Geoff Gordon
Geoff Gordon
@melancholyleftist.substack.com
Critical, historically-oriented social scientist with interests in democratization, authoritarian regimes, development, state formation, and imperialism. UVA, LSE, New College of Florida alum
Pinned
I've got some new followers, and picked up some random people before this, so a quick intro

*I have a PhD in polisci (comparative) and wrote a diss on Turkey

*I'm interested in Marxism, state space, security, imperialism

*I'm a podcast host for the New Books Network
Why would I want to be my own boss? Bosses suck.
April 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
My first podcast interview of 2025 is available now: I spoke to Mark Neocleous about his new book Pacification: Social War and the Power of Police (Verso, 2025). Mark has been a pioneer of critical research on policing for decades, so it was an honor to interview him newbooksnetwork.com/pacification
Mark Neocleous, "Pacification: Social War and the Power of Police" (Verso, 2025) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
March 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
It's like the national Democratic Party is now the Florida Democratic Party. Half expect them to nominate Charlie Crist next time around. Or Liz Cheney. That'll show 'em.
March 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM
My inner critic's biggest theme is that I'm an underachiever. The fact that I self-sabotaged my way out of academia certainly feeds this narrative, but it goes back a lot farther, to when I struggled in school despite being the 'smart' kid.

But I'm the child of two alcoholics, one of whom...
December 16, 2024 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Geoff Gordon
My latest NBN interview is up: I spoke to the political theorist Begum Adalet about three recent articles that she has written about infrastructure, racialization, and the politics of development newbooksnetwork.com/infrastructu... We spoke about how the green revolution shaped racial formation...
Infrastructure, Development, and Racialization: A Conversation with Begüm Adalet - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
November 24, 2024 at 8:23 PM
My latest NBN interview is up: I spoke to the political theorist Begum Adalet about three recent articles that she has written about infrastructure, racialization, and the politics of development newbooksnetwork.com/infrastructu... We spoke about how the green revolution shaped racial formation...
Infrastructure, Development, and Racialization: A Conversation with Begüm Adalet - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
November 24, 2024 at 8:23 PM
I really enjoyed this interview, and look forward to reading the book. Gender needs to be at the center of conversations about nation-building: newbooksnetwork.com/the-states-s...
Park Jeong-Mi, "The State's Sexuality: Prostitution and Postcolonial Nation Building in South Korea" (U California Press, 2024) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
November 20, 2024 at 9:02 PM
Feeling good after a solid writing session. May you all tell your inner critics to stfu!
November 19, 2024 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Geoff Gordon
It's LIVE: Political Sociology has its first Starter Pack! Follow us all here: go.bsky.app/QaLr2JG
November 18, 2024 at 6:52 PM
My latest NBN interview is now available: I spoke to Nick Bernards about his new book Fictions of Financialization (Pluto): newbooksnetwork.com/fictions-of-... The interview is also available on Spotify and other platforms under the New Books in Critical Theory heading
Nick Bernards, "Fictions of Financialization: Rethinking Speculation, Exploitation and Twenty-First Century Capitalism" (Pluto Press, 2024) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
November 18, 2024 at 6:59 PM
I've got some new followers, and picked up some random people before this, so a quick intro

*I have a PhD in polisci (comparative) and wrote a diss on Turkey

*I'm interested in Marxism, state space, security, imperialism

*I'm a podcast host for the New Books Network
November 17, 2024 at 4:08 AM
Just had a great chat with Nick Bernards about his new book Fictions of Financialization: Rethinking Speculation, Exploitation and Twenty-First Century Capitalism (Pluto) for the New Books Network. www.plutobooks.com/978074534889... The interview should be available in a few days
Fictions of Financialization
For decades, many people on the left have decried the finance sector as the main culprit for the toxic effects of capitalism. Financialization is commonly in...
www.plutobooks.com
November 14, 2024 at 4:12 PM
"Are you fucking serious???" -- me at each new appointment that Trump announces
November 13, 2024 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Geoff Gordon
❄️Our Holiday Sale is here!❄️

50% off all books until December 5th!

plutobooks.com
November 11, 2024 at 2:47 PM
Has anyone in psychology written about how attachment styles affect advisor relationships in higher ed? My relationship with my first advisor was definitely a classic case of anxious style (me) and avoidant style (them)...and it was not a good combination at all. Suspect it's a common dynamic.
November 10, 2024 at 7:27 PM
Opportunity economy was horrible messaging. That kind of shit might have worked during the 90s but felt pretty out of touch for 2024.
November 6, 2024 at 1:23 PM
Who do I vote for if I want to make all MLMs illegal? Amway and crypto, gone
November 5, 2024 at 6:35 PM
I CAN'T VOTE ANY HARDER
when you accidentally write the most pro-Kamala post of the election
November 5, 2024 at 6:31 PM
The main problem with more finance is that it makes more capitalism possible
Writing questions for my upcoming interview with Nick Bernards about Fictions of Financialization for the New Books Network. His critique of the literature on financialization is utterly compelling. I'm looking forward to seeing the critical debate that it sparks: www.plutobooks.com/978074534889...
Fictions of Financialization
For decades, many people on the left have decried the finance sector as the main culprit for the toxic effects of capitalism. Financialization is commonly in...
www.plutobooks.com
November 5, 2024 at 6:11 PM
Writing questions for my upcoming interview with Nick Bernards about Fictions of Financialization for the New Books Network. His critique of the literature on financialization is utterly compelling. I'm looking forward to seeing the critical debate that it sparks: www.plutobooks.com/978074534889...
Fictions of Financialization
For decades, many people on the left have decried the finance sector as the main culprit for the toxic effects of capitalism. Financialization is commonly in...
www.plutobooks.com
November 5, 2024 at 6:07 PM
Tina Weymouth is the most important Talking Head
November 5, 2024 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Geoff Gordon
"but he did electric cars"

We paid rich people to buy his cars instead of doing real environmental policy. California's ZEV credit system shuffled $10 billion more to Tesla, ~$1 billion of which was based on battery swap fraud. He got a free pass on safety and environmental regulation for a decade.
“but he did electric cars” - no he didn’t. ev1 was 25+ fucking years ago. he just lit a bunch of money on fire for years and couldn’t even get panel gaps right with a decade head start
November 5, 2024 at 3:13 PM
I have to constantly remind myself that I do not need to read everything ever written in history about topics tangentially related to the focus of my article before I can write anything
November 4, 2024 at 3:55 PM
I interviewed Adam Hanieh about his new book Crude Capitalism (Verso) for the New Books Network. We talked about the entanglements between oil, geopolitics, high finance, and ecology, and about how oil came to be in absolutely everything. newbooksnetwork.com/crude-capita...
© 2024 The New Books Network, all rights reserved.
newbooksnetwork.com
November 3, 2024 at 1:39 PM
Had a great chat today with Adam Hanieh about his new book Crude Capitalism (Verso). The book is an outstanding history of the geopolitics, economics, and political ecology of oil. It's also very elegantly written. The interview should be available from the New Books Network in a few days!
October 31, 2024 at 3:35 PM