What do revolutionary politics, prog rock, and doomscrolling have in common? More than you might think! In this special episode of thinking bodies, Anna and Kristin welcome back friend of the pod Michael Doan to discuss his new book, Rehearsing the Future: The Thought and Practice of James and Grace Lee Boggs (AK Press, October 2026).
This episode features reflections from members of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership: Stephen Ward, Trinity Watson, and Kim Sherobbi.
James and Grace Lee Boggs were revolutionary thinkers and organizers whose decades of work in Detroit challenged conventional ideas about political change, education, freedom, and what it means to become human. Their revolutionary philosophy of dialectical humanism fuels the idea of two-sided transformation--changing ourselves and society!
We ponder Grace's claim that universities are where thinking goes to die, whether making content counts as making things, and what it means to become more human human beings.
Together, we explore what it means to think from social movements rather than simply about them. We talk about the contradictions of American capitalism, the relationship between racism and technological development, the alienation of our heads from our hands, and the possibilities of education that prepares people not just for jobs, but for taking responsibility for their communities.
Stick with us all the way to the end when we talk about Mike's approach to writing with thinkers who are no longer with us, and what it means to carry forward a living intellectual and political legacy.
Buy Michael's Book!: https://www.akpress.org/rehearsing-the-future.html
Learn more about the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership: https://www.boggscenter.org/
Full descriptive transcript and episode references: thinkingbodiespod.com
Keywords: Revolutionary change, dialectical humanism, visionary organizing, Black radical thought, education, community responsibility, automation, alienation, and the relationship between thinking and doing.
Go to thinkingbodiespod.com for more information
