Novara FM: History, Humanity, Heresy
Archaeologist David Wengrow upends everything we thought we knew about social evolution in a new book written with David Graeber.
Tag: politics
Downstream: Climate Change Is Violent, That’s Why We Need Sabotage. Aaron Bastani Meets Andreas Malm
From food scarcity to extreme weather, climate change will affect the lives of billions of people around the world. But at what point are its future horrors unacceptable? And how should that shape climate politics now? Aaron Bastani speaks to author Andreas Malm about the limits of today’s activism and what is to be done […]
The Bastani Factor: Operation Legacy: How the British Elite Re-Wrote World History
Conservatives are obsessed with the idea that the left wants to erase Britain’s history. Yet that’s precisely what happened when its empire collapsed after 1945, as re-writing the past became a matter of state policy executed on an industrial scale. Here Aaron Bastani explains what was called ‘Operation Legacy’ and how those who care about […]
Downstream: If Neoliberalism Is Over, What Next?
If neoliberalism really is over then what comes after? And could this new political and economic moment, where a larger state is embraced, see a turn right rather than left? Aaron Bastani speaks to sociologist Paolo Gerbaudo about his new book, ‘The Great Recoil’, examining how ideas of protection, control and state intervention are replacing […]
Downstream: How Violence Shapes Our Sex Lives
Is ‘consent’ the only dividing line between good sex and bad sex? Ash Sarkar is joined by Rachel Thompson to discuss her new book Rough, and the politics of pornography, kink, and sex ambivalent feminism.
Ash Wednesday: What About the White Working Class?
Has the idpol-loving left abandoned the white working class? The answer is a bit more complicated than the Tories would have you think.
Ash Wednesday: You Will Never Be a Billionaire, Here’s Why.
Ash Sarkar unlocks the secrets of billionaire success that the Fortune 500 don’t want YOU to know. Hustle, grind, and mental fortitude? Nah. It’s exploitation.
Opinion: Changing Your Mind is Good, Actually
Rachel Connolly
There’s something liberating about seeing your views as changeable rather than as an extension of yourself, writes Rachel Connolly.
The Bastani Factor: What the British Really Did to India
From famine to deindustrialisation and paying for the world’s largest army, there were no advantages in being part of the British Empire. Aaron Bastani on what the British really did to India.
Novara FM: NO ONE WAY WORKS: Political Organisation for the 21st Century
Rodrigo Nunes joins James Butler to throw light on left melancholia and the future of political organisation.
The Bastani Factor: Why the Media Can’t Tell the Truth on Israel & Palestine
Whether it’s the filtering process of mainstream outlets – or the ‘electric fence’ approach of lobbying organisations – the biggest casualty is truth and the Palestinian people. Aaron Bastani on why the truth is rarely uttered when it comes to covering the occupation.
Analysis: Has Keir Starmer Heard of Pasokification?
Joana Ramiro
Social democrats across the continent have learned that maintaining ties with the left equals electoral success. The British Labour leader doesn’t seem to get it.
The Bastani Factor: The Real Reason for the European Super League
There is no future for the financialised, debt-driven model of football so adored by the Glazers and Florentino Pérez.
The Bastani Factor: Will Amazon Fresh Kill the High Street? | the Bastani Factor
Amazon already dominates online retail, but is it set to take over the high street? Last month, Jeff Bezos’ trillion-dollar company opened the UK’s first Amazon Fresh store, stocked with own brand groceries, including milk and meat, and cashiers replaced by an entirely automated process. Aaron Bastani visited the store in Ealing, West London, to […]
Downstream: When Will China Be the World’s Most Powerful Country? Interview With Martin Jacques
Will the 2020s be the decade when power decisively shifts from the United States to China? How important is the country’s rise in broader historic context – and is that why we are seeing an emerging Cold War between Washington and Beijing? And do appeals to a ‘civilisation-state’ undermine the power of universal values and […]
Downstream: Independence for the North of England Interview With Philip Proudfoot
In recent years Scottish and Welsh independence, as well as Irish unification, have become increasingly plausible with Britain’s departure from the EU highlighting major points of difference, as well as economic imbalances, across the home nations. But could the break up of the UK ever include the North of England? And what would a sovereign […]
Downstream: Why All Drugs Should Be Decriminalised. Interview With David Nutt
The criminalisation of drugs has almost no impact on drug use, denies access to proven medical treatments and disproportionately targets people of colour. Yet the idea that drugs are ‘evil’ and that drug users are criminals is entrenched in international and domestic law. How can we begin to shift this point of view? What are […]
Downstream: Maybe Don’t Defund the BBC? Interview With Nish Kumar
This week on Downstream Ash Sarkar met with Nish Kumar - comedian and host of The Mash Report - to talk about how he became the accidental face of the Defund the BBC movement, and why rightwing comics are the real snowflakes.