Against the Stream

RCI - www.marxist.com
  • 4.9 (30)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

In Against the Stream, our weekly current affairs podcast, members of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International sit down to discuss the main events shaping global affairs. In an increasingly turbulent world situation, these discussions look behind the headlines of the mainstream press and the statements of politicians, to bring out the real processes and interests at play.

  1. Will AI destroy capitalism? A Marxist analysis

    2D AGO

    Will AI destroy capitalism? A Marxist analysis

    Is AI a revolutionary leap forward for humanity – or the latest crisis capitalism has engineered for itself? In this episode of Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Fred Weston cut through the hype to give a Marxist analysis of the AI bubble, its roots in capitalist crisis, and what it means for the working class. From the S&P 500's absurd tech valuations to OpenAI's pyramid-scheme economics, they expose how artificial intelligence – far from rescuing the global economy – is accelerating the same contradictions Marx diagnosed 150 years ago. The episode covers the AI stock bubble, the threat of mass unemployment, the de-skilling of the middle class, the collapse of European industry, the global debt crisis, and why the Luddites were right to be angry but wrong in their methods. Most importantly the episode discussed why this technology could liberate humanity entirely – but only if it's taken out of the hands of the capitalists who own it. New episodes of Against the Stream air every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️ 0:00 — Intro 1:34 — AI bubble 15:37 — World economy on the brink 16:32 — Unemployment 36:03 — Alienation 44:59 — The Luddites 50:35 — The potential under communism 🌐 LINKS 🌐 ✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443 📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

    1h 6m
  2. How to destroy US imperialism | AGAINST THE STREAM

    APR 23

    How to destroy US imperialism | AGAINST THE STREAM

    After a four-week break, Against the Stream is back! Since our last episode, the world has been plunged deeper into crisis. With no end in sight for the Iran War, with energy prices and inflation rising, the global economy is teetering ever more precariously on the brink of a historic slump. With each passing day, it is becoming clearer that Donald Trump – who believed Iran could be crushed by the naked force of American imperialism – has blundered. The humiliating defeat of the US and Israel in the region is pulling the rug out from under his feet. His approval ratings are now lower than ever. At the same time, a sense of rage against the system is brewing in the US. Iranian propaganda videos are effectively tapping into the growing anti-war mood. In America, footage of a worker burning down their boss's warehouse has gone viral. This war has brought about nothing less than a sea change in the global situation. Trump now appears like a man stuck in quicksand: unable to act without worsening his position. He is fanning the flames of the decline of US imperialism. The moment for fighting back could not be more opportune. Tune in to this week’s episode, where Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martín discuss the world-historic events we are living through today and offer the way forward for the world working class. 📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖 Iran War deals devastating collateral damage to Bangladesh https://marxist.com/iran-war-deals-devastating-collateral-damage-to-bangladesh.htm Trump’s defeat in Iran and its worldwide consequences https://marxist.com/trump-s-defeat-in-iran-and-its-worldwide-consequences.htm ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️ 00:00 – Recap on Iran War 09:25 – What are America's options? 24:20 – Impact of US strategic defeat 30:19 – Looming economic crisis and food scarcity 38:55 – Brewing class anger 56:45 – How we can fight imperialism 🌐 LINKS 🌐 ✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443 📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

    1h 4m
  3. Iran War could crash world economy – here's how...

    MAR 26

    Iran War could crash world economy – here's how...

    All the warning lights are flashing. With the US and Israel relentlessly bombing Iran for nearly a month and the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed, the economic consequences of the Iran war are spelling serious trouble for economies worldwide. Stagflation, factory shutdowns, falling crop yields, and rising interest rates are no longer hypotheticals – they are unfolding in real time, and growing more severe by the day. Who will be hardest hit by the fallout from this US-Israeli aggression? As with any imperialist war, it is the working class who are made to pay the price. An estimated 45 million people are already projected to fall into severe poverty, pushing the figures to record highs. In the advanced capitalist economies, any gains made by ordinary people since the end of the pandemic are being wiped out in an instant. Serious bourgeois economists and commentators are growing anxious – not because their own fortunes are at stake, but because of the revolutionary implications of a new global slump. In this week's episode of Against the Stream, Hamid and Jorge examine the enormous economic fallout of the Iran war, and take on a viewer's question about whether socialism can be achieved through parliament. New episodes of Against the Stream air every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube. 📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖 International Debt Report 2025: When relief isn’t enough — LMICs face their largest external debt outflows in 50 years | World Bank 🔗https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/international-debt-report-2025--when-relief-isn-t-enough---lmics Why the Middle East conflict threatens record levels of hunger | World Food Programme 🔗https://www.wfp.org/stories/why-middle-east-conflict-threatens-record-levels-hunger ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️ 00:00 – Intro 01:10 – Developments in the war 18:05 – Impact on world economy 33:15 – The impending food catastrophe 43:54 – The crisis of debt 53:57 – Poor countries are hit hardest 01:01:52 – Q: Revolution through parliament? 🌐 LINKS 🌐 ✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443 📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

    1h 11m
  4. Iran opens civil war in Trump camp + Cuba crisis

    MAR 19

    Iran opens civil war in Trump camp + Cuba crisis

    "Head-spinning betrayal." These are the words of dissident Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene – and they are undoubtedly echoed by millions of Trump voters across America, who have watched their 'peace president' turn warmonger while they foot the bill at the gas pump and the grocery store. Three weeks into the war with Iran, the costs – both material and symbolic – are becoming an unsolvable problem for Donald Trump. As Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martín discuss on this episode of Against the Stream, what appeared to be a solid and unified bloc when Trump was elected, has always been an illusion. MAGA is revealing itself as a heterogeneous movement of conflicting class interests, and the conclusions being drawn by ordinary people are anything but insignificant. The consequences for the American class struggle in the period ahead will be colossal. In this week's episode, Hamid and Jorge dig into the profound domestic fallout of the Iran war, while also turning their attention to another front in Trump's campaign of imperialist bullying: Cuba, which now finds itself in grave danger. New episodes of Against the Stream air every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube. 📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖 The Economist – America’s friends must help extricate it from an unlawful war 🔗https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2026/03/18/americas-friends-must-help-extricate-it-from-an-unlawful-war The Guardian – UK security adviser ‘attended’ US-Iran talks and judged deal was within reach 🔗https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/17/uk-security-adviser-attended-us-iran-talks-and-judged-deal-was-within-reach ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️ 00:00 – Intro 01:25 – Iran war and its impact 37:23 – Do MAGA supporters want peace? 48:03 – Cuba update 🌐 LINKS 🌐 ✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443 📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

    1h 6m
  5. Iran war: How communists fight imperialism

    MAR 12

    Iran war: How communists fight imperialism

    As the war on Iran enters its third week, US imperialism finds itself mired in a deepening crisis. What Trump envisioned as a swift decapitation strike is rapidly proving to be the gravest blunder of his presidency – and perhaps one of the most catastrophic miscalculations in the history of American foreign policy. Iran, meanwhile, is raising the stakes. Oil and gas prices are soaring, and the spectre of a new global economic slump looms ever larger. Ordinary people are watching these events unfold with a mixture of shock, bewilderment, and rage. The question of how to fight back against imperialism and put an end to its unrelenting cycle of violence is weighing on the minds of millions. In this episode of Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Fred Weston examine how communists must take up the struggle against US imperialism today, contrasting the Marxist approach with the positions of both the reformist left and so-called third-worldism. New episodes of Against the Stream air every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube. 📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖 The war on Iran: where do communists stand? 🔗https://marxist.com/the-war-on-iran-where-do-communists-stand.htm Trump’s massive Iran aggression gamble becoming a catastrophic miscalculation 🔗https://marxist.com/trump-s-massive-iran-aggression-gamble-becoming-a-catastrophic-miscalculation.htm Financial Times – 'Iranians rethink the price of regime change' 🔗https://www.ft.com/content/4e048ed0-9bba-4392-8cee-7f1337c0b211 New York Times – 'Pace of Iran's retaliatory strikes appears to be slowing' 🔗https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/world/middleeast/iran-weapons-missiles-israel-gulf.html ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️ 00:00 – Intro and updates to the situation 15:15 – What is imperialism? 29:45 – The reformist 'solution' 48:55 – The 'Axis of Resistance' 🌐 LINKS 🌐 ✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

    1h 11m
  6. Iran War: A Marxist Analysis

    MAR 5

    Iran War: A Marxist Analysis

    The United States and Israel have launched a war on Iran. Missiles and bombs are falling across Tehran and beyond, with strikes hitting schools, military installations, and government compounds throughout the country. Thousands of people are being killed and injured in yet another wave of imperialist bloodshed. On today's episode of Against The Stream, Hamid Alizadeh is joined by Niklas Albin Svensson to analyse this major turning point in world events from a communist perspective. Already, things aren't going the way Trump had hoped, with Iran firing back, US munitions stretched thin, and the threat of a prolonged conflict the US cannot afford… New episodes of Against the Stream air every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube. 📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖 The war on Iran: where do communists stand? 🔗https://marxist.com/the-war-on-iran-where-do-communists-stand.htm Trump’s massive Iran aggression gamble becoming a catastrophic miscalculation 🔗https://marxist.com/trump-s-massive-iran-aggression-gamble-becoming-a-catastrophic-miscalculation.htm Alliance of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan statement 🔗https://x.com/PDKIenglish/status/2028556271700549982 🌐 LINKS 🌐 ✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

    1h 21m

  7. FEB 26

    Iran CATASTROPHE + Epstein scandal out of control | AGAINST THE STREAM

    Donald Trump is once again banging the war drums, threatening military action against Iran. He has now assembled the largest US naval build-up in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq – including two aircraft carriers and hundreds of fighter jets. The recent kidnapping of Maduro appears to have emboldened Trump and the warhawks in Washington, convincing them they can dictate terms through sheer force. But a war with Iran would not be a simple show of strength; it would risk spiralling far beyond US control. This looming conflict is not an isolated event, but the product of decades of US imperialist intervention that has sown chaos across the Middle East. As Ben Curry and Hamid Alizadeh discuss in this latest episode, new fault lines are opening, which threaten fresh and bloody clashes across the region. All this while crises at home, including the fallout from the Epstein files, expose the deep rot at the heart of American capitalism.Fittingly, this episode also tackles a key question sent in by a listener: will a revolution necessarily be violent New episodes of Against the Stream air every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube. 📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖 Red Sea rift: US allies split into armed camps 🔗https://marxist.com/middle-east-divide-fault-lines.htmThe establishment has been rocked before. Epstein is an existential threat 🔗https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/epstein-king-charles-british-monarchy-d7nxllfgq?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqfauVuwblbIy7ObbYJ5jMpOy4JSsVK2VWzBII0HGdoA2-CILWfjl88pZFz3PVE%3D&gaa_ts=69a06606&gaa_sig=VxBVBRNrLEXvVW-tWp7tZ0xwCM7-Z6MjuWqKNJGscxX_5bQsVJaV5_Q673BjJE7n-nCzvPxbFQGUzbDIRq9WVg%3D%3D ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️ 00:00 – Intro 01:15 – Iran military buildup 24:09 – Realignment of powers in the Middle East 46:48 – Epstein scandal out of control 01:04:16 – Question: do communists want violence? 🌐 LINKS 🌐 ✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

    1h 13m

  8. FEB 19

    Cuba under siege – how to defend the revolution

    The Cuban revolution is in grave danger! Trump's oil blockade has cut off the island's fuel supplies, plunging the country into prolonged blackouts, halting public transport, and threatening a full-scale humanitarian crisis. With Venezuelan oil cut off and Mexico bowing to US threats, Trump is tightening the noose to asphyxiate the island after 67 years of relentless pressure. The aim of the US is to crush a revolution that refuses to submit to imperialist domination. Trump demands Cuba sever ties with Russia and China, open its economy to US capital, and surrender its sovereignty. The stakes couldn’t be clearer: the survival of the revolution depends not on bourgeois governments, but on the mobilisation of the working class and oppressed worldwide. In this episode of our Marxist current affairs podcast, Against the Stream, Jorgé Martín and Hamid Alizadeh analyse the latest developments in the imperialist siege and discuss the history of the Cuban Revolution and how it got where it is today. New episodes of Against the Stream air every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube. 📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖 Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Mallory) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom) 🔗https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v06/d499 Cuba 50 years later – where is the revolution going? 🔗https://marxist.com/cuba-50-years-later.htm Rise up with Cuba, peoples of the world! 🔗https://medium.com/la-tiza/lev%C3%A1ntense-con-cuba-pueblos-del-mundo-2cf19db7647c "This is Not a Dress Rehearsal": U.S. Engaged in Massive Military Buildup as Threat To Bomb Iran Grows 🔗https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/iran-us-nuclear-military-buildup-trump-khamenei?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️ 00:00 – Intro 01:17 – What is going on in Cuba? 14:05 – Impact of blockade 23:58 – Why does the US care about Cuba? 27:50 – Is Cuba a socialist country? 46:51 – Iran 55:39 – Viewer's question: Why would people go to work under communism? 🌐 LINKS 🌐 ✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

    1h 5m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
30 Ratings

About

In Against the Stream, our weekly current affairs podcast, members of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International sit down to discuss the main events shaping global affairs. In an increasingly turbulent world situation, these discussions look behind the headlines of the mainstream press and the statements of politicians, to bring out the real processes and interests at play.

Information

  • Creator
    RCI - www.marxist.com
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    65
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © RCI - www.marxist.com
  • Show Website
    Against the Stream

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