95 episodes

History isn't made by kings and politicians, it's made by all of us. This podcast is about how we, together, have fought for a better world.
Become a paid subscriber, support our work and listen ad-free with early access and exclusive bonus episodes at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

Working Class History Working Class History

    • History
    • 5.0 • 545 Ratings

History isn't made by kings and politicians, it's made by all of us. This podcast is about how we, together, have fought for a better world.
Become a paid subscriber, support our work and listen ad-free with early access and exclusive bonus episodes at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

    Introducing On This Day in Working Class History: A new daily podcast from WCH

    Introducing On This Day in Working Class History: A new daily podcast from WCH

    Introducing a brand-new daily podcast from the team at WCH. On This Day in Working Class History will be a brief reminder each morning of our collective struggles for a better world which have taken place on this date in history.
    Launching on 1 February on a trial basis, each episode will be just a couple of minutes long, highlighting one anniversary from our archive each day. It’s designed to fit into your morning schedule, alongside news headlines, and to be shared on social media with your friends, colleagues and families.
    Subscribe
    Listen and subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Links to a few major apps here:
    Apple podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Podbean | PodcastAddict | RSS
    Acknowledgements
    Edited by Working Class History.Theme music by Ricardo Araya. Check out his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@peptoattackLearn more at https://workingclasshistory.com/blog/new-podcast-coming-soon-on-this-day-in-working-class-history/
    Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

    • 2 min
    E84: Angry Brigade, part 2

    E84: Angry Brigade, part 2

    Second in a double podcast about the Angry Brigade, Britain’s first home-grown urban guerrilla group, in the 1960s and 70s, in conversation with John Barker, who was put on trial as part of the group.
    Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
    Continuing our recent series of episodes about the UK in the 1970s, this is a re-edited, improved and re-released version of our episodes 2-3. It contains numerous additional audio clips, and written narrative to provide context and more information.
    More information
    Gordon Carr, The Angry Brigade: A History Of Britain’s First Urban Guerilla Group (PM Press, 2010) – a detailed history of the Angry Brigade.The Angry Brigade 1967-1984: Documents And Chronology (Active Distribution) – a pamphlet containing a detailed chronology of the organisation and the scene of which it was a part, as well as documents produced by the groupThe Angry Brigade: The Spectacular Rise And Fall Of Britain’s First Urban Guerilla Group – a DVD documentary by Gordon Carr on the history of the group.John Barker, Futures (PM Press, 2014) – novel by John Barker set in Thatcher’s Britain.Timeline of Stories about the Angry BrigadeTheHarrier.net – John Barker’s website including his other books and writings.Anselm Jappe, Guy Debord (PM Press, 2018) – the best biography of Situationist intellectual Guy Debord.Red Army Faction books – a collection of books about the German RAF.John Barker’s radical London playlist – a collection of tracks which Brigaders were listening to at the time.
    Acknowledgements
    Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.Edited by Tyler HillTheme tune is ‘Bella Ciao’, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.More information, sources, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e83-4-angry-brigade/

    Become a supporter of...

    • 44 min
    E83: Angry Brigade, part 1

    E83: Angry Brigade, part 1

    Double podcast about the Angry Brigade, Britain’s first home-grown urban guerrilla group, in the 1960s and 70s, in conversation with John Barker, who was put on trial as part of the group.
    Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
    Continuing our recent series of episodes about the UK in the 1970s, this is a re-edited, improved and re-released version of our episodes 2-3. It contains numerous additional audio clips, and written narrative to provide context and more information.
    More information
    Gordon Carr, The Angry Brigade: A History Of Britain’s First Urban Guerilla Group (PM Press, 2010) – a detailed history of the Angry Brigade.The Angry Brigade 1967-1984: Documents And Chronology (Active Distribution) – a pamphlet containing a detailed chronology of the organisation and the scene of which it was a part, as well as documents produced by the groupThe Angry Brigade: The Spectacular Rise And Fall Of Britain’s First Urban Guerilla Group – a DVD documentary by Gordon Carr on the history of the group.John Barker, Futures (PM Press, 2014) – novel by John Barker set in Thatcher’s Britain.Timeline of Stories about the Angry BrigadeTheHarrier.net – John Barker’s website including his other books and writings.Anselm Jappe, Guy Debord (PM Press, 2018) – the best biography of Situationist intellectual Guy Debord.Red Army Faction books – a collection of books about the German RAF.John Barker’s radical London playlist – a collection of tracks which Brigaders were listening to at the time.
    Acknowledgements
    Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.Edited by Tyler HillTheme tune is ‘Bella Ciao’, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.More information, sources, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e83-4-angry-brigade/

    Become a supporter of this...

    • 44 min
    E82: Workmates collective

    E82: Workmates collective

    Podcast episode about the Workmates collective, a rank-and-file initiative on the London Underground using unofficial direct action and workplace assemblies to fight privatisation in the late-1990s/early 2000s.

    Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Sign up and get access to exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory

    In this episode, we speak to Andy Littlechild, a former London Underground worker and activist with the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union. He explains how the Labour government introduced privatisation to the Underground, how the Workmates mass meetings began, the start of the Workmates delegate council, the 'Job-and-Knock' dispute, and the eventual demise of the 'Public Private Partnership'.
    E82.1 bonus episode: Andy discusses the politics of anarcho-syndicalism and their influence on his organising. He also tells us about a failed attempt by London Underground management to sack him for his workplace activismMore information about this episode, including sources, images, links, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e82-workmates-collective/Learn more in our exclusive bonus episode, coming soon for our patreon supporters.Acknowledgements
    Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.Episode graphic: reworked image originally by Matt Buck (CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed)Edited by Jesse FrenchTheme tune is 'Bella Ciao', thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

    • 49 min
    E81: Miners' strikes 1972-4

    E81: Miners' strikes 1972-4

    Podcast episode about strikes by miners in Britain in 1972 and 1974, in conversation with Dave Douglass.
    Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Sign up and get access to exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
    Continuing our intermittent series of podcast episodes about the great strike of UK miners from 1984-5, we tell the story of what came beforehand. In this episode, we look at the historical background, and learn about the national wildcat strike in 1969, as well as the huge, nationwide official strikes of 1972 and 1974, which both defeated the Conservative government and eventually brought it down.
    E81.1 bonus episode: more about Dave’s revolutionary politics, day-to-day work in the mines, and discussion of popular images of the 1970s in the UK today. Available exclusively for our patreon supporters.More information about this episode, including sources, photographs, links, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/blog/e81-miners-strikes-1972-4/Acknowledgements
    Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.Episode graphic: © NLA/reportdigital.co.uk.Edited by Louise BarryTheme tune courtesy of the Easington Colliery Brass Band.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

    • 46 min
    E80: Italian resistance, part 4

    E80: Italian resistance, part 4

    The fourth and final episode of our podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves.
    In this episode, we look at the postwar anti-fascist resistance: from armed partisan rebellions and the so-called ‘Triangle of Death’ to the 1960 anti-Tambroni riots in Genoa, as well as how the resistance is (mis)remembered today.

    Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
    Get Italian resistance merchAcknowledgements
    Thanks to our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman and Fernando López Ojeda.Edited by Tyler HillEpisode graphic: public domain.Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.Show notes, along with sources, photos, further reading, and a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e77-80-italian-resistance/

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/working-class-history--5711490/support.

    • 36 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
545 Ratings

545 Ratings

I-reine ,

Wow - new favorite podcast! Brilliant

This podcast has — from the first episode I listened to — quickly become one of my very favorites. I’ve shared multiple episodes — and never joined a Patreon so quickly— bc I simply —instantly— had to hear some of the archived and bonus episodes referenced by the show. It’s an addictive pleasure . I was raised in a leftist family (highly influenced by the legacy of a Wobbly grandfather & unionist grandmother) and involved in leftist politics my whole life, but knew so little about the IWW before this podcast — as well as all kinds of other rich labor history… I feel like a kid in an educational candy store with endless horizons of riches in your archives and all the fantastic linked resources — it’s multiple PhDs worth of education in a podcast. Thank you for what you do -& keep it up!

bamboo Tom ,

Where is episode 6 on the Wobbles?

In the last two episodes on Fletcher, you make numerous references to episode 6, but it’s not in Apple Podcasts.

dustingood9 ,

A must listen!

Working Class History is a fantastic podcast. Listen to every episode! Listen over and over again.

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