GND Media

Welcome to season two of Working Class Voices on GND Media.  This podcast is where we let the working class speak for themselves, on how to combat climate breakdown.We believe the working class will be the ones to fundamentally drive the transition from fossil fuels, and only with their collective power could it ever be a truly just transition. This season will focus on those from the working class who are already in the climate movement. This week Ads is joined by Emma River Roberts.  They discuss why Just Stop Oil's actions miss the point when it comes to accelerating climate action, Emma's experience of being working class in the climate movement, Emma's view of the Labour Party right now and what needs to be done to properly link the working class and climate movements together. LinksAd's article " Happy flowers Don't Win" on GND Media. Support the show

We're back! And not a moment too soon.  After a summer of international extreme weather and political inaction, we're kicking things off combining science and activism.  This week we are joined by the co-founder of Scientists for XR Dr Aaron Thierry.  We discuss why July this year was so hot globally, how climate scientist are portrayed in the media and whether their expertise gives them more standing in the media. Ad also digs into what revolution means to scientists, and if we can find hope in science.  LinksKevin Anderson's talk that inspired Aaron. https://www.lse.ac.uk/lse-player?id=1208Scientists for XR https://www.scientistsforxr.earth/ Shout outsDr. Rose Abramoff Support the show

This episode was first broadcast on June 14th 2021This week on the show we are joined by Dr Keston Perry. Keston is a lecturer in economics and political economy at University of West of England (UWE).We discuss in practical terms what reparations would mean, the historical racism embedded into Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and how a Green New Deal must be designed in that context, as well as the reverberations of the Haitian Revolution and how taking a paternalistic approach to defeating climate change won't bring justice to those most effected by it.LinksSorting out the Mixed Economy by Amy Offnerhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ehr.12988How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodneyhttps://www.versobooks.com/books/2785-how-europe-underdeveloped-africaWilliam Sandy Darity on reparations https://reparations4slavery.com/william-sandy-darity-jr/Shout outs Professor Maxine Burkett Asad Rehman@chilledasad100Alex O'keefe- Ex Sunrise Movement leader for holding the movement to a higher standard@_dotgovAlex's Thread on the situation at Sunrisehttps://twitter.com/_dotgov/status/1402249288818769920Cycling UK- for their campaign Big bike revival @WeAreCyclingUKThe fantastic organisations supporting refugees across the UK to mark Refugee Week 2021@RefugeeAction@GMIAU@AmnestyUK@FreefromTorture@AsylumMatters@FootballMuseumSupport the show

This episode was first broadcast on November 9th 2020Note: This episode was recorded before the results of the U.S election were published. How do we define the success of a city? Or a country? Or human civilisation all together? The last 60 years we've been tied to GDP, growth, trade surpluses, amounts of debt, the strength of currency. Economic strength has been the barometer for the majority of the world to look to when we want to know how we're doing. If stock and shares are high surely there can't be any problems? When an economy bifurcates massively between the haves and the have nots,  and to become a haver you need to extract from the environment considerably, measures of economic superiority really start to miss the point. So what's the alternative? Joining us on the podcast this week is Professor Julia Steinberger ( @JKSteinberger). Julia is a Professor in social ecology and ecological economics at l'Université de Lausanne in Switzerland and is currently working on the next IPCC report on climate change . We discuss the links between consumption and capitalist affluence, how epicurean philosophy has informed economics of the past 50 years and the balancing act of extraction for a greener future. Shout outsCouncillor Jon Burke@jonburkeUKMarcus Rashford@MarcusRashfordSwiss campaign for corporate accountability **LINKS**Scientists warning on affluence (co-authored by Julia)https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16941-yThe Flawed science of deep adaptation https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/faulty-science-doomism-and-flawed-conclusions-deep-adaptation/Support the show

This episode was first broadcast on September 5th 2022This year on the show we have taken a closer look at class as a dimension of environmentalism and climate change. With our series Working Class Voices,  we heard real stories and attitudes when it comes to the working class and climate. Today's show is moving the conversation to look at the dynamics between classes and how that plays out in the struggle for a just, green world.This week we are  joined by Matthew T. Huber.  Matthew  is a Professor of Geography at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and the author of the new book, Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Planet.We discuss how focusing on consumption can blind class analysis of climate change and why individualistic "carbon guilt" stops real action occurring. We also dig into Matthew's critiques of the politics of degrowth and why trade unions need to shape a Green New Deal. This interview was recorded on 15th of July 2022Shout OutsWar on Want appeal to support those affected by the horrendous floods in Pakistan.https://secure.waronwant.org/page/112424/donate/1Labour Notes@labornotesLinksMatthews book  "Climate Change as Class War" can be bought at Verso.The grueling working  conditions of the US Solar sector workersKim Moody: On New TerrainNico Poulantzas Support the show

This episode was first broadcast on August 8th 2022The global economy is fundamentally intertwined with the environment and with that climate breakdown. Fastidious bankers, hedge fund managers and capitalists are on the case trying to tackle the end of the world with the only tools they know how to use, finance and profit.So what happens when models of extraction are used to fix models of extraction?This week on the show we are delighted to be joined again by Adrienne Buller to discuss her new book "The Value of a Whale". In the book Adrienne critiques the methods of green capitalism as it attempts to save the planet through profit.We discuss why offsetting encourages damage to ecology, what green economic ideas are the most dangerous, why market approaches to fighting climate change increase injustice and why Adrienne wrote this book to radicalise her mum.LINKSSteve Keen on Nordhaus' misleading economicsA history of the world is seven cheap things by Raj Patelkate sopher on hedonismShout outsAdrienne's editor Tom at Manchester University PressJon Moses for the Bristol botanist mass trespass Support the show

This episode was first broadcast on March 15th 2021Peaceful protest could be seen as the hallmark of political movements in the late 20th and early 21st century, causing disruption to everyday life with mass gathering and turning the political headwind through chants, crowds and banners. From the Iraq War protests in 2003 to the Extinction Rebellion direct actions of 2019 turning the other cheek and love thy neighbour have been core tenants around a politics and respectability. The key questions is though, did they change anything? Does Capital listen to Labour without a threat? Our guest this week is author and associate lecturer at Lund University Andreas Malm. Andreas is a prolific writer on climate change and capitalism with titles including "Fossil Capital" Corona, Climate, Chronic Emergency" and "White Skin Black Fuel". We discuss the sanitising of political and civil movements,  the strategic value of property destruction for a cause and combating climate despair and fatalism.LinksHow to blow up a Pipelinehttps://www.versobooks.com/books/3665-how-to-blow-up-a-pipelinekim stanley Robinsons' Ministry for the futurehttps://www.waterstones.com/book/the-ministry-for-the-future/kim-stanley-robinson/9780356508832Ende Gelaende- the climate activsts Andreas has worked withhttps://www.ende-gelaende.org/en/Shout outsEnde Gelande- climate activists based on germany taking on lignite mining@Ende__GelaendeLow Carbon Homes- for supporting the retrofit Get-in Project@lowcarbonhomesFriends of Carrington Moss- defending local green space in Greater Manchester@FriendsMossTrees not cars - Congrats on beating Manchester council on the building of a carpark@TreesNotCarsSupport the show

It's been said on this podcast many times that the working class will be the ones who make sure we have a just transition. For the last few years deciding who the working class are has been up for debate. Are graduates in minimum wage jobs the working class? Are plumbers on £80k a year the working class? How will climate change affect these categories?This week on the show we are joined by writer and activist Keir Milburn. Keir is the author of “Generation Left” and is a co-host of ACFM on Novara Media. Keir is also a founding member of the think tank Abundance.We discuss who the working class in 21st century Britain are, how climate and class politics have expressed themselves in the past, the horrendous spycops saga and how it affected climate activists in the 2000's, what current climate activist have forgotten from previous movements, how to discuss the realities of planetary boundaries in politics without having a reductive vision for the future and whether climate organisers should use moral arguments in their campaigning.P.S WE'RE ALL LEEDS ARNT WE?!LINKS Check out Working Class Voices HERE https://www.gndmedia.co.uk/working-class-voicesCheck out Keir's work at Abundance HEREhttps://www.in-abundance.org/You can listen to ACFM HEREhttps://novaramedia.com/category/audio/acfm/You can buy Keir's book Generation Left HERE https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Generation+Left-p-9781509532247 Listen to our episode with Jason Hickel HERE https://www.gndmedia.co.uk/podcast-episodes/degrowth-jason-hickelShout out Issac Rose and Manchester Housing Action.  Check out Issac's work at Greater Manchester Housing Action HEREhttp://www.gmhousingaction.com/Support the show

We've always said that environmentalism needs to understand class if it wants to protect the world from climate catastrophe. Degrowth has been accused by some on the Left as green austerity or just a terrible political message. To debunk degrowth myths and to discuss why class is at the heart of any just transition and a degrowth economy we are join by Jason Hickel. Jason is the author of"Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World"  and a world-leading scientist and scholar on degrowth. We discuss how class politics and environmentalism should work in tandem, why capitalism can't stop the climate crisis, why Universal Basic Services (UBS) is at the heart of a degrowth economy, how trade unions need to remember their radical past and how the EU conference on beyond growth is opening the doors for more radical policy in Europe. LinksRead Jason's book "Less is More: How Degrowth with Save the World"  HERE Read "The Conquest of Bread" by Pëtr Kropotkin  HEREShout outs Prabhat Patnaik & Utsa Patnaik, authors of "Capital and Imperialism", which you can buy HEREMax Ajl, Check out our episode with him back in 2021 HERESenegalese economist Ndongo Samba Sylla Mark Burton for introducing Ads to Degrowth. Support the show

It is, we promise, worse than you think.  Or maybe it was?  For all the fear and genuine suffering covering the globe from actual happening climate change, maybe, just maybe,  we are on a path that isn't all out destruction of the Earth?  This week on the show we are joined by climate writer and columnist  David Wallace-Wells. David writes for New York Magazine, The New York Times and is author of best selling book The Uninhabitable Earth. We discuss how David got into climate journalism and how writing The Uninhabitable Earth made him more hopeful about the future, the paradox of Republican politicians and climate investment, and how we persuade people about the benefits of the green energy transition. LinksRead Davids' original article HEREGet a copy of Davids' book "The Uninhabitable Earth" HEREShout outsVarshini Prakash - co founder of the Sunrise MovementSupport the show