Alex McHugh interviews sci-fi author Dennis Danvers on anarchist ideas in fiction, his books The Watch and Leaving the Dead, and the life of a writer.

Mr. Danvers has written a variety of well-received sci-fi novels, including Circuit of Heaven, Time and Time Again, and End of Days, as well as the Locus and Bram Stoker nominee Wilderness. His short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Space and Time, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, F & SF, Realms of Fantasy, Electric Velocipede, Lightspeed, Tor.com, See the Elephant, Apex Magazine; and in anthologies Tails of Wonder, Richmond Noir, The Best of Electric Velocipede, Remapping Richmond’s Hallowed Ground, and Nightmare Carnival. He taught fiction writing and science fiction and fantasy literature at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia for over thirty years.

Thanks for your continued patience with our wonky publishing schedule! This was a fun one to record as it’s a bit different from our usual fare. If you’d like to support our podcasts and C4SS in general, a great way to do so is to pledge a donation on Patreon!

C4SS Editing Coordinator Eric Fleischmann was recently featured on the Non-Serviam podcast. The discussion covers a broad range of topics from to Marxism and historical materialism to Laurance Labadie and the history of free-market-anti-capitalism to agorism and its left-wing fundamentals.

From the Non-Serviam Episode Description:

Eric Fleischmann (he/they) is an anarchist indebted to communistic and continental thought but engaged primarily in the traditions of mutualism, North American individualist anarchism, and modern left-libertarianism while applying a background in anthropology and philosophy to helping build the solidarity economy in unceded Wabanaki territory on Turtle Island. He has been involved in various capacities with numerous leftist, left-leaning, and labor-oriented organizations—generally ones which promote forms of politico-economic decentralization and democratization and/or degrees of left unity.

For the 24th installment of The Enragés, host Eric Fleischmann was joined by H.B. Dillon Williams IV (@MorpheusRage) to discuss their article Molotov Pill Bottle: Radical Answers to Failed Capitalist Healthcare (https://c4ss.org/content/56444).

H.B. Dillon Williams IV (they/he) is a mexican-indigenous irish genderqueer anti-fascist anarchist rapper, father of three, activist, Magic player, and avid fan of dofflin music. Dillon entered the activist world with Abolish ICE Denver in 2018. In 2019 they worked with the Caravan Support Network that came out of the national organizing Abolish ICE groups, traveling to Tijuana, Mexico to help, gaining organizing experience as well as first-hand knowledge of the border crisis which has recently reached another high point under the Biden administration. They continued migration activism in Phoenix after that and began working for Medicare which ultimately prompted this article. Through this time he has developed his philosophy incorporating insights from organizing. Still a student of Modern Monetary Theory and agorism with a lot of different sympathies. Find their IG @ Rage.Incarnate

Just The Pill – https://www.justthepill.com

Hey Jane – https://www.heyjane.com

Aid Access – https://aidaccess.org

Support C4SS – https://www.patreon.com/c4ssdotorg

Throughout my archiving of Laurance Labadie’s works, I have noticed he has unique spellings of a number of words. In particular, he spells “Kropotkin” (Кропо́ткин) with an “e” at the end: “Kropotkine.” For example, he writes in “Objections to Communism:”

Most communist-anarchists are followers of Kropotkine, who showed that mutual aid was a factor in evolution and who tried, like Marx, to conceive a society in which mutual aid was the sole factor in its maintenance, but whereas Marx saw that authority was necessary Kropotkine thought that men could iron out their differences by voluntarily agreeing to maintain a standard of “from each according to his ability to each according to his needs.”

For some time I was unsure where he got this spelling from; but after digging further and looking back at some other writings, I believe he picked it up from his own father Joseph Labadie, whose description of Kropotkin goes like this: “Kropotkine was a small man, with a large head, bushy hair and whiskers, talked English very well, and his movements were quick, as tho surprised.” 

This is also the spelling that Benjamin Tucker, a close associate of the elder Labadie, utilizes, writing:

Suppose I had said to Kropotkine that the real question is whether Communism will permit individuals to exchange their labor or products on their own terms. Would Herr Most have been so shocked? Would he have printed that in black type?

The spelling appears to be a French variation of the name, usually combined with the first name “Pierre” to make “Pierre Kropotkine.” This linguistic connection makes sense not only because the Labadie family’s ethnic background can be traced back to France, but because of Tucker’s interest in French literature, he being a fan of Scènes de la Vie Future by Georges Duhamel and a translator of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s Qu’est-ce que la Propriété? Ou Recherche sur le Principe du Droit et du Gouvernment. There’s nothing really groundbreaking about pointing out the origin of the “Kropotkine” spelling, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Tune in this Friday at 7:00 PM as the crew plays Ratchelor and Brianna Coyle joins us to discuss How Furry Fandom is Used as a Proxy War on Queer Folks.

We’ll be raising funds for the ACLU and celebrating pride month while discussing how things took such a sharp turn towards bigotry in recent years, the deterioration of the Libertarian Party, and Brianna’s work with the Democratic Freedom Caucus.

• Watch on Twitch: @Antifa_Gaming
• Watch on Facebook: ANGL Facebook Page

Or, click below to watch on YouTube:

Join us on Friday, May 19th at 7:00 PM EST as we stream Unstable Government with leftist YouTuber, streamer, and comedian Chill Goblin. From deconstructing the reactionary mind of H.P. Lovecraft to free speech in stand-up comedy, Chill Goblin has covered a wide range of topics from an anti-fascist, eco-socialist, “anarcho-curious” perspective.

We’ll be discussing his fascinating breakdown of self-styled anarchist Michael Malice, how learning about the CIA radicalized him, and the broader phenomenon of conspiracy theories on both the far right and left.

Tune in on Twitch: @Antifa_Gaming

Facebook: C4SS Facebook Page

Or Youtube:
​​​​​​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNzfbHN1UGw

Our second episode of 2023 features a wide-ranging interview with acclaimed anarchist activist and musician, scott crow (https://www.scottcrow.org/). Alex McHugh hosts, with the first half focusing on scott’s music and media project, eMERGENCY heARTS, and the latter on his previous work on theories of liberatory community armed self-defense.

* Content note: scott and I talk about the murder of Garrett Foster in the second half of this episode. It comes up in a discussion about the strategic value (or lack thereof) of open carry at protests.

Look out for Cory Massimino’s interview with Jason Lee Byas next month, and please do send us your questions for Jason! You can send them to us on Twitter @c4ssdotorg.

And if you’re not a Patreon supporter yet, subscribe today for access to our recent Outgroup episode on Ukraine, Trans Rights, and Bank Collapses.

Longtime C4SS contributor Kelly Vee was recently interviewed by Lucy Steigerwald over at Non Serviam Media about egoist feminism, religion, anarchism, objectivism, involuntary confinement, arming the mentally ill, and more.

Check out their discussion below.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Lucy and Cory’s Anti-Power Hour! This is a new show over at Non Serviam Media where C4SS contributors Lucy Steigerwald and Cory Massimino get together to discuss anything they want—probably politics, ethics, ideology, pop culture, world events, and more.

Listen below to the first installment of this new program, and look out for the second episode soon!

Hello, fans of fun and games (gaming)! This month, we’ll have two Anti-Nazi Gaming League live streams, our normal stream on Friday, April 21st, and a special 4/20 Coup de Gras V stream on Thursday, April 20th. 

First, tune in on 4/20 for a stream on all things stoner culture, drug policy, weed in the media, and so much more. Plus, we’ll announce the theme for the upcoming 2024 Coup de Gras festival (February 9-15th) and share a bit about our plans for the fest. As with last year’s Coup de Gras streams, this show will feature a  variety of guests popping in and out throughout the night as we play Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl!

Then, the very next night, Friday, April 21st, we’ll do our regular monthly stream, playing The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and discussing blue laws, cosplay, and transphobia. In particular, Logan will be reporting back from Megacon Orlando, where we passed out some ANGL zines and swag for the first time ever!

Both livestreams start at 7:00 PM EST. See you there!

• You can find both shows on Twitch: @Antifa_Gaming
• 4/20 show on Facebook
• 4/21 show on Facebook

The grand finale volume to The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies went live today on the site of the Scholarly Publishing Collective. Check it out here.

Unlike the print edition [link added], the e-platform version is the only one with full-color images!

The 2023 grand finale is a double issue and constitutes the last volume in the journal’s 2+ decade history as the only critical scholarly periodical devoted to the study of Ayn Rand and her times. It will be live on Project Muse in 2 weeks, and should be in the hands of subscribers in about 2-3 weeks. I’ll post an update when I have it.

Also of interest, the JARS site now has links to the Master Author Index to Volumes 13-23 (which joins the “Master Author Index to Volumes 1-12“) [pdf links].

MER is back!! In this episode, with Cory Massimino, Tux Pacific discusses their unique take on cryptocurrency, the connection between markets and anarchism, and being anti-capitalist in a capitalist world.

Tux Pacific (they/she) is a cryptographer, anarchist, and the founder of Entropy, a decentralized custodian for crypto. Their crypto-inclusive perspective has been shaped by their non-traditional background as a trans person and a market post-left-ish anarchist.

You can reach Tux on Twitter @__tux or via email tux@entropy.xyz

Look out for these upcoming MER episodes soon…

• April: scott crow, with Alex McHugh
• May: Jason Lee Byas, with Cory Massimino

As well as an episode of The Outgroup (only available for Patreon supporters!) with some new voices from within C4SS. This episode will cover: the war in Ukraine one year on, anti-trans legislation in the US and elsewhere, and the Signature and SVB collapses.

The Enrages should also return next month!

Join us this Friday, March 17th (St. Patrick’s Day!) at 7:00 PM EST as we stream Tonight We Riot with independent journalist Ford Fischer. As editor-in-chief of News2Share, Ford focuses on raw video journalism, often covering protests across the political spectrum.

We’ll be discussing protest coverage, representation in media, and some of the discourse around riot journalism that’s attracted a lot of attention in recent years.

Tune in on Twitch: @Antifa_Gaming

Facebook: C4SS Facebook Page

Or Youtube: 

For the (very delayed) 23rd installment of The Enragés, host Eric Fleischmann was joined by Ryan Neugebauer to discuss Ryan’s article Market, State, and Anarchy: A Dialectical Left-Libertarian Perspective (https://c4ss.org/content/56583).

Ryan is a left-libertarian committed to the dialectical libertarian framework put forth by Chris Matthew Sciabarra, defending individual freedom & flourishing through the art of context keeping. Ryan supports subjecting all institutions and facets of society (the state/governance, economics/business, schooling, culture, etc.) to critique and supporting more autonomy and less hierarchy in all areas of life; preferring bottom-up, decentralized and non-hierarchical governance and coordination wherever possible.

Support C4SS – https://www.patreon.com/c4ssdotorg

Turkish journalist Kaan Goktas, a cypherpunk, author, and father, was sentenced to two years in prison for insulting the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, by posting a 300-year-old Ottoman poem.

Thankfully Goktas was able to flee to Montenegro but had to leave his family and most of his life behind. He’s currently applying to the Montenegrin government for asylum and is seeking financial support both for this process and for living expenses.

Please help by donating here if you’re able. Even a tiny bit helps!

Goktas’ story is emblematic of the growing crackdown on free speech and free press in Turkey as Erdoğan’s government has become increasingly authoritarian. Erdoğan has always been an enemy of freedom and his policies have only gotten worse the longer he’s been in power.

Please spread this story as widely as you can!

Those interested in learning more about the political climate in Turkey, Erdoğan’s abuse of power, and regional news will be happy to know that Mr. Goktas will be writing for C4SS soon, as well as translating previous articles into Turkish. So look out for those pieces here and help us in supporting a radical journalist facing state repression.

Tune in this Friday, February 17th at 7:00 pm EST as we stream live from Coup de Gras IV: A New Hope! We’ll be playing Bloc by Bloc and celebrating Mardi Gras at Fontainebleau State Park.

Coup de Gras is an annual anarchist Mardi Gras celebration thrown by Krewe de Main and the Center for a Stateless Society deep in the bayous of Cajun Country. Equal parts anarchist bookfair and Carnival celebration, Coup de Gras is a yearly camping festival and unconference which aims to bring together libertarian socialist politics and the traditions of Mardi Gras.

Want to get updates about the festival and unconference? Subscribe to our Riseup list.

Or tune in on Twitch: @Antifa_Gaming

Facebook: @CoupdeGrasFest

Or Youtube: 

Dear C4SS supporters and friends, 

First, let me extend an enormous thank you for all of your support throughout 2022! It’s admittedly been a difficult year here at C4SS (as I imagine it’s been for most of you as well), but here we are in January 2023, ready to take on more than ever before. 

Staying on top of everything we want to achieve is a difficult task and it can be hard to quantify our impact with so many diverse projects and a horizontal organizational structure. But it’s clear we’re making waves in radical spaces around the world.

In October, we tabled at the international student for liberty conference, LibertyCon, distributing materials including four brand-new zines and engaging numerous curious college students. While we got some funny questions (including “what is a zine?”), the overall response was quite positive and we heard from a Brazilian SFL-er that our work had been key in resisting the rightward shift within the liberty movement there. We’re hoping to send some representatives to LibertyCon Europe this April as well. 

On the classically anarchist side, we attended the NYC Anarchist Bookfair in September and received a warm welcome there as well. At both conferences, we were surprised to find many younger activists are not only familiar with left-wing market anarchism as a position, but the Center itself. 

See more recent photos on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

This is, of course, thanks to the brilliant work our writers, fellows, chairs, translators, and coordinators do both at the center and on the side. In terms of related projects, there are two very exciting recent publications you should check out: 

• First, C4SS writers Emmi Bevensee and Frank Miroslav are included in a new collection on antifascism from AK titled ¡No Pasarán!
• And Kevin Carson’s newest book, The State: Theory and Praxis was just published and is now available on Amazon.

If you prefer to buy books from the C4SS Counter-Economic Store (we certainly appreciate it), the store will be back in action very soon and is being rehauled a bit for easier navigation. It’s been a struggle to keep the store running ever since our access to PayPal was first cut off in September 2021 but we’re very excited to start filling orders again soon and look forward to providing you with all the LWMA stickers, books, pins, and zines you might desire. 

Continuing the trend from last year, our translators are shining especially bright. This year, Translation Coordinator Enrico Sanna translated Kevin Carson’s “Communal Property: A Libertarian Analysis” into Italian. It’s now available in English, Italian, Portuguese, and Turkish. Our Turkish translators deserve a special shout-out for their prolific translation efforts. We also got a Spanish version of “Hayek’s Fatal Conceit” courtesy of Venezuelan translator Kathiana Thomas. 

Our two main podcasts have continued on as well. Unfortunately, Joel Williamson has moved on as host on The Enrages, but he’s been replaced by the very capable Eric Fleischmann and he came back for the most recent episode in December. Mutual Exchange Radio continues to evolve and I’m particularly proud of the episode we did with our Russian translator, Citizen Ilya, on war resistance within Russia. 

We’ve also launched a brand-new livestream project called the Anti-Nazi Gaming League, which covers gaming and pop culture news from an LWMA angle while we live-play a thematically appropriate game. Check it out to watch me fail miserably at Lego Batman, or hear about the nerdy interests of C4SS scholars like Cory Massimino, Nathan Goodman, and Kevin Carson. 

Finally, we’re once again co-hosting the Coup de Gras Mardi Gras festival and anarchist unconference in Slidell, LA. The festival runs from February 17th through the 23rd and will feature live performances, outings to Mardi Gras parades, unconference sessions, and a mutual aid project on Ash Wednesday. To learn more or request comped tickets, get in touch with us at coupdegras.riseup.net. 

So, as we get started on another year of advocacy, investigation, and education, we need your help to keep the wheels rolling. We make a point of compensating all of the writers, translators, and coordinators who dedicate their time to make this work possible. This means we need your generous support as often as you can spare it. 

The best way to support C4SS is to become a backer on Patreon, where you can pledge a monthly gift. This continual cash flow helps us smooth out compensation and plan for the future. If you’d instead like to make a one-time gift, please visit c4ss.org/support to do so. You can give via credit card using Stripe, donate on Venmo, mail us a check, or – to donate via cryptocurrency – please contact us at editor@c4ss.org (Ethereum preferred). 

Thanks for your time in reading this, and look out for another update this spring! We’re making an effort to stay in closer touch with our supporters and community, so these updates will now go out twice a year in spring and fall. 

In love and solidarity, 

Alex McHugh 

C4SS Coordinating Director

Join the ANGL team and C4SS editor Evan Pierce TONIGHT at 7:00 pm EST as we discuss fake people, recent shithead moves, AI art, and how artificial intelligence might affect the future of gaming and tech.

You can watch on Twitch @antifa_gaming!

Or on Facebook.

Or on YouTube: 

On a very special 22nd installment of The Enragés, host Eric Fleischmann was joined by former host of The Enragés Joel Williamson (@NalevoA3) to discuss his article Constructing an Unfixed Freedom; originally published at Mutualism Co-Op and now available at Center for a Stateless Society (https://c4ss.org/content/57640).

Joel Williamson is an individualist and mutualist anarchist from Texas who has participated in a variety of activist projects over the years. His passion for a freer world has been expressed through a range of anarchist organizations including Non-Serviam Media, Center for a Stateless Society, and Mutualism Co-Op to name a few.

Support C4SS – https://www.patreon.com/c4ssdotorg

In our final episode for the season, Ash P. Morgans talks to host Alex McHugh about egoism, anarchism, and religion. This conversation was an excellent cap-off to our Mutual Exchange symposium on egoism and anarchism and continues some of the discussions that came up throughout the symposium. Particularly, we explore the intersections of ethics, morality, anarchism, and religion from the egoist or Stirnerite perspective.

Look out for more MER in the new year, with Zachary Woodman returning as host! If you’re not already a supporter of C4SS on Patreon, please consider becoming a patron today. You get access to bonus content, some thank-you swag, and it really helps us keep these shows going on a regular basis. Happy new year!