Welcome to Red Flag Radio
We are a socialist podcast based in Australia. We discuss politics, theory and history from a revolutionary Marxist perspective. We aim to explain socialist ideas in a clear and accessible way and to promote the voices of anti-capitalist activists worldwide.
Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
Israel’s invasion of Lebanon with Omar Hassan
After a year of genocidal war in Gaza, Israel has now begun a ground invasion of Lebanon. In less than a week Israel has killed over 2000 people in Lebanon through massive bombardment of civilians in the capital of Beirut and a renewed offensive against the already devastated South. Israeli aggression and repeated military strikes on Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Iran have led the Middle East to the brink of all-out regional war.
This episode Chloe spoke to Omar Hassan, a Lebanese-Australian socialist and editor of the Marxist Left Review about the invasion of Lebanon, the threat of regional war and the history of Israeli aggression.
Omar touched on the role Israel has played as attack dog for US imperialism from the Suez Crisis invasion of Egypt in 1956 to the 18 year long Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000.
This week the Australian Government, the NSW Police and the capitalist media have engaged in a massive smear campaign against the pro-Palestine anti-war movement. The NSW police unsuccessfully attempted to ban the rallies commemorating the 1 year anniversary of the genocide. Omar spoke about the hypocrisy and cynicism of the media as well as the role of Labor in supporting Israeli aggression and US imperialism.
Further reading:
https://redflag.org.au/article/by-attacking-lebanon-israel-seeks-to-expand-its-genocidal-war
https://redflag.org.au/article/israels-history-of-aggression-against-lebanon
Get involved with Victorian Socialists
https://victoriansocialists.org.au/candidates/omar-hassan
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Labor's union-busting attacks on the CFMEU
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Monday Sep 30, 2024
In one of the worst attacks on a union in Australian history, the Labor government has imposed a dictatorial administrator on the construction union, the CFMEU. This move has disenfranchised the union's entire membership. Chloe spoke to Jerome Small, ex-construction worker and reporter for Red Flag, about the causes and consequences of this unprecedented anti-union attack.
Further reading
"Labor set to impose dictatorial powers over construction union" by Jerome Small in Red Flag
"Strike shows stakes for Queensland CFMEU" by Duncan Hart in Red Flag
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Anti-war protestors vs. the Land Forces weapons expo
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Monday Sep 30, 2024
The Land Forces weapons expo is Australia's largest get-together and money-making opportunity for the booming business of war. When it came to Melbourne in September, activists from Students for Palestine and Disrupt Wars protested the orgy of militarism and violence. In response, the Victorian police unleashed hell, firing rubber bullets and torrents of pepper spray at protestors. The media followed up with a barrage of lies about protestors, presenting anti-war peace activists as the violent thugs while cheering on extreme police violence.
Emma spoke to Bella Beiraghi, one of the protest organisers, to get an insider's perspective on the protest and its aftermath.
Further reading:
"Inside the Land Forces protest" - by Jerome Small in Red Flag
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Protesting for refugee rights with Aran Mylvaganam
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
For over 60 days, Tamil and Iranian refugees have maintained a protest camp outside the Department of Home Affairs in Melbourne. Similar protest camps have spread across Australia's major cities. Their demands are permanent protection and justice for almost 10,000 refugees left in limbo by the federal Labor government.
Emma spoke to Aran Mylvaganam, a staunch refugee activist and socialist who has been heavily involved in protests for refugee rights for years.
Aran describes the incredible bravery of refugees who have stood up to racists and neo-Nazis on the streets of Melbourne. They plan to maintain their protest against the Labor government until victory.
Our deepest condolences to the family, friends and comrades of Mano Logalingam, a Tamil refugee activist from the encampment who died. We honour Mano in this episode and call for full rights for all refugees.
Produced by Jack Morrison and Daniel Kenny
Music by Daniel Kenny
Further reading:
- Amid tragedy, refugee protest encampment continues - by Renee Nayef for Red Flag
- Refugees fighting for permanent protection in Sydney - by Annabel Petit for Red Flag
- Aran Mylvaganam on the Tamil genocide, 15 years on
Saturday Sep 07, 2024
The Marxist case for police abolition
Saturday Sep 07, 2024
Saturday Sep 07, 2024
Emma and Chloe talk about the cops! We analyse their role in capitalist society, their origins, and the case for their abolition.
A big thanks to our producers: Daniel Kenny and Jack Morris.
Further reading:
- "Defunding, disarming, defeating and abolishing the police" - Daniel Taylor in Red Flag
- "The police serve the system" - Shirley Killen in Red Flag
Monday Aug 19, 2024
Indian politics with Ravibha Jeyanathan
Monday Aug 19, 2024
Monday Aug 19, 2024
We interviewed Ravibha Jeyanathan about the political situation in India under Narendra Modi, and the task of rebuilding a revolutionary Marxist current. Ravibha is from Tamil Nadu in southern India, having sought refuge there from the Sri Lankan genocide. She completed her PhD research in London, researching post-war asylum experiences among Eelam Tamils in the UK. She is a member of Pothuvudamai Iyakkam (Socialist Movement). Ravibha was a guest speaker at this year's Marxism Conference in Melbourne.
Saturday Aug 03, 2024
Trump, Harris and the US election - with Red Flag editor Ben Hillier
Saturday Aug 03, 2024
Saturday Aug 03, 2024
The US presidential elections are coming up, promising a showdown between Donald Trump and newly-anointed Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris. Chloe chatted to Ben Hillier to get his analysis of the US political situation. Ben is an editor of Red Flag newspaper and recently visited the US to report for Red Flag on the Gaza Solidarity Camps at American universities. They discuss the Trumpian takeover of the Republican Party and why Trump has a good chance of winning the election. They dig into Kamala Harris' background and what another Democrat in the white house would mean. Importantly, they critique the "lesser-evilism" argument that is building in left circles: the idea that this is the most important election in a generation, and that left-wingers have to get behind Harris to stop the re-election of Trump.
Friday Jul 05, 2024
Ruto must go! Protests in Kenya with Ezra Otieno
Friday Jul 05, 2024
Friday Jul 05, 2024
Historic protests across Kenya in the past week have mobilised a disenfranchised youth enraged at the Government’s attempt to raise taxes on the working class and poor to pay government debt to the IMF and other international creditors. The 2024 Finance Bill has sparked hatred at a political class who flaunt their opulent lifestyles while hiking the price of bread, cooking oil, and many other essentials. Protesters refused to back down in the face of intense repression in which many people have been killed protest — with police using live ammunition and disappearing high profile figures in the protest.
This episode Chloe spoke with Ezra Otieno, a leading member of the Revolutionary Socialist League of Kenya about the protest movement in Kenya.
Friday Jun 21, 2024
Are we living in "Technofeudalism"? A critique of Yanis Varoufakis
Friday Jun 21, 2024
Friday Jun 21, 2024
Emma and Chloe take on Yanis Varoufakis' new book, Technofeudalism.
Varoufakis argues that capitalism is dead, ushering in a new mode of production he calls technofeudalism. He claims that the system we live under today is more like the feudal system which predated capitalism: the main economic activity today is the collection of rent by big tech "cloudalists". These tech giants, like Amazon and Google, are now our feudal overlords, while the rest of the capitalist class has been reduced to mere "cloud vassals". Workers are disempowered, a minority of us are "cloud proles", while the majority of the population are "cloud serfs", unwittingly creating value for the cloudalists through our clicks, likes, purchases and posts.
Chloe and Emma offer a critique of this theory, arguing that Varoufakis' "cloudalists" are just monopolies, which have been a stable feature of capitalist markets for centuries. We defend the idea that the modern working class is a powerful force because they create the profits, not rent, of the capitalist class. We also offer our own theories for why Varoufakis and others like him are so keen on proclaiming the death of capitalism every few years.
Support the Red Flag cloud media empire:
Subscribe to Red Flag newspaper
Like Socialist Alternative - Red Flag on Facebook
More links!! Our link tree: https://linktr.ee/redflag.sa
Sunday Jun 09, 2024
The Marxist theory of social classes
Sunday Jun 09, 2024
Sunday Jun 09, 2024
"Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other — Bourgeoisie and Proletariat."
Chloe and Emma explain the Marxist theory of social class. We go through the Marxist definition of class, and explain the nature and behaviour of the capitalists, the working class, the middle classes and more!
Further reading:
https://redflag.org.au/article/what-social-class
https://redflag.org.au/article/node-7284
Friday May 24, 2024
The Socialist Movement in Argentina with Cesar Latorre
Friday May 24, 2024
Friday May 24, 2024
At the 2024 Marxism Conference, Red Flag Radio spoke to Argentinian socialist Cesar Latorre, union militant and leading member of the Movimiento Socialista Los de Trabajadores (MST). Chloe asked Cesar about the role of the revolutionary left in the struggle against far right Argentine President Javier Milei.
Milei came to power promising radical free market policies, massive cuts to the public sector and a confrontational approach to the unions and the left. Since taking office he has unleashed a wave of attacks on workers, students and the poor -- announcing plans to sack 70,000 public sector workers, lower pensions, defund education and crackdown on dissent with attempts to outlaw forms of protest. Milei’s attacks and rampant inflation mean that working class living standards are in free fall.
But Milei has been met with significant resistance. He has faced mass protests in January, two general strikes since taking office and an emerging student resistance to education cuts. The revolutionary left in Argentina has played a significant role in these mobilisations. Alongside the dangers of the moment, opportunities have emerged in the course of struggle for the socialist left to grow.
Further reading:
Red Flag on class struggle in Argentina:
- https://redflag.org.au/article/fight-continues-argentina
- https://redflag.org.au/article/left-argentinas-general-strike
- https://redflag.org.au/article/shock-therapy-argentina
MST analysis of the current crisis in Argentina:
- https://mst.org.ar/2024/05/15/panorama-politico-luchas-sociales-tensiones-y-crisis-en-el-horizonte/
Don't miss out on the next radical conference near you:
- Sydney Socialism Conference: 16-18 Aug
- Brisbane Socialism Conference: 23 Aug
- Perth Socialism Conference: 10-11 Aug
- Adelaide Socialism Conference: 14-15 Aug
Thursday May 09, 2024
The Radical Jewish Tradition: Interview with Janey Stone
Thursday May 09, 2024
Thursday May 09, 2024
Janey Stone is an anti-Zionist Jewish author and activist. She is the coauthor with Donny Gluckstein of a new book, "The Radical Jewish Tradition: Revolutionaries, Resistance Fighters and Firebrands".
The claim of Israel and its apologists to represent Jews everywhere and the growth of the antisemitic far right, make understanding and celebrating the long history of left-wing and working class Jewish activism essential for leftists today.
Chloe sat down to talk to Janey about her book and the relevance of its arguments for activsts and socialists today.
Janey's work has done much to uncover the radical Jewish tradition. Before the Second World War the majority of Jews were working class and part of a wider struggle alongside their non-Jewish comrades on the left. The book celebrates Jewish radicalism from the Tsarist Empire to Poland and Germany, from London to New York. Far from the Zionist stereotype of the ultimate victims, Jews were revolutionaries, resistance fighters and firebrands.
This inspiring radical tradition was ultimately checked by the callous indifference of capitalist governments to refugees and the horror of Auschwitz. However, its lessons must be passed on to inform working class and anti-imperialist struggles in a world in crisis.
Buy Janey Stone's book:
"The Radical Jewish Tradition: Revolutionaries, Resistance Fighters and Firebrands"
Available online at Red Flag Books
Thursday May 02, 2024
Interview with Dr Gary Foley
Thursday May 02, 2024
Thursday May 02, 2024
We were lucky enough to interview the inimitable Dr Gary Foley at the 2024 Marxism Conference where he was a guest speaker. Gary is a living legend of the Aboriginal rights movement: he was a founding member of the Sydney Black Power movement and the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra in the 1970s.
Gary is a staunch supporter of Palestine, speaking at almost every Palestine demonstration in Melbourne since Israel’s war began, making the case for solidarity and resistance to colonialism, racism and capitalism.
As well as being an inspiring activist, Foley is an educator of the next generation through his writings and his archive of Aboriginal history, set to be the largest of its kind.
Emma asked Gary about his life, about the importance of standing up to Gaza and the importance of conferences like Marxism as gatherings of the radical left.
Further readings
Check out Gary's website here: https://www.gooriweb.org/
Gary Foley: ‘a direct and fiercely intellectual man’ by Tony Birch in Red Flag
The 1971 Springbok tour protests- an interview with Gary Foley in Red Flag
Don't miss out on the next radical conference near you:
- Sydney Socialism Conference: 16-18 Aug
- Brisbane Socialism Conference: 23 Aug
Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Gaza Solidarity Camp at the University of Sydney
Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Inspired by the encampment at Columbia University in New York, students at the University of Sydney this week occupied their campus to stand with the people of Gaza. They're condemning the complicity of their university and the Australian government in the invasion of Gaza, and calling to cut ties with the Israeli state and arms manufacturing corporations.
In this episode Emma interviews the student demonstrators and their supporters about what inspired them to take action, the role of Australian institutions in facilitating genocide, and where the campaign can go from here.
Links
- If you want to support the students or get involved, get in touch with Students For Palestine USyd on Instagram
- Read the coverage in Red Flag
Sunday Mar 10, 2024
The Movement for Palestine in Australia (+ the gender pay gap)
Sunday Mar 10, 2024
Sunday Mar 10, 2024
We interviewed Damian Ridgwell, a veteran socialist activist and leading light in Australia's pro-Palestine movement for almost 20 years. Damian talked about the recent history of the movement and why it's so important to take a stand for Palestine here in Australia.
Chloe and Emma also talked about the new data which reveals that the majority of Australian corporations have significant internal gender pay gaps. We expose some of the problems with the report and the government's approach, and explain the nature of the deep gender inequality in the Australian economy.
Further Reading
- "Why the global movement for Palestine matters" - https://redflag.org.au/article/why-global-movement-palestine-matters
- "To end sexism we need to destroy capitalism" - https://redflag.org.au/article/end-sexism-we-need-destroy-capitalism
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
Mardi Gras was a riot! - with '78er Diane Fieldes
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
Sunday Feb 18, 2024
For this special episode we interviewed one of our favourite return guests Diane Fieldes. Diane is a socialist activist and writer who participated in the campaign against police repression after the first Sydney Mardi Gras in 1978. She talks about the homophobia of those years, the violence of the police, and the triumph of the Gay Liberation activists who fought for their rights - including the right to protest.
Further reading:
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
The class struggle in Argentina
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
Wednesday Feb 07, 2024
The fight is on in Argentina! Javier Milei, the newly-elected President and self-described anarcho-capitalist has announced a slew of attacks on working class living conditions and democratic rights. But workers are fighting back. We spoke to Jasmine Duff, a socialist activist who visited Argentina and participated in the resistance to Milei's attacks. Jasmine roamed around Buenos Aires interviewing activists and reporting for Red Flag newspaper.
But first up, Chloe and Emma dissect the latest news from Gaza and the Middle East, including the ICJ decision, the Western defunding of UNRWA and the US bombing campaign against the Houthis.
Further reading:
Argentina:
- "The Left in Argentina's general strike" by Jasmine Duff in Red Flag (Feb '24)
- "'We're not going to take it!' - Mass protests in Argentina" by Jasmine Duff in Red Flag (Dec '23)
Palestine and the Middle East:
- "Hypocrisy about the Houthis" by Mick Armstrong in Red Flag (Jan '24)
- "‘A small, arrogant, violent, wicked nation’: Israel’s permanent war on the people of the Middle East" by Omar Hassan in Red Flag (Jan '24)
Sunday Jan 21, 2024
How South African apartheid was ended
Sunday Jan 21, 2024
Sunday Jan 21, 2024
A special episode on the fall of South African apartheid! Chloe interviews Tom Bramble, socialist author and witness to working class struggles in South Africa. Tom spent time in South Africa in the years following the overthrow of the racist apartheid system, and he wrote a book and numerous articles about South Africa. He tells us about how the racist apartheid system was finally destroyed, and how the workers' movement played a crucial role in its destruction.
Further reading
Rethinking the Labour Movement in the 'New South Africa' - edited by Tom Bramble and Franco Barchiesi
- How South African Apartheid was Ended by Emma Norton in Red Flag (2023)
- Lessons from the South African anti-apartheid struggle by Deaglan Godwin (2023)
- South Africa in crisis by Tom Bramble in Red Flag (2016)
- Hypocrisy in West's reponse to Desmond Tutu's passing by Tom Bramble in Red Flag (2021)
- Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) by Tom Bramble in Red Flag (2013)
Friday Jan 12, 2024
What do socialists say about the state?
Friday Jan 12, 2024
Friday Jan 12, 2024
What is the state? An overgrown behemoth, a neutral arbiter, a tool of the ruling class? In our first episode for 2024, Chloe and Emma explain the Marxist theory of the state. We also chat about what we read over the break.
Further reading on the capitalist state:
- "What is the Australian State" - by David Peterson in Red Flag
- "Marxism vs. the State" - by Sadia Schneider in Red Flag
Emma and Chloe's summer reading:
Here are the books we talked about at the start of the episode:
- "The State and Revolution" by V.I. Lenin: https://shop.redflag.org.au/products/state-and-revolution?_pos=2&_psq=state%20and%20&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=34797667581997
- "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver
- "Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike" by Barbara Kingsolver
- Georgy Plekhanov on Marxism and Philosophy: "The Development of the Monist View of History" https://www.marxists.org/archive/plekhanov/1895/monist/index.htm
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Our main segment in this episode is an interview with Daniel Taylor, an anti-Zionist Jewish socialist and regular contributor to Red Flag newspaper.
Daniel and Emma talk about why the mainstream media are so aggressively pro-Israel. From the Murdoch press to the state-run ABC, the mainstream media dehumanises the Palestinians and helps cover up Israeli war crimes. We go through all their tricks, double standards and hypocrisies, and try to explain why the media landscape is so homogenous when it comes to Israel.
But first up, Chloe and Emma discuss the recent resurgence of anti-refugee rhetoric in Australia. With the High Court overturning a decade-old legal precedent which held that refugees could be detained indefinitely - Australian politics has once more descended into a hysterical anti-refugee race to the bottom.
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Further reading
"The mainstream media are pro-Israel propaganda" by Daniel Taylor in Red Flag