Indie rock legend Steve Albini, who died on Tuesday, knew his industry as a musician, critic, and recording engineer. His rebellion against corporate labels was rooted in a deeply held philosophy: that every musician is a worker.
Rigoberta Menchú Paved the Way for an Opening in Guatemala
Guatemalan indigenous activist Rigoberta Menchú helped set the tone and forge the climate that convicted the rabidly anti-communist general Efraín Rios Montt and condemned many others guilty of genocide during the country’s brutal civil war.
Labor Can Scale Up Its Recent Wins
Can the new models of union organizing coming out of recent high-profile campaigns like Starbucks be a potential way to capture the current upsurge of support for and interest in unions? Labor scholar Eric Blanc thinks they can.
The Rise and Fall of Labour’s Radical Generation
A new book shows how a tight-knit group of left-wing Labour politicians emerged from the politics of the 1970s, eventually taking control of the party under Jeremy Corbyn. If they could topple Blairism, then today’s Labour left can take on Starmerism.
Failure To Safeguard Free Speech Is Always a Problem
Recent crackdowns on free assembly are a reminder that the state will always finish first in deplatforming contests. Parts of Canada’s Online Harms Bill may be a massive overreach that chills speech at the worst time possible.
With the development of artificial intelligence racing forward at warp speed, some of the richest men in the world may be deciding the fate of humanity right now.
Mainstream Media Is Spreading Lies About Palestine Protests
Rather than acting as a check on the powerful, media outlets like CNN and MSNBC are allowing police to give their interpretation of student Palestine protests with few challenges, even in cases where police are blatantly lying or distorting the truth.
Catalonia’s Election Isn’t Just About the National Divide
Seven years since the failed bid for Catalan independence, the national question still haunts Spanish politics. But Sunday’s snap elections in Catalonia are also about its economic model — and its increasing dependence on a low-wage tourist sector.
The US Created the Border Crisis
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, Jonathan Blitzer’s book on the brutal history of US border policy, vividly describes the suffering that the US immigration system inflicts on individuals — and the reactionary politics that undergird it.
Steve Albini Believed in a Democratic Music Industry
The musician and audio engineer Steve Albini, who died this week, defended art from the music industry’s greed. Working with famous bands and indie acts alike, he fought for every artist’s right to realize their unique sound and earn a decent living.
ChatGPT feeds on language, outputting texts that reinforce the basic assumptions of our culture. The rise of AI forces the Left to take a hard look at the politics of language and the linguistics of Noam Chomsky.
Today, We Remember Striking Workers in Occupied Europe
On this day in 1941, workers in Belgium launched one of the first strikes in Nazi-ruled Europe. Tens of thousands of strikers risked dire repression to stand up against poverty wages — and showed the working class’s determination to resist occupation.
Indian Women Have Gone Backward Under Narendra Modi’s Rule
On taking power, Narendra Modi’s government claimed that it would address a wave of sexual violence and raise the status of Indian women. But things have got worse for women under Modi’s rule, with a culture of misogyny that flows downward from the top.
From the Docks to the Killing Floors
Episode 6 of Organize the Unorganized takes a deep dive into several CIO union powerhouses, including the United Electrical Workers, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and others in textile and meatpacking industries.
At San Francisco State, a Democratic Movement for Palestine
At San Francisco State University, students built a democratic pro-Palestine protest movement — convincing the university president to engage in open bargaining and to work on a proposal for divestment with the protesters.