Politics Theory Other

Richard Seymour returns to respond to listener's questions on the recent episode on the so-called lockdown sceptics. We talked about the leaking of former UK health secretary Matt Hancock's pandemic whatsapp messages, and whether they vindicate the arguments of lockdown critics such as Isabel Oakeshott. Amongst the other excellent questions sent in, Richard responded regarding the the widely cited Cochrane study that challenged the efficacy of mask wearing, the motivation of self described socialists who are apparently comfortable aligning themselves with the libertarian right, and also the US department of energy's recent statement on the lab leak theory of Covid19's origins.

Paul Rogers returns to talk about the Ukraine war, one year after the beginning of the Russian invasion. We discussed why the Russian military have been so unsuccessful in their aims and whether the extraordinary scale of Russian casualties will undermine support for Putin within Russia. We also talked about whether Ukrainian strategic goals align totally with those of the US and NATO states, and if there is any plausibility to the idea of a negotiated settlement. Finally, we talked about why there is much less clear cut support for Ukraine in the global south.

Dhirendra K. Jha joins PTO to talk about his book, Gandhi's Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India. We talked about Godse's childhood and how is belonging to the elite Brahmin class facilitated his shift from an anti-imperialist position in the decades before independence, to a visceral hatred of Muslims and of Gandhi, who the Hindu nationalists blamed for partition and the creation of Pakistan. We also discussed Godse's relationship with Vinayak Sawarkar - the ideological founder of Hindu nationalism and the chief early propagator of the idea of Hindu Rashtra - the concept of India as a fundamentally Hindu nation - as opposed to a secular state of all its people. We went on to talk about how Italian fascism and German Nazism inspired the RSS, and finally we discussed the increasing rehabilitation of the reputation of Godse amongst Hindu nationalists, including BJP members of the Indian parliament.

James Meadway breaks down the news that the UK narrowly avoided dipping into recession at the end of last year, a deeper dive into what that actually means for people in the UK in real terms and how all this is hurting your local pub .

Richard Seymour discusses his recent blogpost on the so-called lockdown sceptics, and in particular the work of Toby Green and his book 'The Covid Consensus: The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor—A Critique from the Left'. We talked about the straw man arguments, factual inaccuracies and conspiratorial thinking that characterise the book and the lockdown sceptic literature more generally. We also talked about why parts of the left have been receptive to some of this work and also what to make of the alliance between some self-styled anti-woke leftists and religious conservatives.

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: new figures that signal positive news for the US economy (0:48), how good news for the US might be bad news for the rest of the globe (6:09) and the recent record-breaking profits made by fossil fuel producers (10:55). You can register here (https://bit.ly/3YAtp5J) for a free ticket for the launch of The Cost of Living Crisis (and how to get out of it), a vital book James has co-authored with Doug Nicholls and Professor Costas Lapavitsas.

Richard Seymour discusses his recent blogpost on the so-called lockdown sceptics, and in particular the work of Toby Green and his book 'The Covid Consensus: The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor—A Critique from the Left'. We talked about the straw man arguments, factual inaccuracies and conspiratorial thinking that characterise the book and the lockdown sceptic literature more generally. We also talked about why parts of the left have been receptive to some of this work and also what to make of the alliance between some self-styled anti-woke leftists and religious conservatives.

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the economics behind the UK’s recording-breaking wave of strikes (0:42), how these compare to other strike movements around the world (4:43), and a new report from the BBC that finds issues with the “impartiality” of its economics reporting (12:32).

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz discusses the shift away from the dominance of the US dollar, implications for US economic power, and the need to tackle wealth inequality. The podcast explores the concept of Bretton Woods III, challenges to US economic dominance, and debates on implementing a global wealth tax and a 70% top rate of income tax.

Polly Smythe, the labour movement correspondent for Novara Media joins PTO to talk about how strikes achieve their aims and the importance - or otherwise - of public support. We also discussed the new anti-strike law being brought in by the Conservative government, what its consequences may be, and whether it will have the chilling effect on industrial action that the Sunak government hopes for. Finally, we talked about the prospects for the current public and private sector strikes in Britain and whether either the unions or the government have a path to victory.