Opinion: Socialists, in 2023 Read More Fiction
by Aaron Bastani
It’s impossible to respond to the challenges of the 21st century without literature, writes Aaron Bastani.
Tag: socialism
Explainers: What Does Qatar REALLY Want?
With the media furore around the world cup being held in Qatar, one might think that the mission to launder their reputation and establish themselves as a player on the world stage has failed. One might also think that the arguments about LGBT rights, migrant labour and FIFA corruption haven’t actually bothered the Qatari elites […]
Downstream: 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.
Downstream: 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.
Explainers: How Private Water Companies Are Killing Britain’s Rivers
Last year in Britain raw sewage was pumped into rivers and coasts 375,000 times. Not a SINGLE river in England has a clean bill of health. Aaron Bastani explains how private water companies are killing the country’s waterways – and why water bosses should face jail time.
Downstream: 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.
Downstream: 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 […]
Downstream: 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.
Downstream: 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 […]
Downstream: 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.
Explainers: Why Postal Workers Are Going on Strike
While company management are paid in the millions, and receive bonuses for failure, postal workers at Royal Mail are being treated like mud. Today they are going on strike. Aaron Bastani explains the reasons behind the strike – and how bosses at the top are out of control.
Downstream: The World’s Biggest Political Streamer. Aaron Bastani Meets Hasan Piker
On owning property, Nancy Pelosi and how much he benches.
Explainers: Why BT Workers Are Going on Strike
BT recorded £2 billion in profits before tax last year. Its CEO, Philip Jansen, enjoyed a salary of £3.5 million. Yet it’s now offering engineers & call centre workers a real terms pay CUT. Aaron Bastani explains why BT workers have had enough.
Downstream: 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.
Explainers: The Establishment’s Plan to Deal With Inflation
As inflation rises the establishment has a solution: we all need to get poorer. The alternative is for profits to fall – but that is unacceptable to the powerful. Aaron Bastani on how only unions can save us.
Report: Terfs Are Marginal in France. A New Media Platform Plans to Keep It That Way
by Olly Haynes
Camped out in an empty Parisian office block, XY Media is a new media frontier of trans liberation. Olly Haynes reports.
Downstream: ‘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.
Downstream: 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.