The Verso Podcast

This week on The Verso Podcast, Sian Norris and Edna Bonhomme delve into the tactics and goals of fascist ideologies across the globe. They explore how far right movements organise themselves transnationally with the aim of exerting control over individuals' bodies, rooted in a fundamental suspicion of women and their autonomy. You can find Sian's book, Bodies Under Siege: How the Far–Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Global, here: https://tinyurl.com/bde3x76 This podcast was produced by Planet B Productions, head over to planetbproductions.co.uk to find out more.

In this fourth episode of the newly relaunched Verso Podcast, Kevin Ochieng Okoth and Robin D.G. Kelley join Eleanor Penny to discuss the radical life and groundbreaking work of Guyanese historian, revolutionary, and guerrilla intellectual, Walter Rodney, who was assassinated 43 years ago this week. You can find a selection of Walter Rodney's books on our website at https://tinyurl.com/4xd5twt6 This podcast was produced by Planet B Productions, head over to planetbproductions.co.uk to find out more.

In this fourth episode of the newly relaunched Verso Podcast, Ben Miller and Amardeep Singh Dhillon join Eleanor Penny for a deep dive on the historical construction and ordering of sexualities into the categories we are familiar with today. You can find Ben's book "Bad Gays: A Homosexual History", co-authored with Huw Lemmey, on our website at tinyurl.com/33655pe7

Prison abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore and critical geographer Dalia Gebrial discuss topics such as racial capitalism, critical geography, and the role of prisons in addressing societal issues. They explore the connection between racism and capitalism, the use of race as a governing tool, and the challenges faced in narrating innocence. The podcast also covers the impact of platforms on racialized migrant workers, resistance to defunding prisons and policing, and the role of policing in the London taxi economy.

On the second episode of our new season of the Verso Podcast, host Eleanor Penny is joined by writer and film maker Tariq Ali, and academic and author Priyamvada Gopal to discuss the cult of Winston Churchill and the insidious rewriting of the history of the British Empire. You can find Tariq's book "Winston Churchill: His Times, His Crimes" on our website at https://bit.ly/414MzBk

On the first episode of our new season of the Verso Podcast, host Eleanor Penny is joined by author Raj Patel and human rights advocate Tina Ngata to discuss the historical roots that tie together the exploitation of nature and people, and how those roots continue to impact our world today. You can find Raj's book, A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, co-authored with Jason W. Moore on our website at https://bit.ly/3mF0SyB

The response to the inflation surge by the UK government has been disastrous for working people. Pushing up interest rates, attempting to keep pay rises down, and trying to cut pensions and other benefits, has exacerbated the devastating cost-of-living crisis. The true causes of the crisis have nothing to do with workers asking for pay rises. Rapid inflation was sparked by a combination of global economic instability, profound weakness of production, and corporate profiteering. The result is a massive transfer of wealth upwards – from working people to the super rich. It is time for a radical economic alternative. Listen to the audio from the book-launch event for The Cost of Living Crisis (and how to get out of it)by Costas Lapavitsas, James Meadway, and Doug Nicholls https://www.versobooks.com/books/4259-the-cost-of-living-crisis Featuring Costas Lapavitsas, James Meadway, and Laura Smith: Labour Party (personal capacity).

In this bumper edition of the Verso podcast we talk to authors Gracie Mae Bradley and Luke De Noronha about their new book Against Borders: The Case for Abolition. In it we explore what a world without borders might look like and the intricacies of imagining or advocating for that world. We then talk to Zehrah Hasan of JCWI about practical ways we can get involved in building a borderless world for today and tomorrow. Against Borders: The Case for Abolition is out now: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3983-against-borders?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=author-videos

Do family abolitionists want to get rid of your Gran? Do they hate love? Are they all killjoys looking to rip the roots of working class resistance apart? Find out all this and more in this episode of the Verso podcast with author Sophie Lewis in conversation with Ben Smoke. Sophie Lewis is the author of Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation https://www.versobooks.com/books/4075-abolish-the-family?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=abolish-the-family-videos Ben Smoke is the commissioning editor of Huck Magazine

How did we come to live in a world dominated by big tech and finance? In this video, Jeremy Gilbert and Alex Williams explore how these forces have shaped the direction of politics and government as well as the neoliberal economy to benefit their own interests. They discuss the concept of hegemony—the importance of passive consent; the complexity of political interests; and the structural force of technology—and why we need an updated theory of power for the twenty-first century. Jeremy Gilbert and Alex Williams are the authors of Hegemony Now: How Big Tech and Wall Street Won the World (And How We Win it Back) https://www.versobooks.com/books/4015-hegemony-now?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=hegemony-now-videos