Downstream is an in-depth interview show featuring conversations with activists, authors, economists, politicians, scientists, philosophers and thinkers of all stripes.
People Used Anything to Attack Me
Apsana Begum: Labour Weaponised My Domestic Abuse to Get Rid of Me
The Queen Bears Responsibility. Aaron & Ash Monarchy Special
They Are Lying to Us. Ash Sarkar Meets Paris Marx
The Moral Crisis in Corporate Britain. Aaron Bastani Meets Dave Ward.
The World’s Biggest Political Streamer. Aaron Bastani Meets Hasan Piker
On owning property, Nancy Pelosi and how much he benches.
Drugs Have Shaped the Last 500 Years. Ash Sarkar Meets Michael Pollan
‘Working Class’ Is Not an Identity. Ash Sarkar Meets China Miéville
The author of The City & The City joins Ash Sarkar on Downstream to discuss sadism, sci-fi, blockchain utopias, Lord of the Rings and the politics of Sally Rooney’s fiction.
Animal Agriculture Is the New Crude Oil. Aaron Bastani Meets George Monbiot
In his new book George Monbiot warns that we’re approaching a tipping point in the fight to protect the planet. Can changing what we eat bring us back from the brink? Aaron Bastani speaks Britain’s foremost environmental campaigner about what to do when the worst possible people are in charge at the worst possible time.
21st Century Child Homelessness in New York City. Ash Sarkar Meets Andrea Elliot
In 2012 a New York Times journalist met 11 year old Dasani Coates. Over the next 8 years the journalist followed Dasani and her family as they navigated social services, the cascade of generational trauma and the attention of a New York City Mayor. Ash Sarkar meets Andrea Elliott author of Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City.
What Does It Mean to Be Free? Aaron Bastani Meets Lea Ypi
Lea Ypi’s life is awash with instances which makes one question what it means to be free. From Hoxha’s Albania to The London School of Economics, Ypi’s life—as evoked in her book, is an incredible way to explore the connection between the personal and political.
An Era-Defining Political Comeback—Aaron Bastani Meets Lutfur Rahman
What Does Keir Starmer Actually Believe? Aaron Bastani Meets Oliver Eagleton
Is he a managerial Machiavelli? A moral crusader? Or just an opportunist with a decent haircut? Aaron Bastani talks to Oliver Eagleton about the Labour leader.
Something Sinister Is Happening in the Labour Party. Aaron Bastani Meets Len McCluskey
Known for his steadfast support of Jeremy Corbyn whilst heading up the biggest private sector union in the country, Len McCluskey has a uniquely intimate knowledge of both Labour Party politics and the organised labour movement.
Liberalism Is in Trouble. Aaron Bastani Meets Francis Fukuyama
Few political thinkers exert such an influence that their work becomes synonymous with a historic era. Francis Fukuyama’s declaration of “the end of history” after the fall of the Soviet Union made him one. Aaron Bastani speaks to Fukuyama on the publication of his new book, Liberalism and its Discontents.
Did Empire Really End? Ash Sarkar Meets Kojo Koram
Influencers, Exploitation and Capitalism. Ash Sarkar Meets Symeon Brown
How far would you go to get famous and escape poverty? Ash Sarkar is joined by Symeon Brown to discuss how the democratic promise of the internet has reinvented the pyramid scheme. From cryptocurrencies to botched Brazilian butt lifts, they look at how the new clout economy has created a digital lumpenproletariat.