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Podcast Series

Abolition School Radio

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction and Haymarket Books, providing in-depth political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. Season 1 is a 12-week course on Du Bois’s Black Reconstruction, led by Geo Maher. The Season 2 course focuses on CLR James’ Black Jacobins. Season 3, a 12-week course on the works of Frantz Fanon, is currently in progress.

Episodes

All Seasons Season 1 Season 2
Apr 8, 2026
Season 1 Episode 11

Class 11: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

This is the eleventh episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 11 are:

  • Ch. 14: “The Counter-Revolution of Property” esp. 580-92, 595-6, 602, bottom 609-11, 618-26, 630-5

Study Questions for Episode 11 are:

  • Why did Reconstruction die?
  • Was it doomed from the start?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 8, 2026
Season 1 Episode 12

Class 12: Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher

This is the final episode of our 12-part series Reading Black Reconstruction with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 12 are:

  • Ch. 15: “Founding the Public School” skim most but focus on 637-41, 667
  • Ch. 16: “Back Toward Slavery” esp. 670-4, 678-80, 692-709

Study Questions for Episode 12 are:

  • Why does Du Bois write an entire chapter on public education?
  • What does it mean to move “back toward slavery” and how does it complicate our understanding of history?

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 10, 2026
Season 2 Episode 1

Class 1: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

In the first episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher, we will introduce the book and author, Trinidadian revolutionary CLR James.

Readings for Episode 1 are:

  • Appendix: “From Toussaint L’Ouverture to Fidel Castro”
  • Preface to the Vintage Edition
  • Additional: “Lectures on The Black Jacobins (1971)

Study Questions for Episode 1 are:

  • When was Black Jacobins written for? Where was it written for?
  • What, according to James, is the essence and importance of the Caribbean?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 10, 2026
Season 2 Episode 2

Class 2: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

This is the second episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 2 are:

  • Preface to the First Edition
  • Prologue
  • Ch. 1, “The Property”

Study Questions for Episode 2 are:

  • What happens in a revolution? Who tends to lead a revolution?
  • Who were the slaves? How does James understand their condition and position in the world?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 10, 2026
Season 2 Episode 3

Class 3: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

This is the third episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 3 are:

  • Ch. 2, “The Owners”

Study Questions for Episode 3 are:

  • What classes existed in white San Domingo, and how do they diSer from or correspond to the classes in France?
  • What was the importance of San Domingo for France and the Revolution?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 10, 2026
Season 2 Episode 4

Class 4: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

This is the fourth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 4 are:

  • Ch. 3, “Parliament and Property”

Study Questions for Episode 4 are:

  • Who started the French Revolution?
  • Where was it located, and how was it to be measured?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 10, 2026
Season 2 Episode 5

Class 5: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

This is the fifth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 5 are:

  • Ch. 4, “The San Domingo Masses Begin”

Study Questions for Episode 5 are:

  • Who were the slaves, how did they work, and how did they resist?
  • Why does James call them “masses”?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 10, 2026
Season 2 Episode 6

Class 6: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

This is the sixth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 6 are:

  • Ch. 5, “And the Paris Masses Complete”

Study Questions for Episode 6 are:

  • Who were the French masses, and what was their role in Jacobinism and the Revolution more broadly?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 10, 2026
Season 2 Episode 7

Class 7: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

This is the seventh episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 7 are:

  • Ch. 6, “The Rise of Toussaint”
  • Ch. 7, “The Mulattoes Try and Fail”

Study Questions for Episode 7 are:

  • Who was Toussaint, and what made him an eSective leader?
  • Who were the “mulattoes” and what motivated them?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.

Apr 10, 2026
Season 2 Episode 8

Class 8: Reading The Black Jacobins with Geo Maher

This is the eighth episode of our 12-part series Reading the Black Jacobins with Geo Maher.

Readings for Episode 8 are:

  • Ch. 8, “The White Slave-Owners Again”

Study Questions for Episode 8 are:

  • What was Robespierre’s fatal error?

As always, we’ll be using the post-1963 edition of The Black Jacobins, which is identifiable by the Appendix.

The Abolition School Radio podcast is a collaboration between Haymarket Books and the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction.

Based in Philadelphia, the Du Bois Movement School provides revolutionary abolitionist, internationalist, intersectional, and participatory political education to a new generation of aspiring organizers and leaders. We believe everyone is an intellectual, and that there can be no abolition of carceral institutions without a broad process of social reconstruction. We study the world to change it!

Haymarket Books is a radical, independent book publisher and political education institution based in Chicago. Visit haymarketbooks.org to find radical books, virtual events, podcasts, and other political education resources, including the other seasons of Abolition School Radio.