In this episode, Oden and Left Voice editor Sybil Davis discuss the contours of the incoming Trump administration. They explore the Republicans' contradictions and points of unity, and how differences in political priorities among the various groups in the administration may lead to problems for Trump. In the coming era, in a context of an emboldened Far Right, class struggle will be decisive.

Note: This episode was recorded before the publication of UAW president Shawn Fain's Washington Post op-ed about working with the Trump administration.

Learn More:
- Trump Has No Mandate and His Administration Is Full of Contradictions
- The Rise of the New Right and How We Fight It
- From America First to Peace Through Strength: Understanding Trump's Foreign Policy
- Trump's Success, the Democrats' Failure, and the Fight for a Working-Class Alternative

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Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as @left_voice, on Facebook as @leftvoice, and Bluesky at leftvoice.bsky.social.

In this episode, Oden and Left Voice editor Madeleine Freeman unpack the 2024 U.S. elections and what lies ahead. They discuss why Trump won, the Democrats' rightward shift, the crisis of neoliberalism, the roles played by the labor movement and the movement for Palestine, and more. Importantly, they emphasize the need for a class-independent alternative that fights against both exploitation and oppression. One thing is clear: What happens next depends on us.

Learn More:
- The Democrats Couldn't Beat Trump with Hot Air and Coconut Trees — An Organized Working Class Can
- The Democrats Have Moved Right — And Paved the Way for Trump
- The Reconfiguration of the Capitalist Parties in Light of Trump's Victory
- Trump Wants to Divide the Working Class — We Must Fight to Unite It
- Trump's Success, the Democrats' Failure, and the Fight for a Working-Class Alternative

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Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as @left_voice, on Facebook as @leftvoice, and Bluesky at leftvoice.bsky.social.

In this episode, Oden interviews author and independent Marxist historian Doug Greene about his book "The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky: Renegade's Revenge." They discuss how Kautsky's reformism led to repeated defeats, and why there is renewed — but misguided — interest in Kautskyism on the left. Importantly, Doug explains the relevance of Kautskyism to the present day, and why we need to leave Kautsky's ideas and politics in the dustbin of history if we're serious about fighting capitalism.

Learn More:
- Why Kautsky Was Wrong (And Why You Should Care)
- Karl Kautsky: From Pope to Renegade
- An Introduction to the Kautsky Debate
- Kautsky, Luxemburg, and Lenin in Light of the German Revolution

Listen to our previous interviews with Doug on Michael Harrington and Democratic Socialism and on Stalinism, Anti-Communism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union

Read more of Doug’s work: https://blanquist.blogspot.com/
https://www.patreon.com/enaa_doug_blanqui

Follow Doug on Twitter: @DougGreene1917

Check out Doug's book: https://www.routledge.com/The-New-Reformism-and-the-Revival-of-Karl-Kautsky-The-Renegades-Revenge/Greene/p/book/9781032758787

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Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as @left_voice, on Facebook as @leftvoice, and Bluesky at leftvoice.bsky.social.

In this episode, Oden speaks to Sam Carliner, an editor at Left Voice, about the bipartisan war on immigrants that has been a dominant issue in the 2024 presidential race. We discuss what this war looks like from both the Democrats and Republicans, why it's happening, and why only an independent, working-class party with a socialist program can provide solutions to the crises facing migrants.

Learn More:
- The Bipartisan War on Immigrants Is Heating Up
- The Presidential Debate Showed the Time Is Now to Build a Party that Fights for Immigrant Rights, Workers' Needs, and Socialism
- The DNC's Message to Migrants: Don't Come
- Open Borders Require Socialism: A Debate with John Washington

Support this podcast on Patreon

Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as @left_voice and Facebook as @leftvoice. Follow us on Bluesky at leftvoice.bsky.social.

In this episode, Oden speaks to Philippe Alcoy, an editor of Revolution Permanente's international section, about the War in Ukraine. Philippe describes how the war has developed into a stalemate, how pessimism is setting in among Ukraine's allies in the West, and how we need an independent, working-class solution out of the conflict — in this proxy war, in which NATO and the U.S. are fighting Russia on Ukrainian territory, there are no progressive sides. We also discuss the broader global context, including an increasingly dangerous world where imperialist powers are being drawn back into the Middle East.

Learn More:
- Stalemate in Ukraine
- Five Theses on the War in Ukraine
- Understanding the Global Context of the Ukrainian Conflict
- The U.S. Working Class Must Organize against the Reactionary War in Ukraine

Check out our previous episode with Philippe on Spotify or Apple, as well as our episode with Juan Ferre on imperialism. 

Support this podcast on Patreon 

Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as @left_voice and Facebook as @leftvoice. Follow us on Bluesky at leftvoice.bsky.social.

Will socialism create a society of freeloaders? Are socialists hypocritical for using iPhones? Does socialism mean we  have to give up all our possessions and live under totalitarianism? These are the kinds of questions leftists get asked all the time, and that Oden and Left Voice member Madeleine Freeman tackle in this episode.

Happy Holidays!

Learn More:
- 5 Questions About Socialism You'll Get at the Holiday Dinner Table (And How to Answer Them)
- Stalinism, Anti-Communism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union

Support this podcast on Patreon 

Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram and Twitter as @left_voice, on TikTok as @leftvoice. Follow us on Bluesky at leftvoice.bsky.social.

In this episode, Oden speaks to Left Voice member and Princeton Postdoctoral Fellow in Latin American Studies Juan Ferre about Javier Milei, the far-right libertarian economist who has just been inaugurated as president of Argentina. Juan describes how Argentina's economic and political crises set the stage for Milei's rise, the parallels that this moment has with the 1990s, and the failures of the establishment parties to pose an alternative to the status quo. We also discuss what lessons this situation has for leftists internationally and in the United States, and the importance of organizing an independent, working-class resistance to capitalism and imperialism.

Learn More:
- What Explains the Rise of the Far Right in Argentina?
- International Statement in Support of the Left and Workers Front - Unity (FIT-U) in the Argentinian Elections
- Building "A Real Alternative to the Bosses' Parties": Interview with Argentinian Socialist Congresswoman Myriam Bregman

Support this podcast on Patreon

Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram and Twitter as @left_voice, on TikTok as @leftvoice. Follow us on Bluesky at leftvoice.bsky.social.

In this episode, Oden speaks to Left Voice editor and PSC-CUNY member James Hoff and Left Voice member and native Detroiter Tristan Taylor about the historic UAW victory against the Big 3 automakers. James and Tristan explain the context of the strike, how the UAW won, and some of the strike's limitations. Importantly, they discuss what the victory means for U.S. labor and for the working class, and what lessons we can draw from fight.  

Unions, including the UAW, need to break free from both the ideological and structural chains of the Democratic Party and the state. Rank-and-file members need to be empowered, and we need self-organization of the labor movement to build the power to challenge the bosses and the tyranny of capital. Labor must use its full power to wage political struggles for the whole working class, and to build a working-class party that fights for socialism.

Learn more:
- The UAW Won Big. What Does It Mean for the U.S. Labor Movement?
- To win, the UAW Strike Must Be Organized from Below
- What Are Unions and Why Do They Matter?
- Why Are There So Few Large Strikes? Blame the Democratic Party
- Now, More than Ever, the Working Class Needs Independent, Democratic Unions

Support this podcast on Patreon 

Follow us on social media! We’re on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as @left_voice and Facebook as @leftvoice. Follow us on Bluesky at leftvoice.bsky.social.