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Inspired by the encampment at Columbia University in New York, students at the University of Sydney this week occupied their campus to stand with the people of Gaza. They're condemning the complicity of their university and the Australian government in the invasion of Gaza, and calling to cut ties with the Israeli state and arms manufacturing corporations.
In this episode Emma interviews the student demonstrators and their supporters about what inspired them to take action, the role of Australian institutions in facilitating genocide, and where the campaign can go from here.
Links
- If you want to support the students or get involved, get in touch with Students For Palestine USyd on Instagram
- Read the coverage in Red Flag

We interviewed Damian Ridgwell, a veteran socialist activist and leading light in Australia's pro-Palestine movement for almost 20 years. Damian talked about the recent history of the movement and why it's so important to take a stand for Palestine here in Australia. 
Chloe and Emma also talked about the new data which reveals that the majority of Australian corporations have significant internal gender pay gaps. We expose some of the problems with the report and the government's approach, and explain the nature of the deep gender inequality in the Australian economy. 
Further Reading
- "Why the global movement for Palestine matters" - https://redflag.org.au/article/why-global-movement-palestine-matters 
- "To end sexism we need to destroy capitalism" - https://redflag.org.au/article/end-sexism-we-need-destroy-capitalism 
 

For this special episode we interviewed one of our favourite return guests Diane Fieldes. Diane is a socialist activist and writer who participated in the campaign against police repression after the first Sydney Mardi Gras in 1978. She talks about the homophobia of those years, the violence of the police, and the triumph of the Gay Liberation activists who fought for their rights - including the right to protest. 
Further reading:
- https://redflag.org.au/article/mardi-gras-was-riot
https://redflag.org.au/node/6233

The fight is on in Argentina! Javier Milei, the newly-elected President and self-described anarcho-capitalist has announced a slew of attacks on working class living conditions and democratic rights. But workers are fighting back. We spoke to Jasmine Duff, a socialist activist who visited Argentina and participated in the resistance to Milei's attacks. Jasmine roamed around Buenos Aires interviewing activists and reporting for Red Flag newspaper. 
But first up, Chloe and Emma dissect the latest news from Gaza and the Middle East, including the ICJ decision, the Western defunding of UNRWA and the US bombing campaign against the Houthis. 
Further reading:
Argentina:
"The Left in Argentina's general strike" by Jasmine Duff in Red Flag (Feb '24)
"'We're not going to take it!' - Mass protests in Argentina" by Jasmine Duff in Red Flag (Dec '23)
Palestine and the Middle East:
"Hypocrisy about the Houthis"  by Mick Armstrong in Red Flag (Jan '24)
"‘A small, arrogant, violent, wicked nation’: Israel’s permanent war on the people of the Middle East" by Omar Hassan in Red Flag (Jan '24)
 
 
 

A special episode on the fall of South African apartheid! Chloe interviews Tom Bramble, socialist author and witness to working class struggles in South Africa. Tom spent time in South Africa in the years following the overthrow of the racist apartheid system, and he wrote a book and numerous articles about South Africa. He tells us about how the racist apartheid system was finally destroyed, and how the workers' movement played a crucial role in its destruction. 
Further reading
Rethinking the Labour Movement in the 'New South Africa'  - edited by Tom Bramble and Franco Barchiesi 
How South African Apartheid was Ended  by Emma Norton in Red Flag (2023)
Lessons from the South African anti-apartheid struggle by Deaglan Godwin (2023)
South Africa in crisis by Tom Bramble in Red Flag (2016)
Hypocrisy in West's reponse to Desmond Tutu's passing by Tom Bramble in Red Flag (2021)
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) by Tom Bramble in Red Flag (2013)
 

What is the state? An overgrown behemoth, a neutral arbiter, a tool of the ruling class? In our first episode for 2024, Chloe and Emma explain the Marxist theory of the state. We also chat about what we read over the break. 
Further reading on the capitalist state:
- "What is the Australian State" - by David Peterson in Red Flag 
- "Marxism vs. the State" - by Sadia Schneider in Red Flag 
Emma and Chloe's summer reading:
Here are the books we talked about at the start of the episode:
- "The State and Revolution" by V.I. Lenin: https://shop.redflag.org.au/products/state-and-revolution?_pos=2&_psq=state%20and%20&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=34797667581997 
- "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver
- "Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike" by Barbara Kingsolver
- Georgy Plekhanov on Marxism and Philosophy: "The Development of the Monist View of History" https://www.marxists.org/archive/plekhanov/1895/monist/index.htm