Show Notes
First in a double podcast about the Golden Age of Piracy, with historian Marcus Rediker. The legendary pirates of this era weren’t just thieves—they were daring rebels challenging the very systems of power and authority of their time. Fighting every colonial empire, and creating their own ways of living free from authority, pirates became symbols of liberty and resistance to working-class and poor people everywhere. 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 Part 1 covers the historical and economic background, the different eras of piracy in the golden age, about life at sea, how people became pirates. Our patreon supporters can listen to part 2 now early, covering the extent of piracy, how pirates organise themselves, how colonial powers fought them, the decline of pirates, and their legacy today: available here for early listening for our patreon supporters. More information, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e103-pirates/ Get Marcus's Books: Marcus Rediker, Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age Marcus Rediker and David Lester, Under the Banner of King Death: Pirates of the Atlantic, a Graphic Novel Acknowledgements Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman, Fernando López Ojeda, Nick Williams and Old Norm. Written by Audrey Kemp and Tyler Hill Produced by Tyler Hill Episode graphic: Painting depicting the capture of Blackbeard, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1920. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons 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.
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New Fireside Chat available exclusively for our Patreon supporters about the true history of the weekend, struggles over time off from work, and what is missing from mainstream accounts. 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 Listen to the full episode here on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/workingclasshistory/posts/e126-fireside-we-169049458 While mainstream narratives credit antisemitic capitalist, Henry Ford, with the creation of the modern two-day weekend, the reality is that it was something which millions of workers around the world organised and fought for. Time, like wage labour, and many other facets of modern life, seems like a natural phenomenon. But the way we experience time has been shaped almost entirely by human societies. From ancient Mesopotamia, and major world religions including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, we trace the history weekend to mediaeval Europe, Iran, China, revolutionary France up to the present day in the US, UK and elsewhere. From drunkards in Austria, to oil workers in Azerbaijan, anarchists in Chicago, and women in Detroit, in this episode we look at the people who, together, created the weekend. The majority of workers in the West today don’t realise that the modern two-day weekend that most of us enjoy only really became widespread in the last 80 years. And while today we take it for granted, employers and governments everywhere are making moves to erode it. At the same time, as automation continues, and large language models promise ever-higher productivity, a new generation of workers is calling for its extension – to a three-day weekend without loss in pay. Who will ultimately prevail, depends on us. E125: Fireside Chat – How We Won the Weekend – Available exclusively for our supporters on Patreon Full episode webpage: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e126-the-radical-history-of-the-weekend/ WCH commemorative merch about the weekend: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/weekend Acknowledgements Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands. Edited by Jesse French Our theme tune is Montaigne’s version of the classic labour movement anthem, ‘Bread and Roses’, performed by Montaigne and Nick Harriott, and mixed by Wave Racer. Download the song here, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.
As part of our work to mark the centenary of the UK's 1926 general strike, we sat down with with Charles Ferrall and Dougal McNeill, authors of the excellent Writing the 1926 General Strike: Literature, Culture, Politics to talk about some of the literature texts produced in response to the strike, both from established authors and emerging working-class writers.
Free preview extract ofIn various countries around the world, as movements against exploitation and inequality exploded, protesters found some unlikely allies – street dogs. In these episodes, we look at movements and riot dogs in two countries: Chile and Greece, and Negro Matapacos and Loukanikos, respectively. 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 without ads, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Supporters also get access to two exclusive podcast series: Fireside Chats and Radical Reads. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory In this bonus episode, we look at a street dog named Loukanikos, and protests against police violence in 2009, and against austerity in 2011. Listen to the whole thing exclusively by joining us on Patreon. More info Check out the Riot dog merch in our online shop. Check out sources, more information, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e125-riot-dogs/ Acknowledgements Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands. Episode graphic: Loukanikos poster, designed for WCH by Jeff Mooridian Jr Our theme tune is Loukanikos, by Ricardo Araya, as The Sunfall. Get it here on Bandcamp. Written by Audrey Kemp and Tyler Hill. Produced by Tyler Hill.
In various countries around the world, as movements against exploitation and inequality exploded, protesters found some unlikely allies – street dogs. In these episodes, we look at movements and riot dogs in two countries: Chile and Greece, and Negro Matapacos and Loukanikos, respectively.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 without ads, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Supporters also get access to two exclusive podcast series: Fireside Chats and Radical Reads. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory You can listen to our podcast on the links below, or on any major podcast app. Links to a few below.Episodes E125: Chile – In this episode, we head to Chile, where a central figure of the 2019 uprising against the country’s dictatorship-era legacy, was a street dog called Negro Matapacos. Available without ads on Patreon. E125.1: Greece – In this bonus episode, we look at a street dog named Loukanikos, and protests against police violence in 2009, and against austerity in 2011. Available exclusively for our supporters on Patreon. More info Check out the Riot dog merch in our online shop. Check out sources, more information, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e125-riot-dogs/ Acknowledgements Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands. Episode graphic: Negro Matapacos mural, courtesy Sfs90/Wikimedia Commons Our theme tune is Loukanikos, by Ricardo Araya, as The Sunfall. Get it here on Bandcamp. Written by Audrey Kemp and Tyler Hill. Produced by Tyler Hill.
Fireside Chat podcast available exclusively for our Patreon supporters we invited back Tomas Rothaus (from our Argentina 2001 episodes) to discuss football, politics, and the chaotic mess of the World Cup in Donald Trump's USA.