SpartTalk

Mansa is joined by Comrade Perrault for the official launch of Season 2 of SpartTalk. They dive right in by taking on the rising pressures facing militants and socialists in the face of crazy world events and an increasingly difficult political climate. We discuss the necessity to having a clear understanding of dynamics and forces driving big changes, how to deal with the isolation at work, how t...

Mansa kicks off season 2 of Spart Talk with an emergency episode following the US bombing of Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro. The punchlines: workers and oppressed of the world, including in the US, must take a clear stand with Venezuela against US imperialist aggression, call for the release of Maduro, build an anti-imperialist united front in all of Latin America and the global Sou...

Mansa is joined by Comrades Vincent and Anna to wrap up 2025 - a turning point in the world situation. We talk about what this year represented, what this meant for the tasks of the left and discuss some of the work we did, and what's ahead. This episode marks the end of season 1 of Spart Talk. We will be back in January with more content, and wish our listeners a restful break and a happy ne...

Mansa is joined by Comrades from the Partisan Defence Committee - Comrade Jon from New York and Comrade Kat from London - to highlight some of the defence work they have done this year, why it's key to strengthening the struggle against the ruling class and imperialism, and how our listeners can help. Listen to them explain the cases of Eric Duprey who was murdered by the cooler-killer cop, p...

Mansa sits down with Vincent from Workers Hammer to discuss whether Your Party has a future and if so, what does it look like? Short answer: yes, but it depends on its politics. Fresh from the conference, both dive into the context in Britain and the tasks it poses for the left in order to challenge the rightward shift, win the working class and bridge the divides between different segments of the...

Mansa is joined by Comrades Julia and Leticia to discuss the state of Argentina after two years of Milei, who has just strengthened his position in the recent midterm elections. We discuss the basis of support for Milei, why the Peronists - the historic bourgeois nationalist force in Argentina - still remain attractive as the main vehicle to fight Milei, and the contradictions plaguing the Argenti...

Mansa is joined by Cassian and Natalie from the Just Break Already caucus in the DSA to discuss their work in the DSA now that the Mamdani era has begun. They touch on two main things that socialists in the DSA should be fighting to push Mamdani to do: ditch Tisch and the Taylor law!  Check out their leaflet, "Try to hold Zohran accountable in action; ditch Tisch and the Taylor law!" htt...

Mansa is joined by Workers Vanguard editor Michael Davisson and Lital to discuss the meaning of Mamdani's victory. Since taking office, the Democratic Socialist that the left is fawning over, has declared points of agreement with Trump, retained hated NYPD police commissioner Jessica Tisch, and now endorsed pro-genocide Democrat Hakeem Jeffries. Where is the socialism in all this and what to...

Mansa is joined by Comrades Regis and Elizabeth to discuss the fast moving events in the Philippines which has been rocked by a corruption scandal of huge proportions. Though the left has now called for the resignation of Marcos Jr and Sara Duterte and is raising the slogan for “transitional peoples’ councils”, they are hoping to build these in an alliance with the liberals and military generals....

Mansa sits down with Comrade Eibhlin to discuss the hype behind Catherine Connolly, the new President of Ireland, and why the left is so cheery about it. We get into what this victory means, or rather what it doesn't mean, for the situation of the Irish working class, which has been slowly moving to the right. We get into what drove this process during the heyday of liberalism, the fortunes o...

Mansa is joined by Comrade Oskar, editor of Red Battler, to discuss the dynamics and outcomes of the Gen Z uprising in late August. We try and place this explosion of anger of youth in the context of Indonesia's place in a changing world order, marked by shrinking room to manoeuvre between the U.S. and the China/BRICS bloc. We also go into the weakness of the organised working class and the l...

Mansa sits down with Vincent for a special episode to discuss some key lessons of the Russian Revolution for the struggles of the working class and oppressed today, and how these are crucial to addressing the crisis of the left. We focus on three: split with social chauvinism, communist leadership of the democratic tasks, and internationalism (or why the revolution degenerated).  What is revolutio...

Mansa is joined by Comrades Philipp and Jeanne from Tokyo to get educated on what's happening in Japan. There's a new Prime Minister in town, Sanae Takaichi, who has been nicknamed the Japanese Margaret Thatcher, the right is growing, attacks are on the horizon, yet the left is stuck in its old ways. Our comrades point to some lessons that the left needs to learn in order to go forward. ...

Mansa is joined by Comrade Victor from Mexico to discuss the war drive against Venezuela and the attempts to oust Maduro by Trump. We discuss the need for an anti-imperialist united front of the Latino masses and the American working class, how the propaganda about narco-terrorism is being used to undermine the sovereignty of Latin American countries, why the methods of Maduro and Claudia Sheinbau...

Mansa sits down with Comrade Perrault to discuss all the things happening in the world, from uprisings in the Global South to military buildups, wars and broken ceasefires, the growing right wing and gigantic stock market bubbles. In a time where the news cycle is dizzying and it's easy to feel overwhelmed, or get swept away by the photos online showing the latest struggles across the world,...

Mansa is joined by Comrades Jesse and Arthur from Johannesburg to discuss the latest bombshell in South African politics: EFF leader Julius Malema being found guilty of gun-related offences, a development which could potentially cripple this radical nationalist party. Comrades explain why this is a continuation of Trump's attacks against South Africa and why every worker and fighter against n...

Mansa is joined by Comrades Alexis and Sacramento from Ligue trotskyste de France to discuss the never-ending governmental crisis. Recorded two days before the resignation of PM Lecornu (who lasted less than a month) we discuss why the ground beneath Macron's feet is shrinking, why Le Pen continues to grow, the place of Jean-Luc Melenchon of La France Insoumise in the coming events, and the r...

Mansa is joined by Comrade Mauro from Italy to discuss the recent strikes by Italian unions in defense of the Sumud Flotilla. Following Israel's attack on the flotilla, the unions have now called for a general strike on Friday, 3 October. Mansa and Mauro discuss the potential for these events to reviltalise the workers' movement in Italy, as well as the obstacles to doing so, in the broa...

Mansa is joined by comrades Michael Davisson and Erica from Workers Vanguard to talk about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. We discuss why he should not have been killed, the coming backlash against the left, and most importantly, comrades try to answer some of Kirk's most notorious talking points. Ultimately, the death of Kirk does not mean that his ideas are dead, and the task of communis...

Mansa is back with Comrade Vincent to discuss what's shaking things up (in a bad way) for the left in Britain. We discuss the Tommy Robinson demonstration and why it was massive, the left's denial about the state of things, and why it needs to change course. On the other end, Corbyn and Sultana are on the verge of a split before their party is even official. With things as they are, all...

Mansa sits down with Comrade Perrault to discuss what is unfortunately not discussed and debated more in the left: the Ukraine war. We discuss the current situation on the battlefield, the diplomatic faff and imperialist aims, and most crucially, what are the tasks of communists regarding the Ukraine war. The short answer: to build unity between Russian and Ukranian workers and soldiers in opposit...

It's a full house at Spart Talk as Mansa is joined by Brianna, Edward and Jack from the Just Break Already (JBA) caucus in the DSA (Dem Socialists of America). We discuss what went down at the recent DSA convention at which Jack was a delegate, and the need to learn lessons from the AOC experience so that the left doesn't end up in another toxic situationship with the latest darling of t...

Mansa is joined by Anna Mili of the Trotskyist Group of Greece to discuss key questions for revolutionary strategy for the Global South, a burning question for the left as US imperialism turns the screws on the whole world, squeezing oppressed countries even further. Historically, the Marxist left has fallen into a trap of either supporting the national bourgeoisie against imperialism, or abstract...

Mansa sits down with Jon Brule, longtime leader of the Spartacist League US and the ICL, to review the ICL's position on the Soviet intervention into Afghanistan in 1979 where we controversially raised the slogan "Hail Red Army!". We discuss the political situation leading to the PDPA takeover, known as the Saur Revolution, and the subsequent events which led to heightened imperiali...

Mansa is joined by comrades Maria and Emilio from the Trotskyist Group of Greece to discuss the lessons of the Tempi struggle. Tempi refers to the train crash resultant of pure EU-led austerity that led to the death of 57 students, unleashing a mass movement for justice. Maria and Emilio explain what the struggle for justice meant for the Greek masses and why ultimately it led to a defeat. The art...