The Party Line Podcast

Episode 32 - The Party Line on why capitalism needs war and empireWe had a request for more socialist theory, so this ep delivers some classic marxist content in classic party line style (which is not very theoretical). The concept of imperialism has been widely discussed following Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the more recent US-Israeli assault on Iran and Lebanon. We argued last week that it wasn’t about Trump’s foibles, still less Epstein files, but about profit, power and empire. This week we unpack why countries go to war, what tools they use to compete, how it evolves directly from capitalist competition in the marketplace, and why only socialism can end war for good. We also take a look at why tankies and stalinists are wrong to defend bourgeois dictatorships that happen to be opposed to the US for whatever reason (looking at Russia, China, Iran, etc here). Shout out to the PSL and the FRSP in the US for being some of the most toxic propagators of this reactionary theory that is unfortunately spreading across the world at this moment.  Readings:Understanding war: Lenin’s 'Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism'Lenin and Bukharin
 on imperialism Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman, and our content editor Charlotte Tavan.While we will always release our content for free, please support us on patreon if you can.*****************This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Anneke is back, baby! And she brings with her a certain sniffly charm and a week of pent up bullshit (including a review of Louis Theroux’s new documentary about the manosphere). Headlines look at Canavan’s call for (white) women to have more babies, the interminable and predictable racism of the Queensland police force, and how One Nation candidates are being drawn and funded from the political and economic elite, including in Tookak and Woolhara. We then speak to Liam Parry, a palestine activist and member of Queensland Socialists who was arrested at a demonstration on the weekend for saying the words “from the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea”. He talks about the new laws, their plan for resistance, and why the attack on free speech and the Palestine movement should be a focus for people across the country. We then wrap up the episode by looking at Matt Canavan’s appalling political stances and history, and reveal that in fact he had nothing to do with the arrest of Liam Parry. Readings:The National Party in decline Matt Canavan, a communist turned economist in a bushie's hatMatt Canavan wants more Australian babies. But Australian women might just say no    Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman, and our content editor Charlotte Tavan.While we will always release our content for free, please support us on patreon if you can.*****************This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Episode 30 - The Party Line on Trump and Israel’s war on the Middle EastAnneke is sick this week, so Jordy and Omar decided to ditch her in favour of our Footscray candidate, Jasmine Duff. Is it an upgrade? You decide. (But seriously, send Anneke some love in the comments section please). This episode is all about the murderous war of choice that the US and Israel have initiated on Iran and now Lebanon. With over a thousand killed in Iran and 400 in Lebanon in just a week, the war is shaping to be a deadly one. As well, it now involves most of the region, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE all involved. Why is this war happening? Some believe it’s all a distraction from the Epstein Files - we think that’s total rubbish - and that the war is about entrenching US hegemony across the highly strategic region. We then explore the Australian government’s response, which has involved supporting the war politically, having soldiers on the submarine that killed nearly 100 Iranian soldiers, and now potentially sending troops to help ‘defend’ the reactionary Gulf Monarchies. Plus some headlines about Palantir, Cathy Wilcox, social democracy in New Zealand, Kristi Noem killing her dog, Asio collaboration with Israel, and more. Readings:Stop the war, break the US alliance, resist capitalist barbarism | Red FlagIran war: A new phase of imperialist onslaught Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman, and our content editor Charlotte Tavan.While we will always release our content for free, please support us on patreon if you can.*****************This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Episode 29 - The Party Line on why misogyny is big businessTo celebrate International Working Women’s Day, the crew start by talking about why cupcakes with pink icing - while nice - are not sufficient to end millennia of systematic sexism (yes, it’s true). We then look at how pop culture, corporate media, advertising and beauty industries all profit at the expense of women’s self-worth and happiness, all while promoting terrible stereotypes to the public. Red Flag editor Louise O’shea is our special guest for this ep, and she takes us through a marxist explanation of the source of all this oppression, namely the nuclear family and the sexist hyperexploitation of women at work. We then take a look at the alienation and despair driving the manosphere, and how opportunist capitalist scum like Andrew Tate and the social media corporations that drive his influence, manipulate the minds of young men and push misogynist attitudes. Finally, we talk about how sexism and misogyny can be resisted, rejecting liberal feminism in favour of revolutionary overthrow of the whole system, and discussing why the working class and trade unions are essential forces in combatting sexism.Readings:The everyday horror of modern sexism | Red FlagMarxism and women’s liberation - Louise O’SheaUnpaid ‘women’s work’ is worth $427 billion, new research showsThe Times They Aren't A-Changin (enough) - Eliza Littleton and Greg Jericho   Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman, and our content editor Charlotte Tavan.While we will always release our content for free, please support us on patreon if you can.*****************This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Episode 28 - The Party Line LiveThe Party Line's first ever live show was all set to go, packed with hilarity, interactivity and lots and lots of bullshit, before it was rudely interrupted by a brazen act of US and Israeli imperialism. As such we spent the first half of the ep discussing the very non-funny war, and how the left should oppose the US aggression without becoming defenders of a reactionary theocratic monarchy (sorry tankie morons). So it starts with heavy stuff, including pointing out the hypocrisy of Vance and Trump's so-called 'isolationism' and hostility to 'forever wars', and we're grateful for our audience for sticking with us. The second half of the show was more interactive, with our editor Charlie hosting a 'Reverse Albo' segment (where Grace Tame was called difficult once again),  a look at some unbelievable headlines from the last few weeks, as well as some special guest appearances.Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman, and our content editor Charlotte TavanWhile we will always release our content for free, please support us on patreon if you can.*****************This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Episode 27 - The Party Line on how Melbourne defeated Hanson last time Jerome Small joins the crew again to discuss the rise and fall of Hanson last time. Jerome was involved in the movement in Melbourne where people protested from Geelong to Echuca and everywhere in between. We discuss the political context in the 90s and what’s changed from them to now. Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman, and our content editor Charlotte TavanWhile we will always release our content for free, please support us on patreon if you can.*****************This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Episode 25 - The Party Line on how the Palestine movement turned the tables on Herzog and AlbaneseThe gang brought Jasmine Duff back on to talk about the incredible week of protest that we’ve just had. Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong and co thought they could tour around the President of Israel as if he hadn’t just been involved in a genocide, but they were proven wrong, thanks to the actions of tens of thousands of people across Australia, who took to the streets in big numbers. We discuss the national spread, the aftermath of the police riot in Sydney, the despicable commentary of Karl Stefanovic (Australia’s answer to Tucker Carlson), and how people refused to be intimidated out of protesting this monster.  Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman.While we will always release our content for free, please support us on patreon if you can.*****************This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.

Episode 24 - The Party Line on the horrible history of Angus TaylorAustralia’s “most qualified idiot” has just become the leader of the Coalition, and a lot of people are wondering who he is. The Party Line is here to help. We do a deep dive into the history of this man, including his lowly upbringing on an enormous sheep station, the many challenges he overcame as a boarder at Kings College and Oxford, his joy at becoming a partner at McKinsey consultancy firm, and his eventual rise to the top of Australia’s most dysfunctional and despised political party. Plus why Hastie decided to hold fire, and what is in store for Victoria with Pauline Hanson polling at more than 20%.Huge thanks to our tireless editors Charlie Wardrop and Persephone Waxman.While we will always release our content for free, please support us on patreon if you can.*****************This is a podcast by members of the Socialist Party in Naarm (Melbourne). We hope to bring a radical perspective to a podcast landscape dominated by insipid liberalism (looking at you, The Daily). The pod will come out weekly, and aims to breakdown news and current events from a socialist point of view. While a lot of what’s going on in the world is fairly bleak, The Party Line will try and highlight voices of resistance and struggle.If you like what you hear, please rate, subscribe and share with your friends, colleagues and comrades. If you are in a position to support us financially then sign up at patreon.com/thepartyline. If you find yourself agreeing with us more often than not, please join your local branch of the Socialist Party at socialists.org.au. We need your help to build a fighting socialist movement that can take on both the far right and its centrist enablers.(The views and opinions expressed in our show are ours and ours alone, and do not reflect on the Socialist Party or Victorian Socialists.) This pod was produced on stolen land and we stand in solidarity with our Indigenous comrades in their ongoing fight against racism and capitalism.