The Lowdown from Nick Cohen

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA MUST NOT FALL FOR NIGEL FARAGE'S LATEST RUSE Nick Cohen addresses the mainstream media's missed aspect of the story regarding Nigel Farage's links to the crypto industry. He highlights that Farage received £5 million from British Thai crypto billionaire Christopher Harbourn without declaring this donation, and that his convicted fraud pal, George Cottrell ,provided gifts in ki...

"LONDONOV!" HOW THE SLOANE RANGERS WHORED THEMSELVES OUT TO DODGY OLIGARCHS & SHEIKHS In his latest Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen talks to Peter York, the legendary social commentator who co-wrote the influential "Sloane Ranger's Handbook" in the 1980s about the English upper class in London. Peter discusses how London has transformed from an English-dominated city to a global centre for wealthy...

The tide has turned on Brexit - the "Brexiteers" have only the dead to rally In his latest Lowdown" podcast, Nick Cohen discusses the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum with Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and the significant changes in global politics over the past 10 years since 2016 that make Brexit an even worse decision than it was a decade ago. The...

Keir Starmer resigns - can Andy Burnham save the country from the disaster of a Reform government? Nick Cohen talks about Keir Starmer's resignation as Britain's sixth Prime Minister in ten years, reflecting on the implications for the country and the wider West. Nick explores concerns about Britain's political stability, comparing the situation to historical examples of governments collapsing, an...

The World Cup - the goals, the corruption and the colonialism! In this week's Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen talks to Professor Stefan Szymanski, Professor of the Economics of Sports at Michigan University, about the World Cup and the evolution of global football. They explore how the tournament has shifted from being hosted by nation-states to being controlled by oligarchical interests, with Stefan...

Mackerfield shows why Andy Burnham must lead Labour in the fight against the Radical Right Nick Cohen gives a comprehensive analysis of the Makerfield by-election results from early Friday morning, where Andy Burnham emphatically defeated Nigel Farage's Reform Party, arguing this victory represents both an opportunity and a significant challenge for the Labour Party. Nick criticises the unpreceden...

UK needs a a strong liberal voice in the south to counter the predictable catastrophe of Farage and Reform In his latest Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen talks to historian and author James Hawes about parallels between current political developments and fascist movements in the 1930s and 1970s. James compares Elon Musk's influence to that of Alfred Hugenberg in 1930s Germany, noting how both used medi...

Rail to nowhere - HS2 - the poster child project of a failed British political class In this week's Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen talks to author and doyen transport writerChristian Wolmar about the serial UK failed high-speed railway project. HS2 has spiralled to an estimated cost of £87-102 billion pounds due to political fickleness, mismanagement, inefficiency, and excessive environmental require...

Iran and the Strait of Hormuz crisis reveal how much we owe to our merchant mariners This week, Nick Cohen talks to author, travel writer and writer-mariner Horatio Clare about the hidden world of merchant marines and the critical role they play in global trade. Horatio shares insights from his experience as a writer-in-residence on container ships, describing the challenging conditions faced by s...

Is instability the new normal with the UK's broken polticis. In this week's Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen t alks to author and historian Robert Saunders about Britain's transition from decades of political stability to having six prime ministers in ten years and how this reflects deep systemic pressures rather than just poor individual leadership. Robert explains that modern leaders have faced an un...

Why we think what we think! The factors beyond our control that form our beliefs! Nick Cohen chats to author, journalist and entrepreneur Turi Munthe about his latest book "Why We Think What We Think," which explores how non-rational factors significantly influence political and social beliefs. In an increasingly polarised and fractious world, the issue of people's beliefs and think and why they h...

Lowdown election special with Rafael Behr of The Guardian Brexit Britons away with the fairies- and believing in at least 6 impossible things before Breakfast! In the local - and national elections, British voters voted for parties in Wales & Scotland that want to destroy the United Kingdom and for Nigel Farage and his fellow Reform con artists who conned 17.4 million people into voting for Br...

Trumps disastrous foreign policy on Iran and Ukraine isolates the U.S and the UK! In this latest Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen talks to distinguished defence expert, Phillips O'Brien from St. Andrews University, about military developments in Ukraine and Iran, focusing on how drone technology is changing the nature of warfare. Phillips explains how Ukraine's use of cheap, mass-produced drones has tr...

Is there are braver new world out there for Brits or they doomed for ever to be the no-can-do nation? Nick Cohen talks to journalist and author, John Kampfner, about his book "Brave a New World," which examines democratic governments that successfully address long-term challenges like aging populations, renewable energy, and housing. Kampfner highlights Japan's approach to demographic change throu...

We have the i-Phone to thank for the fast death of literacy & rise of autocracy "What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book because there would be no one who wanted to read one." — Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death This week, Nick Cohen talks to essayist and Times j ournalist James Marriott about Marriott's essay...

Nick Cohen interviews Andrew Gawthorpe about the current geopolitical situation, particularly focusing on America's disastrous war with Iran and its broader implications. Andy Gawthorpe is the author of the highly-regarded newsletter "America Explained" and teaches at Leiden University in The Netherlands. He describes the current mess caused by Trump and his fellow incompetents, such as defence mi...

Centrists of the World, Unite! The world needs the path of Liberalism out of today's madness Nick Cohen and Adrian Wooldridge discuss Adrian's book " Centrists of the World Unite: The Lost Genius of Liberalism ." They discuss how liberal institutions and ideologies have become corrupted across multiple domains - from "Woke" identitarianism on the left to neoliberal capitalism and global managerial...

Can the Democrats put an end to Trump & his MAGA cult? Nick Cohen talks to leading U.S. commentator and conservative dissident Charlie Sykes about the continuing collapse of the U.S. Republic under the corruption, authoritarianism and incompetence of the Trump-MAGA regime. Nick asks Charlie the question increasing numbers of people are asking, "Can Democrats save the U.S. from becoming a despo...

The World's growing Trump crisis - the rogue U.S. president is everyone's biggest problem now This week, Nick Cohen interviews Paris-based American journalist and author Claire Berlinski, editor of The Cosmopolitan Globalist, about the ongoing crisis involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. Nick and Claire discuss Donald Trump's decision to launch military strikes against Iran without congre...

Novelist Howard Jacobson discusses his new comic novel exploring post-October 7th anti-Semitism In this weeks The Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen and Howard Jacobson, discuss Howard's latest novel "hoWL" which explores antisemitism and Jewish fear in the world following the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. Howard and Nick discuss whether the recent rise in anti-Jewish sentiment in Britain represe...

Is this the end for Viktor Orbán - the Godfather of European authoritarianism? Nick Cohen talks to Hugarian author, journalist and politician Zsuzsanna Szelényi about the the upcoming Hungarian election on April 12th, where Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party faces a significant challenge from the opposition Tizsa party led by Péter Magyar. Could this - at last - be the end for the role model for Donald T...

America may take back control from Trump's cold, dead hands! In his latest Lowdown podcast episode, recorded before US strikes against Iran, Nick Cohen talks to Washington-based British journalist and commentator, Ben Cohen, about the terrible state of the American and politics, particularly focusing on Donald Trump's disastrous presidency and the challenges faced by the Democratic Party. Ben is c...

France is heading for a far right take over In this latest Lowdown podcast Nick Cohen talks in-depth to with Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet, a former F.T Paris correspondent about his book "Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella, and the Future of Europe." Mallett explores how the French far-right, led by Marine Le Pen and her protege Jordan Bardella, has become a mainstream political force...

English nationalism will destroy the UK Nick Cohen talks with Lowdown regular, author and historian James Hawes, about the on-going damage wrought on the UK by English nationalists and their failed Brexit project. Now current polls indicate that the same nationalist charlatans look likely to take power at the next general election. James said a Whitehall mandarin's prediction of the future break-u...

Mandelson crisis engulfs an already embattled Starmer Nick Cohen talks to John McTernan about the Labour Party's deep political crisis in the wake of the struggles, leadership challenges, and ideological direction. They explore athe implications of the Peter Mandelson scandal, the factionalism within the Labour Party, and the broader context of the collapse of Christian democracy, which has create...