# Matthew Monahan

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Writing and Revolution: Cultural Production vs. Neoliberal Aesthetics with Sudip Bhattacharya

How does ruling-class hegemony quietly dictate the boundaries of our creative imagination? Can art still serve as a weapon for genuine political transformation, or has it been entirely neutralized by capitalist realism? In this episode of Varn Vlog, regular guest Sudip Bhattacharya returns to disse…

Geopolitics of the Data Economy: Tech Monopoly, Neoliberalism, Resource Wars with ProleKult

Why are tech monopolies quietly building massive, "war-eating" data centers in global deserts? How does the infrastructure of artificial intelligence directly intersect with resource imperialism, greenwashing, and active combat zones? In this episode of Varn Vlog, James of Prole Kult fame joins us …

Policing American Slavery: How the Slave Power Weaponized Society and the State with Gautham Rao

How did the legal machinery of early America enforce human bondage? Dr. Gautham Rao joins the channel to discuss his book Policing American Slavery and the state's role in hunting fugitives. In this episode, we challenge the popular narrative that early American governance was weak, decentralized, …

Education, Literacy, and the Limits of Reform with Freddie deBoer

Five years after their initial discussion, we are back with Freddie DeBoer—author of The Cult of Smart and the upcoming book All in Your Head—to revisit the state of American education.In this episode, we move beyond the usual pundits' talking points to address the material and institutional realit…

Maoism Without The Myths with Black Red Guard

Welcome back to the blog. Today, we are staging an uncommon but necessary conversation to slice through the amateurishness of internet leftist subcultures. We are joined by Chris—better known online as Black Red Guard (BRG)—a prominent Marxist-Leninist-Maoist (MLM) political educator and active cad…

What Happens To Class Politics In A Service Economy with Annie McClanahan

Welcome back to the Vlog. Today, we are joined by Dr. Annie McClanahan (Associate Professor of English at UC Irvine) to discuss her groundbreaking book, Beneath the Wage: Tips, Tasks, and Gigs in the Age of Service Work.While some spaces on the internet are still stuck rehashing old 19th-century de…

Egypt After The Revolution with Hossam el-Hamalawy

Welcome back to the Vlog. Today, we are joined by acclaimed Egyptian journalist, activist, and labor historian Hossam el-Hamalawy to discuss his vital text out from Verso Books, Counter-Revolution in Egypt: State and Barracks. A common mistake among Western commentators is to view the regime of Abd…

Alabama Prisons At A Breaking Point with Matthew Vernon Whalan

Today, we are joined by independent journalist, oral historian, and qualitative researcher Matthew Vernon Whalan to dissect his vital book out from Kersplebedeb: Bullock: Chronicles of Deprivation and Despair in the American Prison. While mainstream political commentary frequently fixates on explic…

The Shadow Court and Protecting Democracy with Julie Suk

The Supreme Court is supposed to decide disputes, not run the country, so why does it feel like nine unelected justices can rewrite constitutional meaning with a single opinion? We sit down with Dr. Julie Suk, Fordham Law professor and author of The Shadow Court: Rescuing Democracy from the Supreme…

The Masculinity Vacuum with Bram Geiben

In this episode of VarnVlog, C. Derick Varn is joined by Bram Geiben, editor at Revol Books and host of Strange Exiles, to discuss the evolving crisis of masculinity, the limits of modern identity politics, and how theory gets transformed into rigid dogma.Together, they unpack:Judith Butler & Gende…