Monday

7 July

8:00 pm - Reading and Writing Workshop w/Nate in Wisconsin

Nate and Laurel read Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcolm Harris in honor of Nancy and her reading of her Aunt’s memoir. (If people enjoy we could do it for a while.)

9 pm - The Funny Hour

Bring your stand up and funny videos where the whole community participates.

Tuesday

8 July

7-8:30 pm - The Red Hour w/Bruce

Join the us for a short story discussion. See #the-red-hour Discord channel for more information.

This week’s reading: We Were Worried About You (PDF) by Joyce Carol Oates

8:30 pm - Good News Everyone! w/Prof. Jon

Prof Jon reads articles that are not so good news.

Wednesday

9 July

6 pm - Weekly Marx Office Hour(s) w/Ann Li

Reading: MORE NOTES QPE & CQB

Join us for a daily topical conversation about cultural and political economic research subjects plus discussion about scholarly articles posted to the Discord.

8:30 pm - Spirituality and Activism w/Texas Tom

Agenda: Pitting “Empathy” Against “Rational Compassion” — A Critical Evaluation

Many of you will be familiar with the charge by prominent conservative leaders that empathy is the “original sin” of liberal thinking—a destructive anti-value that explains many of the ills we see and experience in the world. But tonight, we will be examining the thought of Paul Bloom, a widely regarded professor of psychology and cognitive science. While Bloom does not identify as a conservative, his writings on the “toxic nature of empathy” have gained considerable traction among both conservatives and some liberals. His core claim is that empathy is a poor guide for moral action, while “rational compassion” leads to more equitable, consistent, and effective moral decisions. His arguments have been prominently featured in publications like The Atlantic, Slate, and The New York Times.

We will watch an extended interview with him on the subject, followed by a discussion of his views assessing both the pros and cons, and a summation by host Tom Webber, who will offer his own moral, philosophical, and theological critique.

He is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and Professor Emeritus at Yale University. A prominent cognitive scientist, he focuses on how people understand morality, religion, and pleasure. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including his 2016 work, Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion.

Thursday

10 July

7 pm - Bring the News w/Whomever Brings It

If you come across an article or bit of news that you feel the group would find interesting read it aloud (or ask someone to) and open the floor to discussion.

Friday

11 July

7 pm - The After Hours Show S04E07

On tonight’s show:

• Ann Li updates us on Ukraine and updates us on Iran and blesses us with a rant
• Joe in Norway hopes to harvest something from this brutally cold summer suffering garden for Kitchen ASMR
• Arjun from Deep Into History brings some historical context
• TAC week in review, week looking forward

8:30 pm - Prof. Jon Presents: “Alfred Hitchcock Presents" w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: TBD

10 pm - CinemaTAC: Silicon Valley (Season One) w/Travis

11 pm - Open Dialogue

Saturday

12 July

5 pm - The New Statesmen w/Lane

I shall be foisting the Toryingest Tory Bastard of them all. Alan B’Stard MP. A Rik Mayall creation that was like the works of Armando Iannucci a piercing satire which ended up also being prophetic. Welcome to the Thatcher years… no really… you’re welcome to them…

7 pm - Saturday Night Theatre: TBD

9 pm - Bring the Music

Bring tunes you want to share, check #music Discord channel for this week’s theme.

Sunday

13 July

5 pm - A Star Trek:The Next Generation Watch Party & Discussion w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: TBD

? pm - Sunday Soul Social (Following Star Trek) w/Lane

Note: all times in ET.

Monday

29 June

8:00 pm - Reading and Writing Workshop w/Nate in Wisconsin

Nate and Laurel read Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcolm Harris in honor of Nancy and her reading of her Aunt’s memoir. (If people enjoy we could do it for a while.)

9 pm - The Funny Hour

Bring your stand up and funny videos where the whole community participates.

Tuesday

30 June

7-8:30 pm - The Red Hour w/Bruce

Join the us for a short story discussion. See #the-red-hour Discord channel for more information.

This week’s reading: We Were Worried About You (PDF) by Joyce Carol Oates

8:30 pm - Good News Everyone! w/Prof. Jon

Prof Jon reads articles that are not so good news.

Wednesday

1 July

6 pm - Weekly Marx Office Hour(s) w/Ann Li

Reading: Just Deserts and the Continuing Use of Rents (Can They Demarcate Justice?)

Join us for a daily topical conversation about cultural and political economic research subjects plus discussion about scholarly articles posted to the Discord.

8:30 pm - Spirituality and Activism w/Texas Tom

Agenda: TBD

Thursday

2 July

7 pm - Bring the News w/Whomever Brings It

If you come across an article or bit of news that you feel the group would find interesting read it aloud (or ask someone to) and open the floor to discussion.

Friday

3 July

7 pm - The After Hours Show S04E06

On tonight’s show:

• Ann Li updates us on Ukraine and updates us on Iran and blesses us with a rant
• Joe in Norway makes a light and delicate salad of the first greens and radish from the garden for Kitchen ASMR
• Arjun from Deep Into History brings some historical context
• TAC week in review, week looking forward

8:30 pm - Prof. Jon Presents: “Alfred Hitchcock Presents" w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: Salvage

Gangster Dan Varrell, just released from prison, goes looking for the woman he holds responsible for his brother’s death. Starring: Gene Barry, Nancy Gates, Elisha Cook Jr..

10 pm - Open Dialogue

Saturday

4 July

5 pm - The New Statesmen w/Lane

I shall be foisting the Toryingest Tory Bastard of them all. Alan B’Stard MP. A Rik Mayall creation that was like the works of Armando Iannucci a piercing satire which ended up also being prophetic. Welcome to the Thatcher years… no really… you’re welcome to them…

7 pm - Saturday Night Theatre: TBD

9 pm - Bring the Music

Bring tunes you want to share, check #music Discord channel for this week’s theme.

Sunday

5 July

5 pm - A Star Trek:The Next Generation Watch Party & Discussion w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: Clues

Effects of passing through a wormhole give the Enterprise crew a sense that they were unconscious for more than the 30 seconds they’ve been led to believe. Guest Starring: Colm Meaney, Pamela Winslow Kashani, Rhonda Aldrich, Whoopi Goldberg, and Patti Yasutake.

? pm - Sunday Soul Social (Following Star Trek) w/Lane

Note: all times in ET.

Monday

22 June

8:00 pm - Reading and Writing Workshop w/Nate in Wisconsin

Nate and Laurel read Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcolm Harris in honor of Nancy and her reading of her Aunt’s memoir. (If people enjoy we could do it for a while.)

9 pm - The Funny Hour

Bring your stand up and funny videos where the whole community participates.

Tuesday

23 June

7-8:30 pm - The Red Hour w/Bruce

Join the us for a short story discussion. See #the-red-hour Discord channel for more information.

This week’s reading: Widows by Margret Atwood

8:30 pm - Good News Everyone! w/Prof. Jon

Prof Jon reads articles that are not so good news.

Wednesday

24 June

6 pm - Weekly Marx Office Hour(s) w/Ann Li

Reading: Rent Theory and Distributive Justice Measured Under Financialization

Join us for a daily topical conversation about cultural and political economic research subjects plus discussion about scholarly articles posted to the Discord.

8:30 pm - Spirituality and Activism w/Texas Tom

Agenda: TBD

Thursday

25 June

7 pm - Bring the News w/Whomever Brings It

If you come across an article or bit of news that you feel the group would find interesting read it aloud (or ask someone to) and open the floor to discussion.

Friday

26 June

7 pm - The After Hours Show S04E05

On tonight’s show:

• Ann Li updates us on Ukraine and updates us on Iran
• Joe in Norway makes rhubarb and butt squash chutney and prepares papadadom two ways for Kitchen ASMR
• Arjun from Deep Into History brings some historical context
• TAC week in review, week looking forward

8:30 pm - Prof. Jon Presents: “Alfred Hitchcock Presents" w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: Into Thin Air

When a young woman leaves her ill mother in a Paris hotel room and comes back later, she finds her mother is missing, and all the hotel’s employees deny she and her mother were ever there.. Starring: Patricia Hitchcock, Geoffrey Toone, Alan Napier, and Maurice Marsac.

10 pm - CinemaTAC: Silicon Valley (Season One) w/Travis

11 pm - Open Dialogue

Saturday

27 June

5 pm - The New Statesmen w/Lane

I shall be foisting the Toryingest Tory Bastard of them all. Alan B’Stard MP. A Rik Mayall creation that was like the works of Armando Iannucci a piercing satire which ended up also being prophetic. Welcome to the Thatcher years… no really… you’re welcome to them…

7 pm - Saturday Night Theatre: It’s 1940’s Classic NOIR Night w/Susanna

🍿 1949 “Criss Cross” Staring Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo. and Dan Duryea. Excellent film and print.🎦

9 pm - Bring the Music

Bring tunes you want to share, check #music Discord channel for this week’s theme.

Sunday

28 June

5 pm - A Star Trek:The Next Generation Watch Party & Discussion w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: Devil’s Due

Picard answers a distress call from a planet whose inhabitants believe their equivalent of the devil will return imminently. - Prof. Jon loves this episode! Guest Starring: Marta DuBois, Paul Lambert, and Marcelo Tubert.

? pm - Sunday Soul Social (Following Star Trek) w/Lane

Note: all times in ET.

Monday

15 June

8:00 pm - Reading and Writing Workshop w/Ann and Laurel

Nate and Laurel read Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcolm Harris in honor of Nancy and her reading of her Aunt’s memoir. (If people enjoy we could do it for a while.)

9 pm - The Funny Hour

Bring your stand up and funny videos where the whole community participates.

Tuesday

16 June

7-8:30 pm - The Red Hour w/Bruce

Join the us for a short story discussion. See #the-red-hour Discord channel for more information.

This week’s reading: Al Roostan by George Saunders

Al Roosten is a short story by American author George Saunders, originally published in The New Yorker in 2009 and later featured in his acclaimed collection, Tenth of December. The story is a darkly funny and cringeworthy exploration of male insecurity, jealousy, and class anxiety.

8:30 pm - Good News Everyone! w/Prof. Jon

Prof Jon reads articles that are not so good news.

Wednesday

17 June

6 pm - Weekly Marx Office Hour(s) w/Ann Li

Reading: Piyamit Leelatham argues against Varoufakis’s thesis that under our society of techofeudalism Marx’s law of value no longer applies.

Join us for a daily topical conversation about cultural and political economic research subjects plus discussion about scholarly articles posted to the Discord.

8:30 pm - Spirituality and Activism w/Texas Tom

Agenda: From Powell to Citizens United: Exposing the Master Plan That Hijacked American Democracy

During tonight’s S&A Zoom session we will watch and discuss an interview with David Sirota on The Majority Report that traces today’s corruption crisis back to the early 1970s and the Powell Memorandum — a document that helped launch a coordinated, decades‑long effort to shift power from the public to concentrated wealth. The episode shows how this “master plan” reshaped democratic rules, normalized big‑money influence, and narrowed what even counts as corruption.

Rather than treating this decline as inevitable, Sirota argues that these changes were engineered — and can be undone. The conversation highlights pathways for reclaiming democratic power, from transparency reforms to state‑level action to public‑financing models that strengthen the voice of ordinary people.

These themes will ground our discussion tonight as we look honestly at how we arrived here and what collective action might require.

About David Sirota: David Sirota is an award‑winning investigative journalist, bestselling author, and founder of The Lever. A former senior adviser to Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign and an Academy Award–nominated co‑creator of Don’t Look Up, he is also the author of Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America, the book at the center of tonight’s episode.

Thursday

18 June

7 pm - Bring the News w/Whomever Brings It

If you come across an article or bit of news that you feel the group would find interesting read it aloud (or ask someone to) and open the floor to discussion.

8 pm - From Abolition to Liberation: A Juneteenth Webinar w/PSL

This June 19 marks 161 years since the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were officially declared free. All across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are commemorating this historic milestone of the Black liberation movement.

As Trump and the far-right ramp up their attacks on working people broadly in an attempt to rewrite our history and strip us of our civil rights entirely, we are confronted with a critical question: what must we do to end the war on Black America, once and for all?

Originally born from the struggle for abolition, Juneteenth was made into a federal holiday in 2021 in the aftermath of the valiant struggle against racist police terror. Juneteenth reminds us of the will that our people have always had to fight, the role that fight has historically played in achieving the basic rights we have today, and the necessary role of organization in our ongoing fights for freedom.

Hear and discuss with PSL organizers and cultural workers Claudia De la Cruz (NYC), Jasmine Nicole Williams (Atlanta), Rachel Domond (Houston) and Saidi Moseley (NYC) on the real history of the struggle for Black liberation in the U.S. and what it will fundamentally require of all of us to achieve it today.

Friday

19 June

10 am - Office Hours 33- Decolonization Theory in West Africa w/Momodou Taal w/Adnan Husain

The radical academy is in session for a discussion with Momodou Taal (host of the Malcolm Effect podcast and PhD candidate at Cornell University) about West African anticolonial movements, their histories, and decolonizing theory. In particular, Momodou will talk about Sekou Toure in the context of African anticolonial thought.

7 pm - The After Hours Show S04E04

On tonight’s show:

• Ann Li updates us on Ukraine and updates us on Iran and blesses us with a rant
• Joe in Norway puts away the PPE and makes a special summery rhubarb with vanilla bean soup for Kitchen ASMR
• Arjun from Deep Into History brings some historical context
• TAC week in review, week looking forward

8:30 pm - Prof. Jon Presents: “Alfred Hitchcock Presents" w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: Don’t Come Back Alive

Frank Partridge and his wife plot to cheat their life insurance company by having her hide out for 7 years and declared legally dead, but an investigator believes Mr. Partridge has murdered her. Starring: Sidney Blackmer, Virginia Gregg, Robert Emhardt, Irene Tedrow, and Edna Holland.

10 pm - CinemaTAC: Silicon Valley (Season One) w/Travis

11 pm - Open Dialogue

Saturday

20 June

5 pm - The New Statesmen w/Lane

I shall be foisting the Toryingest Tory Bastard of them all. Alan B’Stard MP. A Rik Mayall creation that was like the works of Armando Iannucci a piercing satire which ended up also being prophetic. Welcome to the Thatcher years… no really… you’re welcome to them…

7 pm - Saturday Night Theatre: TBD

9 pm - Bring the Music

Bring tunes you want to share, check #music Discord channel for this week’s theme.

Sunday

21 June

5 pm - A Star Trek:The Next Generation Watch Party & Discussion w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: The Wounded

After being fired upon by a Cardassian vessel, Picard races against time to find out the facts behind the Cardassian commander’s claim that the Federation attacked one of their outposts. Guest Starring: Bob Gunton, Rosalind Chao, Marc Alaimo, Colm Meaney, Marco Rodríguez, and John Hancock.

? pm - Sunday Soul Social (Following Star Trek) w/Lane

Note: all times in ET.

Monday

8 June

8:00 pm - Reading and Writing Workshop w/Nate in Wisconsin

While Nate’s on holiday, Laurel (and some volunteers?) read Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcolm Harris in honor of Nancy and her reading of her Aunt’s memoir. (If people enjoy we could do it for a while.)

9 pm - The Funny Hour

Bring your stand up and funny videos where the whole community participates.

Tuesday

9 June

7-8:30 pm - The Red Hour w/Bruce

Join the us for a short story discussion. See #the-red-hour Discord channel for more information.

This week’s reading: August Heat by William Fryer Harvey

8:30 pm - Good News Everyone! w/Prof. Jon

Prof Jon reads articles that are not so good news.

Wednesday

10 June

6 pm - Weekly Marx Office Hour(s) w/Ann Li

Reading: The meaning and significance of “deconstruction” in modern critical theory.

Join us for a daily topical conversation about cultural and political economic research subjects plus discussion about scholarly articles posted to the Discord.

8:30 pm - Spirituality and Activism w/Texas Tom

Agenda: TBD

Thursday

11 June

7 pm - Bring the News w/Whomever Brings It

If you come across an article or bit of news that you feel the group would find interesting read it aloud (or ask someone to) and open the floor to discussion.

Friday

12 June

5:30 pm - Listening Session w/Steve K.

Title: Dig  - October 5 1951, Prestige Records (released in ‘56)  - hard bop, drenched in reverb  - Tunes: Dig, It’s Only a Paper Moon, Denial, Bluing, Out of the Blue, My Old Flame, Conception  - Miles Davis, tpt  - Jackie McLean, as  - Sonny Rollins, ts  - Walter Bishop Jr, p  - Tommy Potter, bs  - Art Blakey, dr

7 pm - The After Hours Show S04E03

On tonight’s show:

• Ann Li updates us on Ukraine and updates us on Iran and blesses us with a rant
• Joe in Norway makes stinging nettle potato pakoras with wild ramps cashew chutney for Kitchen ASMR
• TAC week in review, week looking forward

8:30 pm - Prof. Jon Presents: “Alfred Hitchcock Presents" w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: Triggers in Leash

A cook tries everything she can think of to end a dispute between two gunmen who have sworn to kill each other. Starring: Gene Barry as Del Delaney, Darren McGavin as Red Hillman, Ellen Corby as Maggie Ryan, Casey MacGregor as Ben Morgan.

10 pm - CinemaTAC: Silicon Valley (Season One) w/Travis

11 pm - Open Dialogue

Saturday

13 June

5 pm - The New Statesmen w/Lane

I shall be foisting the Toryingest Tory Bastard of them all. Alan B’Stard MP. A Rik Mayall creation that was like the works of Armando Iannucci a piercing satire which ended up also being prophetic. Welcome to the Thatcher years… no really… you’re welcome to them…

7 pm - Saturday Night Theatre: Special 1960’s TV Classic Night w/Susanna

1. The 1962 classic starring Peter Falk and Inger Stevens in their Emmy nominated roles in The Price of Tomatoes, Dick Powell Theater.
2. Plus A VERY rare episode from the 1960 The Defenders Emmy Winning series, created by Reginald (12 Angry Men) Rose and starring E.G. Marshall, Robert Reed and the great Frank Gorshin.

9 pm - Bring the Music

Bring tunes you want to share, check #music Discord channel for this week’s theme.

Sunday

14 June

5 pm - A Star Trek:The Next Generation Watch Party & Discussion w/Prof. Jon (Donate)

This week’s episode: Data’s Day

Data tries to comprehend the complex emotions between O’Brien and Keiko, who are about to be married. Guest Starring - Rosalind Chao, Colm Meaney, Sierra Pecheur, Alan Scarfe, and Shelly Desai.

? pm - Sunday Soul Social (Following Star Trek) w/Lane

Note: all times in ET.