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Coffee with Comrades

By: Coffee with Comrades
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  • Summary

  • a podcast discussing culture, current events, theory, and action through a radical lens.
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Episodes
  • BONUS: "All Good Things Must Come to an End..."

    BONUS: "All Good Things Must Come to an End..."
    Oct 20 2023
    Dear listeners of Coffee with Comrades, with special regard to the wonderful folks who support this program on Patreon, Hello! I hope that the autumnal season has brought crisp, cool air and abundant joy to you and yours. I write to you today with a bittersweet sense of pride and melancholy to announce Coffee with Comrades is officially coming to an end. Although I know I don’t “owe” anyone an explanation, I thought it wise—for both my own peace-of-mind and for the wonderful community that has sprung up around this show—to offer a bit of insight into my thought process on the matter and why I eventually came to this decision.  Coffee with Comrades got its start in June of 2018. I had recently moved back to Orlando, FL and was hanging out with my friend, Bree. She said, “Pearson, y’know what? We should start a podcast and name it Coffee with Comrades!” and (for better or worse) that’s exactly what we did. Over the 5+ years this show has been online, a lot has changed. History has happened, carrying each of us with it inexorably. A global pandemic shuttered windows, closed doors, and swept us all into quarantine. A massive, anti-racist uprising rocked the U.S. Strikes were won. Wars ravaged. Here at Coffee with Comrades, we have gone through multiple co-hosts. I met authors, musicians, artists, and the hosts of other podcasts and radio shows who I had long respected and finally got to befriend. I’ve broken bread with these folks, slept over at their homes, and turned to them for advice in times of need. I linked up with listeners all across the U.S. and became dear friends with many of them. We cultivated a joyful, wholesome, queer community on Discord where many have half-jokingly said, “I was cis when I got here!” In the end, if it weren’t for this silly little program, I would never have met my partner, Megan, and fallen in love. For a long, long time now, Coffee with Comrades has been an integral facet of my life. I’m in a different place in 2023 than I was in 2018. I am a partner and a parent now. I am teaching full-time. Over the past year, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on how Coffee with Comrades factors into my life. As many of you know, I graduated in May ‘23 with a PhD in Literature, Media, and Culture. Bree and I started this show about the same time I got accepted to teach at Florida State University. With each passing year, that degree took more and more of a toll on my mental health. In the end, it got to a point where I loathed the very idea of reading—a pastime that once brought me inexpressible pleasure and euphoria. Although I am slowly starting to get that sense of enjoyment back when it comes to reading, I cannot help but notice that I am starting to feel a similar sense of frustration and, if I am honest, even contempt whenever I think about creating another episode of the podcast. Cycles of burnout and frustration are, on the whole, pretty normal in community-organizing. For a time, I thought that was just what I was going through: the normal pattern of excitement, burnout, then new excitement once again. After all, this wouldn’t be the first time I went through that cycle working on Coffee with Comrades. On several occasions, I have taken breaks from the show to get back into the right mindset. This happened again fairly recently when Megan and I found out one of our dear friends had died. I put the show on hold so I could take care of my partner, our friends, and (importantly) take care of myself. But during that time of contemplation and distance from the show, I felt a disconnect greater than any I had experienced before. I realized I didn’t want to go back to putting out episodes. I did eventually put out another episode (and I am happy with it!) But I was actually low-key dreading getting back into the swing again. As I have said before, putting together a podcast is an enormous amount of work. Booking guests, scheduling recording times, doing the pre-production, recording the actual show, editing the show, doing post-production, uploading everything to the internet, managing social media, etc. It all adds up to an extraordinary amount of effort and, increasingly, I am noticing the fact that it has taken away from the number one creative passion in my life: writing. Writing stories, poems, and essays has been an enduring wellspring of joy throughout my life. I started writing stories when I was just seven years old and I have never stopped. But there have also been periods where I was more (or less) committed to my craftsmanship. Coffee with Comrades has been a creative project, to be sure. But it has also been one that has sapped my ability to concentrate more time and effort on other creative endeavors. Even still, I recently released my second collection of poetry, Your Mind is the Cathedral Where I Finally Find god. But what that experience helped me remember was just how life-affirming it is for me to write. How much I...
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    14 mins
  • Episode 195: "The Earth Tells Our Story of Imperfect Beauty" ft. Ami Weintraub

    Episode 195: "The Earth Tells Our Story of Imperfect Beauty" ft. Ami Weintraub
    Aug 16 2023

    CW: In this week's episode, we discuss anti-Semitic violence. Listener discretion is advised.

    Today, Ami Weintraub (he/they) joins us to discuss his new book To the Ghosts Who Are Still Living. In this joyous and melancholic discussion, Ami and I explore the essay collection in detail, touching on anti-fascism, anti-semitism, Jewish identity in diaspora, and Ami's spiritual and ancestral affinity. 

    • Pick up a copy of To the Ghosts Who Are Still Living today! 
    • Check out Ami's website and follow them on Instagram. 
    • Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Mastodon, Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
    • Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
    • Coffee with Comrades is an affiliate of the Firestorm Books & Café. Check out our reading recommendations!
    • Our logo was designed by Nathanael Whale.
    • Pick up a copy of my second book of poetry, Your Mind is the Cathedral Where I Finally Find god.
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    59 mins
  • Episode 194: "Smashing the Surveillance State" ft. Chris Robé

    Episode 194: "Smashing the Surveillance State" ft. Chris Robé
    Aug 1 2023

    On today’s episode of Coffee with Comrades, I am pleased to be joined by Chris Robé, a professor of film and media studies at Florida Atlantic University and the author of the new book Abolishing Surveillance: Digital Media Activism and State Repression.

    • Follow Chris on Twitter and pre-order a copy of Abolishing Surveillance! 
    • Check out Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair.
    • Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Mastodon, Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website.
    • Coffee with Comrades is a proud affiliate of the Channel Zero Network.
    • Coffee with Comrades is an affiliate of the Firestorm Books & Café. Check out our reading recommendations!
    • Our logo was designed by Nathanael Whale.
    • Pick up a copy of my second book of poetry, Your Mind is the Cathedral Where I Finally Find god.
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    1 hr and 18 mins
Art Politics & Government
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