#144 The Red Star - Mikhail Bogdanov w/ Parker Longbaugh

#144 The Red Star - Mikhail Bogdanov w/ Parker Longbaugh

From Book Club From Hell by Levi MK and Jack BC

May 31, 2026 · 1h 36m · Episode 178

About this episode

The episode features a farewell to Levi and an introduction of new cohost Capitalisimo, discussing Alexander Bogdanov's science fiction work 'The Red Star' and its themes.

Important announcement! Today we say farewell to Levi (BCFH in peace), and welcome new cohost Capitalisimo, who has previously appeared on this show for the Cyclomancy and An Amazing Journey into the Psychotic Mind episodes! Alexander Bogdanov (born Malinovsky) was one of the original members of the Bolshevik Party, eventual opponent of Vladimir Lenin, and active participant in the 1905 Revolution. A very narrow thinker with limited interests, he studied and wrote on Marxist Revolution, blood transfusions, came up with a precursor to systems theory which he called 'tectology', proletarian art, and, most importantly for this episode, published works of science fiction. The Red Star , first published in 1908, is the story of Leonid, a Russian revolutionary, who gets taken to Mars by aliens, witnesses the staggering level of historical development which they have achieved on Mars, and subsequently goes insane and murders someone. Earthlings, it turns out, simply can't be trusted. Helping out for this episode is Parker Longbaugh, a pulp author and (now) expert on Martian Marxism. Buy Parker's book! Darkness over the Potomac: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FPPQTFCR Parker on Substack…

People in this episode

Hosts: Levi MK, Jack BC, Capitalisimo

Guest: Parker Longbaugh

Topics covered

  • Bolshevik Party
  • science fiction
  • Marxism
  • blood transfusions
  • pulp literature
  • revolutionary themes

Keywords

  • Bogdanov
  • The Red Star
  • Marxism
  • science fiction
  • revolution
  • Parker Longbaugh
  • blood transfusions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Amazon, Substack, Bonfire Books

Products: Darkness over the Potomac

Books & works: The Red Star

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