Noam Chomsky – Working Class History

October 31, 2018July 7, 2025 Working Class History Podcast

E14: The Vietnam war with Noam Chomsky

Podcast episode about the Vietnam war with Noam Chomsky, and Mrs Van, a member of the Vietnamese Women’s Union. We look at the geopolitics of the conflict and its human cost.

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28 October 1916: Conscription defeated in Australia - On This Day in Working Class History

On this day, 28 October 1916, conscription to the army in Australia during World War I was narrowly defeated in a referendum by 51% to 49%. Labor prime minister Billy Hughes, a former union leader, had vigorously attempted to introduce conscription. He blamed the revolutionary union the Industrial Workers of the World for the defeat. The IWW had been extremely active in opposing conscription and the war. Hughes responded by banning the organisation and arresting and jailing many of its members and activists. A second referendum was held the following year, and defeated by an even bigger margin. Find out more in our podcast episode 19 about the Australian IWW here: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e19-the-iww-in-australia/Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History