SpartTalk

Mansa is joined by Comrade Perrault to discuss the resumption of war against Iran by the U.S. and Israel. As we publish, there is news that they have murdered Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran. We discuss what this and the recent escalation on Iran means in terms of the balance of forces in the region, and as always, the problems with the left and what socialists should do.

Check out our recent statements on Iran:

• Stop U.S./Israel Rampage, Defend Iran!
• Iran Still Needs to be Defended! 
• Iran: The Revolution Must be Anti-Imperialist 

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

Mansa and Cairo pick up their discussion from the previous episode on how liberalism destroyed the black struggle in the U.S. They begin with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the hyper-liberalism of the Clinton years to Obama's post-racial society which eventually gave us MAGA, only for the anti-Trump resistance to then give us Biden which brought Trump back with a vengeance. In all this, the black struggle in America was further weakened due to its liberal politics. 

• "Liberalism destroyed the black struggle: How to rebuild it"
• Read the issue of Black History here: https://blackstruggle.org/27/

Follow the work of our comrades in the US on X and Insta @workersvanguard

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

Mansa is joined by Cairo Turner, editor of the newly relaunched Black History and the Class Struggle. We discuss how the current near non-existent state of the black movement is a result of decades of liberal politics. We start with the Civil Rights movement and how its massive potential was undermined by the likes of MLK Jr who hitched it to the progressive wing of the American ruling class, and how these politics paved the way for the backlash and reaction in the late 70s and 80s. Ultimately, the lesson from this period is that the struggle for black liberation must be tied to the struggle for the liberation of the working class - both go forward together or fall back separately.

• "Liberalism destroyed the black struggle: How to rebuild it" 
• Read the issue here: https://blackstruggle.org/27/

Follow the work of our comrades in the US on X and Insta @workersvanguard

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

In a special episode, Mansa is joined by Comrades Bourchier and Edith from Australia to discuss the merger of their two organisations, the Spartacist League of Australia and the Revolutionary Communist Organisation, respectively. We discuss the basis for the merger, what led to this despite differences on some questions of analysis and programme, what this merger means for rebuilding the Australian left and lessons for the left internationally. The merged organisation will be relaunched as Communist Unity in May 2026.

Reports on the RCO conference and RCO-SLA merger which give a somewhat different taste:

• Communist Unity's 2026 General Conference, by Anthony Furia and Christina Veselovskiy of the RCO
• Factions, nameswitching and unity, by Mia Volkova of the RCO

SLA articles:

• Why we are joining the RCO, and you should too, by the SLA

Check out the issues of Red Battler, the now-ceased paper of the Spartacists in Australia.

For more from the RCO:

• The website of the RCO can be found here: https://revcomorg.info/
• Partisan! the official publication of the RCO, can be found here: https://partisanmagazine.org/articles/
• Follow RCO on Insta @rev_com_org

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

Mansa is joined by Jens from Autoarbeiter für eine kämpfende IG Metall (Autoworkers for a fighting IG Metall) and Steffen from Spartakist-Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands to discuss the attacks raining down on workers in the auto industry. As Germany's economy continues to reel from being cut-off from cheap Russian energy and increasing competition from China, the German auto bosses are seeking to cut their losses on the backs of autoworkers. Jens discusses what he and his co-workers have been doing to bring pressure to bear on the IG Metall, the largest union in auto, to fight against the massacre of jobs. 

• Jetzt erst recht: Unterschreibt unsere Petition an die IG Metall! (now more than ever: Sign our petition to IG Metall!) 
• Das Massaker an Industriearbeitsplatzen muss aufhoren! Stoppen wir es jetzt! Auch in Marienfelde! (The massacre of industrial jobs must stop! Let's stop it now! Including in Marienfelde!) 

Get in touch with Jens at [email protected]

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

Mansa is joined by Comrade Anacleto from Mexico City to discuss how Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's decision to suspend oil shipments to Cuba is aiding the imperialist chokehold on the island and why communists must fight to break this blockade as a means of defending not just Cuba and the Cuban Revolution, but also to defend Mexico and the Mexican working class and peasantry from imperialist aggression. We discuss the challenges of building the anti-imperialist struggle in a context where Latin America is under attack but where there seems to be a growing right-ward shift. 

• Break the blockade! Double the oil shipments to Cuba!
• Front page of El Antiimperialistia #5 - No resistir significa mas subordinacion
• The world at a turning point

Follow our comrades in Mexico on X and Insta @gem_lci

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

Mansa is joined by Jeremy from Minneapolis and Paula from Chicago to get the latest from the ground. We discuss what it's like on the ground, the fear and anger amongst people, what the 'general strike' of January 23 represented, and what's ahead. Although Trump seems to be moderating a little bit by reassigning ICE czar Greg Bovino and placing the killer ICE agents on leave, this does not mean that the anti-immigrant offensive has stopped. The urgent question still posed is why the union movement did not come out in force, and what it will take to make that happen. Listen to find out.

• Left, stop fronting; For real strike action on 1/23!
• Labour: Make ICE stand down!
• ICE kills Renee Nicole Good; Labour must act!

Follow us on X and Insta @workersvanguard

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

Mansa is joined by Ray to discuss why China is absent as the old world order is being torn up and the new emerges. We discuss why China is not resisting the U.S. as Trump goes on the offensive throughout the world, and why it's in China's interest to do so to as a means of defending the 1949 revolution and building the anti-imperialist struggle.

• China: Defend Venezuela, resist America! 
• China: Do nothing, lose
• The class nature of China: Not imperialist, not capitalist
• Chinese Spartacist!

Follow us on X in Chinese @sibadakepai or in English @SpartacistICL

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

Mansa is joined by Edith and Ozan, members of Hospital Workers Building Union Power (HWBUP), to discuss the biggest nurses strike in New York history. We discuss what the strikes are about, the mood on the picket lines, what the problems are with the strategy of the union leaders, and what's holding back the strike from winning. 

Read the leaflets from HWBUP here: https://linktr.ee/hwbup_nyc

Meet them in person this Saturday, 24th January at the Holiday Appeal for Class War Prisoners, St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, 131 E. 10th St., Manhattan

Follow them on Insta @hwbup_nyc 

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik

Mansa is joined by Comrade Vincent to discuss the mass uprising in Iran and what communists should fight for. We in the International Communist League argue that for the struggle against the regime to succeed and lead to a progressive outcome for the masses, it must be based on an anti-imperialist and working class programme. We explain why this is necessary by putting it in the context of the flip-flop of the  left: uncritically cheer on the movement without drawing a line against imperialism, or denounce the movement as pro-imperialist and end up politically backing the Iranian regime. Get in touch with us with your agreements and disagreements on this burning question!

• Iran - The revolution must be anti-imperialist
• Iran under attack - Marxists who failed the test
• After October 7, where are we now? 
• Only anti-imperialism can unite the people's of Syria

Get in touch!

sparttalk.org | Like the episode and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on X @SpartacistICL, YouTube @Spartacist, or follow Mansa on Insta @punjabibolshevik