FULL EPISODE at https://www.patreon.com/empirefiles

With over 100 dead or missing in the US-backed government crackdown, we interview Pablo Simanca, a leading student organizer from Cali, the epicenter of the protest movement facing the worst repression. Learn what these historic protests are about, the details of the fascistic military crackdown, and the role the US Empire plays in facilitating it. 

PLUS: Abby and Mike share their frightening first-hand experiences reporting from Colombia in 2018.

Colombia On Fire w/ Student Leader From Protest Epicenter

Writer Richard Seymour on his article "The nationalist unconscious" for Red Pepper, and in a Moment of Truth, Jeff Dorchen wonders who put the pomp in Pompeo.

https://www.redpepper.org.uk/the-nationalist-unconscious/

1196: Nationalist pathology / Richard Seymour

Silvia Federici’s Caliban and the Witch is a classic work of anti-capitalist feminism. The book examines capitalism’s investment in sexism and racism, showing how the consolidation of the capitalist system depended on the subjugation of women, the enslavement of black and indigenous people, and the exploitation of the colonies. Federici demonstrates that unpaid labor–especially that of women confined to the domestic sphere and of enslaved workers–is a necessary support for waged labor.

Under capitalism, this productive capacity is oriented toward profit, the accumulation of capital in the hands of the capitalists, and divisions within the working class are intensified to serve these needs. Under socialism, workers’ creative and productive capacities will be oriented toward meeting the needs of the people and the planet so that all may flourish.

Silvia Federici: Women's exploitation and capitalism

Historian Gerald Horne on the intertwined histories of boxing and Black men in America, and his book “The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering and the Political Economy of Boxing” from International Publishers.

https://www.intpubnyc.com/product/the-bittersweet-science-racism-racketeering-an-the-political-economy-of-boxing/

1278: Boxing and Blackness / Gerald Horne

Various ruling class factions, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have coalesced against Trump and the fascist-led insurrection against Congress. What comes next?

The Real Story: The Fascist Assault -- The Ruling Class Response

Dr. Gerald Horne offers his insights and historical perspective on the fascist-led mob that seized temporary control of the Capitol Building and dispersed Congress for hours in an effort to alter the 2020 election outcome. Professor Gerald Horne originally sat down for a conversation with Brian about his latest book "The Bittersweet Science -- Racism, Racketeering, the Political Economy of Boxing." This episode covers both topics and draws the connection between racism, fascism and capitalism.

Special Episode: Racism, Fascism, & the New Book "The Bittersweet Science"

On  this week's episode of The Socialist Program's regular segment  "Capitalism in Crisis" with Prof. Richard Wolff, we discuss the economic  stimulus bill proposed by President Biden  and how it falls short of the dramatic steps needed to address the  suffering caused by the pandemic.

Richard  Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the  author of many books, the latest being “The System is the Sickness: When  Capitalism Fails to Save Us from  Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com.

Capitalism in Crisis: Biden's "Relief" Package an Insult to the Working Class

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was born December 21, 1949 in Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso), which, at the time, was a West African French colony. Sankara, a fierce enemy of the global system of neocolonial, imperialist capitalism (as well as all forms of bigotry and oppression), was assassinated on October 15, 1987, just four years after the people lifted him up as the president of their new revolutionary nation-state.

Like other influential socialists of the twentieth century Sankara’s life and anti-colonial and decolonial legacy continue to inspire anti-imperialist and Pan-African youth movements across Africa and beyond. A charismatic yet notably humble figure, Sankara is often referred to as the Ché Guevara of Africa [1]. Sankara is considered to have been one of the world’s most notable pan-African socialist revolutionaries.

However, unlike most of his peers Sankara wrote no major works for revolutionaries to study and learn from. What is available is a handful of speeches laying out the basic contours of his radical analysis and non-dogmatic revolutionary vision crafted for a popular audience. Sankara’s major contributions today are not only the historical example he set and the part he payed in the liberation of his own country and others, but also to the way he primarily expressed his political practice pedagogically.

Read the full article:
https://liberationschool.org/thomas-sankara-71-years-later/

Thomas Sankara: Leadership and action that inspires 71 years later

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek discuss the beginning of Trump's impeachment trial, climate change, the latest on the pandemic, the election in Ecuador, mass protests in Haiti, and more.

In the News: Trump and Right Wing Privilege

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell, Esther Iverem and Walter Smolarek discuss the conclusion of Trump's second impeachment trial and what lasting effects it may have on national politics. The panel also discusses how U.S. capitalism continues to fail to tackle the pandemic, Biden administration foreign policy, the attack on the independent media outlet Newsclick, and more.

In the News: Did Impeachment Make Trump Weaker or Stronger?

It’s been a long time since the sun set on the British Empire and many institutions in British society have changed a great deal. In some ways, the British Army is the exception - a living linkage between imperial great power status and the current post-colonial European nation. In other ways, like the US military, the British Army has been comprehensively transformed by the long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11.&nbsp; The way the British Army has altered - and also failed to react - over the last two decades is the subject of the new book The Changing of the Guard: The British Army Since 9/11. Here to talk about it is the book’s author Simon Akam. Akam is a journalist whose work has appeared basically everywhere, including Reuters, the Economist, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Outside, Bloomberg Businessweek and GQ. &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

How 9/11 Changed the British Military

News and views about the world for those who want to change it, with Brian Becker

The Real Story: The Fascist Assault -- The Ruling Class Response

The Socialist Program with Brian Becker