Politics Theory Other

Jeremy Gilbert joins PTO to discuss why the Corbyn and Sanders projects ultimately foundered. We talked about the significance of personality and strategy versus deeper historical tendencies, and why the Corbyn leadership seemed to prefer a critique of austerity to a broader attack on the neoliberal era. Our discussion was prompted by Jeremy's article in Open Democracy, 'We lost because we weren’t big enough'.

In the final episode of the second season of #RedHacks Joana Ramiro speaks to Laurie Macfarlane about the necessity of an economic journalism that challenges the status quo.

Aurelien Mondon and Aaron Winter join PTO to talk about whether Joe Biden's election victory represents a comprehensive repudiation of Trumpism, what we can expect from the Republican Party after Trump, and we also chatted about the significance of the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Marcela Mora y Araujo and Jonathan Wilson join PTO to talk about the late Diego Maradona and the outpouring of grief that greeted his death in Argentina and around the world. We also talked about the darker side of Maradona, his mistreatment of the women in his life in particular and the tangled question of whether one can separate the art from the artist.

Brett Christophers joins PTO to talk about his new book, Rentier Capitalism: Who Owns the Economy, and Who Pays for It? We chatted about the extraordinary dominance of monopolistic rent-seeking in the UK economy, why the concept of rentierisation is more useful and accurate than the notion of financialisation when talking about the trajectory of the UK and world economies, and we also talked about how and why entrepreneurialism and competitiveness are values that are taken up far more by ordinary people in the labour market than by UK business. You can listen to the extended version of the episode by becoming a £3 supporter on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/44326998

Sophie Lewis joins PTO to talk about her article in The Nation, 'Covid-19 Is Straining the Concept of the Family. Let’s Break It'. We chatted about how the Covid19 pandemic has underscored how dependent the nuclear family is upon the labour of others, and why the family is being called into question by mainstream political commentators. We also talked whether the call for family abolitionism is strategically the right call to be making, and whether instead the left ought to demand the extension of the beneficial aspects - of at least some families - to everyone. Become a £3 PTO supporter to access the extended version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102-what-covid-w-44040794

Adom Getachew and Branko Marcetic join PTO to talk about the US election results, why the 'blue wave' failed to materialise and how Joe Biden will govern with a Republican senate and a republican majority on the supreme court.

Barnaby Raine joins PTO to talk about the EHRC report into antisemitism and the Labour Party, the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from the party, and what the affair tells us about the treatment of antisemitism in the UK in 2020.

Grace Blakeley joins PTO to talk about the current state of the UK economy, whether the era of austerity is over, and why even in the face of a no deal Brexit the UK is unlikely to experience an attack of the bond market vigilantes. We also talked about Grace's excellent new podcast, 'A World To Win'.

Owen Hatherley and Kojo Koram join PTO to talk about Owen's essay, 'A Study in the Politics and Aesthetics of English Misery'. In the essay Owen reflects on the generational divides that have emerged over the course of the last two UK general elections by charting the musical evolution of The Smiths. Comparing Morrissey’s political trajectory to those of many voters throughout the North of England, Owen investigates the roots of the North’s departure from anti-Thatcherite collectivism to nationalist reaction. You can find the essay in 'Futures of Socialism: The Pandemic and the Post-Corbyn Era', edited by Grace Blakeley.