Aaron J Leonard

This is Woody talking to "Weaver's" Fred Hellerman and Lee Hayes, who asked how he was doing -- while being hospitalized for Huntington's Chorea during the Second Red Scare. (From my book Folksingers & the Bureau)

Les communistes défendaient la liberté d’expression que menaçait le FBI - Histoire et société 9 septembre 2025 Un jour, on ne peut qu'en être convaincu, le travail que découvre ce chercheur sur

histoireetsociete.com/les-communis...

The Communists Defended Free Speech, Not the Feds The Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) has been oft-maligned by those to its left and to its right. To the casual observer the attacks from the

A great review from Ron Jacobs at CounterPunch:
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/09/t...

How a Century of Anti-Communism Cleared the Way for Trump’s Authoritarianism This trope has long been used to justify repression of anarchists, communists, liberals, immigrants, and unions.

My latest in Truthout:
truthout.org/articles/how...

Aaron Libson, a closeted gay communist was a target of the FBI’s COINTELPRO-CPUSA. When they facilitated publicizing his arrest on sodomy charges, he tried to kill himself but was thankfully unsuccessful. For the FBI... it was a win, he was driven out of the CP, and the group was “embarrassed.”

Coming... September 9, 2025.

@rutgersupress.bsky.social

I offer it to anyone not understanding that there are moments in history when nothing but the fiercest resistance will do.

Similarly, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) held the view, as defeated SPD candidate Karl Höltermann optimistically told the press in 1932, “After Hitler, our turn.” It was one of the worst—if not the worst—presumptions in history. [banner-"Death to Marxism]

As The NY Times, profiling German Communist Party (KPD) leader Ernst Thälmann in 1932, reported, “The Communists look on Hitler’s possible accession to power as the beginning of their dawn. They expect complete failure from him and disillusionment in his party, with resultant defections.”...

[From my upcoming book].The period of imminent revolution the Comintern declared in 1928 ended abruptly when Adolf Hitler assumed power in 1933. To their peril, the communists & social democrats of Germany held to the idea that the Nazis were a temporary phenomenon... #stopfacsism #resist #handsoff

Aaron Leonard & Jesse Jarnow - The Folk Singers and the Bureau and Wasn't That a Time Virtual Event | Thursday, Jan 07, 2021 7:00 PM A Cappella Books continues our virtual music series in January with authors Aaron Leonard and Jesse Jarnow, who will join us for a conversation on their respective books, “The Folk Singers and the Bur...

FYI - From a while back:
www.acappellabooks.com/pages/events...

- Geoffrey Roberts, Emeritus Professor of History at University College Cork and Member of the Royal Irish Academy

A generous endorsement from Professor Roberts: "The sordid story of the intense and prolonged repression of American communists has never been told better. Aaron J. Leonard’s compelling and highly illuminating book is a must-read for everyone interested in US political history."

Pasadena high school students walking out to protest deportations

Rutgers just sent me the cover for the new book—coming September 9, 2025.

How Bob Dylan Became a Counterculture Icon “A song satirizing the John Birch Society was barred from Ed Sullivan’s television show on Sunday night by the Columbia Broadcasting System, which said it was controversial.” –New York Times, May 1…

I've not yet seen the Dylan film, though Elijah Wald's book, which it is somewhat based on was helpful in working through my own analysis. For a sample you can see the Literary Hub excerpt.https://lithub.com/how-bob-dylan-became-a-counterculture-icon/

While his life after being president was one thing, his time in office is another—and our apprehending of such history matters.

In "Meltdown Expected" I write, that while Jimmy Carter came into office as a champion of human rights, by the end of 1979 he had begun funding Islamist guerillas in Afghanistan, developed the MX missile, embraced the despised Shah of Iran, and tacitly supported the Pol Pot regime against Vietnam.

What Does Dystopian Film “Civil War” Say About the Current Reality in the US? Beyond serving as harrowing entertainment, the film explores real fears about social divides in the contemporary US.

Movie of the year you ask? Here's mine:

truthout.org/articles/wha...

I have just been given a publication date from Rutgers University Press for my next book, Menace of Our Time: The Long War Against American Communism. It will be on the streets starting September 9, 2025. Get ready! @rutgersupress.bsky.social

Newly Uncovered Documents Reveal the FBI’s Campaign Against Bob Dylan The US impulse toward repression didn’t die with the Cold War, as current attempts to suppress support for Gaza show.

If the new Dylan movie (A Complete Unknown) has your interest - personally I find biopix problematic, they project a twisted view of things, that the uninformed then internalize as the truth- I found some pretty fascinating stuff in the FBI files on him last year.

truthout.org/articles/new...

Thanks for this @rutgersupress.bsky.social !

YouTube video by LA Progressive Trump Harris Battle Ignored Real Economic Crisis Like most Campaigns

I had a great conversation with Dick Price & Sharon Kyle, of the LA Progressive, about the FBI's sordid history, the state of the US economy, and what the future may portend.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOWj...

Listening to the Clash After the Election The country that existed in the aftermath of World War II is fading further with each passing year.

My thought on the fraught state of the USA

www.laprogressive.com/economic-equ...

Democracy - Rutgers University Press Now that the results of the U.S. presidential race are clear, we thought it would be helpful to highlight some of our books on democracy and the threats

Nice to see "Meltdown Expected" on the list:

www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/democracy/

Looking forward to speaking at LA's All Power Books w/All Power Musicians Org, on December 3, 7pm (about Folk Singers & the Bureau). The image of Woody Guthrie is from his NY FBI file, taken by an informant in Spokane, Washington. All Power Books 7pm—4749 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles

Understanding the Rise of Fascism Popular accounts of Nazism often claim that Hitler rose to power democratically. But, historian Richard J. Evans argues, German fascism relied on armed militias, made up of disaffected veterans inspir...

I don't know what the [Trump] years ahead hold--though I'm inclined to think they will be more crisis racked, and contentious, than some are projecting. Regardless, I thought this was worth a repost-reread.
jacobin.com/2024/08/nazi...

Excellent graphics from
allpowerbooks.org
Looking forward to speaking on Dec 3.
#woodyguthrie #peteseeger #folkmusic

Looking forward to this!
allpowerbooks.org