In this episode we have a conversation with Abigail Susik, about her book “Surrealist Sabotage and the War on Work.” We cover a range of topics including the centrality of work refusal to the history of Surrealism, automatist practices and aesthetic sabotage, the class composition of labor that influenced the beginning of Surrealism, why relationships with Communist Parties are ‘complicated,’ and why sewing machines are sexually dangerous.

Abigail Susik is an art historian who writes about surrealism, work, technology, and protest cultures. Her books include Surrealist Sabotage and the War on Work (2021) and the co-edited volumes: Radical Dreams: Surrealism, Counterculture, Resistance (2022); Surrealism and Film After 1945: Absolutely Modern Mysteries (2021).

Opening / outro music: Gid Tanner - Work Don’t Bother Me (1930), from the collection Hard Time, Good Time & End Time Music : 1923-1936, Cargo Records, 2012