Working Class History

Latest Episodes:

E71: Working Class History Map, with Coffee with Comrades Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

We chat with Pearson from the Coffee with Comrades podcast about our new web apps: the Working Class History Map and Stories app. This episode has been timed to coincide with the public launch of our web apps on January 31.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
In this episode, we talk about why we started the mapping project, what it’s about, how people can use it, and about different ways of interacting with people’s history. We also talk about how it differs from any other radical history mapping project.

Check out the Map at map.workingclasshistory.com
Check out the Stories app at stories.workingclasshistory.com

There is an additional bonus episode with Pearson speaking about their experiences using the map on a trip to London. Coming later today exclusively for our patreon supporters.If you enjoy it, make sure to check out Coffee with Comrades, who are also supported by patreon. Connect with them here:

Web: https://coffeewithcomrades.com/
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/coffeewithcomrades
Twitter: http://twitter.com/coffeewcomrades

Acknowledgements

Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible.
Episode produced by Coffee with Comrades, additional editingby Jesse French
Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.

WCL6: DD Johnston's proletarian apocalypse, part 2 Dec 13, 2022

Show notes

Concluding part of our double-episode in conversation with author, DD Johnston, about his new novel, Disnaeland.
In this part, Darren discusses the novel’s relationship to the Scots language, the apocalyptic prophecies of radical, pre-Enlightenment Christianity, and his focus on mutual aid as a response to disaster. Darren also performs two further readings from the novel.
Full information, sources, further reading, acknowledgements and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/wcl-5-6-dd-johnstons-proletarian-apocalypse/
Get books mentioned in this episode
Peace, Love and Petrol Bombs: https://bookshop.org/a/80203/9781849350617
Disnaeland: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/disnaeland/9781909954533
Acknowledgments
Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here: http://www.alabianca.it/en/store/bravo-records-en/le-canzoni-di-bella-ciao-aa-vv/

WCL5: DD Johnston's proletarian apocalypse, part 1 Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

The first of a two-part episode, Working Class Literature speak to DD Johnston about his new novel, Disnaeland, about a working-class Scottish community's response to societal collapse. We also discuss his previous novels and his participation in McDonald's Workers' Resistance, a radical collective of angry employees at the world's biggest fast food chain.
Darren also reads passages from Disnaeland and his first novel, Peace, Love and Petrol Bombs.
Full information, sources, further reading, acknowledgements and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/wcl-5-6-dd-johnstons-proletarian-apocalypse/
Get books mentioned in this episode
Peace, Love and Petrol Bombs: https://bookshop.org/a/80203/9781849350617
Disnaeland: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/disnaeland/9781909954533
Acknowledgments
Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here: http://www.alabianca.it/en/store/bravo-records-en/le-canzoni-di-bella-ciao-aa-vv/

E49: Anti-Racist Action in Minneapolis Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

Rerelease of our episode 49 about Anti-Racist Action in Minneapolis, because we are currently trying to co-publish a book, We Go Where They Go: The Story of Anti-Racist Action, which is the definitive history of the group across the US. To fund its publication, we are currently running a Kickstarter campaign so please do check it out here, and support it by pre-ordering your copy at a great discount with lots of other great rewards.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory
Anti-Racist Action (ARA) started in Minneapolis and is a predecessor to the crews often now called antifa. ARA started in 1987 with a multiracial group of teenage skinheads who fought the rising white power movement. It grew into a network of groups in at least 120 towns and cities across the US and Canada. ARA’s first principle was: “We go where they go. Never let the Nazis have the streets.” They eventually applied that not only to white power organising, but to homophobic and anti-abortion organizing, and to police violence, which they saw as all connected. Producer and host Anna Stitt tells the story of the group in Minneapolis through vivid first-person accounts, archival audio, and music from the era. It starts under the railroad tracks in Uptown, Minneapolis and traces a movement that continues to shape the US to this day.
Learn about the group across the US in the forthcoming book, We Go Where They Go, which you can preorder from our Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wrkclasshistory/we-go-where-they-go-the-story-of-anti-racist-action
More information about this episode, photos, full acknowledgements and a transcript here on our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/2021/01/11/e49-anti-racist-action-in-minneapolis/
Listen to our exclusive bonus episode, where we discussed the topic further with Anna, and listen to more tape from participants about their early lives, political backgrounds and more on patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/e49-1-anti-bonus-46081746

E70: Howard Zinn 100, part 2 Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

Second in a double podcast episode about the life and work of Howard Zinn, historian, World War II veteran and activist, in his own words, 100 years since his birth.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
You can listen to our podcast on the below links, or on any major podcast app. Links to a few below.
Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States and other texts, was one of the most influential historians in the US in the 20th-century, inspiring a generation to study history from below, including us. Born in New York in August 1922, we are releasing these episodes for the centenary of his birth, as part of a series of Howard Zinn 100 events. In these episodes, Zinn tells the story of his life, his activism, his ideas and his work in his own words, in what was one of his last, if not the last, interview before his sudden death in 2010. This little-known interview was conducted by Sasha Lilley, and excerpts from it are used with permission of Lilley and PM Press.
A DVD video of the full interview is available here in our online store: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/theory-and-practice-conversations-with-noam-chomsky-and-howard-zinn-dvd
Get A People's History of the United States from an independent bookstore here: https://bookshop.org/a/80203/9780062397348
Get the rest of the People's History series here from an independent bookstore: https://bookshop.org/lists/people-s-history-series
Full show notes, sources acknowledgements and a transcript on the webpage for this episode here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e69-70-howard-zinn-100/

E69: Howard Zinn 100, part 1 Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

First in a double podcast episode about the life and work of Howard Zinn, historian, World War II veteran and activist, in his own words, 100 years since his birth.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryYou can listen to our podcast on the below links, or on any major podcast app. Links to a few below.
Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States and other texts, was one of the most influential historians in the US in the 20th-century, inspiring a generation to study history from below, including us. Born in New York in August 1922, we are releasing these episodes for the centenary of his birth, as part of a series of Howard Zinn 100 events. In these episodes, Zinn tells the story of his life, his activism, his ideas and his work in his own words, in what was one of his last, if not the last, interview before his sudden death in 2010. This little-known interview was conducted by Sasha Lilley, and excerpts from it are used with permission of Lilley and PM Press.
A DVD video of the full interview is available here in our online store: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/theory-and-practice-conversations-with-noam-chomsky-and-howard-zinn-dvd
Get A People's History of the United States from an independent bookstore here: https://bookshop.org/a/80203/9780062397348
Get the rest of the People's History series here from an independent bookstore: https://bookshop.org/lists/people-s-history-series
Full show notes, sources acknowledgements and a transcript on the webpage for this episode here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e69-70-howard-zinn-100/

E68: The Grunwick strike, part 2 Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

Concluding part of our double podcast episode about the iconic strike of mostly East African Asian women workers at the Grunwick photo processing plant in London in 1976-8. Featuring Amrit Wilson, Jayaben Desai and Colum Maloney, who took part in the dispute, and Sujata, chair of the Grunwick 40 group.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
You can listen to our podcast on the below links, or on any major podcast app. Links to a few below.
This second part covers scope of the dispute, the role of police, the media and the trade unions, how the dispute concluded and its legacy and lessons for today.
Full show notes and acknowledgements, as well as a transcript, on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/grunwick-strike-1976/

E67: The Grunwick strike, part 1 Aug 03, 2022

Show notes

Double podcast episode about the iconic strike of mostly East African Asian women workers at the Grunwick photo processing plant in London in 1976-8. Featuring Amrit Wilson, Jayaben Desai and Colum Maloney, who took part in the dispute, and Sujata, chair of the Grunwick 40 group.
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
You can listen to our podcast on the below links, or on any major podcast app. Links to a few below.
This is an improved, extended and partially re-recorded version of our first ever podcast episode. We have added more audio clips from other participants in the dispute and added narrative for additional detail, context and to tell the story in a more cohesive manner. Whether you listened to the original episode or not, we hope you enjoy it
This first part covers the background to the dispute, how the strike began and developed.
Full show notes and acknowledgements, as well as a transcript, on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/grunwick-strike-1976/

E66: Building workers’ strike w/ Ricky Tomlinson, part 2 Jul 24, 2022

Show notes

Part 2 of our double-podcast episode to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1972 building workers' strike. In this episode, we speak to two participants in the strike - Tony O'Brien and the actor, Ricky Tomlinson - about how the strike ended, the framing of the Shrewsbury 24, Ricky’s experiences in prison, blacklisting, and the legacies of the 1972 strike.
Full acknowledgements, photos, sources, more information and eventually a transcript on the homepage for this double episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e65-66-building-workers-strike-w-ricky-tomlinson/

E65: Building workers’ strike w/ Ricky Tomlinson, part 1 Jul 12, 2022

Show notes

Part 1 of our double-podcast episode to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1972 building workers' strike. In this episode, we speak to two participants in the strike - Tony O'Brien and the actor, Ricky Tomlinson - who talk about conditions in the building industry, how the strike started, and the flying pickets organised by the rank and file that spread it across the country.
Full acknowledgements, photos, sources, more information and eventually a transcript on the homepage for this double episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e65-66-building-workers-strike-w-ricky-tomlinson/

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