First of a double-episode podcast about the Working-Class Literature Festival held every year in Florence, at the former GKN car parts factory, which was taken over by the workers after they were made redundant in 2021. In this episode, we talk to working-class author and one of the main organisers of the festival, Alberto Prunetti, as well as former GKN workers Dario Salvetti and Tiziana De Biasio. We discuss the history of the struggle at GKN from the redundancies to the workers' takeover and ...
Mar 05, 2025•51 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast This is a teaser preview of one of our Radical Reads episodes, made exclusively for our supporters on patreon. You can listen to the full 87-minute episode without ads and support our work at https://www.patreon.com/posts/e101-radical-and-120598405 In this episode, we speak to Alex Charnley and Michael Richmond about their excellent book, Fractured: Race, Class, Gender and the Hatred of Identity Politics . The book pushes back against the idea of 'identity politics' as a vaguely defined and univ...
Feb 12, 2025•27 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast With the background of the Vietnam war, rising prices and stagnant wages, workers in the US began to ignore calls to support the war effort and keep working, and instead launch a wave of wildcat strikes in key industries, while women homeworkers fought for lower prices. We tell the story of these struggles in this double podcast episode. 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, ad-free epi...
Feb 05, 2025•39 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast With the background of the Vietnam war, rising prices and stagnant wages, workers in the US began to ignore calls to support the war effort and keep working, and instead launch a wave of wildcat strikes in key industries, while women homeworkers fought for lower prices. We tell the story of these struggles in this double podcast episode. 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, ad-free epi...
Jan 29, 2025•39 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast This is a teaser preview of one of our Radical Reads episodes, made exclusively for our supporters on patreon. You can listen to the full 85-minute episode without ads and support our work at https://www.patreon.com/posts/e97-radical-10-116392240 In this episode, we talk to Michael Richmond, a Jewish communist author and anti-racist activist, about David Baddiel's ridiculous book, Jews Don't Count . In this book, Baddiel claims that the key thing about contemporary antisemitism is the left's con...
Jan 01, 2025•21 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast This is a teaser preview of one of our Radical Reads episodes, made exclusively for our supporters on patreon. You can listen to the full 91-minute episode without ads and support our work at https://www.patreon.com/posts/e97-radical-10-116392240 In this episode, we talk to Elia Ayoub, a Lebanese activist and scholar of Palestinian heritage, about his recent article, ' Hezbollah: 10 Things You Need To Know '. In this article, Elia gives a fantastic insight into Hezbollah's origins and its positi...
Dec 11, 2024•19 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in this two-part podcast. 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out mor...
Dec 04, 2024•47 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in this two-part podcast. 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out mor...
Nov 27, 2024•43 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast This is a teaser preview of our first Radical Read, made exclusively for our supporters on patreon. You can listen to the full 68-minute episode without ads and support our work at https://www.patreon.com/posts/e94-radical-w-if-113750155 First of our new series, Radical Reads , in which we team up with Jasper Bernes to discuss Vincent Bevins’ 2023 book, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution . Welcome to ‘Radical Reads’ , the second of our two new series of Patreon-only c...
Nov 13, 2024•17 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast The final episode of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in China, meeting with and writing about the work of Chinese migrant worker poets. In this episode, we look at questions of censorship in China and the importance of unofficial publications for the spread of migrant worker poetry (not to mention the wider Chinese poetry scene as well)....
Oct 24, 2024•36 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Part 2 of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in China, meeting with and writing about the work of Chinese migrant worker poets. In this episode, we look at the work of the Migrant Worker Home, a self-organised space run by and for migrant workers on the outskirts of Beijing, which taught migrant workers about their rights, hosted a museum, ...
Oct 17, 2024•35 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast First of the three-part series on migrant worker poetry in China. In these episodes, we speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in China meeting with and writing about the work of Chinese migrant worker poets. In this episode, we discuss the concept of the 'migrant worker' in China, and how it relates to the internal hukou system and China's relationship to global capitalism. We also discuss what we mean by...
Oct 10, 2024•46 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Second of a double podcast episode about the South Korean movements of 1987 which overthrew the US-backed military dictatorship and won big improvements for workers. In these episodes we speak with Kim Jin-sook and Hong Seung Ha about their experiences of the June Democratic Struggle, and the Great Workers’ Struggle which immediately followed it. 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, ad...
Sep 24, 2024•44 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast First of a double podcast episode about the South Korean movements of 1987 which overthrew the US-backed military dictatorship and won big improvements for workers. In these episodes we speak with Kim Jin-sook and Hong Seung Ha about their experiences of the June Democratic Struggle, and the Great Workers’ Struggle which immediately followed it. 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, ad-...
Sep 13, 2024•39 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast Preview of our first Fireside chat. To celebrate our 10th birthday on 30 July 2024, we launched a new series of discussion podcast episodes exclusively for our supporters on patreon. For the time being, as a trial, we are going to be releasing at least one bonus episode for patreon supporters every month. By doing this, we hope to be able to grow our base of supporters on patreon. If we manage to grow our base of supporters, and increase the amount of support we get each month, then we will be a...
Aug 30, 2024•13 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast Following on from his excellent book, 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance , Gord Hill of the Kwakwaka’wakw nation gives us an overview of over three decades of Indigenous resistance in the Americas since 1992. A podcast in two parts. 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patre...
Aug 21, 2024•46 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Following on from his excellent book, 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance , Gord Hill of the Kwakwaka’wakw nation gives us an overview of over three decades of Indigenous resistance in the Americas since 1992. A podcast in two parts. 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patre...
Aug 07, 2024•53 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast Part 2 of our double-episode podcast about workers' struggles in Palestine during the British Mandate (1920-48). In this episode, we cover the Palestinian labour movement during World War II, new Palestinian workers’ organisations, the split (along national lines) in the Palestine Communist Party, joint struggles by Arab and Jewish workers, war and the Nakba. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast...
Jun 12, 2024•48 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast First of a double podcast about workers' struggles in Palestine during the British Mandate (1920-48). In this episode we cover the Balfour Declaration and establishment of the British Mandate, the campaign for 'Hebrew Labour', a number of workers' organisations like the Palestinian Arab Workers' Society (PAWS) and the Palestine Labour League (PLL), as well as the 1936-39 Great Palestinian Revolt. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return...
May 30, 2024•52 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast Teaser extract from an episode exclusively for our patreon supporters . Episode produced by Upstream in conversation with John from Working Class History talking about the history of May Day, International Workers’ Day, from its modern origins in Chicago in 1886, to its mediaeval roots, and its relevance today. 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free...
May 02, 2024•15 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast Introducing a brand-new daily podcast from the team at WCH. On This Day in Working Class History will be a brief reminder each morning of our collective struggles for a better world which have taken place on this date in history. Launching on 1 February on a trial basis, each episode will be just a couple of minutes long, highlighting one anniversary from our archive each day. It’s designed to fit into your morning schedule, alongside news headlines, and to be shared on social media with your fr...
Jan 30, 2024•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Second in a double podcast about the Angry Brigade, Britain’s first home-grown urban guerrilla group, in the 1960s and 70s, in conversation with John Barker, who was put on trial as part of the 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory Conti...
Jan 18, 2024•44 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast Double podcast about the Angry Brigade, Britain’s first home-grown urban guerrilla group, in the 1960s and 70s, in conversation with John Barker, who was put on trial as part of the 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory Continuing our re...
Jan 10, 2024•44 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast Podcast episode about the Workmates collective, a rank-and-file initiative on the London Underground using unofficial direct action and workplace assemblies to fight privatisation in the late-1990s/early 2000s. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Sign up and get access to exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory In this episode, we ...
Nov 02, 2023•49 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Podcast episode about strikes by miners in Britain in 1972 and 1974, in conversation with Dave Douglass. 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Sign up and get access to exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory Continuing our intermittent series of podcast episodes about the grea...
Oct 17, 2023•46 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast The fourth and final episode of our podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves. In this episode, we look at the postwar anti-fascist resistance: from armed partisan rebellions and the so-called ‘Triangle of Death’ to the 1960 anti-Tambroni riots in Genoa, as well as how the resistance is (mis)remembered today. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early acc...
Oct 04, 2023•37 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast Part 3 of our four-part podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves. In this episode, we look at the question of 'the resistance betrayed': the Togliatti amnesty, what happened to fascists and anti-fascists immediately after the war, and how Italy's fascist movement was allowed to rebuild itself. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast ...
Sep 27, 2023•32 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast Part 2 of our four-part podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves. In this episode, we discuss the participation of migrant partisans in the resistance, what the resistance looked like in the cities, the raid of the Jewish ghetto in Rome and, finally, liberation and the execution of Mussolini. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast e...
Sep 20, 2023•36 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast The first of a four-part podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism, both during World War Two and immediately after, in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves. In this episode, we look at the rise of fascism, the start of the resistance during World War Two, the partisan formations of the mountains and the participation of women in the resistance. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access...
Sep 13, 2023•38 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast Second of a double podcast episode about the Trinidad general strike of 1937, in conversation with Ryan Cecil Jobson. 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory Part 2 is about the general strike itself, the repression, the aftermath, its consequenc...
Sep 06, 2023•35 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast 
