Radicals in Conversation

At the time of recording, Israel’s relentless bombardment of Rafah continues. Around 1 million people have been forced to flee the city. Condemning the assault on Rafah, Spain, Ireland and Norway have joined 140 other countries in officially recognising a Palestinian state. It is a symbolic action that has undoubtedly damaged diplomatic relations between the three countries and Israel. Nevertheless, the destruction continues, the humanitarian crisis deepens, and people in Gaza have nowhere safe to go.  Many of us around the world have looked on in horror for the last seven months, watching a genocide being carried out, with many of our own governments actively complicit. In this month's episode, we consider the vital role that people in the international labour movement can play, leveraging their unions’ power to intervene directly. We are joined by Rafeef Ziadah, a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Public Policy at King’s College London, and an organiser with Workers in Palestine; Riya Al'Sanah, an organiser and researcher with Workers in Palestine; and Katy Fox-Hodess, a Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations at the University of Sheffield, and a researcher and labour educator with Workers in Palestine. Rafeef, Riya and Katy talk about the history of labour solidarity in the context of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, Palestinian workers’ conditions in Gaza and the West Bank, and how trade unions can move beyond simply issuing statements in solidarity with Palestine. We discuss the ongoing university encampments, dockworkers and 'Block the Boat' actions, and the ways in which the Palestine solidarity movement can build coalitions with arms industry workers, to stop the flow of weapons to Israel. Find out more about Workers in Palestine: workersinpalestine.org

'Whether one is an anarchist or not, the contemporary turn of geopolitical events—from the global phenomena of pandemics, fascistic regimes, and collapsing infrastructure for any sort of social well-being, to capitalist-fueled climate catastrophes and displacement, to occupations spiraling into genocides—has compelled a shift toward prioritizing do-it-ourselves forms of taking good care of each other. Suddenly, the many anarcha-feministic practices that previously felt like “nothing” when people didn’t take the time or care to notice them—or worse, didn’t take the time or care to engage in those practices themselves—now feel like, and indeed are, everything.'—Cindy Barukh Milstein, Constellations of Care: Anarcha-Feminism in Practice We are joined on the show this month by Cindy Barukh Milstein, editor of Constellations of Care, and Shuli Branson, a contributor to the anthology, and author of Practical Anarchism: A Guide for Daily Life. Cindy and Shuli explore the ways in which anarcha-feminist practices and care (in all of its guises) are vital to our efforts to resist militarism, fascism, ecocide, patriarchy and misogyny. They talk about the current wave of Palestinian solidarity encampments on university campuses, the importance of ritual and grief work, and the work being done by groups around bodily autonomy and trans-affirming care in the face of state attacks and abandonment. Constellations of Care: Anarcha-Feminism in Practice is 40% off for podcast listeners on plutobooks.com. Use the coupon PODCAST at the checkout. --- Cindy Barukh Milstein is a diasporic queer Jewish anarchist and longtime organizer. They've been writing on anarchism for over two decades, and are the author of Anarchism and Its Aspirations and Try Anarchism for Life: The Beauty of Our Circle. They edited the anthologies Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief and Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy, among others. Shuli/Scott Branson is a queer/transfemme Jewish anarchist writer, translator, community organizer, and teacher. They translated Jacques Lesage de la Haye’s The Abolition of Prison and Guy Hocquenghem’s Gay Liberation after May ’68, for which they also wrote a critical introduction on his queer anarchism. She coedited Surviving the Future: Abolitionist Queer Strategies with Raven Hudson and Bry Reed for PM Press. They are also a frequent co-host on the anarchist podcast The Final Straw Radio.

Forbes' annual rich list reveals that 2,781 people in the world have fortunes in excess of $1 billion. 141 people joined the list in 2023, with a combined wealth of around $14 trillion -  a $2 trillion collective increase on the previous year. There are now more billionaires than ever before. It is a grotesque state of affairs, when we reflect on the misery and hardship that have been wrought by the cost of living crisis, soaring inflation, and years of stagnating pay and decaying public services. Clearly, amidst such stark inequality, there is an urgent need to do things differently.  That’s the argument made by Luke Hildyard in his new book, Enough: Why It's Time to Abolish the Super-Rich, which is out now from Pluto Press. Luke argues that far from being the hard-working and productive entrepreneurs that they claim to be, the super-rich are an extractive, parasitic force sucking up a vastly disproportionate share of society's resources – making the rest of us all poorer as a result. Politicians make absurd promises about economic growth while ignoring the solution that's staring them in the face: a major programme of progressive taxation and economic reform that could be used to get the wealth of the one per cent flowing instead to the workers who actually create it. Luke Hildyard is also the Director of the High Pay Centre, a UK think tank focused on pay, employment rights and responsible business.  Use the coupon PODCAST on plutobooks.com for 40% off the book.

We’re excited to have H.L.T. Quan on the pod this month, as we publish her new book Become Ungovernable: An Abolition Feminist Ethic for Democratic Living. Joined by Professors Barbara Ransby and Tiffany Willoughby-Herard, the conversation circles the themes of the book, exploring topics such as radical love, transformative justice, and ungovernability in the South African context, including during the struggle against Apartheid. Become Ungovernable reveals the mirage of mainstream democratic thought and the false promises of liberal political ideologies, offering an alternative approach: an abolition feminism drawing on a kaleidoscope of refusal praxes, and on a deep engagement with the Black Radical Tradition and queer analytics. As usual, podcast listeners can get 40% off the book, for the next month. Simply use the coupon PODCAST at the checkout on plutobooks.com.

Author Robert Chapman discusses the intersections of capitalism and neurodiversity, exploring the historical development of capitalism's influence on health and disability. He highlights the impact of figures like Francis Galton and the emergence of the anti-psychiatry movement. The chapter also delves into the implications of neoliberalism on mental health and the rise in autism diagnosis. Lastly, it explores the concept of neurodivergent Marxism and the need for collective action for liberation.

Ghada Karmi, a Palestinian Liberation advocate, joins the show to discuss the history of Zionism, the Nakba, and the situation in Gaza. They also explore the flaws of the two-state solution and the need for a single democratic state. The podcast highlights the manipulation of language by Zionism and how it is essential to accurately describe Israel's actions. Understanding the context and history of the conflict is crucial in comprehending the current situation.

From England, France and Germany to Palestine, South Africa and Brazil, the 'beautiful game' has been a powerful instrument of emancipation for workers, feminists, young people and protesters around the world. Football has often found itself at the heart of anti-colonial struggles; a tool of repression and cooptation, as well as liberation and resistance. In October 2023, Pluto published the English language edition of A People’s History of Football by Mickaël Correia. We are joined on the panel today by the book's translator, Fionn Petch, as well as Kevin Blowe, from Clapton CFC, an East London community-owned football club; and Andy Gittlitz, author of the Pluto cult classic, I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism. We talk about the early origins of football in feudal Britain, its role in the formation of working class identity, the repression and resurgence of women’s football, as well as the unique trajectory of soccer in the US. We also talk about fan-owned clubs, and the international response of supporters' groups and clubs to the ongoing destruction in Gaza.  A People’s History of Football is 40% off for listeners of Radicals in Conversation with the coupon PODCAST. Find out more at: plutobooks.com/podcastreading. --- Clapton CFC: https://www.claptoncfc.co.uk/about-clapton-community-fc/ The Reservoir Journal: https://autonomedia.org/product/reservoir-communion/

The subject of immense hope, hype and confusion, crypto has amassed countless headlines in recent years. Right now, one of crypto’s biggest names, Sam Bankman-Fried, is set to go on trial in New York, accused of having defrauded millions of investors at his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, stealing billions of dollars in the process. But with cryptocurrencies, NFTs and metaverse markets crashing, the underlying blockchain technology is still promised to solve global development challenges, and revolutionise every industry. We are joined on the show this month by Peter Howson, author of the new book, Let Them Eat Crypto: The Blockchain Scam That’s Ruining the World. In the book, Peter cuts through the jargon and hyperbole to tell an alarming story of how right-wing libertarian crypto entrepreneurs - often aided by charities, politicians and philanthropists - have sought out and exploited conditions of poverty, oppression, corruption and conflict around the world, in a new front of 'crypto-colonial' extractivism. Far from 'banking the unbanked', saving the gorillas, or freeing people from oppressive governments, blockchain offers only false solutions, surveillance and hi-tech snake oil. We discuss the obscene environmental footprint of crypto, why it endures in spite of a recent negative shift in public perception, and how we might go about getting rid of it. Podcast listeners can get 40% off the book on plutobooks.com, using the coupon PODCAST at the checkout.

Author M. E. O'Brien advocates for the abolition of the family in her book 'Family Abolition: Capitalism and the Communizing of Care.' She traces the changing family politics of racial capitalism, discusses struggles for chosen family in queer and trans liberationist circles, explores the Haka commune and the role of the family, delves into the concept of family abolition and its ties to capitalism, examines historical movements against normative family structures, and envisions a future commune emerging from insurgent social reproduction. The podcast also explores the popularity of abolishing the police during the George Floyd rebellion.

Radicals in Conversation in-haus is a podcast series collaboration between Pluto Press and Bookhaus, an independent bookshop in Bristol. RIC in-haus is recorded on location at Bookhaus. The bookshop’s ‘in-haus’ events programme features authors of some of the most exciting radical nonfiction being published today. Episode 10 was recorded in May 2023. Sarah Shin talks about her new co-edited collection, Space Crone, which brings together Ursula K. Le Guin’s writings on feminism and gender. The book is published by Silver Press, and offers new insights into Le Guin’s imaginative, multispecies feminist consciousness: from its roots in deep ecology and philosophies of non-violence to her self-education about racism and her writing on motherhood and ageing. Sarah is in conversation with Samantha Walton, an author and Reader in Modern Literature at Bath Spa University. Find out more about the book: bookhausbristol.com/shop