Politics Theory Other

Alexander Gallas, author of 'The Thatcherite Offensive: A Neo-Poulantzasian Analysis' joins me to discussed the degree of popular support for the political and economic project of the Thatcher government, the debates between Stuart Hall and Bob Jessop on the nature of Thatcherite hegemony, and we also chatted about the way in which the New Labour era can be seen as a consolidation of Thatcherite n...

Extinction Rebellion co-founder Roger Hallam joins me to discuss the organisational model of XR. We also chatted about the booklet Roger has written on the strategy of XR - 'Common Sense for the 21st Century: Only Nonviolent Rebellion Can Now Stop Climate Breakdown and Social Collapse'. And finally we also discussed the criticism XR has come in for regarding its tactics of mass arrest and a percei...

Christine Berry discusses 'People Get Ready: Preparing for a Corbyn Government' a new book authored by Christine together with Joe Guinan. We spoke about the likely backlash a Corbyn government would face from the business class and transnational finance and what strategies the Labour movement can adopt to defeat its opponents. We also chatted about the possible lessons for the left from the Thatc...

Adom Getachew joins me to discuss the liberation struggles of anti-colonial movements in Africa and the Caribbean in the twentieth century and the way in which they sought to construct a new global order that might secure real independence in the international system. We spoke about those efforts, as well her characterisation of the League of Nations, and associated figures, such as US president W...

Owen Hatherley joins me to discuss the music and life of the late Scott Walker. We spoke about his journey from teen heartthrob with the Walker Brothers, to the creator of some of the most challenging music in the history of pop. We discuss the big band, crooner tradition that Walker emerged from, the radical break in his work with 1978's Nite Flights and the political pessimism of his later recor...

Hilary Aked on Islamophobia and the European counter-jihad movement, its entwinement with state run counter extremism programmes, and its relationship with the traditional far right. Hilary is the co-author of a recent report on the topic from Spinwatch.org: http://powerbase.info/images/6/6c/Aked-Jones-Miller-Counterjihad_report-2019.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3AeljMjU0o8Vxv1qOtGks2YFTmjzkQ0srJAJgfAC7KeQs7YwO...

Dawn Foster joins PTO to discuss her Tribune article on religion and socialism. We spoke about the relationship between Marxism and religion, how secular and religious leftists can work together in the fight against poverty, and the legacy of so-called 'new atheism.' Read Dawn's article here: https://tribunemag.co.uk/2019/01/love-thy-neighbour?fbclid=IwAR3ON8P4afFNwwH7E2eikqfk9Cx7Cs2k1jmoT4I0s363M...

Ash Sarkar joins me to discuss the causes of the Brexit vote, the case for Lexit, the strategy of the People's Vote campaign and the prospects for Change UK. If you would like to hear the extended version of this episode, please consider becoming a PTO supporter: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

On the epochal, world-historic occasion that is PTO's first birthday...

Corey Robin joins me to discuss the history of conservative thought, the significance of Donald Trump's presidency, and Ayn Rand's contribution to conservatism and the reasons for her immense popularity in the United States.

Bridget Anderson joins me to talk about how the idea of the migrant is mediated through race and class, the case for No Borders, and the way in which the mobility of populations within nation states was viewed as a threat in the pre-capitalist era. We also touch on Brexit and the case of Shamima Begum.

In the third episode of #RedHacks, Joana Ramiro talks to New Statesman deputy editor George Eaton. Sound by @japinto Listen to other episodes in the series here: https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/sets/redhacks

David Edgerton joins me to discuss his new book, 'The Rise and Fall of the British Nation: A Twentieth-Century History'. We spoke about British declinism, the way declinist narratives structure understandings of modern British history and the political uses to which declinism has been put, both on the left and the right and by the architects of the Brexit project.

Kojo Koram joins me to discuss the politics of the Tory Brexiteers. We spoke about why it is that the prospect of trading on WTO terms is so attractive to the European Research Group, and the strange parallels between Tory Brexiteers and bourgeois nationalists in the global south during the colonial era. We also discussed the idea of a progressive English nationalism. Our conversation was prompted...

Phil Burton-Cartledge joins me to discuss the newly formed Independent Group, the politics of the MPs that make up the new organisation, the role of anti-semitism in the resignation of the ex-Labour contingent, and how the Labour leadership ought to respond to the creation of the group. If you would like to hear the extended version of this episode and other PTO shows, please consider becoming a s...

In the second episode of #RedHacks, Joana Ramiro talks to campaigning photojournalist Jess Hurd. Sound by @japinto Listen to other episodes in the series here: https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/sets/redhacks

Bruce Fink, the world's leading authority on Lacanian psychoanalysis joins me to discuss the work of Jacques Lacan, the nature of the Lacanian project and the 'return to Freud', and his perspective on the medicalisation of mental distress. If you would like to hear the extended version of this episode and other PTO shows, please consider becoming a supporter: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

David Wearing joins me to discuss the strategic and economic relationship between the UK and the states of the Arabian Gulf, the role of Britain in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, and the role of the west in the emergence of monarchical authoritarian rule in the region. If you would like to hear the extended version of this episode and other PTO shows, please consider becoming a supporter: https://ww...

Sophie Lewis joins me to discuss her new book, 'Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against Family' and her recent article in New Socialist, ‘Labour Does You’: Might thinking through pregnancy as work help us radicalise the politics of care? We spoke about reproductive technologies, the surrogate nature of all pregnancies, the need to reconceive of pregnancy as work, and the demand for the abolition of t...

In the first episode of #RedHacks, a series of conversations about journalism in the neoliberal world, Joana Ramiro chats with renowned broadcaster and author Paul Mason. Sound by @japinto

Dan Hind joins me to discuss his essay, 'The Constitutional Turn: Liberty and the Cooperative State'. We spoke about the need to reform Britain's unwritten constitution, what a project to democratise British society might look like, and even whether that might be desirable in the era of so-called populism. You can read Dan's article here: https://thenextsystem.org/learn/stories/constitutional-turn...

Joni Alizah Cohen joins me to discuss the relationship between transmisogyny and anti-semitism in Nazi ideology and the theoretical work of the Marxist historian Moishe Postone. Our conversation was prompted by Joni's article, 'The Eradication of “Talmudic Abstractions”: Anti-Semitism, Transmisogyny and the National Socialist Project': https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4188-the-eradication-of-talmu...

James Butler of Novara media joins me to discuss Brexit, the likelihood of a no deal, what a second referendum might look like, and how the left should theorise the European Union. If you would like to hear the extended version of this episode and other PTO shows, please consider becoming a supporter: https://www.patreon.com/join/poltheoryother

Thea Riofrancos joins me to discuss her review in n+1 of Chantal Mouffe's new book, 'For a Left Populism'. As well as discussing Mouffe's work we talked more generally about populism in the United States and Europe, the nature of the Trump project, and the necessity of a left populism. You can read Thea's review of Mouffe's book here: https://nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/populism-withou...

Sebastian Budgen joins me to discuss the Yellow Vests protests in France. We talked about the social composition of the movement, its relationship to established political forces, the heavy handed response of the government, and the absent strategy of the Macron project. If you would like to hear the extended version of this episode and other PTO shows, please consider becoming a supporter: www.pa...