Red Rosa's Spartacus League

Stewart McGill
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Politics

Politics, sport, sport as politics pursued by other means. Objective, non-aligned, left-wing talk. Theory, practice, the history we're told, the history of what actually happened. Inspired by Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Antonio Gramsci and Eduardo Galeano. A good midfield quartet but who will play out wide on the left? “The most revolutionary thing one can do is always to proclaim loudly what is happening.” ― Rosa Luxemburg

  1. 11/24/2024

    Steve Rowe: Inside the Mind of a Martial Artist

    The first of an occasional series in which I talk to experienced martial artists about their history, their vision of their art and the martial arts in general, and why it's about a lot more than developing fighting skills. Steve is one of the most well-known and respected martial artists in Britain and across the globe. We talk here about his history, the importance of the "internal" element of the martial arts - to all practitioners, not just doing the more overtly "philosophical" disciplines - and, of course, a little bit of politics and the Martial Artists Against Racism project. Here are links to some of the martial artists that Steve mentions: https://steve-rowe.com/2022/09/22/okimitsu-fuji/ http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/spotlight-toru-takamizawa-the-quiet-sensei-of-wado-ryu/ https://shinbukan.org.uk/?page_id=65 https://yeungfamilytaichi.com/blog/my-first-meeting-with-yeung-ma-lee-sifu/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu2wy7LgMUg Some of Steve's books and articles: Soft Front Strong Back Concepts of Karate Articles Some videos: Steve Rowe YouTube Martial Artists Against Racism: Statement of Intent Myths about Immigration and Refugees

    Steve Rowe: Inside the Mind of a Martial Artist

  2. 02/02/2024

    VENEZUELA: "The most revolutionary thing one can do, is always to proclaim loudly what is happening."

    The Venezuelan working class and the Communist Party (PCV) are being attacked by the ruling Socialist Party. In this podcast, Stewart McGill talks to Paul Dobson, a member of the Central Committee of the PCV. Paul describes starkly and succinctly the nature of the attacks, and asks people to spend some time trying to understand the situation. He also talks about the splits in the Socialist Party (PSUV) and how the crisis could lead to a right-wing victory in the presidential elections later in 2024. The received perception is that Venezuela has a left-wing government: listen, think again, and always seek understanding beyond your immediate perception. Some more information to help with that: Class Struggle Sharpens as Minimum Wage Dismantled Anti-Communist Attack During President Maduro’s Annual Message to the National Assembly PSUV Prepares Assault on PCV’s Lawmaker in National Assembly Follow us on Facebook here: ⁠The Spartacus League

    VENEZUELA: "The most revolutionary thing one can do, is always to proclaim loudly what is happening."

  3. 12/21/2023

    Empire, Race and Class 2: Hoisting the Starry Plough

    In this cast I talk to Stiofán Ó Nualláin and Seán Byers from Trademark Belfast about the prospects for the 32 counties of Ireland over the forthcoming years/ decades on a burning planet. See more about Trademark here: https://trademarkbelfast.com/ and here for their excellent podcasts: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/trademark-belfast and this is Seán's book, check it out: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Se%C3%A1n-Murray-Marxist-Leninist-Socialist-Republican/dp/0716532972

    Empire, Race and Class 2: Hoisting the Starry Plough

  4. 12/12/2023

    Empire, Race and Class

    The first of our new Spartacus League podcasts. This features Roger Mackenzie, the international editor of the Morning Star, and Aston Villa fan. The podcast was recorded just after the first reports of the explosion at al-Ahli Arab hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip, so we talked about that and the situation in Gaza more than we originally intended; but it all fitted in with the themes and the intent of the podcast. Some Links to the people and books that we referred to in the podcast: Walter Rodney: https://www.walterrodneyfoundation.org/about-walter-rodney Saklatvala: https://phm.org.uk/blogposts/shapurji-saklatvala-an-anti-colonialist-in-the-heart-of-empire/ https://www.historicalmaterialism.org/node/1830 Priyamvada Gopal: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/207-insurgent-empire Hammer and Hoe: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469625485/hammer-and-hoe/ The Cry was Unity: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2tv8sr Aimé Césaire: https://afroribooks.co.uk/products/discourse-on-colonialism-by-aime-cesaire https://abahlali.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/153945859-Aime-Cesaire-Letter-to-Maurice-Thorez-1956.pdf Marx at the Margins: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo22776846.html Follow us on Facebook here: The Spartacus League

    Empire, Race and Class

  5. 02/27/2022

    STOP THE WAR - START THE PEACE: Communist Party of Britain General Secretary on NATO, Russia and Ukraine.

    A special episode in which Communist Party of Britain General Secretary Rob Griffiths and Convenor of the party’s Political Economy Commission Stewart McGill discuss the unfolding crisis in Ukraine: how we got here and how we can work for peace. This is the comprehensive analysis based on current and historical fact that the supine mainstream media will not provide and is essential listening for those wishing to enhance their understanding of this complex situation. Further Reading: https://www.communistparty.org.uk/stop-the-war-start-the-peace/?fbclid=IwAR3AsPD0KKPeUGYc8WxuTMr1EeTONdsYlvd_DtwaSbz4RDkUHoC2ge394Uk https://sceptical.scot/2022/01/a-crisis-made-in-the-usa-why-russia-will-likely-invade-ukraine/?fbclid=IwAR0IptagsZIFgQcIMJ0bH1gfgTIeRyzgvdPMpXhl6AIX7n2DqyspvBY2iO0 https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thenation.com/article/archive/four-years-of-ukraine-and-the-myths-of-maidan/tnamp/ https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-68-putins-challenge-to?utm_source=url https://ctc.usma.edu/the-nexus-between-far-right-extremists-in-the-united-states-and-ukraine/ https://jacobinmag.com/2022/02/maidan-protests-neo-nazis-russia-nato-crimea https://www.illiberalism.org/far-right-group-made-its-home-in-ukraines-major-western-military-training-hub/ https://www.rt.com/news/156652-odessa-fire-mainstream-media/

    STOP THE WAR - START THE PEACE: Communist Party of Britain General Secretary on NATO, Russia and Ukraine.

  6. 01/28/2021

    Bodyline: The Empire Strikes Back Part 2

    Nothing embodies the idea of sport as politics pursued by other means so clearly, and painfully, as the 1932/1933 cricket tour of Australia by the MCC.  This story has everything: class struggle and prejudice: camaraderie across the class divide; the attempt of a decadent empire to exert control over its uppity colony at a time of economic crisis; the wonderful complexity of Douglas Jardine who hated Australians from above but was always a good friend to the Nottinghamshire miner, Harold Larwood; the secret illegitimate child of the chairman of England selectors bowling for England in the series; splits in the Australian team based around hatred of Bradman and ill feeling between the Irish Catholics and the Free Masons in the camp; all that and some great cricket featuring some of the best who ever played the game.  Apart from the fascinating politics this is one of the best Australian soap operas you will ever encounter. In Part 2 of this podcast we talk more about the politics of the tour and its aftermath with the very knowledgeable Hugh Kirkbride, an expert on the sport and the politics of this intensely interesting time. The Australian economy suffered very badly in the great depression partly because of its dependence on the extraction industries, this dependence was a function of the colony's place in the British Empire so the tour happened at a time of some tension between Australian and the Mother country, all of which influenced the aftermath of the tour. As well as global political economy we talk about the shabby treatment of Jardine and Larwood after the tour, their enduring friendship across the class divide and how Larwood found contentment through moving to Australia in the 1950s, becoming fully reconciled with the country that hated him so resoundingly in those depression years.

  7. 01/19/2021

    Bodyline: The Empire Strikes Back Part 1

    Nothing embodies the idea of sport as politics pursued by other means so clearly, and painfully, as the 1932/1933 cricket tour of Australia by the MCC. This story has everything: class struggle and prejudice: camaraderie across the class divide; the attempt of a decadent empire to exert control over its uppity colony at a time of economic crisis; the wonderful complexity of Douglas Jardine who hated Australians from above but was always a good friend to the Nottinghamshire miner, Harold Larwood; the secret illegitimate child of the chairman of England selectors bowling for England in the series; splits in the Australian team based around hatred of Bradman and ill feeling between the Irish Catholics and the Free Masons in the camp; all that and some great cricket featuring some of the best who ever played the game. Apart from the fascinating politics this is one of the best Australian soap operas you will ever encounter. In Part 1 of this podcast we talk about the tour and its wider context here with the very knowledgeable Hugh Kirkbride, an expert on the sport and the politics of this intensely interesting time.

  8. 01/11/2021

    Cycling: a Radical History with pedal4progress, Part 2

    You may not like bicycles, you may not be that keen on cyclists, but the history of cycling and its impact is fascinating, and radical. In the second of this two-parter  we talk to Les Doherty of the mighty pedal4progress about that history . We talk about the connection between the Dreyfus affair and the the birth of the Tour de France, why the UK bourgeoisie feared young men on bicycles as a dangerous bunch the way small-town America did the prospect of a visit from Marlon Brando's Black Rebel Motorcycle Club from The Wild One, how they tried to ban cycling in groups for decades, why we need an integrated transport policy and what can be done about cycling gear looking so irredeemably dorky. Les talks about pedal4progress's future plans and talks me me into cycling across Ireland this year and in North Korea in 2023, and I hate cycling! Find out more about the work of pedal4progress here: https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/pedal4progress-cyclists-saddle-help-range-socialist-causes https://pedal4progress.wordpress.com Cycling is one of the many things that is more complicated, and more interesting than you think, have a listen.

See All (14)

About

Politics, sport, sport as politics pursued by other means. Objective, non-aligned, left-wing talk. Theory, practice, the history we're told, the history of what actually happened. Inspired by Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Antonio Gramsci and Eduardo Galeano. A good midfield quartet but who will play out wide on the left? “The most revolutionary thing one can do is always to proclaim loudly what is happening.” ― Rosa Luxemburg

Information

  • Creator
    Stewart McGill
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Stewart McGill
  • Show Website
    Red Rosa's Spartacus League