Podcast
Victor's Children
Hosted by Victor's Children · EN
A podcast from so-called Canada talking socialism from below
17episodes
Episodes
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#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 15, 202501:20:22Tap 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
Transcribe →#55: Anti-Racism, Class and History w/ David Roediger
Jul 15, 202501:03:13Tap to summarizeAnti-Racism, Class and History w/ David Roediger . . . Historian David Roediger discusses some of the people who've influenced him, white workers and Black struggles in the U.S., and some aspects of anti-racist theory and politics today. . . David Roediger's new memoir An Ordinary White: My Antiracist Education https://www.fordhampress.com/9781531509583/an-ordinary-white/ An adapted excerpt from the book is available here: https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/blogs/news/critical-studies-of-whiteness-an-autobiographical-defence . . In the episode David Camfield mentions this article: Kim Moody, "Cedric Johnson and the Other Sixties Nostalgia" https://newpol.org/cedric-johnson-and-the-other-sixties-nostalgia/ . . Related to an issue that comes up in the interview: David Camfield, "The PMC Does Not Exist and Why It Matters for Socialists" https://newpol.org/the-pmc-does-not-exist-and-why-it-matters-for-socialists/
Transcribe →#54: The Right, Unions and the Working Class
Jun 15, 202501:02:33Tap to summarizeThe Right, Unions and the Working Class . . Right-wing politics are gaining support in the working class and within unions in so-called Canada. . What's happening and how can we fight it more effectively? Steven Tufts and a CUPE member discuss. . . An article worth reading: Martin Lukacs, How Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives seduced working-class voters https://breachmedia.ca/how-pierre-poilievres-conservatives-seduced-working-class-voters/ . If you listen to the end of the episode, there's a discount code you can use to order David's book Red Flags anywhere in the world from Fernwood Publishing. The code will be valid until mid-September 2025. . instagram @ victors_children
Transcribe →#53: Capitalism, Democracy, Fascism, Trump w/ Gordon & Webber -- and a few words about Mark Carney
May 18, 202501:45:34Tap to summarizeTodd Gordon and Jeff Webber join David on a deep dive into understanding the far right, including fascism, as a phenomenon of capitalist society. The interview was recorded on April 13, 2025. . In this episode, Todd and Jeff discuss ideas they develop in a book they're writing. If you have access to the print edition or subscriber-only online access to the journal Spectre, you can read their article in issue 8 (2023), “The Authoritarian Disposition: Capitalism, Liberalism, Fascism." If not, they've also published this brief piece: Todd Gordon and Jeffery R. Webber: The Return of Fascism? https://www.focaalblog.com/2024/01/29/todd-gordon-and-jeffery-r-webber-the-return-of-fascism/ . Mentioned in the episode: . Thomas Hummel, "For revolutionaries, the period must be defined by the international fight against the far right" https://tempestmag.org/2025/03/for-revolutionaries-the-period-must-be-defined-by-the-international-fight-against-the-far-right/ . Topics covered (times are approximate): . capitalism and liberalism 0:06:13 . democracy 0:20:24 . the Right 0:35:36 . fascism 0:45:15 . "populism," popular front anti-fascism, and the casualization of "fascism" 1:00:10 . left strategy against the far right 1:09:32 . Brazil and Argentina 1:15:07 . Trump's second administration 1:20:50 . Canada 1:37:01
Transcribe →#29: Against The Market, w/ David McNally
May 17, 2023Tap to summarizeAgainst the Market, w/ David McNally Even though capitalism's problems are becoming increasingly obvious, commitment to fight for an alternative to capitalism – rather than a regulated capitalism -- is still weak. Part of the problem is the belief that markets are the least-bad way of producing and distributing goods and services. This episode is an interview with David McNally, editor in chief of the journal Spectre, about capitalism, markets and the alternative of democratic planning. 2023 is the 30th anniversary of the publication of his book. Against the Market https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/products/1432-against-the-market
Transcribe →#9: Dialectics Demystified, w/ David McNally
Oct 15, 2021Tap to summarizeDialectics Demystified, w/ David McNally Marxism is usually associated with the concept of dialectics, but what is dialectics? Is Marxist theory "dialectical materialism"? Should dialectics be rejected as "unscientific," as mainstream academics argue? Or should it be discarded as part of European Enlightenment ideology that makes false claims to universal truth, as others claim? David McNally discusses these issues in a clear and accessible way. *Producer's Note* Any audio glitches or dropouts are the result of internet issues at the time of recording. The content of the discussion was not edited or altered in any way. David McNally's website: https://www.davidmcnally.org Suggested reading If you're interested in reading about the topic, try "The Philosophy of Internal Relations," Chapter 3 of Bertell Ollman's book Alienation. https://web.archive.org/web/20170706054213/http://www.nyu.edu/projects/ollman/docs/a_ch03.php
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