Marx Engels Institute

In this weeks episode Alex & Leila examine the parlous and decaying state of culture under capitalism in a discussion that ranges from a defence of brutalist acrhitecture to the novels of Isaac Asimov and the cultural demands of the workers movement.

In this weeks episode Alex & Leila examine the reaction of teachers unions in the US, Britain and Canada.  We also look at the class position of teachers with regard to the wider working class, why the teachers unions reactions on school closures have been so wrong and represent a betrayal of working class families.

In this weeks episode we look at the 5 year long meltdown of the US bourgeoisie over Donald Trump and ask whether any of their assertions of him being a "fascist" are valid.   Articles Referenced in the Discussion. Robert Paxton from 2021 Paxton from 2017

In this episode Alex & Leila examine the state of science under capitalism, it's place within the capitalist relations of production and how this has led the scientific method to become corrupted.  We also take a brief moment to consider whether Boris Johnson is the greatest leader of our time and explore new business opportunities for us in the stock predictions business.

In this episode Alex & Leila look at the "Biden Plan" and what affect the new administration may have and the potential for Covid case numbers to have been wildly inflated by inaccurate testing.  For the main part of the episode we make the case that the lockdown policy was always wrong and has done active harm to the working class.  We conclude by examining other options that could have been used.

Leila Mechoui returns for what will be the first in a series of programmes where we look at political-economy of the Covid outbreak. In this episode we examine the questionnable evidence for the lockdowns, why the US ruling class became so wildly hostile to Trump and make a few predictions on class struggle coming out of the pandemic.   Outro music - Capital (It Fails US Now) by Gang of Four

In the aftermath of the Capitol Hill events I spoke to Leila Mechoui on the subjects of protests in the modern era and the meaning of the Covid crisis. Part 2 will be out for subscribers in the early part of next week.  Be sure to subscribe to Leila's substack - https://leilamechoui.substack.com/

In the mad world of Covid lockdowns what does it mean when children are restricted to 90 minutes of zoom classes a day?  Who benefits from the shift to online teaching?  What is the state of the class war in US society that has been revealed by the Covid lockdowns?  These are all questions I talk through with this weeks guest Alexandra Gutentag (@galexybrane) who has written two articles on these matters for the The Bellows.  You can find the articles on the links below: The Great Covid Class War  https://www.thebellows.org/the-great-covid-class-war/   The Virtual Education Shock Doctrine https://www.thebellows.org/the-virtual-education-shock-doctrine/ This epsiode features a guest appearance from an Am*zon AI that may well be based on Hugh Grant as well as a clip from an archive interview with Jeff Bezos and material from George Carlin and Public Enemy.

What has been the impact of the Covid inspired lockdowns and restrictions on universities and how should the trade union movement repsond?  To look at this I am joined by Dr Tara McCormack from the University of Leicester for a discussion of what trade union demands should be in this time.

Aimee Terese of the "What's Left" podcast returns to Red Star Radio to talk about the left being all Democrats, the financial intervention of Soros and his fellow oligarchs in favour of "racial justice" and the nature of imperialism.  This show also features an exclusive extract from a little heard collaboration between Jacobin magazine, the Biden campaign and Keith Olbermann.  Stay tuned!