The Things That Really Mattered in 2022
Ash is joined by Aaron Bastani, Moya Lothian-McLean, Michael Walker and James Butler to discuss the year 2022.
Downstream is an in-depth interview show featuring conversations with activists, authors, economists, politicians, scientists, philosophers and thinkers of all stripes.
Our Own Cynicism Is the Left’s Biggest Enemy | Billy Bragg on Downstream
Throughout his 30-year career, Billy Bragg has never shied away from politics. From playing benefit gigs for miners in the 1980s to clashing with the BNP in his hometown of Barking, he has always used his influence to help those who need it. Ash recently sat down with Billy to discuss his 2006 book, The […]
Twitter, Grief Trolling & Feet Guys. Ash Meets Richard Seymour
What is it about social media that turns us into such objectionable creatures? To discuss this, Jorts The Cat and why people want pics of Ash’s feet, Ash is joined by Richard Seymour, author of The Twittering Machine.
Everything We Think We Know About Human History Is Wrong | Downstream With David Wengrow
Humans have existed for at least 200,000 years. Yet until recently, historians believed that cities, astronomy, architecture and numeracy did not arrive until agriculture emerged some 12,000 years ago. But what if that was wrong? What if cities existed before agriculture and our hunter gatherer ancestors enjoyed a far more complex existence than we thought? […]
Here’s the Secret to Hiding One Billion Pounds. Ash Meets Oliver Bullough
If you had millions of ill-gotten pounds, dollars or rubles you would need to find a way of hiding where it came from and the very fact that it’s yours in the first place. It turns out that the place in the world best suited to provide this service is the UK. Oligarchs from all […]
Immigration: Labour Have Always Been Just As Bad As Tories. Ash Meets Maya Goodfellow
Ash meets Dr. Maya Goodfellow to talk about New Labour’s inhumane immigration policies, the problem with the term ‘Economic Migrant’ and how people, no matter what we’re told, will end up falling in love across supposed cultural divides.
Continuing to Live Was a Challenge. Aaron Meets Chris Packham
On the morality of having children, the Just Stop Oil protests and Southampton F.C.
Food Culture Is Making Us Anxious. Ash Meets Ruby Tandoh
Eating is supposed to be fun, so why has food culture become so difficult to navigate without feeling anxious? Ash Sarkar meets food writer Ruby Tandoh, former Great British Bake-Off contestant and author of Cook As You Are.
The Plan Is to Make You Permanently Poorer | Aaron Meets Gary Stevenson
In 2011, while working as a City trader, Gary Stevenson joined the ultra rich with a single bonus cheque. Not long after he was named one of Citibank’s highest performing traders worldwide. Stevenson made millions for his employer by betting on one thing: that the British and American economies would fail to recover from the […]
Can Lula Take Brazil Back From Bolsonaro? Aaron Meets Sabrina Fernandes
On 2nd October, Brazil will be faced with a stark choice. The incumbent president, Jair Bolsonaro, has overseen economic calamity and nearly 700,000 Covid deaths in his first term. His challenger, Lula Da Silva, is hoping to regain the presidency – just three years since being freed from prison. To discuss the state of Brazilian […]
People Used Anything to Attack Me
Jeremy Corbyn talks to Aaron Bastani about the mainstream media, the antisemitism crisis, Alistair Campbell and King Charles III.
Apsana Begum: Labour Weaponised My Domestic Abuse to Get Rid of Me
Exclusive: Three months after the Labour party ‘weaponised’ abuse that left her in A&E, Britain’s first hijabi MP Apsana Begum returns to politics.
The Queen Bears Responsibility. Aaron & Ash Monarchy Special
On the 8th of September this year, Queen Elizabeth II died. In a special episode of Downstream, Aaron and Ash discuss her life and the aftermath of her death.
They Are Lying to Us. Ash Sarkar Meets Paris Marx
We are constantly told that we are witnessing unprecedented innovation in technology, and that our problems will be solved by new apps, electric cars or space exploration. But is this innovation truly liberating? Or does it serve to outsource labour and further consolidate power and money in the hands of the few? Ash Sarkar meets […]
The Moral Crisis in Corporate Britain. Aaron Bastani Meets Dave Ward.
Amidst a grave cost of living crisis, bosses in The Royal Mail, BT and others are imposing pay increases on their employees way below inflation. Aaron Bastani speaks to CWU General Secretary Dave Ward about corporate greed, the shadowy world of CEOs and how he plans to coordinate direct action beyond his union’s particular dispute.
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
The author of The Botany of Desire, How To Change Your Mind and The Omnivore’s Dilemma talks to Ash Sarkar about caffeine, capitalism and how to avoid a bad trip.
‘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.