History

#AllThatsLeftPod: A History of the U.S. Revolutionary Left and Trotskyism
In this episode of the podcast, we're joined by historian Bryan Palmer to discuss the origins of the U.S. revolutionary left and Trotskyism, James P. Cannon, and socialists' role in class struggle in the 1920s and 30s.
Left Voice
February 6, 2023Militarism, Imperialism, and Self-Determination: Marxist Debates on the War
During World War I, the Marxist movement had a rich debate on the questions of militarism, imperialism, and self-determination. Those discussions help inform some of the current issues around the war in Ukraine.
Josefina L. Martínez
March 31, 2022Luxemburg, Zetkin, and Revolutionary Feminism against the War
This year, International Women’s Day takes place amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Here, we revisit some of the debates among Marxists and socialist feminists in the lead up to the First World War.
Josefina L. Martínez
March 8, 2022Affirmative Action under Attack Again, Based on the Same Old Bogus Nonsense
With the Supreme Court set to hear yet another attack on affirmative action when it convenes later this year, we look at what these programs mean and why we defend them in the interest of working-class and democratic rights.
Jessica Prozinski
February 25, 2022On the Anniversary of Its Publication, The Communist Manifesto’s Relevance Continues to Grow
As a revolutionary wave swept across Europe in 1848, led by reformers who wanted to overturn monarchies and secure their bourgeois property rights, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto as a call to arms for a different kind of uprising: proletarian revolution, aimed at freeing humanity from wage slavery. Today is the anniversary of that publication.
Scott Cooper
February 21, 2022Eleanor Marx: A Punk in the 19th Century
Eleanor Marx, the youngest daughter of Karl Marx and herself a socialist activist, was born on this day in 1855. A citizen of the world, she resonated with Shelley and Ibsen and participated in the main theoretical and political debates of her time.
Celeste Murillo
January 16, 2022This 50-Year-Old Film from East Germany Shows the Last Days of Karl Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht was murdered 103 years ago. The East German biopic "In Spite of Everything" premiered 50 years ago today and shows his final days.
Nathaniel Flakin
January 14, 2022Why Are There So Few Large Strikes? Blame the Democratic Party
The number of large strikes has plummeted since the 1970s. The main reason is the link between union leaders and the Democratic Party. That link has to be cut.
Jason Koslowski
December 7, 2021Today in History: Soviet Partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Is Executed by Nazis
On this day in 1941, Soviet partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was executed by Nazis. She was inspired by the cause of emancipation and freedom.
Paula Schaller
November 29, 2021Blueprint for a Strike in the Entertainment Industry: Lessons from the 2007 WGA Strike
On this day in 2007, 12,000 screenwriters began a strike that lasted 100 days — halting production on several TV shows, forcing the cancellation of the Golden Globes ceremony, and costing the studios an estimated $2.1 billion in lost revenue. How the union waged that strike has important lessons for today’s IATSE struggle.
Cal Berry
November 5, 2021