Podcast
Victor's Children
Hosted by Victor's Children · EN
A podcast from so-called Canada talking socialism from below
15episodes
Episodes
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#65: How Should Socialists Organize Today?
2w ago01:00:18Tap to summarizeHow Should Socialists Organize Today? . . This episode is a sequel to episode 60 "Time to Party?" with guests Charlie Post in New York (Tempest) and Andreu Coll in Barcelona (Anticapitalistas). . Listeners unfamiliar with politics in the Spanish state may find it useful to read Andreu's brief section of this article for background: Revolutionary Socialist Organizations in the 21st Century https://tempestmag.org/2023/03/revolutionary-socialist-organizations-in-the-21st-century/ . Tempest Collective https://tempestmag.org/ . Anticapitalistas https://www.anticapitalistas.org/
Transcribe →#64: What Does Avi Lewis's Win Mean for Socialists?
Apr 901:13:45Tap to summarizeWhat Does Avi Lewis's Win Mean for Socialists? . . The election of Avi Lewis as leader of the federal New Democratic Party is a small political earthquake in the Canadian state. Lewis is the first person from the left wing of the party to be elected leader, and he was opposed by most of the party establishment. Left candidates also took office on the party's executive. Right after Lewis's win was announced two provincial NDP leaders distanced themselves from him. Lewis's win has raised the morale of many people on the Left, with many hoping that major change is coming to the NDP. . On this episode, Martin Lukacs and Deena Newaz discuss how Lewis won, the significance of what's happened, how the NDP is positioned in relation to fighting the Carney government's agenda, and what socialists and other anti-capitalists should do now.
Transcribe →#63: What should internationalism mean today?
Mar 1901:08:46Tap to summarizeWhat should internationalism mean today? . . Revolutions of Our Times: An Internationalist Manifesto is a thoughtful and inspiring collectively written text from The Peoples Want, an international network of supporters of "internationalism from below." It will be published in English in book form in April 2026 (and is available in other languages too). This episode is an interview with three people involved with The Peoples Want about the manifesto and their project. . . This episode was recorded in February 2026, before the US & Israeli war on Iran, which has only made it made more relevant. . . Revolutions of Our Times https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2732-revolutions-of-our-times . The Peoples Want https://thepeopleswant.org/ A critical review of Vincent Bevins' book If We Burn mentioned in this episode Organize, yes, but how? https://tempestmag.org/2023/12/organize-yes-but-how/
Transcribe →#62: What does Zohran Mamdani's win mean for socialists?
Feb 2201:26:14Tap to summarizeWhat does Zohran Mamdani's win mean for socialists? . . Zohran Mamdani's election as mayor of New York City is being widely discussed both in and outside the US. What political conclusions should we draw from it? Two socialists in NYC, Sherry Wolf and Robert Cuffy, talk about the impact of Mamdani's win, what made it possible, the obstacles he faces to implementing the reforms he promised, and building working-class power in NYC. . . Some readings: . Zohran's Endorsement of Hochul Isn’t “Pragmatic” — It’s Self-Defeating - The Call https://socialistcall.com/2026/02/06/zohrans-endorsement-of-hochul-isnt-pragmatic-its-self-defeating/ Municipal Socialism’s “YIMBY” Problem – Spectre Journal https://spectrejournal.com/municipal-socialisms-yimby-problem/ . People interested in the history of the mayoralty of La Guardia, whom Mamdani hailed as the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and its implications today should check out this article. “The Greatest New York City Mayor of All Time” – Spectre Journal https://spectrejournal.com/the-greatest-new-york-city-mayor-of-all-time/
Transcribe →#61: Covering Up Rape & Suppressing Opposition: Learning from the SWP's 2013 Crisis
Jan 2001:15:47Tap to summarizeCovering Up Rape & Suppressing Opposition: Learning from the SWP's 2013 Crisis . . In 2013 the Socialist Workers Party, the largest far left group in Britain and the dominant group in the International Socialist Tendency, experienced a crisis rooted in the efforts of its leadership to protect one of their own from allegations of sexual violence and to stifle criticism of its handling of the situation. The lessons of this experience are relevant for radicals internationally. Former SWP members David Renton and Sadia Jabeen discuss what happened in the SWP and some of its implications. . . David Renton's book on the SWP's 2013 crisis will be published in 2026: Comrade Delta https://www.ebb-books.com/books/p/comrade-delta David Renton's blog: lives; running https://livesrunning.wordpress.com/ David Renton's Substack: D K Renton | Substack https://davidrenton590934.substack.com/ . . Some readings and resources: Episode 23 of Victor's Children: Sexual Violence, Feminism and Socialist Organizing https://soundcloud.com/user-737267994/vc-ep-23 David Camfield, Why Socialists Need Feminism https://www.prairiered.ca/archive/why-socialists-need-feminism Abigail Bakan, Marxism, Feminism, and Epistemological Dissonance https://socialiststudies.com/index.php/sss/article/view/23546/17430
Transcribe →#60: Party Time?
Dec 2001:07:41Tap to summarizeParty Time? . . Socialists need to organize as socialists to be as effective as we can. Does this mean that small socialist organizations can be parties or start to build parties? How can we best work towards much larger and more effective socialist political organizations? Charlie Post joins David on this episode to discuss what genuine parties are, the history of socialist party-building efforts, the micro-party model and alternative approaches. . . Related reading: Charlie Post and Kit Adam Wainer, Socialist Organization Today https://solidarity-us.org/sot/ . A LETTER FROM CANADIAN COMRADES https://www.prairiered.ca/archive/a-letter-from-canadian-comrades . Duncan Hallas: Towards a Revolutionary Socialist Party (1971) https://www.marxists.org/archive/hallas/works/1971/xx/party.htm . about the Democratic Socialists of America: https://tempestmag.org/2025/01/dsa-never-recovered-from-bowman/ https://tempestmag.org/2023/09/the-dsa-moment-is-over/ https://cosmonautmag.com/2025/11/traveling-through-purgatory/ . about YourParty in Britain: Your Party must trust its members https://revsoc21.uk/2025/12/08/your-party-must-trust-its-members/ . A new podcast recommended for listeners in Britain or who’re interested in socialist discussion of Your Party and the Green Party in Britain: https://proletarianblues.substack.com/p/brand-new-podcast-series-life-of
Transcribe →#59: The Philippines and its Left: What the Global Left Needs to Know
Nov 2701:11:57Tap to summarizeThe Philippines and its Left: What the Global Left Needs to Know . . The Philippines has one of the largest populations in the world, there are large diasporic Filipino communities in North America, and there's a sizeable left that's also present in the diaspora. This episode is an interview with a guest in the Philippines who's active in the anti-Stalinist radical left. . . If you're unfamiliar with the history of the Philippines, this timeline is useful: Philippines profile - Timeline https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15581450 . . To learn more: Alex de Jong, After decades, an insurgency falters https://tempestmag.org/2025/01/after-decades-an-insurgency-falters/ . Rasti Delizo, Priming the Philippines for a “globalized NATO” https://tempestmag.org/2024/01/priming-the-philippines-for-a-globalized-nato/ . Hunting Specters: A Political History of the Purges in the Communist Party of the Philippines https://libcom.org/article/hunting-specters-political-history-purges-communist-party-philippines . . Two Filipino anti-Stalinist socialist political organizations: Partido Sosyalista https://sosyalista.ph/ » About the RPM-M https://www.grenzeloos.org/jl/?page_id=2
Transcribe →#58: McCarthyism and its lessons for the left today
Oct 1800:51:54Tap to summarizeMcCarthyism and its lessons for the left today . . The Trump administration's repressive moves have sparked talk of a "new McCarthyism" so this episode presents an interview with Alan Wald about McCarthyism -- the "Second Red Scare" in the US in the late 1940s and 1950s -- and its lessons for the left in our time. . UPDATE - Helpful clarification from one of our listeners on information mentioned in this episode's intro: "Of the two recent faculty firings in Texas, only one of them (Tom Alter’s case) was at Texas State. The other was at Texas A&M. And, of course, there have been numerous other cases around the country." . . Readings and Resources . . Ashley Smith, Against the New McCarthyism https://tempestmag.org/2025/09/against-the-new-mccarthyism/ . . United States: Texas State Terminates Alter, National Campaign Fights Back https://lis-isl.org/en/2025/10/united-states-texas-state-terminates-alter-national-campaign-fight-back/ . . Alan Wald Homepage https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/alan-wald-homepage/ . . Bill Keach, Rehabilitating McCarthyism https://tempestmag.org/2025/10/rehabilitating-mccarthyism/
Transcribe →#57: The Air Canada Strike, How Labour Law Restricts Strikes & What Workers Can Do About It
Aug 2901:42:58Tap to summarizeDefying the Law: The Air Canada Strike & How Labour Law Restricts Strikes and What Workers Can Do About It, w/ A King and D Camfield . . The historic law-defying strike by Air Canada flight attendants August 16-19 caught the attention of many people in the Canadian state and beyond. In the first part of this episode, David interviews Adam King about the strike and questions it raises. This is followed by a public talk (planned before the flight attendants' strike) David gave in Winnipeg on August 26, presented by the 1919 Workers' Collective, about the history of state restrictions on workers' freedom to strike, their impact, workers' defiance of these restrictions, and what conclusions people who want a powerful working-class movement should draw from this history. The talk was entitled "Against the Law? How Labour Law Restricts Strikes and What Workers Can Do About It." David's talk begins at 59:23. . . Adam King's article on the AC strike: Air Canada Flight Attendants Have Made Labour History https://www.readthemaple.com/air-canada-flight-attendants-have-made-labour-history . . Article by former flight attendant Ann Hui in the Globe And Mail mentioned in this episode (paywalled): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-air-canada-flight-attendant-job-experience-labour-unpaid-work/ . . Use Promo code "RF15" until Oct. 19, 2025 to receive a 15% discount when ordering David's book, Red Flags, here: https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/red-flags
Transcribe →#56: Taiwan: What the Left Needs to Know
Aug 1501:20:22Tap to summarizeTaiwan: What the Left Needs to Know . . Taiwan is a flashpoint for US-China rivalry so radicals internationally need to be able to see through the misleading views about Taiwan spread by both Western and Chinese rulers to develop a consistently internationalist anti-imperialist approach. Ralf Ruckus, who discussed China today on episode 11 of this podcast, returns with an introduction to Taiwanese society and politics. . . To learn more: . Ralf Ruckus, "What Everyone on the Left Should Know about Taiwan (at the Minimum) https://spectrejournal.com/what-everyone-on-the-left-should-know-about-taiwan-at-the-minimum/ . An interview with Taiwanese leftist Brian Hioe https://therealnews.com/taiwans-future-will-shape-the-whole-global-economy-will-taiwanese-people-have-a-say-in-that-future . Some Taiwanese sources: https://tiwa.org.tw . https://www.spa.org.tw . https://newbloommag.net . https://eventsinfocus.org . https://sites.google.com/site/peaceforthesea/home
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