Socialist correspondent
News & Politics
About
The Socialist Correspondent attempts to get to the truth behind events. Using Marxist principles, it shines a light on those responsible for war, terrorism and exploitation and reports and analyses the struggles of working people across the globe. The Socialist Correspondent is partisan. It unashamedly supports those fighting for peace, justice and socialism.
Episodes
- Podcast 157 - A Poem for Nakba Day
A poem by Tawfiq Zayyad (1929-1994) who was a Palestinian leader and member of the Israeli Communist Party. He was elected to the Knesset in 1973, representing Rakah and later Hadash until his death in 1994. He was elected mayor of Nazaret…
- Podcast 156 - Report on the conditions of lorry drivers
Many difficulties face contemporary lorry drivers, from working within a complex employment network disconnected from their clients to being closely watched and managed by GPS, digital tachographs, and advanced driver assistance programs t…
- Podcast 155 - China and the new world disorder
How China foresaw the unravelling of the post war liberal international order many years ago and set about protecting itself from the expected increase in aggression from the the USA.
- Podcast 154 - When truth becomes treachery - narrowing the window
Neither truth nor honestly held opinion are defences against prosecution under the current anti terror legislation which seeks to stifle public debate about Palestine and other matters under alleged national security concerns.
- Podcast 153 - Jury Trials - 12 potentially angry people
Jurors are temporary actors in a judicial system designed to protect property and profit. At the same time, they are admitted into that system in a role that accords them real powers as well as access to privileged information that exposes…
- Podcast 152 - Latin America - The United States and China
Podcast 152 - Latin America - The United States and China by Socialist Correspondent
- Podcast 151 - Divisions in Washington - same goal, different strategies
Trumps radical foreign policy marks a seismic shift in US strategy and leaves the pretence of a rules based order reeling.
- Podcast 150 - Extreme Adventurism - the dangerous decline of the USA
The world is more dangerous than it's ever been. The US has escalated a campaign of reckless violence across the globe to try to offset its long-term decline. This strategy is not a Trumpist aberration but is fully backed by the whole Amer…
- Podcast 149 - Politics, class, and inequality
Class division remains a key element of Britain's political picture, but in a new way. Whereas working class people once formed the heart of the class structure and the focal point of political competition they now lack representation.
- Podcast 148 - Let us speak of freedom
Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the South African Freedom Charter, adopted on 26 June 1955 by the Congress of the People at Kliptown, near Soweto, South Africa.
- Podcast 147 - Geostrategic Fight for the Caucasus
For centuries the Caucasus region has been fought over by various empires, most recently under the influence of the Soviet Union. The region comprises Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, along with the autonomous republics Nakhichevan, Abkhaz…
- Podcast 146 - The Department of War Studies
The Department of War Studies at Kings College London is ostensibly a university department but the function it performs for the British State goes well beyond the academic study of military science and strategy.
- Podcast 145 - Immigration, capitalism and cruelty
In a climate of austerity, stagnation, and uncertainty about the future, along with the Tories and Labour both trying to draw support back from those now attracted to the Reform party, hostility towards immigrants has risen as have harsher…
- Podcast 144 - European Powers Set Their Sights on War
European powers have dramatically increased theirs arms budgets under pressure from the US. Europe's focus is on supporting the war in Ukraine while the US concentrates on China.
- Podcast 143 - Politics in crisis, but the drive to war continues
Labour and the Tories, both parties of the political establishment, are mired in problems they have failed to address. They cannot resolve the contradictions of neo-liberalism that alienate them from the electorate and halt the decline in…
- Podcast 142 - How the Five Year Plans brought Prosperity to the People - A refutation of the case against socialism - Part 2
The challenges and successes of a planned economy focussing on the experience of the Soviet Union.
- Podcast 141 - US campaign to destabilise South Africa
The US government under Donald Trump has recently been escalating its campaign to destabilise South Africa including false charges against the South African government as regards its treatment of the Africana population and fake videos cla…
- Podcast 140 - BAE Systems, a very special company
A review of BAE systems, a private company in which the UK government holds a 'golden share' which gives it a veto over decisions. Its principle business is with the US, the UK and Saudi Arabia and it operates in all sectors of the defence…
- Podcast 139 - The trade World War
The current global trade war initiated by the US government is having a serious impact on European economies and other nations but has not managed to weaken its main target, China, which has demonstrated it can resist caving in to any sanc…
- Podcast 138 - Britain - imperialism abroad and austerity at home
While the UK economy stagnates at home, the government plans to increase military spending to 3% per annum. To pay for this funds will be taken away from social welfare services and further austerity measures seem inevitable. Claims that i…
- Podcast 137 - British warmongering in Ukraine
Britain's relationship with Russia abruptly changed with the ousting of Ukraine's President Yanukovych in 2014 from one of close trade and investment partnership to naming Russia as Britain's principal enemy. This sudden pivot is tied to t…
- Podcast 136 - The German Democratic Republic - a different world
Although German Democratic Republic (GDR) ended 35 years ago its achievements demonstrate what is possible in a society committed to the welfare of its citizens. It did this against enormous odds. It was economically disadvantaged after th…
- Podcast 135 - Syria and the implications of the fall of Assad
There is a long history behind the West’s objective of destroying the government in Syria. The long campaign of military action and sanctions which eventually led to Assad’s defeat. His overthrow will have a profound impact on future prosp…
- Podcast 134 - Artificial Intelligence, China's challenge
The threat from China to the US and the West is real but it is not a military one, as the media would have us believe, which is used as the pretext for increased arms spending. In fact, it is the US that has threatened to annex Canada, tak…
- Podcast 133 - Palestine solidarity united, defiant, focused
Although Trump is notoriously erratic, beneath the surface of this and his egregious, insulting behaviour there are consistencies. One is that he will continue to support Israel as the bastion of US interests in the Middle East and Palesti…
- Podcast 132 - Beginning of the end of the war in Ukraine
Trump is motivated by a desire to ensure US supremacy in the face of China which is developing rapidly. No other country poses such a threat and he wants to clear the decks for that fight, hence his attempt to end the war in Ukraine on ter…
- Podcast 131 - Trump's world order, the West and the UK
Although Trump is notoriously erratic, beneath the surface of this and his egregious, insulting behaviour there are consistencies. One is that he will continue to support Israel as the bastion of US interests in the Middle East and Palesti…
- Podcast 130 - Labour's Planning Reforms
The Labour government has made reform of the planning system central to its efforts to increase growth. There are problems with the system which has become increasingly fragmented and dominated by the private sector in recent decades. Howe…
- Podcast 129 - A Window into Russia
On a recent visit to Russia this commentator found a society that was functioning well with decent services and a sense of social cohesion. There was a sense of normality despite the war. Although people did not talk a lot about it, he fou…
- Podcast 128 - Israel interfering with democracy
Russia is routinely accused of interfering in democracy in other countries. While these accusations have been insubstantial, there is a growing body of evidence of Israeli interference in British politics. Both in the United States and in…
- Podcast 127- Housing Crisis, causes and cures
The current homelessness crisis can trace its roots back 40 years to the "right to buy" policy of the conservative Government that took council housing out of public ownership and into private hands. Subsequent governments have done nothin…
- Podcast 126 - Cops And Robbers In The Climate Crisis
State intervention and planning are not capitalism’s preferred ways of working, yet the need for state and globally agreed action is essential to tackling global warming. Yet if there is no viable planet then there is no capitalism either.…
- Podcast 125 - BRICS - Strengthening Multilateralism For Just Global Development And Security
The BRICS alliance of Emerging Markets and Developing Countries took a major step forward at its 16th summit held in the Russian city of Kazan on October 22-24. Following decisions taken at last year’s summit in South Africa, a total of ni…
- Podcast 124 - Policing The Borders Of Paradise As Schengen Disintegrates
Frontex, the EU border agency is armed and is the only EU body to have a uniform. It's task is to guard the EU's borders and to implement the aggressive push back of migrants trying to escape war and poverty to reach Europe. With an increa…
- Podcast 123 - Trump's Election, How It Happened And What It Could Mean For The World
What will the prospects for the world be with Donald Trump back in the White House? It is not entirely certain how Trump will approach the war in Ukraine, but there is an increasing shift in the establishment towards the realistic view tha…
- Podcast 122 - The fight for peace and disarmament
The tasks of the peace movement in Britain are urgent, as people continue to suffer poverty, cuts to services and crumbling infrastructure yet the government plans to increase arms spending to 2.5%of GDP or £87.1 billion including massive…
- Podcast 121 - The danger of world war - can it be stopped ?
The Danger of direct conflict between the great powers have recently multiplied. The US has refused to accept its declining supremacy, to compromise or negotiate. Ongoing conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East are in danger of reachi…
- Podcast 120 - Militarism Rises Again In Japan
One aspect of the build up for war with China is the rearmament and increasingly aggressive military posture of Japan. Imperialists in Japan have long sought to shed the constraints placed on it as a defeated nation after the Second World…
- Podcast 119 - Israeli Agression Increases.
Israel is continuously escalating its genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza and increasingly in the West Bank too. It has no interest in ceasefires or negotiations as it seeks to turn Palestine into an uninhabitable wasteland whic…
- Podcast 118 - Regime change in Bangladesh
In August the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina resigned. On the surface, and as reported in mainstream media outlets, she was forced to step down due to student protests, but there were deeper geopolitical reasons behind her ous…
- Podcast 117 - Ukraine - West continues to escalate war
Despite the dangers to Europe and the world, the West continues to press on with its disastrous war in Ukraine. Even with the evident failures on Ukraine’s part to make progress in the war, including its incursion into Kursk and despite th…
- Podcast 116 - The South African Election 2024
Can the African National Congress renew and recover in the face of declining support from the electorate who are dissatisfied with rising poverty and a failure to address corruption.
- Podcast 115 - A Labour Government - What Next
The new Labour government opens up new opportunities and also faces massive challenges. We will have to wait and see whether the movement can achieve real progress for working people in Britain.
- Podcast 114 - The Soviet model and the economic cold war - Part 1
One of the main accusations leveled by capitalist ideologues against socialism is that it simply does not work. This is rather unconvincing coming from the system which has brought us close to the edge of climate catastrophe, decaying livi…
- Podcast 113 - Chips - The Twentieth Century's Strategic Resource
Advanced computing systems are now essential to all aspects of our daily lives. They are also increasingly important to capitalism's power and to the West's military domination. Microchips are the fundamental components of key systems and…
- Podcast 112 - Capitalism's Crisis And The Threat To Democracy
In Britain we have seen a wave of strikes and massive demonstrations over Gaza. In response the Tory government has been passing multiple pieces of legislation designed to restrict free speech, the right to protest and the right to strike.…
- Podcast 111 - Gaza, Zelensky, And The NHS - What They Have In Common
There is always money to be made from war and Ukraine and Gaza are no exceptions. The arms industry has certainly benefited from both these current conflicts. Increasingly, however, electronic systems are vital to fighting wars. the US com…
- Podcast 110 - 40 Years Of Injustice - Anniversary Of The Miners Strike
The miners' strike of 1984-85 demonstrated the power of the state acting in the interests of capital and against working people as jobs and mining communities were destroyed. That state power was no where more evident than the systematic a…
- Podcast 109 - Ukraine War Gets Even More Dangerous
Politically and economically the war in Ukraine is becoming less sustainable, with no sign that pouring more arms in is bringing Ukraine any closer to winning and every sign that it is losing. However, the mantra of western politicians rem…
- Podcast 108 - US And Israel Attack The UN And International Law
Israel has long defied international law and has been repeatedly censured by the United Nations, which has also supported the Palestinians. As the genocide in Gaza continues, Palestinians are now the front line of defence for international…