Jacobin Radio

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Behind the News: Danish Elections, the Indigenous in Canada Jun 17, 2019

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Political scientist Rune Møller Stahl on the Danish elections, which the Left won but partly by going anti-immigrant. Then, Heidi Matthews, author of this article, on Canada’s genocidal treatment of its indigenous people.

The Dig: The Italian Situation with David Broder, Lorenzo Zamponi, and Marta Fana Jun 15, 2019

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There is perhaps no more depressing situation in Western Europe than that which prevails in Italy: a coalition government between the far-right Lega party and the now subordinate, bizarre, amorphously anti-corruption, internet-fetishist, pseudo-directly democratic Five Star Movement. In other words, Italian politics is dominated by a viciously racist anti-migrant politics; the left, along with most traditional forces, is in utter disarray. Today, Lega, led by Interior Minister Mateo Salvini, runs Italian politics. But the bad news is maybe also the good news: Salvini has not solved Italy's deep rooted economic problems, and so it's quite possible that the very same instability that abetted his rise will ultimately lead to his downfall. Dan interviews David Broder, Lorenzo Zamponi and Marta Fana.

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The Dig: The Spanish Situation with Carlos Delclós and Magda Bandera Jun 13, 2019

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In Spanish politics, the center-left Socialist Party has demolished the conservative Popular Party and checked risk of a major far-right surge. But meanwhile, the once very plausible-feeling dream of an insurgent radical left Podemos gaining power has faded. And fast. Dan discusses the Spanish situation with Carlos Delclós and Magda Bandera.

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The Vast Majority: "The Militant Minority" with Eric Blanc Jun 11, 2019

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Part two of our discussion with Eric Blanc on his new book Red State Revolt: The Teachers Strike Wave and Working-Class Politics. We discuss the role of a "militant minority" of rank-and-file radicals in Arizona and West Virginia's teachers strikes — as well as what it means when that militant minority wasn't present, as in Oklahoma. This episode is of particular interest to rank-and-file union members who are interested in making their unions more democratic and militant, as well as members of socialist groups who support unions but want to figure out how to get personally involved in the labor movement. Read Micah's article (coauthored with Barry Eidlin) in Labor Studies Journal, "US Union Revitalization and the Missing 'Militant Minority,'" here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0160449X19828470 (Sorry, you'll need academic access.)Buy Eric's book here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2955-red-state-revolt

Jacobin Radio: Breaking Down the European Parliament Elections Jun 10, 2019

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Two interviews on the results of the May 26 European Parliamentary elections, which did not cleanly match predictions that there would be a further shift to to authoritarian hard-right parties. The biggest losers across the continent were the center-right neoliberal mainstream parties, but the shift to the Right was not as pronounced as feared. First, Sebastian Budgen, contributing editor for Jacobin, analyzes the election across Europe, especially in France, where the failed policies of the center were critical in understanding the results. We also get his take on the continuing protest and promise of the gilets jaunes social movement. Then Kevin Ovenden takes a deeper look at the vote in Great Britain, where the upset couldn’t have been more pronounced in the wake of the repeated failure by the Tories’ Theresa May to implement Brexit. The Conservative Party had its worst result in history, but Labour also lost votes, as Jeremy Corbyn tried to bridge the divide between those in favor and those against Brexit. The newly created “Brexit” Party of Nigel Farage took first, with the center Lib-Dems in alliance with Scottish and Welsh nationalists and Greens doing very well.

The Dig: The French Situation with Sebastian Budgen and Danièle Obono Jun 08, 2019

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The radical left has been unable to electorally capitalize on the Yellow Vest movement, a massive revolt against a vicious, unequal and alienating neoliberal order. Instead, French electoral politics has pit an insurgent far-right against a zombie liberal center that presents itself as a bulwark against the nationalist tide. Dan interviews Sebastian Budgen and Danièle Obono, a member of the National Assembly with La France insoumise.

Check out War over Peace: One Hundred Years of Israel's Militaristic Nationalism by Uri Ben-Eliezer ucpress.edu/book/9780520304345/war-over-peace

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The Dig: Labour's Brexit Bind with Grace Blakeley, Maya Goodfellow, and Richard Seymour Jun 07, 2019

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Brexit has so dominated UK politics that it has put the Labour Party in a profoundly difficult and perhaps untenable position of strategic ambiguity toward how to handle the never-ending matter of leaving the EU. Today, in part two of our five-part series on European politics, Dan discusses this all with Grace Blakeley, Maya Goodfellow, and Richard Seymour.

Thanks to Verso Books, which has loads of great left-wing titles at versobooks.com

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The Dig: The European Situation with Chris Bickerton and Jerome Roos Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

This week and next, we're bringing you five episodes on European politics. Today, we're starting things off with Chris Bickerton and Jerome Roos for an overview of the European situation and the debate on the European left over how to approach Europe and the EU. Then, an interview on British politics with Grace Blakeley, Maya Goodfellow, and Richard Seymour. After that, a discussion of French politics with Sebastian Budget and Danièle Obono, a member of France's National Assembly with the left-wing La France insoumise. Then, an interview on Spanish politics with Carlos Delclós and Magda Bandera. And finally, an interview with David Broder and Marta Fana on Italy.

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The Vast Majority: "Red State Revolt" with Eric Blanc Jun 05, 2019

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The teachers strike wave of the last year and a half is the most important development in US working-class politics in decades. And nobody has covered that strike wave closer than Eric Blanc. Eric has been Jacobin's man on the ground for most of these strikes, and he was there when they kicked off in West Virginia, then spread to Arizona and Oklahoma. (Since then, he's written many articles about strikes in Denver, Oakland, Los Angeles, Baton Rouge, and elsewhere.) He wrote the "red-state" strike wave in a new book, Red State Revolt: The Teachers Strikes and Working-Class Politics, published by Verso as part of the Jacobin series. I can't recommend this book enough — it's one of the best labor books published in recent years in the United States, of interest both to rank-and-file workers looking to organize their workplaces but also anyone seeking to understand how and why these strikes came about. This is the first of two Vast Majority episodes with Eric. This one talks about the role of the Bernie Sanders campaign in bringing together the strikers, the myth of the "red-state" voters and their willingness to go on strike, the role of social media in the strikes, why low wages aren't enough to kick off strikes, and more. The second episode, which will be out later this week, covers the role of a "militant minority" in organizing the strikes and consolidating the strikes' gains. You can buy Eric's book here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2955-red-state-revolt You can read his many Jacobin articles on the strikes and other issues here: https://www.jacobinmag.com/author/eric-blanc

The Dig: Rashida Tlaib Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

US Rep. Rashida Tlaib on the local struggles that guide her work on behalf of the working class in Congress, the urgent need for a politics that puts people over profit, the question of impeachment, and why American people are coming around to supporting a free Palestine.

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