Marx Engels Institute

In light of the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the USSR,  I attempt to evaluate the life and legacy of the man and ask whether  things could have been any different.   I argue that Gorbachev  was more of a fool than anything else, a product of a bureaucracy that  had become an active enemy of socialism and who triggered a collapse by  pursuing policies...

This is an early release of what will be a 15 part publicly released  series covering an introduction to Marxism-Leninism.  The aim of this  will be to explain the fundamentals of scientific socialism.   This first episode covers the basics of Marxist view of how human societies develop throughout the different periods of history.   This will be a weekly show and you can f...

I recently spoke to the Sociologist Dr Ashley Frawley regarding her latest article in Compact Magazine in which she argues that the triumph of "trauma politics" is an anti working class phenomenon.   The conversation went to a number of interesting places including how we should all read more Hegel.  Be sure to read Ashley's article https://compactmag.com/article/how-trauma-politics-hurt...

In Leilas final appearance on the show we tackle listeners questions on the Bilderberg group, the WEF, abortion, female emancipation and the life & crimes of George H W Bush.

Gord Magill returns to discuss his recent piece in Newsweek on the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act , a bill which seeks to remove overtime pay exemptions for truckers. We also speak about the state of the economy and the effects of climate change policy on the trucking industry and beyond. Read Gord's piece here:  Republicans: Want to Support the Working Class? Vote for Andy Levin's Tr...

This was originally released as part of our reading group series, which you can access by becoming a Patron : https://www.patreon.com/red_star_radio We review Weber's section on Bureaucracy included his seminal work (and foundational sociological text) Economy and society:  An outline of interpretive sociology.

As Boris Johnson is finally deposed we pay tribute to the fallen leader of the British Tories.  We look at Brexit, covid, the state of the Conservatie & Unionist Party and examine the reasons for the ruling class disposing of Boris Johnson.  We also issue a poetic tribute to our departed hero. 

We welcome back investigative Kit Klarenberg to speak about his series of articles on Grayzone outlining the latest slew of intelligence operations around Brexit and Ukraine, prominently involving Sir Richard Dearlove and Paul Mason. You can find Kit's reporting here: https://thegrayzone.com/author/kit-klarenberg/ You can also follow him on Twitter here: Kit Klarenberg

We look at the history and politics of the temperance movement, a major alcohol moderation turned teetotalist social movement with international reach. Check out Alex's article on the topic here: https://www.thebellows.org/temperance/

We talk about the reasons for low literacy in advanced capitalist nations, the degradation of the arts, and the role of schools and education in capitalism.  Article mentioned: The Crisis of Low Literacy by Peter Kerek

We look at prominent liberal explanations for the recent mass shooting in Texas, and offer up another perspective, that from Marxist Criminology. Painting: Alex Colville,  Pacific , 1967

In this episode Alex speaks to Natylie Baldwin who is the author of The View from Moscow: Understanding Russia and U.S.-Russia Relations.   The discussion goes into the chaos in Russia in the 1990s, Putins economic and legal reforms & how these are not understood in US government  Natylie has written for outlets such as The Grayzone, Consortium News, RT, OpEd News, The Globe Post, An...

We review the state of the economy and give our thoughts about the latest market drama and the newest economic phrase to bubble back up into popular consciousness: stagflation. We then reflect on how much an economic crisis actually matters. 

We review Adam Curtis' documentary film, "The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts", and explore the limits of mathematical modelling, the tyranny of consensus-based decision-making, and why hippies are the worst.

In this episode we examine the recently passed Texas anti-abortion law. We look at the history of laws regarding abortion since the beginning of the capitalist period, how the christian churches have actually changed their line on it over time, the beginning of the modern anti-abortion movement in the US and how the politics of this differes with Britain and Canada.

In this weekend edition we speak to American journalist Michael Tracey  regarding his recent reporting from Poland and his encounter with the  pro-NATO left in London.  Part 2 will be released for patrons next Tuesday.

The second part of our talk with climate change skeptic Ben Pile. We speak about the politics and economics of the hydrocarbon industry, and we ask Ben what we REALLY should be worrying about. Find more of Ben's work here: https://www.climate-resistance.org/ Ben's Twitter: @clim8resistance

We talk with climate change skeptic Ben Pile to get his critical view on climate science and the politics undergirding it (Twitter: @clim8resistance ). Part 2 will be coming out next week. Find more of Ben's work here: https://www.climate-resistance.org/

We've unlocked the second part of our interview with James Smith, of The Popular Show, in which we look at the use and abuses of the term "fascism", the position of the petit bourgeoisie and the usefulness of the "left-right" distinction in today's politics. Check out The Popular Show on twitter @thepopularpod

In the weekend edition we look at the history of plastic surgery, why it developed, which layers in society have embraced it the most and why it has become ever more popular.  The answer as to why it has become ever more popular are disturbing and afford us an insight into the atomised, alienated and constantly marketised nature of certain areas of life in the western world today. Episode Ima...

In this episode we start off by examining the P&O Ferries dispute before turning to look at the latest on inflation and the idea that we are in a "long depression" since 2008. You can find out more about the P&O workers dispute on the link below. https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/pando-crisis/

We are unlocking one of our regular 'Ask Us Anything' episodes from October last year where we take questions from subscribers and from twitter. If you like this content you may want to subscribe for a whole lot more of it over on our patreon page.

Is the "rules based" international order collapsing? Has the Russian action in Ukraine ended for good the period of the unipolar world? What are we to make of President Vladimir Putin adopting the rhetoric of "responsibility to protect" arguments previously so beloved of US and British politiacal leaders?  All this and much more are subjects of our discussion with Tara McCormack who is a lect...

We talk about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with investigative journalist Kit Klarenburg, with an emphasis on the use of the media in shaping the stunning pro-war unanimity. We also touch on the weaponization of propaganda against the Canadian trucker protest movement. 

We speak with the founder and editor of The Bellows, Edwin Aponte, about his piece analyzing the Left's failure to support or even commend the worker resistance against Covid vaccine mandates and Covid protocols across the globe. Find the article here: https://www.thebellows.org/as-workers-resist-the-left-recoils/