Working Class History

Part 2 of our four-part podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves.In this episode, we discuss the participation of migrant partisans in the resistance, what the resistance looked like in the cities, the raid of the Jewish ghetto in Rome and, finally, liberation and the execution of Mussolini.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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryGet Italian resistance merchAcknowledgementsThanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.Edited by Tyler HillEpisode graphic: public domain.Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.Show notes, along with sources, photos, further reading, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-80-italian-resistance/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

Explore the rise of fascism in Italy, the start of the resistance during World War Two, and the participation of women. Learn about the heroic acts of ordinary people, the Communist controlled Garibaldi brigades, and the brutal actions of the Nazis and fascists.

Second of a double podcast episode about the Trinidad general strike of 1937, in conversation with Ryan Cecil Jobson.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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryPart 2 is about the general strike itself, the repression, the aftermath, its consequences and lessons for us today.Get books by CLR JamesAcknowledgementsThanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.Episode graphic: public domain.Edited by Jesse FrenchOur theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.More information, sources, full acknowledgements and a transcript on the web page for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e75-76-trinidad-general-strike/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

First in a double podcast episode about the Trinidad general strike of 1937, in conversation with Ryan Cecil Jobson.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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryPart 1 is about the background of British colonialism on the island, the conditions of the working class and poor, racial divisions, and the beginnings of unemployed and worker agitation in the 1930s.Get books by CLR JamesAcknowledgementsThanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.Episode graphic: public domain.Edited by Jesse FrenchOur theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.More information, sources, full acknowledgements and a transcript on the web page for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e75-76-trinidad-general-strike/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

Concluding part of a double podcast episode about Ben Fletcher, a very important but little-known dock worker and labour organiser in the US with the Industrial Workers of the World union.In these episodes, we speak with historian Peter Cole, author and editor of Ben Fletcher: The Life And Times Of A Black Wobbly. We also hear words written by Fletcher, voiced by fellow Wobbly, Alki.In part 2 we learn about Fletcher’s imprisonment, later life, and the demise of Local 8. 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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryFull information, acknowledgements, sources and a transcript are on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e73-ben-fletcher/AcknowledgementsThanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando Lopez Ojeda.Words of Ben Fletcher voiced by Alki. Check out his YouTube channel here, or follow him on Twitter here.Episode graphic: Ben Fletcher in 1918. Courtesy US National Archives and Records Administration/Wikimedia Commons.Theme music: “Solidarity (Forever)”, written by Ralph Chaplin, performed by The Nightwatchman, Tom Morello. Buy or stream it here.Edited by Louise BarryBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

First in a double podcast episode about Ben Fletcher, a very important but little-known dock worker and labour organiser in the US with the Industrial Workers of the World union.In these episodes, we speak with historian Peter Cole, author and editor of Ben Fletcher: The Life And Times Of A Black Wobbly. We also hear words written by Fletcher, voiced by fellow Wobbly, Alki.In part 1 we learn about his early life, as well as his union branch, Local 8, which in the early 20th-century organised thousands of workers on the Philadelphia docks and was the most powerful multiracial union in the country at the time.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, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryFull information, acknowledgements, sources and a transcript are on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e73-ben-fletcher/AcknowledgementsThanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Jamison D. Saltsman.Words of Ben Fletcher voiced by Alki. Check out his YouTube channel here, or follow him on Twitter here.Episode graphic: Ben Fletcher in 1918, enhanced by WCH. Courtesy US National Archives and Records Administration/Wikimedia Commons.Theme music: “Solidarity (Forever)”, written by Ralph Chaplin, performed by The Nightwatchman, Tom Morello. Buy or stream it here.Edited by Louise BarryBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

Podcast episode about anti-fascist youth cultural movements in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. In particular we look at the German Edelweiss Pirates and Swing Kids, and in our patreon bonus episode we also speak about the French Zazous and the Austrian Schlurfs.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 merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryDespite years of indoctrination, young people in fascist Europe in the 1930s and 40s resisted the authoritarianism and conformism of Nazi rule. We hear from former Edelweiss Pirate Walter Mayer, and speak with historian Nick Heath about these little-known movements.E72.1: Zazous and Schlurfs, bonus episode – available exclusively for our patreon supportersAnti-fascist books and merchandise – Posters, clothing and merchandise using artwork by or inspired by the Edelweiss Pirates and other 1930s anti-fascists in Germany.See sources, more information and a transcript on the webpage for this episode here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/72-edelweiss-pirates-swing-kids/.AcknowledgementsThanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Jamison D. Saltsman.Episode graphic, mural of a group of Edelweiss Pirates in Cologne, courtesy wwwuppertal Flickr, CC by 2.0.Edited by Louise BarryThe theme music was Functionizin’, by Fats Waller, courtesy of the Swiss Foundation and Wikimedia Commons.Also featured was Richard Wagner’s Gerechter Gott, performed by Ernestine Schumann-Heink also courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

We chat with Pearson from the Coffee with Comrades podcast about our new web apps: the Working Class History Map and Stories app. This episode has been timed to coincide with the public launch of our web apps on January 31.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 merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistoryIn this episode, we talk about why we started the mapping project, what it’s about, how people can use it, and about different ways of interacting with people’s history. We also talk about how it differs from any other radical history mapping project.Check out the Map at map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out the Stories app at stories.workingclasshistory.comThere is an additional bonus episode with Pearson speaking about their experiences using the map on a trip to London. Coming later today exclusively for our patreon supporters.If you enjoy it, make sure to check out Coffee with Comrades, who are also supported by patreon. Connect with them here: Web: https://coffeewithcomrades.com/Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/coffeewithcomradesTwitter: http://twitter.com/coffeewcomradesAcknowledgementsThanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible.Episode produced by Coffee with Comrades, additional editingby Jesse FrenchOur theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

Concluding part of our double-episode in conversation with author, DD Johnston, about his new novel, Disnaeland.In this part, Darren discusses the novel’s relationship to the Scots language, the apocalyptic prophecies of radical, pre-Enlightenment Christianity, and his focus on mutual aid as a response to disaster. Darren also performs two further readings from the novel.Full information, sources, further reading, acknowledgements and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/wcl-5-6-dd-johnstons-proletarian-apocalypse/Get books mentioned in this episodePeace, Love and Petrol Bombs: https://bookshop.org/a/80203/9781849350617Disnaeland: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/disnaeland/9781909954533AcknowledgmentsOur theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here: http://www.alabianca.it/en/store/bravo-records-en/le-canzoni-di-bella-ciao-aa-vv/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

The first of a two-part episode, Working Class Literature speak to DD Johnston about his new novel, Disnaeland, about a working-class Scottish community's response to societal collapse. We also discuss his previous novels and his participation in McDonald's Workers' Resistance, a radical collective of angry employees at the world's biggest fast food chain.Darren also reads passages from Disnaeland and his first novel, Peace, Love and Petrol Bombs.Full information, sources, further reading, acknowledgements and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/wcl-5-6-dd-johnstons-proletarian-apocalypse/Get books mentioned in this episodePeace, Love and Petrol Bombs: https://bookshop.org/a/80203/9781849350617Disnaeland: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/disnaeland/9781909954533AcknowledgmentsOur theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here: http://www.alabianca.it/en/store/bravo-records-en/le-canzoni-di-bella-ciao-aa-vv/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.