By Marc Eliot Stein, World BEYOND War, May 31, 2024
Episode 60 of the World BEYOND War podcast takes a personal slant today, as host Marc Eliot Stein ponders a difficult question that may be familiar to antiwar activists who find themselves living in opposition to their own so-called governments, and are struggling to live authentically while resisting many of the sociopolitical norms that surround us.
Our podcast host looks inward at his own life’s journey, beginning with dutiful obedience to the ideals of American exceptionalism and capitalist ambition. Bouncing aimlessly from one career plan to another, Marc worked briefly as an entry-level computer programmer for a military aircraft radar warning system manufacturer, then thrived as a financial systems developer on Wall Street, and years later was so enthusiastic about Barack Obama’s inauguration that he spent six years in Washington DC from 2009 to 2015 working for Foreign Policy Magazine (and the Washington Post), the Department of Labor, the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Center for Disease Control, becoming increasingly frustrated by the shallow work/tech culture in the nation’s capital. The truths about corruption and futility that were gradually revealed during these six frustrating and aggravating years led Marc to finally choose a different and better path as World BEYOND War’s technology director.
This winding tale will conclude with next month’s episode. Among the people introduced in this month’s episode are Shatzi Weisberger, the People’s Bubbe, a brave and proud New York City antiwar activist who Marc had first known as a teenager, and reunited with in 2020 before her death in 2022.
Episode 60 also includes Marc’s personal reminiscence of working with Blake Hounshell, late Washington DC journalist, at Foreign Policy in 2009. He’s seen here at his office at Politico:
This is a two-part story that will conclude with next month’s episode. Musical excerpt: “Dead and Gone” by T.I. and Justin Timberlake.
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