Content provided by The Socialist Shelf. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The Socialist Shelf or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Player FM - Podcast App Go offline with the Player FM app!
How do you know when it’s time to make your next big career move? With International Women’s Day around the corner, we are excited to feature Avni Patel Thompson, Founder and CEO of Milo. Avni is building technology that directly supports the often overlooked emotional and logistical labor that falls on parents—especially women. Milo is an AI assistant designed to help families manage that invisible load more efficiently. In this episode, Avni shares her journey from studying chemistry to holding leadership roles at global brands like Adidas and Starbucks, to launching her own ventures. She discusses how she approaches career transitions, the importance of unpleasant experiences, and why she’s focused on making everyday life easier for parents. [01:26] Avni's University Days and Early Career [04:36] Non-Linear Career Paths [05:16] Pursuing Steep Learning Curves [11:51] Entrepreneurship and Safety Nets [15:22] Lived Experiences and Milo [19:55] Avni’s In Her Ellement Moment [20:03] Reflections Links: Avni Patel Thompson on LinkedIn Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn Ipsos report on the future of parenting About In Her Ellement: In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element? About The Hosts: Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030. Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders. Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.…
Content provided by The Socialist Shelf. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The Socialist Shelf or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
A podcast where we care about two things: good fiction and changing the world. From your favorite pseudointellectuals, Jacob Dallas-Main and Lenore Olson. Follow us on Twitter @SocialistShelf or shoot us an email at TheSocialistShelf@gmail.com
Content provided by The Socialist Shelf. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The Socialist Shelf or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
A podcast where we care about two things: good fiction and changing the world. From your favorite pseudointellectuals, Jacob Dallas-Main and Lenore Olson. Follow us on Twitter @SocialistShelf or shoot us an email at TheSocialistShelf@gmail.com
Thar she blows! This week, the shelfers unpack The Great American Novel: Herman Melville's 1851 epic, "Moby Dick." Joining us is Isaac Boa, a writer, educator, and revolutionary organizer. Together, we're going to solve just what's going on with this whole whale situation. You can find Isaac's writing here. You can join the PSL Action Network Here. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is our first fan art poster!! Shout out to Em for real.…
Octavia Butler Round 3 The Shelfers finish the Parable Duology and the hazardous life of Lauren Oya Olamina in Octavia Butler's 1998 masterpiece, "Parable of the Talents." This book is an absolutely brilliant analysis of fascism and the powerful organizing that can arise in the face of it. Octavia is the best to ever do it. What else can we say? CW: There is some discussion of sexual violence committed by the fascist forces in this book. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is a campaign poster I made for Jarret, who is just the worst.…
This is a bully good episode (am I using that term properly?) This week, the shelfers check out S.M. Stirling's 2018 alternative history WWI novel, "Black Chamber." The premise? Teddy Roosevelt gets a third term as president, and this time he's Bernie Sanders in a cowboy hat. We didn't dig this one. Jacob REALLY didn't dig this one. If you're here, you should check out our website! Lenore's got a new essay up on The Shelf about S.M. Stirling, so read that here. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is us in a "black chamber" get it?…
Have you ever considered that when a nuclear war happens your grandparents will die and it'll be really sad? No? Well this book is gonna make you consider that. This week, the Shelfers take on Raymond Briggs' 1982 graphic novel, "When the Wind Blows," an upsetting little tale about an old couple facing the apocalypse. We are joined by veteran of our Sonic episode and artist behind the Socialist Shelf pod art, Tay, AKA Foxy Macchiato. Check out Tay's art, YouTube, and other content here! Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is from the book cover but also we're dying in nuclear fire.…
What if the treasure was the friends we made along the way but also was very literally a whole lot of treasure? Join us as we travel to 1988 to discuss Paulo Coelho's global phenomenon of a novel, "The Alchemist." We are joined by Kennedy Cooper, host of the podcasts, "The Worst Week Yet" and "The Most Important Election of our Lives." We haven't been able to confirm whether or not they are a real life alchemist, but we have our suspicions... What is it about this book that drove people so wild? Is "Live, Laugh, Love" always a bad thing? Why is Melchizedek here? Check out The Worst Week Yet! Check Out The Most Important Election of Our Lives Follow Kennedy on Bluesky @kennedytcooper.bsky.social Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is from "The Alchemist" graphic novel and also we're there and some emojis too.…
Our new website is live! Check out socialistshelf.com for all your Socialist Shelf needs. Today we enter the very gay, very violent, and very authoritarian mind of Yukio Mishima, aka the worst coup-plotter of all time, as we discuss his 1949 work, "Confessions of a Mask." This novel is harrowing at times, ridiculous at others. Absolutely relatable to anyone with closet experience in one moment, and the next he's talking like a return to tradition adult Catholic convert guy with a Greek statue profile picture. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is Mishima's ideal society.…
Have you ever thought, "Hey, why can't I have a guy strapped to my wall that will basically serve as a living large language model for me and my bored guests?" No? Well, we talk a lot about that concept anyway. This is our discussion of "Liberation Day," a 2022 short story collection from George Saunders. Joining us is confirmed genius, Tom from the Anime Sickos podcast. He likes Saunders, and now so do we. You'll find out why. Themes in this episode: being obviously trapped but not knowing it, getting kicked to death in a theme park, and how even GOATs can be washed at times when they try to write about Donald Trump Check out AnimeSickos here! If you listen, you'll also be a certified genius. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is kind of abstract but just go with it.…
It's time to talk about the quintessential vampire novel, Bram Stoker 1897 gothic horror, "Dracula." *Scary music plays, lightning flashes, we look very cool in an old castle* The Shelfers are joined by Scoob, Bluesky Elder, vampire expert, and longtime follower of the Count. Learn how Bram Stoker was the Forrest Gump of late 19th century literature as he stumbled his way through a prolific but disappointing career that exploded following his death. We ask such questions as...Is Dracula gay? (Yes.) Is Dracula racist? (Also yes.) Is Jonathan Harker a petite bourgeois reactionary? (100% yes.) Does Mina deserve better? (Yes, yes, yes.) Check out Scoob's other passion (posting!) @scoobydouchebag.bsky.social Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is us doing the long walk (from the book's cover)…
It's been a minute, but it's time for another famous Socialist Shelf interview!! We're delighted to feature Andy Boyd, a brilliant playwright and artist to talk about her play, "Occupy Prescott," a funny and thoughtful show about an Occupy Wall Street encampment in the much-smaller-than-Wall-Street Courthouse Square of Prescott Arizona. Purchase "Occupy Prescott" here! Get Andy's other show, "The Trade Federation or Let's Explore Globalization Through the Star Wars Prequels" here! Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is from the cover of "Occupy Prescott."…
We walk. And walk. And waaaalk. Welcome to the twisted mind of Stephen King, AKA Richard Bachman, and his 1979 dystopian horror, "The Long Walk." What if America was bad? Like...even more bad. What if we had young men play sports that killed them...like killed them even more than the ones they do now. The Shelfers investigate. Fascism. Masculinity. Sexuality. Repetitive Writing. We get into it all. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is us doing the long walk (from the book's cover)…
It's a year in review episode but also we do a short story because that's what we doooo, baby. It's been a great year for the show (and in basically no other way). We celebrate it in this episode by the giving of dubious gifts, reflecting on our favorite episodes of the year, and being slightly disrespectful to Jimmy Carter. We also discuss Ted Chiang’s 2001 short story, "Hell is the Absence of God." We get sad and philosophical about it. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is us emerging to seize the new year!…
It's not just a poem, it an EPIC poem. This week, the Shelfers take on Harry Martinson's 1956 Swedish, sci-fi epic, "Aniara." Joining them is Max Johansson, who will be considered our pod's official Sweden expert from here on out. Proletarian literature, running away from your problems, existential despair, quibbling over translations, nuclear apocalypse!!! This one's got it all. Want more of Max? Well, you'll need to speak Swedish, but if you do, go and check out his podcast, Brodrafolkens! You can also follow him on Instagram @maxjohkna. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art is us blasting off.…
Let's get into the savage heart of the American dream, shall we? Join us as we visit Hunter S. Thompson's pocket dimension version of Las Vegas in his 1971 work of gonzo journalism, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Hear us praise the writing, be moved by the characters, and get really pissed at the author. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart ,) episode art self is my proposed new cover for the novel…
Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here. Worst of All Possible Worlds’ Josh Boerman, veteran of both the Socialist Shelf and the battle every young man must face, join us as we take on the villainous Arterburn M Stephen and the downright freaky Fred Stoeker’s 2002, sexual purity self-help book, “Every Young Man’s Battle” If you’ve ever wanted to face the intersection of evangelical sexual oppression and the New Right down while laughing about sumo wrestlers and stallions, this is your episode. Disclaimer: the ideas spouted in this book are really gross, downright heinous. Please keep that in mind as you listen, and feel free to skip this one if the discussion makes you too uncomfortable. More Josh Boerman/Worst of All Possible Worlds: https://www.worstpossible.world/ and @Bosh.Worstpossible.World on Bluesky. Episode art is Fred Stoeker's Instagram feed. He's joined by a few cool folks who are just driving by.…
Title: "Luke Castellan and the Heroic Kronosian People's Front's Noble and Correct War Against the Poseidonist Running Dog Known as Percy JacKKK$on and the Imperialist, Westernist Pigs at KKKamp Halfblood, Including the Reactionary and Hyper-Consumptivist Diony$u$ and the Liberal Moralist Annabeth Cha$e, Who Represent Scant Resistance to the Titanic Proletarian-Peasant-Monster Aligned Forces of the People's Army of Tartarus." Today the Shelfers are discussing the 2005 novel, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," the first installment in Rick Riordan's YA Fantasy series that started as a bedtime story and became a mega-franchise. To be honest, the politics in this one are pretty limited. Jacob just really likes this book. We still think it's a good episode though! Oh yeah, apologies on the audio. We recorded in Lenore's basement and apparently her AC is counter-revolutionary. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) episode art is from the graphic novel but Lenore is a sword.…
Welcome to Player FM!
Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.