Working Class History

First of our four-part podcast miniseries about opposition to the wars in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the United States. We speak with Cora Weiss, Vivian Rothstein, Omali Yeshitela, Michael Novick and Joe Maizlish about their participation in a movement which grew from being a small fringe to having the support of the majority of the population. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon suppo...

Concluding part of our double podcast episode about the Portuguese revolution of 1974-5 which followed anti-colonial uprisings in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. Also known as the Carnation Revolution, it overthrew the Portuguese empire and the right-wing Estado Novo regime. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive ear...

First of a double podcast episode about the Portuguese revolution of 1974-5, also known as the Carnation Revolution, which overthrew the Portuguese empire and the right-wing Estado Novo regime. We speak with two participants in the revolution, Jorge Valadas and Phil Mailer, as well as historian Raquel Varela about the events. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters...

Concluding part of our double episode giving a brief general overview of the Spanish civil war and revolution which broke out after the attempted military coup by right-wing general Francisco Franco 1936-1939. Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merch...

Part 1 of a double podcast episode where we give a brief general overview of the Spanish civil war and revolution which broke out after the attempted military coup by right-wing general Francisco Franco 1936-1939. In these episodes, we speak with Catherine Howley and Nick Lloyd about the tensions in Spanish society which exploded in 1936, about the military coup attempt, the civil war and the soci...

Special Working Class History episode produced by our friends at lefty comedy podcast Srsly Wrong, speaking with John from WCH about mutinies: rebellions in the armed forces. We thought we would do something a bit different this time, and release a collaboration episode. One of us spoke with Srsly Wrong about the history of mutinies and why they’re important, looking primarily at World War I and t...

Final part of our podcast miniseries about the 43 Group of mostly Jewish ex-servicemen and women who battled Oswald Mosley’s fascists in Britain’s streets after World War II. We speak with Daniel Sonabend, author of We Fight Fascists: The 43 Group and Their Forgotten Battle for Post-War Britain, as well as Jules Konopinski, who was a member of the group. You can support this podcast, and listen to...

Second of a three-part podcast miniseries about the 43 Group of mostly Jewish ex-servicemen and women who battled Oswald Mosley’s fascists in Britain’s streets after World War II. We speak with Daniel Sonabend, author of We Fight Fascists: The 43 Group and Their Forgotten Battle for Post-War Britain, as well as Jules Konopinski, who was a member of the group. You can support this podcast, listen t...

First part of a podcast miniseries about the 43 Group of mostly Jewish ex-servicemen and women who battled Oswald Mosley’s fascists in Britain’s streets after World War II. We speak with Daniel Sonabend, author of We Fight Fascists: The 43 Group and Their Forgotten Battle for Post-War Britain, as well as Jules Konopinski, who was a member of the group. You can support this podcast and listen to al...

A happy holidays and New Year message from WCH, alongside an appeal for people to support our work on patreon so we can continue our work in 2020 and beyond. Find out more, support us and get access to exclusive content at https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory You can also support our work by using our online store, where we still have 2020 wall calendars available at https://shop.workingclasshi...

Concluding our double episode on the Asian Youth Movement and United Black Youth League in conversation with Tariq Mehmood. This episode Tariq tells the story of the sensational Bradford 12 trial, and explains how the organisations developed. Full show notes including sources, photographs and links to more information here on our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/2019/09/18/e28-29-asian-you...

First part of our double episode about anti-racist Asian youth movements in Bradford, England in the 1970s and 80s. We speak to Tariq Mehmood about the Asian Youth Movement, the United Black Youth League, and the his seminal trial as one of the so-called Bradford 12. This podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. You can support us as well and get access to exclusive content, like part...

Repost to WCH of the first episode of the Working Class Literature podcast, about the life and work of radical hobo author T-Bone Slim. A prolific columnist for the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union in the United States, he was also a poet and songwriter as well as a barge captain working on the New York waterfront. In this episode WCL speak to Dr Owen Clayton from the Univ...

In this podcast episode, historian Joey DeFrancesco tells the story of the first factory strike in US history when in 1824, young women and girls working in the mills in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, organised themselves and walked out, winning better conditions. Joey also explains how the development of capitalist industry in the north was dependent on the labour of enslaved people in the south. Our p...

A very brief introduction to our new sister podcast, Working Class Literature, taking a radical look at fiction and culture. You can follow them here: https://soundcloud.com/workingclassliterature Or find episodes when they come out on our website: https://workingclasshistory.com First episode coming very soon, and it should also soon be available major podcast apps. You can support Working Class...

Concluding part of our double episode on the Hong Kong general strike, protests and bombings of 1967. More information, photos and full show notes here on our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/2019/07/15/e26-27-the-hong-kong-riots-1967/ This podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. You can support us and in return get exclusive content and benefits at https://patreon.com/working...

As protests have swept Hong Kong in the last few weeks, we begin an occasional series on the British Empire with a double episode on a previous wave of demonstrations, riots, strikes and bombings in the city, then a British colony. We speak with three people who were there about what happened, and learn new revelations about one of Hong Kong’s most notorious unsolved murders – of radio commentator...

Last of our three-part podcast miniseries this Pride month about Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners. This podcast is funded entirely by our listeners and readers on patreon. You can support us, get exclusive early access to episodes, as well as bonus episodes at https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory Part 3 has a bonus episode, where our interviewees talk about the film, Pride, what they thought...

Second in our three-part podcast miniseries this Pride month about Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners. This podcast is funded entirely by our listeners and readers on patreon. You can listen to all 3 parts of this miniseries now, as well as 2 bonus episodes, as well as exclusive early access to all episodes and other benefits at https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory Read the full show notes with...

First in a three-part podcast miniseries this Pride month about Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners, a small group of LGBTQ people in London who began to raise money for striking workers in the Welsh valleys during the great miners’ strike of 1984-5. Unknown to them at the time, they would end up transforming both communities, and Britain as a whole. LGSM have recently achieved a level of fame...

Concluding part of our podcast episodes on the Stonewall rebellion , when LGBTQ youth fought the police in NYC for 6 nights, and went on to organise and form the gay liberation movement. We have a bonus episode about this for our patreon supporters. You can support us and listen here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/e22-1-stonewall-26826531 We have produced a range of Stonewall 50th anniversary merc...

Summer 2019 marks 50 years since the iconic rebellion against the police raid of the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The LGBTQ patrons and locals, many of them people of colour, and most of them working class, fought back against the police in 6 days of rioting. Then they organised, revolutionising the LGBTQ rights movement, and sparking Pride. In honour of Pride month, WCH are releasing a series...

Concluding part of our miniseries on the Columbia Eagle mutiny during the Vietnam war in 1970, when two anti-war American sailors hijacked their ship full of napalm and sailed it to Cambodia. Bonus episode 4.1 is available for our $5 and above patreon supporters here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/wch-crime-4-1-ep-25989867 You can support this podcast, listen to 2 bonus episodes as part of this se...

Penultimate part of our miniseries on the 1970 Columbia Eagle mutiny during the Vietnam war, when 2 American sailors hijacked their ship carrying napalm for US forces. You can support this podcast, listen to bonus audio and part 4 now on patreon: https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory Full footnotes for this episode, along with photos and more information here on our website: https://workingclass...

Part 2 of our 4-part series on the Columbia Eagle mutiny in 1970, perhaps the most spectacular act of resistance to the Vietnam war, when two sailors hijacked their ship transporting thousands of tonnes of napalm for US forces, and sailed it to Cambodia. Part of our first season of WCH Crime, the podcast where true crime meets the struggle for a better world. Listen to all 4 parts now, as well as...