Work changed dramatically during the Covid pandemic. Enormous numbers of people lost their jobs, while others were able to work remotely. And then there were so-called essential workers, whose in-person jobs put them at the highest risk. In response, many of them organized, often informally. Sociologist Jamie McCallum argues that the struggles of essential workers … Continued
It’s been described at the most turbulent period of global class struggle in history — the turn of the 20th century when revolutionaries around the world found common cause against capital and empire. Christina Heatherton discusses the revolutionary internationalism swirling around the Mexican Revolution and the remarkable intersection of radicals at that time. Resources: Christina … Continued
Rising rents, rising food prices, rising gas prices — the price of basic necessities has been going dramatically up. Pundits are wringing their hands, worrying about a return to the tumultuous 1970s, while the Federal Reserve has begun a series of interest rate hikes designed to slow the economy down, and potentially put people out … Continued
Since well before Covid, U.S. media has been in dire straits. Hedge funds demanding sky-high profits have gobbled up established newspapers, while local reporting has disappeared. Media conglomerates have laid off journalists in record numbers, gutting coverage of the misdeeds of the powerful. And yet over the last five years, as Jon Schleuss of the … Continued
Retirement is something many of us don’t think much about, hoping we’ll have enough to live on when the time comes. But chances are, unless we’re lucky, we won’t. James Russell argues that the widespread shortfall in retirement income is the result of a bipartisan effort going back decades to move our savings away from … Continued
Caring for the elderly and disabled is some of the most exacting and important work in any society. And in our society, such work is very poorly paid. Journalist Richard Schweid lays out how home care work came to be one of the most profitable industries in the U.S., despite the minimum wages received by … Continued
Prisons, jails, immigrant detention centers. We know them as places of unfreedom, but we don’t often think about them as places of work. Yet compulsory labor is a key part of incarceration in this country. Sociologist Erin Hatton discusses the state of coerced work in prisons, the lack of worker protections, and how work has … Continued
The Old Left, we’re told, was narrowly focused on issues of class to the detriment of other struggles, such as those of queer people. But Aaron Lecklider argues that there has long been an affinity between political and sexual dissidents. He suggests that McCarthyism and the Cold War obscured history that was an open secret … Continued
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We speak with organizers about upcoming May Day actions. We also speak with filmmakers, Eli and Khalil about their new film Bakoso which was shot in Cuba. Guests: Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi, Khalil Fantauzzi, Rachel Jackson and Cherry Murphy.
A big speech to mark Biden’s first 100 days: what can a speech do? PLUS: the Biden agenda and the U.S. today, backed by the Paris Commune and May Day. Hosted by Kris Welch. photo: Tabrez Syed via Unsplash
