Why We Fight: Paths To Power & Antifascist Resistance In The Apocalypse / Shane Burley

Journalist Shane Burley joins me to discuss his newest book, Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse, published through AK Press.

Smoke choked cities. Supply chain disruptions. Pandemic. Riots. Fascist violence. The calamitous events of 2020 sent shock waves through the social fabric of the United States. There is the pervasive sense that we've crossed a threshold, one that cannot be walked back or reversed. 

In Why We Fight, Burley navigates this territory of the here and now, providing deep insights into the conditions that gave rise to some of the most dramatic developments of the past several years. In this interview, I ask Burley to provide updates into the evolution of fascist politics during this time, and what antifascist resistance to the far right looks like, and must adapt to, in a time of apocalyptic rupture.

Video Segment:

Bio:

Shane Burley is a writer and filmmaker based in Portland, Oregon. His essays, criticism and journalism has been featured in places like Jacobin, Al Jazeera, NBC News, Truthout, In These Times, Bandcamp, Salvage, Commune, The Baffler, Upping the Anti, Full Stop, and the Oregon Historical Quarterly. He is the author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (AK Press, 2017) and has contributed to a number of anthologies and journals. His commentary on the far-right has been featured in places such as The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, PBS, and many others.

Episode Notes:

Purchase a copy of Why We Fight from AK Press or Bookshop

Follow Shane’s work on Twitter @shane_burley1 and support him on Patreon

Music produced by Epik The Dawn