On Wednesday 9th November the “free world” woke up to find it had a new leader. Donald J Trump had been elected the 45th president of the United States of America. The shock waves immediately spread across the world at this news, which contradicted all the confident expectations of the polls.

In this recording from a recent meeting of Socialist Appeal supporters, Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism - discusses the sharp turning point in the world situation marked by the election of Donald Trump in the US elections.

Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential elections has delivered the biggest political upset in history; a political earthquake that has shattered the entire global Establishment, making Brexit look like a minor tremor in comparison.

On Monday 17 October, the Morning Star published a review of the new edition of Trotsky’s biography of Stalin written by Andrew Murray. While admitting that “this book has literary and historical merit,” Murray states that “it has much less as an actual biography of Stalin”. How does he justify these claims?

To mark this year's Bonfire Night in Britain, Alan Woods discusses the historical background behind the infamous Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the English Establishment and spark a Catholic insurrection against King James I and the protestant monarchy.

The saying goes that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. To this list we must add diplomacy, which is lying raised to the level of an art form.

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, discusses the latest release of the most complete edition of Leon Trotsky's "Stalin" ever released. The video is recorded  at Leon Trotsky's house, where he was assassinated and which is today the Leon Trotsky Museum in Mexico. Buy the book from WellRed Books.

In ancient Rome the ruling class maintained its hold on power by offering the people bread and circuses. Yesterday millions of people watched the first US presidential debate, held at Hofstra University, New York. This was the modern equivalent of the kind of circus that served as a spectacle to divert the attention of the masses from their miserable conditions of existence.

News of the death of comrade Jean Lievens came as a most shocking and unwelcome surprise to all of us who knew him. Jean was always so full of life that to speak of his death seems to be unthinkable. But at the tragically early age of 59 he has been suddenly taken from us after a short fight against a serious illness.

As another Labour leadership contest begins, Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism​ - discusses the rapidly changing political situation in Britain, which finds its most acute expression in the civil war that has opened up within the Labour Party.

We are living in a period of sharp and sudden changes. The result of the British EU referendum was yet another such sharp and sudden changes. In a further dramatic turn of events yesterday the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party voted by a majority of 14 to 18 to allow Jeremy Corbyn to defend his position as Labour leader without having to seek nomination by Labour MPs.

In this meeting of Socialist Appeal supporters in London, Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism - discusses the political earthquake of the Brexit vote, which has sent shockwaves across Britain, Europe, and the whole world.

Yesterday, 23rd of June 2016, the people of Britain made a momentous decision. After 40 years as part of the European Union they voted to turn their backs on it. This decision has immense consequences for the future of Britain, Europe and the world.

At lunchtime yesterday Jo Cox, a young Labour MP, was standing outside a local library, as she did every week, meeting residents in her constituency. It was just an ordinary day in the small town of Birstall near Leeds in Yorkshire. There was nothing to indicate the horrific events that were about to happen.

In advance of the upcoming referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism - explains the real motivations of the Stay and Leave camps, which are both dominated and led by reactionaries. The EU referendum is a fight between two wings of the Tory Party. Rather than supporting either of these, it is the task of Marxists to tell the truth, expose the lies and hypocrisy on both sides, and fight for a Socialist Europe.