Jacobin Radio Folgen

Crystal Hopkins just stepped down as President of IATSE Local 871 on the eve of the ratification vote citing personal obligations and frustration over the ratification process that has deeply divided the membership. The 3 year contract or Basic Agreement with studios and streaming services squeaked by thanks to a delegate voting system many compare to the electoral college: 50.4% of the popular vote rejected the deal, but the agreement was ratified with 256 delegates voting yes and 88 voting no. That has left a lot of hard feelings and there is mounting criticism of President Matthew Loeb’s leadership of the union. We get the story of the deal, what lay behind it, and Crystal’s reasons for stepping down.UCSB labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein has an article in the Washington Post and another in Dissent that address the current enormous churn in the workplace: some call it “The Big Quit,” others a strike wave. Record numbers of workers are quitting their jobs, but there is also rising labor militancy and strikes, increasing wages and accelerating inflation. The employer response is to pay more but remain vigorously anti-union—and, as Nelson Lichtenstein says, getting millions of new workers unionized is what is required.

The second of Dan’s two-part interview with Piero Gleijeses on his book Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976–1991. This is the story of Cuba’s military defense of the Angolan government against a US and South Africa-backed effort to overthrow the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The future of the entire region was on the line—including the fate of apartheid in South Africa and of Namibia, then a South African colony.Learn Southern African geography by studying these maps: thedigradio.com/visions-of-freedom-mapsSupport The Dig with money at Patreon.com/TheDig and receive our weekly newsletter.

Tariq Ali, author of the new book The Forty-Year War in Afghanistan, discusses how four decades of US intervention in Afghanistan destabilized the country, led to countless civilian deaths, and fueled the global opium trade. Weekends with Ana Kasparian and Nando Vila features free-flowing and humorous commentary on current events and political strategy. This is the podcast version of the show from November 19, 2021, with Cale filling in for Nando.Tariq's latest book: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3939-the-forty-year-war-in-afghanistanVerso book club: https://www.versobooks.com/bookclubSubscribe to Jacobin for just $10: https://jacobinmag.com/subscribe/?code=JACOBINYTMusic provided by Zonkey: https://linktr.ee/zonkeyPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/jacobinmag