Marx Engels Institute

Hear the full conversation:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/reading-group-1-50889434 We review the first two chapters of the Communist Manifesto, exploring the major themes highlighted throughout -- historical materialism, class warfare, the advent of capitalism, the family, modernism, and more.

Listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/its-just-bad-flu-50787969 We round off our discussion from part one by talking about the impact of covid-19 on health care capacity, covid-19 vaccinations, the class warfare that has been the lockdowns, the horrible effects of the bureaucratisation of science, how a communist society would handle covid-19 and more! Part 1 of 2: https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/evvqdr

We speak about India's COVID "disaster", outline the grand COVID-19 narratives framing this "pandemic", and give our final verdicts on COVID-19 lethality, its effect on health care capacity, and lockdowns. Part 1 of 2. Part 2 of 2: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-only-its-50787969 Some studies mentioned: John Ioannidis meta-analysis showing a 0.15% IFR: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eci.13554 March 19th cohort study on COVID lethality: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32201354/ Briand's working paper on USA death rates: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349925425_COVID-19_Deaths_A_Look_at_US_Data_FEB_2021_WORKING_PAPER_Genevieve_Briand 

Listen to the entire episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/housing-and-50561293 We take a look at the housing bubbles ballooning across the world, investigate the contradictions which give rise to housing bubbles under capitalism and make some predictions of how the whole thing will come tumbling down. Correction: Leila ~@2:00 says residential homes in Japan declined to less than a tenth of their peak -- this is not for *all* of Japan, only for Tokyo at the time of the crash.

In this episode we discuss the contradictions of the USSR, it's status as an economy and society at a transitional point between capitalism and socialism, it's contradictions and it's eventual fall.  

For our first piece of content for patrons, we are putting out an unaired portion of the first interview between co-hosts Alexander McKay and Leila Mechoui from back in January of this year.  We talk covid-19, unions, automation, the dumb state of the Left "intellectuals" and more. We also have recorded a new introduction to it where we reflect on what we were right about and how everyone must read Lenin.  We hope you enjoy the programme. Full episode: https://www.patreon.com/red_star_radio You can find Lenin's "Imperialism-The Highest Stage of Capitalism" on the link below: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/index.htm

We analyze the reasons for the failure of the Amazon union drive in Alabama. We then discuss the significance of welfare under capitalism, and what's really behind the so-called Universal Basic Income (UBI).

We are joined by Dr. Elena Lange and Joshua Depaolis. Our interview covers COVID-19 (of course), the problem with modern Left politics, and possible ways forward out of this colossal mess. Their article: https://crisiscritique.org/uploads/24-11-2020/elena-louisa-lange-and-joshua-pickett-depaolis.pdf  Dr. Lange's upcoming book: https://brill.com/view/title/31889

Putin is moving troops to the Ukrainian border and calling in army reserves. Ukraine's comedian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stopped with the jokes and says that he is going to "recover" Crimea for real this time. Biden has put Russia on notice. We look at the recent escalation of aggression in Ukraine and answer the question on everyone's mind: Is WWIII finally going to start? The article we are reviewing: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russian-tanks-move-toward-ukraine-globe-braces-world-war-3

In a special episode @default_friend joins to discuss the family, relationships, trads and the dating world.   Follow @default_friend and be sure to subscribe to her substack Outro music - "If You Want Me To Stay" by Sly and the Family Stone