In this episode of Radicalism in the American Revolution, Historian Mark Peterson joins me to discuss his new book The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution: A Thousand-Year History. We discuss the way the constitution emerged from a long British tradition, Thomas Jefferson's ironic place in American imperialism, and the new understanding of the constitution as a mere piece of paper which threatens to render it irrelevant.

Here's the link to the book: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9780691180014

The fastest, easiest way to anarchize your life is to buy food locally and cook it yourself (or grow it yourself). It won't create an anarchist society. But it's a great first step.

Mark Bittman and I discuss that first step, what might come after it, and what difference it'll make in today's episode. We also talk for a while about why processed food is poison and what that means for Ozempic-style drugs.

Before it became west of Islam, or China, or "the Orient," "The West" was simply the Western Roman Empire, and what it was east of was the Eastern Roman Empire. But the westerners wanted to be the true inheritors of the classical tradition, so they renamed it "western civilization," and made up reasons why the Eastern Roman Empire was actually something exotic and foreign and decadent and queer. They called it Byzantium.

That's the argument of Anthony Kaldellis' new book, Phantom Byzantium, and Anthony joins me to discuss those ideas and what they mean for our understanding of "the West" and the ideas about politics that European thinkers appropriate from Rome.

You can also listen to Anthony's first appearance on the podcast: https://www.everydayanarchism.com/the-roman-empire-lasted-because-its-rulers-were-in-a-constant-state-of-terror-anthony-kaldellis/

Anthony has his own wonderful podcast, Byzantium and Friends. I highly recommend it!

https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/

This episode is a crossover with Peter Michael Bauer's Rewilding Podcast. Peter and I talk about rewilding, everyday anarchism, and the connections between rewilding and anarchy

We recorded this episode in support of Peter's new documentary film series on rewilding. It has successfully funded on kickstarter, but you can still back the project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/villagevideo/rewilding-101-a-survival-strategy-for-humanity

Luke Kemp rejoins me to discuss the second part of Goliath's Curse, "Imperial March and Fall." Luke and I start off talking about why empires and states are actually the same thing, and move from there to various ways that people justify imperial politics, what it's like to be anti-empire when surrounded by defenders of empire, and how we can try to get the machine of empire to stop.

Here's the link to buy the book: https://flyleafbooks.com/book/9780593321355

And here are Luke's previous appearances on the podcast:

https://www.everydayanarchism.com/166-goliaths-curse-luke-kemp/

https://www.everydayanarchism.com/146-james-c-scotts-two-cheers-for-anarchism-luke-kemp/

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/2c8105f0-611f-4545-b632-e868e5039840/

For this first episode in the Radicalism in the American Revolution series, historian Annette Gordon-Reed joins me to discuss her new book Jefferson on Race, a collection of writings by Jefferson on the topic of race from throughout his entire career. Anette and I grapple with a pair of irresolvable facts about Jefferson: he was a race radical and an enslaver.

You can find the link to Annette's book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691122069/jefferson-on-race

Here's the letter to Jefferson from "A Slave" that strikes an apocalyptic tone on slavery and uses Jefferson's own words: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-9200

Here's an introduction to a new series on Radicalism in the American Revolution, in honor of/in frustration with 250 years of America.

Soon to come: Jefferson on Race, the American constitutional tradition, Thomas Paine's basic income, and more!

How do you know your life is worthwhile? How do you connect to the world around you? What sort of life is worth living?

In her new book, Transcendence for Beginners, the philosopher and biographer Clare Carlisle works through answers to these questions, answers inspired by the philosopher Spinoza and the novelist George Eliot. And those answers, rather than pointing to something beyond, point us to transcendence in the here and now. Plus we talk about tradwives.

Here's the link to the book at the publisher's website: https://www.nyrb.com/products/transcendence-for-beginners