Varn Vlog

In this episode of VarnVlog, host C. Derick Varn sits down with political economist, academic, and author Dr. Nick Srnicek (King's College London) to cut through the extreme hype and knee-jerk dismissals surrounding artificial intelligence. Together, they unpack the physical and economic reality of modern tech infrastructure—from the massive resource demands of hyperscale data centers to the fracturing of the global tech elite, the rise of "neoclouds," and the battle for digital and AI sover...

In this episode of VarnVlog, C. Derick Varn sits down with PK Gandakin, editor-in-chief of Geese Magazine and communist organizer, to discuss the state of the American left, the limits of modern economism, and the strategic relevance of Lenin today. Together, they unpack: The Mission of Geese Magazine: Why a non-sectarian, strategy-focused communist press is essential in today's political terrain. Rethinking Lenin & Gramsci: Moving beyond ultra-left dogmas to embrace dialectical flexib...

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 & Gender Theory: Why Gender Trouble was originally anti-essentialist—and how its framework can be re-examined to understand male identity. The "Manosphere" & Male Alienation: How economic prec...

Welcome to a special, long-form collaboration: The Regrettable Century and VarnVlog combined in our Captain Planet team of pessimism. Today, we are opening up a comprehensive multi-part investigation into New York Times columnist Ross Douthat's landmark 2020 thesis, The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victim of Our Own Success. Drawing its name and conceptual infrastructure from Jacques Barzun’s classic From Dawn to Decadence, Douthat’s work defines a decadent society not as a spectacula...

In this episode of Varn Vlog, you and Brandon Lightly analyze the failures of the "New Democracy" and "National Front" strategies as globalized Marxist frameworks. Key points include: Indonesia: D.N. Aidit’s PKI collapsed because they mistakenly empowered a mass movement while failing to neutralize the military's hostile command structure. The Philippines: The NDFP’s program prioritized state-regulated capitalism and tariff protection for domestic bourgeoisie over systemic socialist transf...