The Maggie Phair Institute for Democracy and Human Rights has put out its first podcast – Exit Capitalism, Stage Left, run by me, Manda Riggle, the new educator for the institute. This podcast explores various subjects related to human rights and democracy under a capitalism system. 

The first episode of the podcast is dedicated to Mimi Soltysik, a dear friend and comrade who held the previous position of educator here at the Maggie Phair Institute before he passed. This episode explores Mimi’s previous blog post on here, An Economic Bill of Human Rights, in addition to further explore the idea of human rights under a capitalist, exploitative system that is, by design, adverse to human rights. 

Exit Capitalism, Stage Left can be found at the top of the Maggie Phair Institute’s website and is available for streaming and download. 

And, for those curious about my qualifications, here they are: I am a longtime activist that is versed in both theory and praxis. When I was part of the Socialist Party USA, I was managing editor and later co-editor-in-chief of The Socialist. I am currently one of the co-revivers of Food Not Bombs in my local area as well as a co-organizer for our local free market and have been engaged in mutual aid work since the onset of the pandemic. Outside of activism, I am a PhD student studying early modern literature and the struggles that manifested into the transition of feudalism, a horribly exploitative system based on inherited rank, to capitalism, a horribly exploitative system based on wealth that is often inherited. I have a BA in English education with a minor in political science and an MA in literature. 

I hope you all enjoy the podcast. I am new to this format but learning. In the future, we will have episodes featuring local members of the Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) as well as episodes exploring what mutual aid is, why it is needed, and how it exists outside of a capitalist framework.