This article introduces a special section in *Theory, Culture & Society* that explores the relationship between precariousness, immaterial labor, and cultural work. It aims to bring together three bodies of ideas: the autonomous Marxist tradition, activist writings about precariousness, and empirical research on cultural work. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section introduces the autonomous Marxist concepts of labor autonomy, informational capitalism, and the "social factory," as well as key terms like multitude and immaterial labor. The second section discusses the impact of autonomist Marxism on the precarity movement, highlighting debates within and outside the movement regarding the experiences of cultural workers as part of a new "precariat." The third section turns to empirical literature on cultural work, identifying its main features and comparing them with autonomist ideas. The article emphasizes the importance of affect, temporality, subjectivity, and solidarity in understanding cultural labor and contemporary capitalism. It concludes by setting the context for the special section and opening up a dialogue between different traditions.This article introduces a special section in *Theory, Culture & Society* that explores the relationship between precariousness, immaterial labor, and cultural work. It aims to bring together three bodies of ideas: the autonomous Marxist tradition, activist writings about precariousness, and empirical research on cultural work. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section introduces the autonomous Marxist concepts of labor autonomy, informational capitalism, and the "social factory," as well as key terms like multitude and immaterial labor. The second section discusses the impact of autonomist Marxism on the precarity movement, highlighting debates within and outside the movement regarding the experiences of cultural workers as part of a new "precariat." The third section turns to empirical literature on cultural work, identifying its main features and comparing them with autonomist ideas. The article emphasizes the importance of affect, temporality, subjectivity, and solidarity in understanding cultural labor and contemporary capitalism. It concludes by setting the context for the special section and opening up a dialogue between different traditions.