The death of George Floyd three weeks ago at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked a fresh wave of Black Lives Matter protests across the world. In the US, calls to defund the police have won victories and across Europe leaders are taking down statues of slave traders and reviewing national school curricula. Here in the UK, hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets, despite government warnings and coronavirus restrictions. So, why has this explosion of protest happened now? Does this mark a new moment in our collective conversation on race, racism and the role of the police? And once this moment of the whirlwind passes, how can protestors make sure we achieve lasting change? For this special one-off episode Ayeisha is joined by Gary Younge, writer, broadcaster, and professor of sociology at the University of Manchester. Read Gary's piece in the New Statesman here: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/06/we-cant-breathe Read Nadine El-Enay's piece in openDemocracy here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/calls-to-make-britain-great-again-are-drawing-on-pseudo-intellectual-defences-of-/ ----- Researched by Margaret Welsh. Produced by Becky Malone. Music by Chris Zabriskie, used under Creative Commons licence. Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! The Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org