Kristen Ghodsee is an American ethnographer and Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; known primarily for her ethnographic work on post-communist Bulgaria as well as being a contributor to the field of postsocialist gender studies. She is the author of many books, including her latest "Red Hangover:Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism. Kristen joins Brett to discuss the collapse of Soviet Communism and the human costs of the brutal transition to free market capitalism.  Topics Include: Women under communism, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the human costs of capitalism in Eastern Europe, current wealth inequality in the former Soviet Bloc, false equivalencies between the Nazis and the Soviets and the ideological role it serves, the rise of fascism in the wake of communisms collapse, socialist feminism, fallacies inherent in capitalist arguments, the ravages of neoliberalism, the future of socialism, and much, much more! You can buy Kristen's latest book here: https://www.dukeupress.edu/red-hangover Learn more about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristen_R._Ghodsee#Books Read her article we mention in the episode here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/opinion/why-women-had-better-sex-under-socialism.html Intro Music by The String-Bo String Duo Outro Music: "Bent Life" by Aesop Rock featuring C Rayz Walz This podcast is officially affiliated with The Nebraska Left Coalition, the Nebraska IWW, and the Omaha GDC. Check out Nebraska IWW's new website here: https://www.nebraskaiww.org