The Another Europe Podcast

Poland has dumped its far right government in a historic election victory for pro-democratic forces. After years of authoritarianism and anti-migrant racism, the Law and Justice party have been defeated by a coalition of pro-democratic parties.  In this podcast, Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper talk to Polish activist Ana Oppenheim about the historic triumph of liberals, pro-democrats and the left. A member of the Another Europe National Committee, co-host of the Polish news and history podcast Polkast and an activist with the left-wing party Razem (personal capacity), Ana offers her thoughts on the election, and what it means for European politics and Ukraine's resistance to Russian imperialism.  The podcast is published as part of the Ukraine and the World series, an initiative taken in collaboration with Foreign Policy in Focus – Institute for Policy Studies in the United States and our longstanding partner, European Alternatives. 

Prominent scientist Robert Oppenheimer and the role of left-wing scientists in the development of the nuclear bomb are discussed. The mindset of scientists during the atomic bomb race and their limited understanding of its destructive power is explored. The podcast also delves into the Labour Party's nuclear policy, American financial support in post-WWII Europe, and the fear of nuclear war in the 80s compared to the present day.

In the first podcast in our Ukraine and the World series, Luke Cooper talks to Masha Shynkarenko, a Research Associate with the Ukraine in European Dialogue programme at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and an expert on the Russian colonisation of Crimea and the Crimean Tartar national movement.  They discuss the long history of Russian and Soviet imperialism in the Crimean peninsula, life under Russian occupation, and the need for nuance and complexity in discussion of what decolonisation of Crimea should look like in practice.  The Ukraine and the World series is an initiative taken in collaboration with Foreign Policy in Focus - Institute for Policy Studies in the United States and our longstanding partner, European Alternatives.  Members of Another Europe get access to extra material as a benefit of membership. In this pod's extra time, Masha and Luke discuss the implications of the decolonisation of Crimea for the wider appeals to decolonisation globally and the fall of empires in the 21st century.

It managed to unite Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in opposition. So why has the UK signed up to the CPTPP (the 'Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership')? In this podcast, hosts Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper talk to trade justice campaigner Nick Dearden about the Brexiter push for more global trade deals. In their rush to sign up to these corporate agreements the UK government is signing away the sovereignty it claims to treasure. Are these agreements now ushering in a new era of deregulation and hyper-globalisation? Or are they simply the last hoorah for a government on its way out? And what does this tell us about our changing world? In a wide-ranging conversation we offer some answers. An extended version of this podcast is available for members of Another Europe Is Possible. You can sign up as a member at AnotherEurope.org/join. 

Ukrainians have shown extraordinary heroism and resilience in pushing back the imperialism Russian invasion. But are Ukraine's successes on the battlefield at risk of being undermined by the government's economic policy on the 'home front'? In our latest podcast Alena Ivanova and Luke Cooper discuss the country's economic future and the risks ahead with Yuliya Yurchenko, senior lecturer in political economy at Greenwich University and author of Ukraine and The Empire of Capital: from Marketisation to Armed Conflict (Pluto, 2018). 

Hosts Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper talk to Another Europe Is Possible old-hand, Michael Chessum, about his new book, This is only the beginning (Bloomsbury, 2022). They reflect on a decade or two of tumultuous change and what it all means for the future of radical politics. Navigating hope, vision and realism, they ask whether the left's best days are still to come amid the fragmentation that Corbynism and Brexit have left behind. It's a not-quite-nostalgia-free discussion of the way ahead.  There is no extra time on this podcast. So, the whole episode can be heard on the podcast platforms.   

In our latest podcast, Luke Cooper talks to Lea Ypi about her extraordinary international bestseller, Free; Coming of Age at the End of History. A year since it first hit the bookshops, Lea reflects on the book's reception and the tremendous controversy it has sparked in Albania. Across their wide-ranging discussion they talk about the relationship between fact and fiction, the relationship between childhood and experiencing a communist society, the concept of freedom and the political philosophy of the 'friend-enemy' distinction. In extra time, they also touch base on how Albanians are discussing the Russian war on Ukraine. You can access extra time by joining Another Europe at anothereurope.org/join. 

Another year, another crisis. As inflation skyrockets, we talk to leading economic thinker and former City trader Gary Stevenson about the almighty hit, indeed the catastrophe, facing the incomes of working class people. What are the economics of the current crisis, and how do we build a people's alternative? You can also subscribe to Gary's Youtube channel here.

Asking whether "Brexit is racist" might be seen as the "is the pope a Catholic" question of our era. But calling out the racism of Brexit is often seen as unacceptable in contemporary British politics. In this podcast, hosts Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper talk to Martin Shaw, emeritus professor in International Relations at the University of Sussex, about his new book, Political Racism; Brexit and its Aftermath. They discuss the history of the Brexit vote and the lessons that for anti-racists today. Listeners to the Another Europe podcast get a 30% discount on the book when they use the code EMAIL30 at the Agenda Publishing website. 

As the Russian invasion moves into its second month, in this special edition of the Another Europe podcast we were joined by a panel of experts to analyse this new age of catastrophe in a live podcast event with listener questions. How should we explain the rise of authoritarianism, fascism and ‘Putinism’? Can Ukraine win the war – and if so, how? How can we support Ukraine’s civil society?  How is the war changing the European Union? What does it mean for the future of other international organisations and alliances like Nato? And what should the future of European and global security look like? To consider some of these – and your own! – questions, we talk to: Denis Pilash is a political scientist based in Kyiv and a member of the Ukrainian left media platform, Commons. Mary Kaldor is Emeritus Professor in Global Governance at the London School of Economics and director of the Conflict Research Programme. She is the author of numerous books and articles on war and conflict from the Cold War to today. Luke Cooper is a senior research fellow at LSE IDEAS and the author of Authoritarian Contagion; the Global Threat to Democracy (Bristol University Press, 2021). The discussion was hosted by Zoe Williams from the Guardian and co-host of the Another Europe Is Possible podcast. Some reading from the panel  Denis Pilash – We need a peoples’ solidarity with Ukraine and against war, not the fake solidarity of governments Dmitri Makarov and Mary Kaldor – Why we need to unite for peace and human rights across the old divides Mary Kaldor – Putin is the product of a corrupt economic system that we must now reform Luke Cooper – Don’t forget that Putin supported Brexit  Luke Cooper – The dangerous allure of ‘Europe first’