Bill Weinberg – CounterVortex https://countervortex.org Resisting Humanity's Downward Spiral Mon, 06 Jul 2026 18:05:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://countervortex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/newsflash_logo-1-300x300.png Bill Weinberg – CounterVortex https://countervortex.org 32 32 Podcast: Resist digital hegemony! II https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-resist-digital-hegemony-ii/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-resist-digital-hegemony-ii/#respond Mon, 06 Jul 2026 18:05:16 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25389 terrifying rapidity, and Artificial Intelligence portends the actual abolition of humanity. Even the United Nations' belated and insufficient efforts to put a regulatory regime in place for AI acknowledge that humans face imminent "loss of control" over the technology. There are glimmers of hope, however: teachers engaged in practical resistance to the rollout of AI in school classrooms, and the nationwide protests against the proliferation of data centers. In New York City, the local Luddite Club just held a Summer of Ludd festival—aimed at getting people to disconnect from the digital pseudo-reality that recuperates our very alienation from itself, and to reclaim real life in the public parks and streets. In Episode 335 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg offers a report from Manhattan's Lower East Side. (Photo: CounterVortex at the Summer of Ludd, Tompkins Square Park, NYC)]]> Digital technology continues to colonize every sphere of human activity with terrifying rapidity, and Artificial Intelligence portends the actual abolition of humanity. Even the United Nations’ belated and insufficient efforts to put a regulatory regime in place for AI acknowledge that humans face imminent “loss of control” over the technology. There are glimmers of hope, however: teachers engaged in practical resistance to the rollout of AI in school classrooms, and the nationwide protests against the proliferation of data centers. In New York City, the local Luddite Club just held a Summer of Ludd festival—aimed at getting people to disconnect from the digital pseudo-reality that recuperates our very alienation from itself, and to reclaim real life in the public parks and streets. In Episode 335 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg offers a report from Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

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Books discussed:

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Photo: CounterVortex at the Summer of Ludd, Tompkins Square Park, NYC

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-resist-digital-hegemony-ii/feed/ 0 Podcast: the Iran MoU in the Great Game https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-the-iran-mou-in-the-great-game/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-the-iran-mou-in-the-great-game/#respond Wed, 24 Jun 2026 20:01:02 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25361 Memorandum of Understanding" signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is contingent on the cooperation of two entities not a party to it: Hezbollah and Israel—which continues to commit war crimes in Lebanon. The provisions on Iran's nuclear program do not even recoup the progress won in Obama's nuclear deal that Trump tore up in his first term. And Trump's claim when hostilities began back in February to be acting on behalf of Iranians who rose up in mass protests against the regime are now completely betrayed in a "non-interference" pledge. In Episode 334 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to urge support for alternative voices that take a neither/nor position regarding MAGA-imperialism and the Islamic Republic, and again recalls the anarchist slogan: Neither your war nor your peace! (Image: Pixabay)]]> The “Memorandum of Understanding” signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is contingent on the cooperation of two entities not a party to it: Hezbollah and Israel—which continues to commit war crimes in Lebanon. The provisions on Iran’s nuclear program do not even recoup the progress won in Obama’s nuclear deal that Trump tore up in his first term. And Trump’s claim when hostilities began back in February to be acting on behalf of Iranians who rose up in mass protests against the regime are now completely betrayed in a “non-interference” pledge. In Episode 334 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to urge support for alternative voices that take a neither/nor position regarding MAGA-imperialism and the Islamic Republic, and again recalls the anarchist slogan: Neither your war nor your peace!

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Books discussed:

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Image: Pixabay

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-the-iran-mou-in-the-great-game/feed/ 0 Podcast: Resist digital hegemony! https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-resist-digital-hegemony/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-resist-digital-hegemony/#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2026 23:12:07 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25358 raising the alarm about the decline of literacy under the relentless assault of totalized digital immersion—finally catching up to what CounterVortex blogger and ranter Bill Weinberg has been saying for years (although sneering denialism about the problem remains fashionable). Worldwide, the humanities are being abandoned in favor of STEM, while social media overtakes "legacy media" as a source of "news"—or (as is more often the case) sinister propaganda. In Episode 333 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill takes stock of this grave and still under-appreciated threat to the survival of democracy and humanity itself—and looks for signs of practical resistance. (Image: Earth First! Newswire)]]> Voices from within the academy are now raising the alarm about the decline of literacy under the relentless assault of totalized digital immersion—finally catching up to what CounterVortex blogger and ranter Bill Weinberg has been saying for years (although sneering denialism about the problem remains fashionable). Worldwide, the humanities are being abandoned in favor of STEM, while social media overtakes “legacy media” as a source of “news”—or (as is more often the case) sinister propaganda. In Episode 333 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill takes stock of this grave and still under-appreciated threat to the survival of democracy and humanity itself—and looks for signs of practical resistance.

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Books discussed:

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas G. Carr, Norton 2020

Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic by Simon Winchester, Harper Collins 2023

The Reticular Society by Ian Alan Paul, PM Press 2026

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Image: Earth First! Newswire

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-resist-digital-hegemony/feed/ 1 Podcast: The Space Trilogy revisited https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-the-space-trilogy-revisited/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-the-space-trilogy-revisited/#respond Sun, 14 Jun 2026 22:11:32 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25343 CS Lewis is mainly seen as either a purveyor of goopy children's literature or a Christian moralist fuddy-duddy. But Lewis' Space Trilogy—fantastic literature for adults, or "philosophical science fiction"—also reveals him as a dystopian prophet in the tradition of Orwell. The first two books in the series, Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, are a critique of space imperialism that anticipated the Avatar movies. But the final one, That Hideous Strength, is particularly relevant for our historical moment, as it anticipated rule by fascist tech bros with hubristic visions of remaking (or abolishing) humanity. In Episode 332of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg makes the case that Lewis offered a vital critique of technocracy and "transhumanism" that is now urgently needed, as humanity stands at the cusp of his worst nightmares. (Image via Diary of an Autodidact)]]> CS Lewis is mainly seen as either a purveyor of goopy children’s literature or a Christian moralist fuddy-duddy. But Lewis’ Space Trilogy—fantastic literature for adults, or “philosophical science fiction”—also reveals him as a dystopian prophet in the tradition of Orwell. The first two books in the series, Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, are a critique of space imperialism that anticipated the Avatar movies. But the final one, That Hideous Strength, is particularly relevant for our historical moment, as it anticipated rule by fascist tech bros with hubristic visions of remaking (or abolishing) humanity. In Episode 332 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg makes the case that Lewis offered a vital critique of technocracy and “transhumanism” that is now urgently needed, as humanity stands at the cusp of his worst nightmares.

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Image via Diary of an Autodidact

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-the-space-trilogy-revisited/feed/ 0 AI: the case for abolition https://countervortex.org/blog/ai-the-case-for-abolition/ https://countervortex.org/blog/ai-the-case-for-abolition/#respond Sun, 07 Jun 2026 18:12:20 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25323 executive order purporting to establish a regulation regime for artificial intelligence actually serves the aim of a government partnership with the AI industry to advance the police state. Ironically, it is AI company Anthropic that calls for a moratorium on development of the technology until its threats are assessed. Pope Leo XIV's encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence," raises critical points but still echoes the illusion that this technology, now threatening to develop its own powers of "recursive self-improvement," can be effectively regulated. There are encouraging signs of worker pushback against replacement by AI, and an emerging anarchist critique of the technology. Of course the Trump regime is targeting critics for repression as "anti-tech extremists." In Episode 331 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg again calls for total abolition of AI, citing unacceptable threats to humanity on ecological, epistemological and eschatological grounds. (Image: Pixabay via Wikimedia Commons)]]> Trump’s executive order purporting to establish a regulation regime for artificial intelligence actually serves the aim of a government partnership with the AI industry to advance the police state. Ironically, it is the AI company Anthropic that is calling for a moratorium on development of the technology until its threats are assessed. Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,” raises critical points but still echoes the illusion that this technology, now threatening to develop its own powers of “recursive self-improvement,” can be effectively regulated. There are encouraging signs of worker pushback against replacement by AI, and an emerging anarchist critique of the technology. Of course the Trump regime is targeting critics for repression as “anti-tech extremists.” In Episode 331 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg again calls for total abolition of AI, citing unacceptable threats to humanity on ecological, epistemological and eschatological grounds.

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Image: Pixabay via Wikimedia Commons

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/ai-the-case-for-abolition/feed/ 0 Podcast: Hasan Piker & the pro-fascist pseudo-left https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-hasan-piker-the-pro-fascist-pseudo-left/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-hasan-piker-the-pro-fascist-pseudo-left/#respond Sun, 31 May 2026 17:33:02 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25299 administrative subpoenas issued for Hasan Piker and Medea Benjamin over their participation in the Cuba caravan are to be opposed—in part because the subpoenas will only give their sinister politics greater cachet among neophyte activists! Piker's shameless shillingfor the dictatorships of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin invisibilizes the victims of their ethno-supremacist detention states—such as the Uyghurs of Xinjiang and the Crimean Tatars. This more critical point is obscured in the endless outrage over his supposed anti-Semitism. And with Xi and Putin joining with Trump to build a fascist world order, Piker's brand of campist pseudo-opposition (however overheated) is compromised from the start, mirroring what it ostensibly opposes—subpoenas notwithstanding. In Episode 330 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg breaks it down in his typically unsparing manner. (Photo: Xinjiang Judicial Administration via The Diplomat)]]> The administrative subpoenas issued for Hasan Piker and Medea Benjamin over their participation in the Cuba caravan are to be opposed—in part because the subpoenas will only give their sinister politics greater cachet among neophyte activists! Piker’s shameless shilling for the dictatorships of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin invisibilizes the victims of their ethno-supremacist detention states—such as the Uyghurs of Xinjiang and the Crimean Tatars. This more critical point is obscured in the endless outrage over his supposed anti-Semitism. And with Xi and Putin joining with Trump to build a fascist world order, Piker’s brand of campist pseudo-opposition (however overheated) is compromised from the start, mirroring what it ostensibly opposes—subpoenas notwithstanding. In Episode 330 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg breaks it down in his typically unsparing manner.

Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

Recommended reading:

“Hasan Piker’s Take on China May Matter More Than His Views on Israel”
by Danny Postel, New Lines

“New Political Litmus Test: Hasan Piker”
by Michael Donnelly, This Small Planet

“The Wrong Stuff: Hasan Piker and the politics of reactionary clickbait”
by Joseph Grosso, Left Critique of the Left

“The real problem with Hasan Piker. Spoiler: It’s not about Israel.”
by Eric Levitz, Vox

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Photo: Xinjiang Judicial Administration via The Diplomat

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-hasan-piker-the-pro-fascist-pseudo-left/feed/ 0 MAGA-fascism and anti-Semitic pseudo-anti-anti-Semitism III https://countervortex.org/blog/maga-fascism-and-anti-semitic-pseudo-anti-anti-semitism-iii/ https://countervortex.org/blog/maga-fascism-and-anti-semitic-pseudo-anti-anti-semitism-iii/#respond Sun, 24 May 2026 17:50:14 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25291 Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism" has announced a national propaganda tour—as the DoJ is explicitly targeting anti-fascists for prosecution. The tour also comes as the question of Israel has emerged as the critical issue in the split within MAGA—with elements of the breakaway populist wing virtually gloating that the Israel Lobby's support for the Trump-loyal pro-war wing will result in a backlash against Jews. Both wings of MAGA are equally reactionary, yet elements of the supposed "left" are already in a dangerous flirtation with the populist wing—and it is a Democratic congressional hopeful, Maureen Galindo of Texas, who is openly calling for mass detention of "Zionists" in repurposed ICE camps. An incipient Red-Brown alliance can be seen, fueled by the Trump regime's ultra-cynical anti-Semitic pseudo-anti-anti-Semitism. In Episode 330 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg takes an unsparing look. (Image via frgdr Blog. Hebrew lettering in background spells names of places in Europe where Jews were exterminated.)]]> The Justice Department “Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism” has announced a national propaganda tour—as the DoJ is explicitly targeting anti-fascists for prosecution. The tour also comes as the question of Israel has emerged as the critical issue in the split within MAGA—with elements of the breakaway populist wing virtually gloating that the Israel Lobby’s support for the Trump-loyal pro-war wing will result in a backlash against Jews. Both wings of MAGA are equally reactionary, yet elements of the supposed “left” are already in a dangerous flirtation with the populist wing—and it is a Democratic congressional hopeful, Maureen Galindo of Texas, who is openly calling for mass detention of “Zionists” in repurposed ICE camps. An incipient Red-Brown alliance can be seen, fueled by the Trump regime’s ultra-cynical anti-Semitic pseudo-anti-anti-Semitism. In Episode 329 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg takes an unsparing look at the current sinister juncture.

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Image via frgdr Blog. Hebrew lettering in background spells names of places in Europe where Jews were exterminated.

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/maga-fascism-and-anti-semitic-pseudo-anti-anti-semitism-iii/feed/ 0 Podcast: is the Jewish homeland in outer space? https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-is-the-jewish-homeland-in-outer-space/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-is-the-jewish-homeland-in-outer-space/#respond Sun, 17 May 2026 22:13:44 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25275 real crimes of the "Jewish state" make the world a more precarious place for Jews—as recent events demonstrate all too clearly. The contradictions underlying Zionism make its promise of dignity and security for Jews illusory. Earlier efforts also proved to be empty dreams—such as the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Birobidzhan in Soviet-era Siberia. A new book (facetiously or not) seeks a solution to the interminable "Jewish Question" in space colonization. In Episode 328 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg discusses The Luftmenschen of Planet Birobidzhan by Zvi Baranoff.]]> The escalating global crisis and the very real crimes of the “Jewish state” make the world a more precarious place for Jews—as recent events demonstrate all too clearly. The contradictions underlying Zionism make its promise of dignity and security for Jews illusory. Earlier efforts also proved to be empty dreams—such as the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Birobidzhan in Soviet-era Siberia. A new book (facetiously or not) seeks a solution to the interminable “Jewish Question” in space colonization. In Episode 328 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg discusses The Luftmenschen of Planet Birobidzhan by Zvi Baranoff.

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]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-is-the-jewish-homeland-in-outer-space/feed/ 0 Podcast: West Africa escalates toward genocide https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-west-africa-escalates-toward-genocide/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-west-africa-escalates-toward-genocide/#respond Sat, 09 May 2026 22:21:15 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25262 Alarming reports that Nigeria has established "concentration camps" for the Fulani ethnic minority cast an ironic light on Nigeria's tension with the Sahel states of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north. These three regimes have broken from the Western imperial camp (to embrace the nascent Russian imperial camp)—but are likewise subjecting their Fulani minorities to persecution and massacre. With the recent shock rebel offensive in Mali, the "terrorist" stigma that attaches to the Fulani and Tuareg peoples across the imperial camps makes their position more precarious than ever. Meanwhile, prominent voices on the both the right and the (supposed) "left" are spreading propaganda about the struggle in West Africa that is alarmingly wrong, because it exclusively views the crisis through a campist lens. In Episode 327 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg tries to provide some clarity on these fast-escalating and grossly under-reported conflicts. (Photo: Az-Zallaqa via LWJ)]]>

The alarming reports that Nigeria has established “concentration camps” for the Fulani ethnic minority cast an ironic light on Nigeria’s tension with the Sahel states of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north. These three regimes have broken from the Western imperial camp (to embrace the nascent Russian imperial camp)—but are likewise subjecting their Fulani minorities to persecution and massacre. With the recent shock rebel offensive in Mali, the “terrorist” stigma that attaches to the Fulani and Tuareg peoples across the imperial camps makes their position more precarious than ever. Meanwhile, prominent voices on the both the right and the (supposed) “left” are spreading propaganda about the struggle in West Africa that is alarmingly wrong, because it exclusively views the crisis through a campist lens. In Episode 327 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg tries to provide some clarity on these fast-escalating and grossly under-reported conflicts.

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Photo: Az-Zallaqa via LWJ

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-west-africa-escalates-toward-genocide/feed/ 0 Podcast: Can we at least 86 the bullshit? https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-can-we-at-least-86-the-bullshit/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-can-we-at-least-86-the-bullshit/#respond Sat, 02 May 2026 18:06:33 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25246 surrendering to federal authorities to face charges of threatening Donald Trump over an innocent Instagram post illustrates the line between a mere conservative and an actual fascist. CounterVortex chief ranter Bill Weinberg had a personal run-in with Comey back when he was a federal prosecutor. Later, as FBI chief, Comey was accused of trying to prejudice the electorate against Hillary Clinton—only to be himself targeted by the Trump Justice Department. The absurdity of the latest charges against Comey are obvious to anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry. Trump should indeed be eighty-sixed—through legal and constitutional means, such as impeachment, 25th Amendment invocation, or nullification of his illegitimate election. And, indeed, sent to face war crimes charges at The Hague. In Episode 326 of the CounterVortex podcast, Weinberg says: Yes, #8647! Fuckin' A! (Screenshot via, inter alia, CNN)]]>

The surreal spectacle of ex-FBI director James Comey surrendering to federal authorities to face charges of threatening Donald Trump over an innocent Instagram post illustrates the line between a mere conservative and an actual fascist. CounterVortex chief ranter Bill Weinberg had a personal run-in with Comey back when he was a federal prosecutor. Later, as FBI chief, Comey was accused of trying to prejudice the electorate against Hillary Clinton—only to be himself targeted by the Trump Justice Department. The absurdity of the latest charges against Comey are obvious to anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry. Trump should indeed be eighty-sixed—through legal and constitutional means, such as impeachment, 25th Amendment invocation, or nullification of his illegitimate election. And, indeed, sent to face war crimes charges at The Hague. In Episode 326 of the CounterVortex podcast, Weinberg says: Yes, #8647! Fuckin’ A!

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Screenshot via, inter alia, CNN

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-can-we-at-least-86-the-bullshit/feed/ 0