Actually Existing Socialism

Half the Sky is an attempt to provide a perspective often lacking from the podcast space: that of women (and women-adjacent folks). If and when those voices are present, they are quite often offset by their dude counterparts. And so (at least on the mic) HTS is a bro-free zone.
Our hosts on this very special audio journey are Rae of ProlesPod, Jen (Big Nasty) of How the Red Was Won, Lenore from Workers Lit, Luna Oi!, and Revolutionary Th0t.
Episode two of Half The Sky is an in-depth conversation about the nature of gender. How does one acquire such a thing? What are we as materialists to make of an essentially vibes-based concept? What caused our hosts to become radicalized regarding gender? And what does it mean to extract the positionality from the identity? Heady stuff, folks. But just to make sure you don't feel overwhelmed, the gang also diverts into plenty of ADHD-fueled sidequests.
HTS Instagram
Theme Music by DJ DTA
Find the girlies elsewhere: On socials: Instagram.com/HalftheSkyPod 
Lenore and Jen Big Nasty on Workers' Lit: Patreon.com/WorkersLit
Rae on ProlesPod: Patreon.com/ProlesPod
Luna Oi YT: Youtube.com/LunaOi
Revolutionary Th0t YT: Youtube.com/@revolutionaryth0t
Jen Big Nasty on How the Red Was Won: Patreon.com/HowtheRedWasWon

After a long hiatus, AES is back — and we're kicking things off with the return of a favorite guest: Holly High! In this episode, we dive into Holly's latest project, her substack Laos: Revolutions in Reproduction, exploring how socialist ideals shape everyday life.
We discuss: socialist housing and urban planning in Laos, property ownership under socialism, the evolving role of the socialist state  and much more!
Join us for a thoughtful conversation on how revolutions live on in the structures and systems of everyday life.
https://substack.com/@revolutionsinreproduction
hollyhigh.net
patreon.com/aesthepodcast

For this long awaited episode on Vietnam - Jen (@HowTheRedWasWon) joins to talk about her recent unique experience of visiting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a country that her grandparents fled from in the 1960s! Jen guides us through her journey there, what she learned, and some important reflections about revolution in the USA she had as a result. 
Listed below are links to Jen's social media pages which are home to her educational projects on socialist theoretical texts and organizing. Check them out!
Jen on Twitter: @ho_chi_minnie // @keepaustinnasty // @howtheredwaswon
Jen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/how_the_red_was_won/
Jen on Tiktok: @big.nasty08 // @red.won.pod
Mutual Aid Organization: @red_help_atx

Since March of this year I have been the co-host of another podcast called Prolespod (my tenure starts on Episode 49). On that show we have been working extensively on producing a special event series known as The Stalin Eras. The key focus of this series is to illuminate the early history of the Soviet Union and the life of its longest lasting leader, Joseph Stalin, using some of the latest scholarship. It features both narrative history and discussion. 
This upload is the full introductory episode for the series.  If you wish to listen to 10+ hours of content released thus far in the series I recommend subscribing to Prolespod on your choice of podcast platform and begin diving into this unique presentation of Soviet History that doesn't exist elsewhere! 
To get more episodes of The Stalin Eras - subscribe to Prolespod - wherever you listen to podcasts!
Support Actually Existing Socialism at: patreon.com/aesthepodcast
Support Prolespod at: patreon.com/prolespod

In this fascinating episode Andre Schmid joins to discuss his book "North Korea's Mundane Revolution". As always on this show, we're covering something new by talking about the early years of the North Korean revolution in the aftermath of the Korean War which "ended" in 1953.

Andre Schmid's research and teaching focus on 19th and 20th century Korea and East Asia, as seen in the broader context of global, comparative history. He is interested in historiography and the uses of public memory, the relation between cultural practices and political economy, gendered social history and popular social movements.
More about Andre's work
Intro/Outro Music: Superman & Lois 4x10: Life Goes by so Fast Theme (Remake)