E104: Pirates, part 2

E104: Pirates, part 2

Author: Working Class History April 23, 2025 Duration: 30:07
Second of a double podcast about the Golden Age of Piracy, with historian Marcus Rediker. 
Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
Part 2 covers the extent of piracy, how pirates organise themselves, how colonial powers fought them, the decline of pirates, and their legacy today.
More information, and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e103-pirates/
Get Marcus's Books:
Acknowledgements
  • Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Jamison D. Saltsman, Fernando López Ojeda, Nick Williams and Old Norm.
  • Written by Audrey Kemp and Tyler Hill
  • Produced by Tyler Hill
  • Episode graphic: Contemporary illustration of the execution of two pirates. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
  • Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.

Podcast Episodes
E79: Italian resistance, part 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:02
Part 3 of our four-part podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves.In this episode, we look at the question of 'the resistance betrayed': the Togliatti amne…
E78: Italian resistance, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:19
Part 2 of our four-part podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves.In this episode, we discuss the participation of migrant partisans in the resistance, wha…
E77: Italian resistance, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:07
The first of a four-part podcast series on the Italian resistance to fascism, both during World War Two and immediately after, in conversation with anti-fascist partisans themselves.In this episode, we look at the rise o…
E76: Trinidad general strike, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:43
Second of a double podcast episode about the Trinidad general strike of 1937, in conversation with Ryan Cecil Jobson.Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return ge…
E75: Trinidad general strike, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:33
First in a double podcast episode about the Trinidad general strike of 1937, in conversation with Ryan Cecil Jobson.Our podcast is brought to you by our patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get…
E74: Ben Fletcher, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:36
Concluding part of a double podcast episode about Ben Fletcher, a very important but little-known dock worker and labour organiser in the US with the Industrial Workers of the World union.In these episodes, we speak with…
E73: Ben Fletcher, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:46
First in a double podcast episode about Ben Fletcher, a very important but little-known dock worker and labour organiser in the US with the Industrial Workers of the World union.In these episodes, we speak with historian…
E72: Swing Kids and Edelweiss Pirates [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:51
Podcast episode about anti-fascist youth cultural movements in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. In particular we look at the German Edelweiss Pirates and Swing Kids, and in our patreon bonus episode we also s…
E71: Working Class History Map, with Coffee with Comrades [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:04
We chat with Pearson from the Coffee with Comrades podcast about our new web apps: the Working Class History Map and Stories app. This episode has been timed to coincide with the public launch of our web apps on January…
WCL6: DD Johnston's proletarian apocalypse, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:36
Concluding part of our double-episode in conversation with author, DD Johnston, about his new novel, Disnaeland.In this part, Darren discusses the novel’s relationship to the Scots language, the apocalyptic prophecies of…