How does racialisation shape the labour process? How is race formed in the transition from slavery to wage labour? What is the role of racecraft in wage labour exploitation? Looking at the history of the Siddis, ‘liberated’ East African slaves settled in the Indian subcontinent, helps answer these questions. In this episode, Lukas Slothuus and Ashok Kumar interview Tania Bhattacharyya from the University of Cambridge about Tania’s article Steam and Stokehold: Steamship Labour, Colonial Racecraft and Bombay’s Sidi jamāt from the Race and Capital special issue of the HM journal.

What is the role of Israeli settler colonialism on Palestinian agriculture? How is indigeneity invoked in the commodification of land and produce? How does land matter for the Palestinian struggle for liberation? In this episode, Ashok Kumar and Lukas Slothuus speak with Gabi Kirk from California Poly State University about her article Commodifying Indigeneity? Settler Colonialism and Racial Capitalism in Fair Trade Farming in Palestine from the 31.2 issue of the Historical Materialism Journal.

What does the Covid-19 pandemic tell us about the relationship between humans and nature? And how can eco-Marxism help us understand the pandemic? What does a Marxist account of health look like? In this episode, Lukas Slothuus and Ashok Kumar speak with Jacopo Nicola Bergamo from the University of Vigo about his article Pandemic Capitalism: Metabolic Rift, World-Ecology Crossing Dialectical Biology. The article is in the 31.1 issue of the Historical Materialism journal.

The podcast discusses the alternative legacy of modernity and its inspirations from the 1793 sans-culottes, the 1871 Paris Commune, the 1918 Soviet constitution, and the Zapatistas. It explores reimagining politics, tensions between legality and property, reconfiguring customs and legalism, the role of religion and universalism, reclaiming medieval political institutions, the abandonment of traditional beliefs and the embrace of modernity, and concludes with expressions of gratitude and encouragement.

Francesca T.C. Manning discusses the concept of the landowning class beyond capitalists and workers. Topics include Marx's usage of 'class,' land reclamation and capitalist development, impacts of commercial property investment, ground rent and capitalists, challenges of high rents in California, and the relationship between the state and landowners versus capitalists.

Can Marxism offer a convincing understanding of the present climate crisis? What is the metabolic rift? How have different Marxists – Marx, Engels, Lukács, and others – theorised the relationship between capitalism and nature? How can we understand nature in a dialectical way? In this episode, Lukas Slothuus and Ashok Kumar talk about these and further questions with John Bellamy Foster, Editor of Monthly Review and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Oregon. John's article The Return of the Dialectics of Nature: The Struggle for Freedom as Necessity is based on his Deutscher Memorial Lecture. from the most recent journal issue 30.2 of Historical Materialism. The article is open-access and free for all to download and read.Contributors:John Bellamy FosterLukas SlothuusAshok KumarMusic by Thijs KeulenArtwork by David MabbSubscribe, share, and get involved with Historical Materialism!

Tyler McCreary, author of Crisis in the Tar Sands, joins Lukas Slothuus and Ashok Kumar to discuss the future of tar sands in Canada, the rentier's dilemma, indigenous politics, the impact of automation, the war in Ukraine's effects on global energy markets, the interaction between decarbonization and automation, organizing the unemployed, and the perception of Canada's liberal capitalist development.

The podcast explores the economic aspects of modern imperialism and the falling rate of profit. It discusses the distinction between colonialism and imperialism, examines different definitions of imperialism, and debates the relevance of Marx's rate of profit argument. The complexities of outsourced production in relation to imperialism are also explored, along with the potential impact of expanding data on G20 and G7 countries. The concept of modern imperialism is discussed, including the role of frontier economies, rent, and the finance sector in shaping imperialism.

Join the Historical Materialism Podcast as they delve into the relevance and critiques of Political Marxism. They discuss the history and components of Historical Materialism, explore critiques of Political Marxism, and debate interpretations and debates within the Marxist tradition. They also discuss the origins and nature of capitalism, analyzing changes in systems and studying pre-capitalist societies. Tune in to gain insightful perspectives on Marxist theories and their contemporary relevance.