The Owen Jones Podcast

This is excruciating beyond belief. Boris Johnson - the guy who repeatedly broke the lockdown rules he was in charge of imposing - today testified to MPs that, yes, he misled Parliament, but he didn't do so recklessly or deliberately. What a complete joke: his entire defence rests on him being irredeemably thick. There is a darker truth: not only is Johnson defined by his own crass selfishness, hi...

It's 20 years since the invasion of Iraq opened the gates of hell - and the former UN Weapons Inspector Hans Blix has sensationally said Blair and Bush should be put on trial for war crimes in principle. Here's why this matters - and why trying to airbrush the calamity of Iraq will lead us to even more horror. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . Hosted on Acast. S...

The right-wing media in this country has successfully long peddled a lie: that the BBC is somehow left-wing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The BBC has long promoted pro-Establishment coverage - but in the last few years, it's been Torified. Leaked emails and WhatsApps show how the Tories successfully pressured the BBC to do its bidding. In doing so, it may well be that the BBC has dug i...

What if we told you socialism does exist - but only for rich people? The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond has a new book - Poverty, by America - and it answers big questions. Why do we spend lots on dealing with poverty, but without solving it? How has poverty become a profitable industry? Why is it so expensive to be poor? And can we really abolish poverty? Support this sho...

Mehdi Hasan is second to none when it comes to debating, and so his new book - Win Every Argument - is a must read. Here, he talks to me about why the left can be so bad at convincing people of its arguments; he tears Tory racism to pieces; points out the outrageous hypocrisy of the BBC over Gary Lineker - and warns that US democracy may yet succumb to fascism. Support this show http://supporter.a...

You've heard this claim peddled by conservatives time and time again - that the Nazis weren't really right-wing, but were actual socialists. The latest example appears in the Daily Mail, and it is a ridiculous nonsense. As I show, the Nazis were driven by a burning hatred of what socialism is commonly understood to mean. They were helped to power by right-wing parties and big business, and their p...

You're going to hear a lot of nonsense about the Tories' latest Budget - so here is the truth. Brilliant economist James Meadway clearly explains why this Budget offers bungs to the rich, leaves Britain with stagnating growth and falling wages, and explains why further crisis looms on the horizon. Everything you need to know in less than 14 minutes! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the...

The BBC's attempt to silence Gary Lineker - undoubtedly under pressure from the government - has ended in a humiliating climbdown. Lineker will return to air, without having to offer a retraction or an apology for damning Tory rhetoric towards refugees. But what does this say about the political nature of the BBC - as well as how we confront the vicious war against some of the most vulnerable peop...

The BBC doesn't have a leg to stand on. As the Corporation reels from the consequences of its decision to suspend Gary Lineker for speaking out about the Tory attacks on refugees, more and more evidence has come to the fore: what they did wasn't about impartiality, but about policing and suppressing progressive opinions. This is part and parcel of a sinister political project - to make Britain a h...

The BBC's decision to suspend Gary Lineker for exercising his free speech has plunged the Corporation into crisis. Fellow pundits, commentators and sports staff have refused to work, collapsing its sports coverage. But this whole episode is so, so important - it exposes the right-wing bias of the BBC, and the absurd lie that it was ever left-wing. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-o...

After Gary Lineker's attack on the Tories' despicable war on migrants and refugees, the British Right are demanding the BBC fire him. What a bunch of raging hypocrites. The same crew who constantly bleat about 'cancel culture' and the 'woke mob' attack on free speech, who said nothing when an actual flagship BBC political journalist - Andrew Neil - promoted right-wing ideas. This whole episode tel...

This sums up so much horribly wrong with British society. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Matt Hancock leaked WhatsApps saga gets grubbier and grubbier. Now we discover he discussed threatening to pull disability funding in an MP's constituency if he didn't back lockdown rules. You don't have to sympathise with the Tory rebel's cause to be repulsed. But is there anything unique about this gruesome behaviour? This actually lifts a lid on how our grubby system of government works - a...

Just when you think Boris Johnson can't shock you anymore with his general moral depravity, here's there to surprise you! The disgraced former prime minister has nominated his own father for a knighthood: yes, the Stanley Johnson who stands accused of sexual assault and domestic violence. This sums up not just the moral corruption of Johnson - but how rotten our entire honours and peerage system i...

This is a truly disturbing episode: Labour MP Apsana Begum was elected in 2019, the first hijab-wearing MP. But she has spoken out about her experience of domestic abuse, and has said that this abuse has been weaponised against her in an attempt to remove her as an MP. Labour stands accused of a terrible failure in their duty of care - while Begum is being hounded. On International Women's Day, we...

It's all kicking off: Matt Hancock's incredibly stupid decision to give Isabel Oakeshott tens of thousands of WhatsApp messages has led to them being splashed all over the Telegraph. But what's this really about? Here is a right-wing newspaper trying to rewrite history about what really happened in the pandemic - and it must be resisted. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-...

On his big visit to Britain, I met Bernie Sanders and we had a lot to chat about: capitalism, about working class struggle, personal freedom, the 4 day week, how we can all do our bit to change the world - and what he thinks about the UK Labour party's direction. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has Rishi Sunak managed what some believed to be impossible: won meaningful concessions from the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol? What does the deal mean - and is it workable? And where now for Brexit? We're joined by former diplomat and Brexit expert Dmitry Grozoubinski, and Colin Murray, Professor of Law and Democracy. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . H...

Seriously, what on earth is Matt Hancock on, handing his WhatsApp history to Isabel Oakeshott, a right-wing journalist whose previous source ended up in prison for perverting the course of justice? Both Oakeshott and Hancock come out really badly - but what does this all tell us about the catastrophic handling of the pandemic, and how the British Establishment works? Support this show http://suppo...

Rishi Sunak's 'Windsor Framework' agreement with the EU has been promoted with great fanfare. Finally - or some senior Tory figureheads boast - Brexit has been done. But here's the thing: Sunak has unintentionally publicly declared that his Tory Brexit has been a disaster. And he's absolutely right. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Your hangover could soon be a thing of the past. Want to socialise with your friends, elevate your mood without damaging your health, packing on calories and feeling worse for wear the next day? Prof. David Nutt is one of the world's leading specialists on all things related to drugs, and he's developing a substance which could replace alcohol. He talks to me about why we get hungover, why alcohol...

Rishi Sunak has promised over and over again to publish his tax return. He promised to do it last summer, he then promised to release it by Christmas, he then promised at the start of February to do it soon. So where the hell is it? What's he got to hide? And what does this say about a prime minister sinking without a trace? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . Hos...

Shamima Begum should be tried in her own country for her alleged crimes: why? Because she's British. That she was groomed, trafficked and then placed in a forced marriage has been erased, because it means dealing with an unavoidable fact: she was radicalised here, and she is our problem. Instead the government has announced that millions of Britons have citizenship which is conditional - because s...

Oh dear oh dear. Kate Forbes was the anointed successor to Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland's First Minister - by much of the media, anyway - but her campaign immediately went into meltdown when she revealed she'd have voted against equal marriage. How can a social conservative possibly be leader of an ostensibly progressive party - and how can someone who opposes civil rights for same-sex couples lead...

If you're not keen on things like poverty and bigotry, this has not been a great few years, let's be honest. You're probably feeling resigning to things being generally grim. So cheer up! This research shows the British public is becoming more left-wing - and that boosts those of us who think transformative policies and an inspiring vision is what the country needs. Support this show http://suppor...