GND Media

This 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 workers Kim Moody: On New TerrainNico Poulantzas  Support the show

The U.K. is on the brink of a multitude of crises. With soaring energy bills, rampant inflation the highest we've seen in 40 years and don't forget the hottest days since records began. Mix that in with sewage being pumped into our rivers and seas, and a prime ministerial race which is based on who can be the cruelest to the most deprived. Well, Enough is Enough. On today's show we are joined by Jake Johnson from Acorn (@ACORNunion) to discuss the new campaign Enough is Enough. Sprouting from the back of strikes from the RMT and CWU, Enough is Enough is a trade union labour movement campaign to demand a better future for the country. In the immortal words of Mick Lynch, "We refuse to be poor anymore." On the show we discuss the campaign's five key demands, the struggles of organising in already difficult work conditions and how climate change is wrapped up in all of these demands. LinksTickets for the Manchester rally can be found HERE it's free! Join the Enough is Enough campaign HERE. Got a crappy landlord? Sign up to Acorn now Shout out 0161 community @0161communitySupport the show

The 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 economics A history of the world is seven cheap things by Raj Patelkate sopher on hedonism Shout outsAdrienne's editor Tom at Manchester University PressJon Moses for the Bristol botanist mass trespass Support the show

It's time to shirk off that waged labour, for at least a couple of days, and dive head first into a cool pool of climate fiction. On this first foray into a Summer Book Club our  Lucy Burke and friend of the pod Sam Knights , discuss their favourite climate reads of the summer and the political power that fantastic fiction can have on the world.  You'll find  all the books mentioned below and we hope you find at least a weekend to imagine what a better would could look like. links Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake (2003) @ViragoBooks Ghassan Kanafani, Men in the Sun (1962) Lynne Rienner Publishers, second edition,1998 (not currently in print but available second hand)Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams (1990), @HarperCollins Richard Lanchester, The Wall (2019) @FaberBooks https://www.faber.co.uk/journal/the-wall-by-john-lanchester-read-the-first-chapter/ Imbola Mbue, How Beautiful We Were (2021), Penguin Random House @penguinrandom William Morris, News from Nowhere (1890) Penguin Classics @PenguinClassics Ruth Ozeki, All Over Creation (2002), Canongate Canons @canongatebooks Richard Powers, The Overstory (2018) @VintagebooksKim Stanley Robinson Ministry For the Future (2020), Orbit, @orbitbooks check out our episode with Stanley here Neil Zink, The Wallcreeper (2014) @HarperCollinsThese are the books that we mentioned in passing:Edward Abbey, The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975) Penguin Modern Classics @PenguinBooks Amitav Ghosh, The Great Derangement (2016), University of Chicago Press @UChicagoPress Sahar Khalifeh, Wild Thorns (1976), Simon and Schuster  @simonschuster https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Wild-Thorns/Sahar-Khalifeh/9781623710798 Ian McKewan, Solar (2010), Vintage Classics @VintagebooksJenny Offill, Weather (2020), Granta Books @GrantaBooks Jules Verne, The Purchase of the North Pole (1889) CreateSpace Independent Publishing Isobel Wohl, Cold New Climate (2021), Weatherglass Books, @WeatherglassBksSupport the show

This week on our centenary! 100 episodes! We can't thank you all enough for supporting the show and listening to four Northerners (Alex is honorary) discuss and discover how we can make a Green New deal that could save humanity from fossil capitalism.  Onwards and upwards. This weeks episode is a corker.Cuba like all countries has to deal with the climate crisis . To add to that immense task, Cuba has had deal with  crushing economic sanctions from the US. After the fall of the soviet union Cuba lost access to oil and had to reshape its economy away from fossil fuels.  So how did they do it? This week are delighted to be  joined by Dr Helen Yaffe. Helen is a Visiting Fellow at the Latin America and Caribbean Centre and a Lecturer in Economic and Social History in the University of Glasgow. Helen is a specialist in the economic development of Cuba, and the economic ideas of Che Guevara. We discussed how protection of the natural world was enshrined in the Cuban constitution, what collective acts were taken during the special period to move away from fossil fuels and how Cuba worked with it's citizens to transform the economy.  LinksHelen's Documentary :Tarea Vida de Cuba. Cuba's life taskHelens Book Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution Castro's  speech from the  1992 UN earth SummitShout outCuban environmentalists Full GND Media team for making it to episode 100!Support the show

It's been bloody hot,  so Andrew and Alex wanted to whinge about it and discuss the political ramifications of the heat wave. Could this be the turning point we need for zero carbon? LinksTory candidates make u-turn and back net zeroAds' article, 'Don't sing to your enemies', on our websiteSupport the show

It's shaping up to be a hot strike summer with multiple trade unions looking to ballot their members on strikes in the coming months.  Thousands of people will be out on the street with their trade unions or with or social movements raising their voices against the litany of stupidity that is the UK government.   When it comes to getting out on the streets it's important to measure the effectiveness of actions and how they push the fight against climate breakdown forward. This week on the show we are joined by  Dr  Oscar Berglund (@berglund_oscar) from Bristol University. Oscar's research focuses on social movements  and explores climate change activism  particularly Extinction Rebellion (XR) and the use of civil disobedience.  Oscar  studies the strategies and discourses of civil disobedience in contemporary climate change activism.  We discuss where XR is now as a movement, how actions by the Tyre Extinguishers and Insulate Britain affect wider climate activism discourse, whether the media is pushing climate into the culture war, how car ownership has developed as an identify and the curious case of F1 driver Sebastian Vettel.Links Seeing like an activist by Erin PinedaMatthew Patersons piece on Cars from I Peela piece Oscar wrote on protest for  Bristol  247 back in 2021Shout outGunilla Berglund (Oscars Mum!) who on retiring became a full time climate activist  and his daughter at the age of 9 has been to several climate protests already. Conrad bower from the MeteorKai Heron and Jodie Dean and their piece on "Climate Leninism" in SpectreSupport the show

This week we are joined by Momentum co-chair Gaya Sriskanthan (@gayasktn).  We discuss the importance of joining class struggle with climate action,  what British environmentalists can learn from communities on the front line of climate breakdown and Momentum's new climate justice education program. LinksMomentum Climate Justice education program First session from the program Momentum RMT picket toolSean's New Statesman pieceShout outsSarah Woolley from the Bakers Union @sarahwoolley01Mick Lynch and RMT Ellie Radcliffe@ellieradcliffe9Oldham Energy futuresSupport the show

There's a heatwave happening in Europe so let's cool down this week by getting into some polar research and  understand how we know the climate is changing from one of the most inhospitable places on earth.  This week on the show we are joined by Dr. Peter Neff,(@icy_pete) assistant research professor at the University of Minnesota.  Peter is  a glaciologist and climate scientist working primarily to develop glacier ice core records of past climate, environmental conditions, and atmospheric chemistry.  We discuss the significance of Ice core data for understanding the changing climate, how ice cores are collected, the geo-politics of the antarctic and the military begins of polar research.  Peter also discusses his ethos when it comes to communicating scientific ideas and dealing with social media doomerism.  LinksPeter's video on ice core drilling Peter's publications and work Peters Website Joe Hansons Youtube channel shout outsPolar impact- supporting ethnic and racial minorities working in Polar research@PolarImpactPrem Gill founder of Polar Impact@PolarPremProgressive Economic Forum @PEF_online James Meadway for organsing it @meadwaCouncillor Linda Foley - @LindaFLabourManchester Schools, Teachers and Governors who are stepping forward for climate education Support the show

This episode was recorded the week before the Government's U-turn on a windfall tax. We are in the midst of a cost of living crisis, the war in Ukraine rages on and as ever climate breakdown is in full swing. Wet bulb events in India and south Asia pull into stark relief the potential future for the rest of the world. At the same time, our current minister for industrial policy and energy, Kwasi Kwarteng, is tweeting at young climate activists telling them to “shout and scream all they want… Britain is gonna be on oil and gas for years to come”.  It’s pretty safe to say that we need a change of government. As the official opposition the Labour Party is best placed to be that change so let's check in with Labour and discuss how they would respond to the climate crisis if they had the reins of the country. This week we are joined by MP for Sheffield and Hallam Olivia Blake (@_OliviaBlake). Olivia is in the Shadow department for Climate change and previously at shadow DEFRA. We discuss the absolute mess that is the water and waste system in the UK, the importance of peatlands and the politics of burning peat, Labour's commitments on climate change and their "green sprint" policy. Then finally we discuss how activists should react to restrictions on protest. Links TUC rally in London June 18th. https://www.tuc.org.uk/DemandBetterShout outsUCU Bury College @UCUBuryCollegeDeliveroo drivers on strike in Sheffield@IWGBunionEd Milliband (come on the show Ed!) @Ed_MilibandSupport the show