The Red Thread

The Communist Manifesto: Nothing to Lose But Our Chains

In 1848, the Communist League published a short pamphlet to introduce itself to the world: The Communist Manifesto. You’ll recognize the names of its authors, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Today we’re re-introducing this incredibly influential text, which has only gained relevance since it was written.  As we watch the neoliberal order die before our eyes while dangerous figures like Trump jostle to stay at the top of the crumbling world order, climate change keeps worsening and we are only being offered more wars and more militarism, people are losing faith in capitalism and becoming more and more interested in finding an alternative. Socialism, a society based on democratic planning of the economy by those who produce it (the working class) in order to eliminate poverty and oppression and move from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom, is not a pipe dream – it's one of our possible futures. And the Communist Manifesto invites us not only to realize this, but to fight for it.  Hosts: Emma and Melanie Producer: Luigi Morris Music: Griffin Brown Stay connected, and solidarity forever. Follow us on Instagram: @theredthreadpod [https://www.instagram.com/theredthreadpod/] Read more: leftvoice.org [https://www.leftvoice.org/] Support us at patreon.com/leftvoice [https://www.patreon.com/leftvoice]

The Mamdani Moment: A Socialist Perspective

With the NYC mayoral elections just two months away, we’re talking about one of the most important developments for the Left right now: Zohran Mamdani’s win in the Democratic mayoral primary and his ongoing campaign to win the election in November. Mamdani’s mostly progressive platform speaks to the aspirations of working-class New Yorkers, and his mayoral primary victory reflects an important progressive shift in a context of right-wing attacks by the Trump administration, revealing broad discontent with an unaffordable city, anger at the Democratic Party establishment, a desire to fight the Far Right, pro-Palestine sentiment, and hunger for new political representation. His win was a rejection of the corrupt, pro-cop mayoralty of Eric Adams, the Zionist lobby, and the racist, multi-million-dollar campaign against him by Andrew Cuomo. But it’s definitely not without its contradictions and limits, and is functioning to rebuild the Democratic Party — the same capitalist party that’s responsible for building up ICE, funding the genocide in Gaza, and advancing the neoliberal austerity project that created the affordability crisis in the first place. We’ll talk about what the “Mamdani moment” means for the fight for socialism, the creeping limits of reformism, the dangers of the Democratic Party, and our ideas for the way forward as revolutionary socialists. Hosts: Emma and Melanie Producer: Luigi Morris Music: Griffin Brown Stay connected, and solidarity forever. Follow us on Instagram: @theredthreadpod [https://www.instagram.com/theredthreadpod/] Read more: leftvoice.org [https://www.leftvoice.org/] Support us at patreon.com/leftvoice [https://www.patreon.com/leftvoice]

Netanyahu’s Genocidal Escalation in Palestine

In this episode, we discuss the dire situation in Gaza and urgent need to end this genocide. Israel is advancing with its recently approved plan to invade and “take over” Gaza City. At the same time, Palestinians in Gaza are starving and being attacked at aid sites by the IDF, and the UN has declared a famine. Official figures say over 60,000 people have been killed since Israel's onslaught began — but the real toll is likely tens of thousands higher than that. We must fight against the starvation, the genocide, the siege, and against Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine. Our fight is for full liberation of the Palestinian people, against the 76 years of dispossession, displacement, apartheid, occupation, and ethnic cleansing.  Workers and youth are pointing the way forward in this struggle through protests of thousands all over the world, a historic student movement, and port workers who have used their strategic position to block arms shipments to Israel. To end the genocide, all workers and unions must rise, join the protests and strikes for a free Palestine, and fight until we win. Read more: https://www.leftvoice.org/un-officially-declares-famine-as-israel-ivades-gaza-city/ [https://www.leftvoice.org/ices-recruitment-campaign-is-desperate-and-dangerous-workers-must-lead-the-fightback/] https://www.leftvoice.org/trump-state-department-blocks-lifesaving-visas-for-gazas-wounded-children-after-far-right-smear/ [https://www.leftvoice.org/trump-state-department-blocks-lifesaving-visas-for-gazas-wounded-children-after-far-right-smear/] Hosts: Emma and Melanie Producer: Luigi Morris Music: Griffin Brown Stay connected, and solidarity forever. Follow us on Instagram: @theredthreadpod [https://www.instagram.com/theredthreadpod/] Read more: leftvoice.org [https://www.leftvoice.org/] Support us at patreon.com/leftvoice [https://www.patreon.com/leftvoice]

ICE, Domestic Militarization, and Trump’s Authoritarian Agenda

As Donald Trump ramps up attacks on immigrant communities, he’s building the machinery for a far-reaching authoritarian project. In this episode of The Red Thread, we unpack how anti-immigrant rhetoric is being weaponized to supercharge ICE, recruit a new wave of agents, and quietly expand the domestic role of the U.S. military. From billion-dollar budget boosts and “Defend the Homeland” recruitment drives to National Guard troops in detention centers and Pentagon land grabs, we trace increased militarization  inside U.S. borders — and why it won’t stop with immigrants. Finally, we discuss what it will take to fight back, why the working class must take coordinated action, and how a mass, working-class movement can confront and dismantle the repressive state — for immigrants, for workers, and for all oppressed people. Read more: https://www.leftvoice.org/ices-recruitment-campaign-is-desperate-and-dangerous-workers-must-lead-the-fightback/ [https://www.leftvoice.org/ices-recruitment-campaign-is-desperate-and-dangerous-workers-must-lead-the-fightback/] https://www.leftvoice.org/trumps-war-on-immigrants-is-a-trojan-horse-for-domestic-militarization/ [https://www.leftvoice.org/trumps-war-on-immigrants-is-a-trojan-horse-for-domestic-militarization/]  Hosts: Emma and Killian Producer: Luigi Morris Music: Griffin Brown Stay connected, and solidarity forever. Follow us on Instagram: @theredthreadpod [https://www.instagram.com/theredthreadpod/] Read more: leftvoice.org [https://www.leftvoice.org/] Support us at patreon.com/leftvoice [https://www.patreon.com/leftvoice]

Imperialist Bombs on Iran Reverberate Around the World

This month, we saw one of the most alarming escalations in the Middle East in years: the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, murdering hundreds of civilians in the process. This situation gives us a glimpse at the “Trump and J.D. Vance doctrine:” not stepping back from war, but using military power to bully other nations into submission — or to force them into war on U.S. terms.  Trump and Netanyahu’s attacks have nothing to do with peace or democracy. This is about U.S. and European domination of the region — and defending their imperialist outpost: Israel, a state built on ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide. As Lenin wrote more than a hundred years ago, imperialism, as a stage of capitalism, opens the gates for crisis, war, and revolution. And when we look around us, it’s clear that we are living through great upheaval. The ruling class is gearing up for more war. And we need to gear up for more resistance. Read more: https://www.leftvoice.org/permanent-revolution-in-iran/ https://www.leftvoice.org/trumps-attack-on-iran-resonates-beyond-the-middle-east/ Hosts: Emma and Melanie Producer: Luigi Morris Music: Griffin Brown Stay connected, and solidarity forever. Follow us on Instagram: @theredthreadpod [https://www.instagram.com/theredthreadpod/] Read more: leftvoice.org [https://www.leftvoice.org/] Support us at patreon.com/leftvoice [https://www.patreon.com/leftvoice]