Constance Bantman joins me to discuss the history of anarchist political violence through the prism of Luigi Mangione - and vice versa. Some of the questions we cover include:

Can the history of nineteenth-century anarchist terrorism help us understand the recent assassination of healthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Mangione, and its rapturous reception in some quarters of public opinion? What is the place of political violence in democracies? And what of Mangione’s forthcoming trial?

For more historical context, I highly recommend the recent podcast episode of In Our Time about the Haymarket Affair, which features Ruth Kinna: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023gm2

Luke Kemp returns to the show to discuss Two Cheers for Anarchism, James C. Scott's six essays or "fragments" applying an anarchist squint to the world. Luke and I discuss the joy of Scott's book, it's controversial place in anarchist theory, and why it's a good place for the anarcho-curious to start their journey into anarchism.

Along the way I also highly recommend Agnes Varda's amazing film, Daguerréotypes https://www.criterionchannel.com/daguerreotypes

Luke should appear on the podcast later this year to discuss his new book about societal collapse, Goliath's Curse! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691357/goliaths-curse-by-luke-kemp/

Christopher Isett joins me to discuss the rise of capitalism and "The Great Divergence," in which Christendom transformed itself from an obscure corner of the world into the dominant global power. Just how did that happen, what part did capitalism play in it, and why did capitalism develop in Europe? And what does China have to do with all of it?

Chris gives his answers to all of these questions, especially drawing on the work of Robert Brenner. Here's Brenner's page on the Verso website, if you want the full story: https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/authors/brenner-robert