Jacobin Radio Folgen

Suzi speaks with Kate Levin, Janis Yue, and Sanjay Madhav, lead organizers of United Faculty-UAW, about their unionization drive at the University of Southern California (USC), one that would create the largest bargaining unit of non-tenure-track faculty at a private university in the US. Ballots go out April 24 and will be counted on May 18. The organizers describe two years of faculty-driven organizing, built one conversation at a time. Currently 75% of USC faculty are non-tenure-track, with no job security, no say over working conditions, and no recourse against healthcare cuts or wage freezes — the result of 40 years of academic corporatization. Now they’re fighting back. USC’s response? The administration has chosen to deploy the same constitutional wrecking-ball legal playbook pushed by SpaceX/Amazon, arguing that the NLRB itself is unconstitutional. No other university has taken such an extreme position. This is more than a labor story; it’s an account of the assault on democratic institutions, the NLRB, worker rights, and higher education itself at a moment when universities are under attack from federal funding cuts and DEI rollbacks. USC’s non-tenure-track faculty are fighting not just for a contract but for the principle that workers can organize at all. The organizers highlight the inspiration drawn from the successful NYU contract, and explain why winning this election in this political moment could change academic labor nationwide. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.

The third episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory of global history. This installment picks up with the 1942 Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and takes us through the Revolution, which Indonesian nationalist leaders launched against the Dutch in 1945 after Japan’s surrender to the Allies. Featuring Rianne Subijanto, Made Supriatma, and Farabi Fakih. Our huge new Thawra study guide and resource website: thawraproject.com RSVP to the May 20 Dig party in Seattle! eventbrite.com/e/the-dig-x-house-our-neighbors-party-tickets-1986843010930 RSVP to the May 26 Dig party in LA! eventbrite.com/e/a-party-in-la-for-the-dig-friends-tickets-1987008568116? Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

Hungary’s long-serving authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orbán was defeated in an April 12 election. We get two views of what that means, from historian Kyle Shybunko and independent scholar Anita Zsurzsán. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.