance of Sahel States
Upstream is a labor of love—we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/upstreampodcast or please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation through our fiscal sponsor Independent Arts and Media at www.upstreampodcast.org/support
For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

In this episode, the latest in our From the Frontlines series, we're joined by Anthony Rogers-Wright for a conversation on data centers (and how to fight successfully them). Anthony Rogers-Wright is an environmental/urban planner, researcher, policy analyst, political strategist, consultant and organizer. 
The conversation begins with an overview of Anthony's recent piece in Black Agenda Report, "The Commodification of Social Justice (or, Saving the Data Center Subject from the Elite Capture of the Climate Change Industry. We briefly discuss the main arguments in the piece, that 1) we cannot let the fight against data centers be co-opted by the nonprofit industrial complex and 2) that the fight against data centers presents a fruitful opportunity for broad, cross-cultural organizing if done correctly. 
We discuss the impossible economics of data center buildout and Anthony describes what he believes is the real impetus behind them: surveillance and control. Anthony talks about the class, environmental, and racial impacts of data centers and AI technology more broadly before transitioning our conversation into exploring the resistance to data centers and the attempts by nonprofits and the Democratic Party to co-opt this resistance.
We are now on Youtube! You can find us and subscribe to our channel at youtube.com/@upstream_podcast
Further resources:
Listen to our From the Frontlines sereis
"The Commodification of Social Justice (or, Saving the Data Center Subject from the Elite Capture of the Climate Change Industry," Anthony Rogers-Wright
The R(AI)cial of Big Tech and Data Center Buildout, Anthony Rogers-Wright
Unlocking Insights: Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact On The Black Community, Sherdell Baker
Ghost in the Machine, PBS Documentary by Valerie Veatch
Cooperation Jackson
Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else), by Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
Related episodes:
Worker Cooperatives Part 2: Islands Within a Sea of Capitalism (Documentary)
A History of California, Capitalism, and the World w/ Malcolm Harris
Capitalist Realism with Carlee
The Democratic Party w/ Cecilia Guerrero
From the Frontlines: Tenant Organizing w/ Josh Poe and Tara Raghuveer
Intermission music:  "Lullaby to My Tender Comrades" by Amy Blanding
Upstream is entirely listener funded. No ads, no promotions, no grants—just Patreon subscriptions and listener donations. We couldn't keep this project going without your support. Subscribe to our Patreon for bi-weekly bonus episodes, access to our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, and for Upstream stickers and bumper stickers at certain subscription tiers. Through your support you'll be helping us keep Upstream sustainable and helping to keep this whole project going—socialist political education podcasts are not easy to fund so thank you in advance for the crucial support. patreon.com/upstreampodcast
For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

This is a free preview of the episode "Decolonizing Money (plus an Introduction and Exchange on Anarchism) w/ Julio Linares." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/upstreampodcast
As a Patreon subscriber, you'll get access to biweekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a great way to make Upstream a weekly show, and it will also give you access to our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes along with stickers and bumper stickers at certain subscription tiers. You'll also be helping to keep Upstream sustainable and allowing us to keep this project going.
In this episode Julio Linares joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on anarchism, debt, the U.S. dollar, and mich more. Julio Linares is an economic anthropologist and author of Decolonizing Money: The Promise of Abolishing the US Dollar.
Our conversation begins with Julio describing how his study of microfinance and microlending led him on the path to eventually writing his book, Decolonizing Money. Julio then describes his recent experience in Barcelona where he got to witness the response to the eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal (known as Maricarmen) and the growing movement around housing in Spain. We discuss this movement in the context of the French protests, anti-ICE activism, and the Democratic Party in the US.
After a brief disagreement on the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the global struggle against U.S. imperialism, we discuss the late David Graeber and the influence he had on Julio. Julio then describes his conception of anarchism before he and Robbie launch into a comradely back-and-forth discussion compairing and contrasting anarchism with Marxism (and specifically Marxism-Leninism).
We then turn the conversation towards Julio's work around decolonizing money. Julio provides a brief history of how money came into being thousands of years ago through what he calls a "war-money-bondage" complex before bringing us up to the present form it takes under U.S. hegemony. 
We end with a discusion on universal debt cancelation, modern monetary theory (MMT), Julio's alternative idea of democratic monetary theory (DMT), and finally, we discuss some tactics on how we can bring about the reality that Julio is arguing for.
Further resources:
Decolonizing Money: The Promise of Abolishing the US Dollar, by Julio Linares
The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, by Karl Polanyi
Earth's Great Enemey, film by Abby Martin
Debt for Climate
Related episodes:
Microlending and the Financialization of Poverty w/ Sohini Kar
Universal Basic Income Pt. 1: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? (Documentary)
Immigration, ICE, and Working Class Rebellion w/ Cecilia Guerrero
The Democratic Party w/ Cecilia Guerrero
Against White Feminism w/ Rafia Zakaria
Listen to our ongoing series on Iran
Gamified Capitalism and 21st Century Fascism w/ Max Haiven
Revolutionary Leftism with Breht O'Shea
What is To Be Done? w/ Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante
Prefigurative Politics and Workplace Democracy w/ Saio Gradin and Nicole Wires
Be More Pirate w/ Sam Conniff
Everyday Utopia w/ Kristen Ghodsee
Listen to our ongoing series on Cuba
Listen to our ongoing series on Venezuela
Listen to our ongoing series on China
Live Show: Breaking the Chains of Empire w/ Abby Martin (with Bonus Q&A)
Marx's Capital Vol. 1 w/ David Smith
Slow Down or Die w/ Timothée Parrique
The Rise (and Fall) of the US Dollar w/ Fadhel Kaboub
 The Problem with Modern Monetary Theory w/ Doug Henwood
Upstream is a labor of love—we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/upstreampodcast or please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation through our fiscal sponsor Independent Arts and Media at www.upstreampodcast.org/support
For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

We have unlocked our episode "Nathan Fielder's 'The Curse' w/ Carlee." Enjoy!
What happens when the contradictions of living under late capitalism are revealed in excruciating detail? What happens when our performances break down? When they break us? When they break those around us? What happens when you take all of this and wrap it up in a faux reality TV show which is itself about a reality TV show? 
Well, you get The Curse—the 2023 masterpiece by comedian, actor, writer, director, and producer, Nathan Fielder along with Benny Safdie. You may know Nathan from his satirical docu-reality comedy television series, Nathan For You. You may know him from his more recent TV series The Rehearsal or his brand new movie You Can See Everything. Or you may not know him at all. It doesn't really matter, because in this episode we're going to explain everything you need to know about how Nathan Fielder produces masterful media and art—and we're going to do so by taking a deep dive into the 10 episode mini-series The Curse, written by and starring Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie—and also starring Emma Stone.
 
And to have this conversation, we've invited on friend of the show and TV & film enthusiast Carlee. You may recognize Carlee from our episode on Capitalist Realism, or you may recall a couple of Patreon episodes ago when Robert read her piece, "The Puritanical Eye: Hyper-mediation, Sex on Film, and the Disavowal of Desire."
 
In this conversation, we discuss Nathan Fielder's "The Curse"—walking you through the plot and the characters before analyzing and presenting a wide variety of scenes from the show and discussing what they tell us about our individuated, isolated, tortured, exhausted, and often performative lives under neoliberal capitalism. It really is a great show and this is a wide-ranging discussion that will have value whether or not you've seen the show. It's also a lot of fun. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.
Further resources:
Egress: On Mourning, Melancholy and Mark Fisher, by Matt Colquhoun 
"The Puritanical Eye: Hyper-mediation, Sex on Film, and the Disavowal of Desire," by Carlee
Related episodes:
Capitalist Realism w/ Carlee
Sex, Desire, and the Neoliberal Subject
Upstream is a labor of love—we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/upstreampodcast or please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation through our fiscal sponsor Independent Arts and Media at www.upstreampodcast.org/support
For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

In this conversation, episode 12 in our ongoing series on Cuba, we're joined by Niki Franco, AKA Venus Roots, for a discussion on what the radically different histories of Cuba and Puerto Rico can teach us about colonialism, capitalism, socialism, and the struggle for liberation in the Caribbean and beyond. Niki Franco is a Caribbean abolitionist community organizer, writer, facilitator of spaces for collective study, and author of Flies in the Tropics published this month by 1804 Books.
The conversation begins with Niki describing her connection to Puerto Rico and introducing us to her working class family history in Puerto Rico and presenting the colonial, imperialist nature of the U.S.'s relationship to Puerto Rico. Niki then describes her upbringing in Miami and the reactionary, far-right politics of much of south Florida before describing how she broke out of the city's suffocating anti-communism and embraced socialism.
We then begin our discussion on Cuba and Puerto Rico—beginning with their intertwined colonial and anti-colonial histories. We talk about how, in the mind of many reactionaries, Puerto Rico is elevated to a "good colony" position while Cuba is vilified as what happens to bad colonies. We end by connecting the struggles in Cuba and Puerto Rico to Palestine, Congo, Sudan, and the entire global South's struggle against imperialism and colonialism.
We are now on Youtube! You can find us and subscribe to our channel at youtube.com/@upstream_podcast
Further resources:
Flies in the Tropics, by Niki Franco (1804 Books)
Related episodes:
Listen to our ongoing series on Cuba
Abolition with Niki Franco (AKA Venus Roots)
Intermission music: "CARACOL" by dj juanny
Upstream is entirely listener funded. No ads, no promotions, no grants—just Patreon subscriptions and listener donations. We couldn't keep this project going without your support. Subscribe to our Patreon for bi-weekly bonus episodes, access to our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, and for Upstream stickers and bumper stickers at certain subscription tiers. Through your support you'll be helping us keep Upstream sustainable and helping to keep this whole project going—socialist political education podcasts are not easy to fund so thank you in advance for the crucial support. patreon.com/upstreampodcast
For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.