The western imperialist vultures are circling the Iranian regime. Donald Trump has already threatened to intervene in Iran three times since the protests began. Meanwhile, the Israeli state has sent ominous messages through Mossad’s Farsi X account, including: “Let's come out to the streets together. The time has come. We are with you. Not just from afar and verbally. We are with you in the field as well”. 

Events in Venezuela are unfolding at breakneck speed following the attack on 3 January and the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores. The US is moving very quickly to assert control over Venezuela and its natural resources, while the Venezuelan government seems unwilling or unable to push back. Naturally, there are many questions which are being asked.

The arrival of the year 2026 was greeted not by the popping of champagne bottles, but by the merry sound of high explosives and bright lights that lit up the sleeping streets of the Venezuelan capital that provided its lucky inhabitants with a spectacular, and absolutely free, fireworks display in the dead of night.

On January 7, Renee Nicole Good was murdered by an ICE agent in the streets of South Minneapolis. She was a mother of three and lived just a few blocks from where she was gunned down.

On Saturday 3 January 2026, Nicolás Maduro was kidnapped from Miraflores presidential palace by the United States. This is a clear act of western imperialist aggression, which communists oppose. But why is it happening? What does this mean for US imperialism, world capitalism and countries like Venezuela?

In January 2025, Italian writer Ezio Gavazzeni reopened a horrific cold case by filing a complaint with the Milan public prosecutor’s office. It concerned wealthy individuals who went to Bosnia during the siege of Sarajevo and paid large amounts of money to be allowed to shoot at innocent civilians. Just for ‘fun’.

On 29 December, the Iranian rial fell to a record low against the dollar, sparking a bazaar strike in Tehran with massive processions in the main streets chanting the slogans: “Close, close!”, “Death to the dictator!”, “Death to high prices!”, and, “This is the final message; the target is the entire regime.”

The kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, and the subsequent press conference held by Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, represent a declaration of war against Latin America and a direct threat to the reformist governments elected in Colombia and Mexico.

On 13 and 14 December, 195 revolutionaries from all over Austria, with guests from Germany and London, gathered in Vienna for the ‘Communist Winter School’.

The criminal US military incursion into Venezuela and the kidnapping of a sitting foreign head of state is the first practical manifestation of Trump’s new National Security Strategy. Washington is determined to establish its domination over the Western Hemisphere, which it considers its backyard, and to kick any “non-hemispheric actors”, mainly China, out of the region.

At 2am Caracas time, US imperialism launched a criminal military attack on Venezuelan soil. There are reports of about six large explosions in the capital, Caracas. There have also been military strikes in El Higuerote, Miranda, La Guaira, and also in Aragua. US military helicopters have also been seen flying over Caracas. Trump has announced that they have captured Maduro together with his wife, and that they have been flown out of the country. Delcy Rodríguez, the Executive Vice President of Venezuela has confirmed this. This is what is known so far.

Revolutions, general strikes, wars, assassinations, and government collapses. These have been some of the defining themes of 2025, which has been one of those years that contain decades.

Trump 2.0. Tariff wars. Hot wars between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran. Looming defeat for the ‘Collective West’ in Ukraine. Revolutionary events in Serbia, Indonesia, Nepal, Morocco, and Madagascar. General strikes in Greece, France, Belgium, and Portugal. Two internationalist, anti-imperialist general strikes for Gaza in Italy, and the crumbling of the authority of the traditional tools of capitalist rule. 2025 has been quite a year…

“A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism!” These immortal words from the Communist Manifesto (and the title of this podcast!) herald the most important piece of political literature ever written. In our final episode of the season, we go through the Manifesto chapter by chapter and explain the ongoing relevance of this amazing document.

We are proud to announce a marxist.com exclusive! Here, we are making available online for the first time in English a brand new translation of a historic pamphlet written by Trotsky in 1904. Titled, Before the 9th of January, Trotsky shows how utterly reactionary the liberal bourgeoisie in Russia had become. He draws the important conclusion that the forthcoming revolution in Russia will find them in the camp of the enemy, and will instead be led by the revolutionary proletariat – a stunningly accurate prediction. As far as we are aware, this is available nowhere else in English online.