The Sound of Solidarity

Workers find themselves fighting the boss with one hand behind their backs, thanks to anti-union laws that restrict the right to strike. Erima Dall (MUA activist) and Sophie Cotton (NTEU branch committee, Sydney Uni) discuss how we find ourselves in this situation and how workers can escape the legal straitjacket.

In the second episode of our "music and politics" miniseries, Tami Gadir talks to John Street, Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia (UK), about his AHRC project "Our subversive voice: the history and politics of the English protest song". After discussing this 400-year history, John also addresses to what extent culture has political utility, and whether the cultural tur...

We talk with Australian writer Antony Loewenstein about his latest book, The Palestine Laboratory, which describes how Israel uses weapons, drones and espionage systems against the Palestinians and then sells them as "battle tested" to reactionary regimes around the world for use on their populations.

Putin is a brutal autocrat whose invasion of Ukraine is to be condemned. We're told he's all-powerful and has the backing of the Russian people. But his rule rests on much shakier foundations and opposition to the war continues to bubble away beneath the surface of Russian society. This talk by David Glanz looks at how Putin came to power, his agenda in Ukraine and the potential for revolt against...

The far right have been campaigning against drag queen story time events, cashing in on anti-trans and homophobic ideas. They have forced events that are valued by children, their parents and others to be cancelled or pushed online. This bigotry has to be stopped. We talk first with Dean Arcuri, a cabaret comedian, entertainer and MC, who also performs as his queerer alter ego, Frock Hudson, inclu...

In the pilot episode of our "music and politics" miniseries, we talk to Dr Tami Gadir, Lecturer in Music Industry in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University. We ask Tami about her new book, Dance music: a feminist account of an ordinary culture (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023), and through this discussion, introduce some of the bigger questions about music, politics and society.   Musi...

Solidarity editor James Supple looks at the growing economic problems facing capitalism in the wake of the COVID pandemic and argues that workers should refuse to pay the price for a system running into crisis.

The Spanish revolution was one of the great working class uprisings. Allied with the poor peasants, the workers had a chance to not just beat back fascism but to overthrow capitalism, too. The anarchists had the support of most workers, especially in the industrial city of Barcelona. But they failed to grasp the opportunity that the crisis offered and the revolution went down to defeat. David Glan...

A growing number of university staff are arguing for boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, on the campuses – in other words, for an institutional academic boycott of Israel. University of Sydney academic Dr Nick Riemer has just published Boycott Theory and the Struggle for Palestine: Universities, Intellectualism and Liberation , taking apart the arguments of BDS critics. Nick is a senior lec...

Matilda Fay discusses the fight for trans rights, LGBTI+ and women's rights today and argues that we face a common enemy in capitalism, a system that fosters oppression to strengthen its rule.

Caitlin Doyle looks at the gap between Labor's rhetoric on climate action and the reality and argues a way forward for rebuilding the climate movement.

The Chinese revolution of 1925-27 held out the possibility of social liberation for Chinese workers and peasants. Its success would also have tipped the balance of forces back in favour of the ailing Russian workers' state. The Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky wrote extensively on the way forward to victory, as Ian Rintoul explains.

The 21st century has seen regimes rocked by revolt and revolution from the Egyptian revolution and the Arab Spring of 2011 to the ongoing revolution in Sudan and new waves of protest in places like Iran. British socialist and academic Anne Alexander speaks on her new book, Revolution is the Choice of the People: Crisis & Revolt in the Middle East & North Africa.

What drives union officials? Can workers afford to leave it all to them? And if not, what do rank-and-file activists need to argue as the way forward? Three experienced socialist union activists discuss the issues: Sophie Cotton (NTEU), Erima Dall (MUA) and Marcus Banks (NTEU).

Feiyi Zhang discusses the potential and limitations of art under capitalism ... and how art can play a role in revolution and be liberated by it. View the artworks mentioned in her talk here: http://bit.ly/3nbnsi5

Israel has its most rightwing government ever, which is stepping up attacks on Palestinians. But it has also provoked outrage within Israeli society by trying to limit the power of the courts. There have been giant protests and many in the military are threatening to withdraw from service. David Glanz discusses why Israel has lurched to the right, whether Israeli protesters can bring about change,...

The introduction of ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence threatens many industries with upheaval. Erima Dall looks at why capitalism turns to new technologies, what it means for workers and how we can ensure that technology is used for human need, not profit. Erima is a member of the Maritime Union of Australia and Solidarity.

All Quiet on the Western Front has won four Oscars. David Glanz discusses the latest film version of this classic anti-war story and why it still resonates 100 years after the First World War. He also looks at what the film doesn't cover: the revolutions and mutinies that brought the horror of the war to an end.

Australia is making it clear that in the event of war with China it will line up with the US. This is why one of the first priorities of the Labor government has been a strategic review of the military. That's on top of the AUKUS pact, the agreement between the US, the UK and Australia to deliver eight nuclear powered submarines at the cost of $170 billion. Feiyi Zhang discusses the issues. Join t...

The island of Guam has been dubbed the US’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier”. Its size and strategic location in the west Pacific gives it great value to US war plans. The military owns one third of the land, demolishes sacred sites and pollutes the environment. But Indigenous people are resisting. We talk to Maria Hernandez, an Indigenous Chamoru environmental, women's and cultural rights activist,...

Lockdowns affected millions around the country. Melbourne was locked down for 262 days. Was this a necessary step to save lives or authoritarian over-reach? Why did the Victorian government respond so harshly? Who paid the price? Chip Le Grand, whose book Lockdown has been published by Monash University Publishing, discusses the issues. Chip is chief reporter at The Age in Melbourne and a Walkley...

Many Indigenous people are sceptical about the planned Voice to Parliament, seeing it as a distraction that will change little. At a recent Solidarity forum in Sydney, the issues were addressed by four activists. In speaking order, Paddy Gibson (Jumbunna Institute, UTS and Solidarity), Ian Brown (Gomeroi activist with Gamilaraay Next Generation), Ethan Lyons (Wirajduri student and School Strike fo...

Solidarity member Judy McVey looks back to the founding of the Communist Party of Australia on 30 October 1920 and both its contribution to working class struggle and its flaws. This talk was recorded in 2020.

Is overpopulation a threat to the planet? Martin Empson argues that the idea of overpopulation is used to deflect attention away from the destructive system of capitalism and the potential for collective struggle for a sustainable world. Martin is the author of Socialism or Extinction: The Meaning of Revolution in a time of Ecological Crisis . This talk was given at Keep Left 2021.

Frank Stilwell, Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney, and Solidarity member Phil Griffiths discuss the state of the Australian economy and the growing inequality being created by market dynamics. This talk was recorded at Solidarity's conference, Keep Left, in 2021.