The Owen Jones Podcast

This is not the news any of us wanted to hear: South African scientists have identified a new variant of COVID described as the "worst ever", and it's been detected in several countries around the world. How serious is the threat, what do we know about it - and how much is this down to richer countries refusing to provide vaccines to the Global South? We're joined by Fatima Hassan live from South...

Carla Denyer is the Green Party's newly elected co-leader: in some polls her party is in double digits. But what do the Greens stand for, are they basically Lib Dems, what's their take on Labour, could they be the left wing UKIP, how are they tackling transphobia, and how are they going to make a populist case to take on the climate emergency? Please subscribe - and help us take on the right wing...

After Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted after shooting dead two men and injuring another at a Black Lives Matter protest, the US right are triumphant. What does this mean now: for right-wing vigilantes and for progressive protesters? How would the US justice system have judged a person of colour in the same circumstances, and what does this tell us about white supremacy? We're joined by Benjamin Dixo...

It's the swimming pool in the sky: the so called 'Sky Pool' in Nine Elms, south London, which wowed the media but which sums up the inequality ravaging British society. This community provided the perfect opportunity to help tackle London's housing crisis - but instead it was handed to property developers to build luxury flats for the elite. This is a story about how settled working class communit...

As the Tories are embroiled in corruption scandals, the polls are finally turning against them - after months of seeming apparently immune to pandemic mishandling, a fuel crisis, cuts to Universal Credit and a surge in the cost of living. But how much trouble are they in - and can Labour capitalise on the Tories' crisis? We're joined by Byline's Adam Bienkov and CLASS Director Ellie Mae O'Hagan. P...

Students who protested against Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely have suffered a firestorm of condemnation from the Establishment. But it’s based on lies - this was a peaceful protest with booing and heckling, nothing more - against a far right politician who supports the annexation of all Palestinian land, calls the Nakba an ‘Arab lie’, denounces Arabs as “thieves of history”, opposes relationshi...

As the Tories are embroiled in the Owen Paterson scandal, we examine the truly scale of corruption in Tory ranks, why it's a threat to democracy - and how we fight it, featuring investigative journalist and editor-in-chief of openDemocracy Peter Geoghegan. Is COP26 a great step forward in the struggle to save humanity - or just a greenwash for the world's polluters? We're joined by Green MSP Patri...

We're told that human nature is hardwired to need authority and hierarchy, and that we're driven by selfishness and greed. But is that really true? In a new book by David Wengrow and the late great David Graeber - THE DAWN OF EVERYTHING - the standard narrative about human history is challenged. Wengrow explains why it's not true that as human society gets more complicated there's a need for more...

So I thought, why not have a chat with my mum about whether robots take over the world? She's got a new book out called 'Living With Robots' - I know I'm promoting my mum's book here, it's a one off I promise! - so we talk about what robots really are, what they can actually do, what their limits on, will they ever destroy us all, or at the very least take our jobs? Could they help build a new and...

Hit Set Reminder above! With the start of COP26 - with the climate emergency threatening our very future existence - we are joined by brilliant experts and activists to explain what's at stake, what's likely to happen, and how we build pressure to save our planet. Please subscribe - and help us take on the right wing media here: https://patreon.com/owenjones84 Support this show http://supporter.ac...

Former Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell explains what the Tory Budget really represents, how Labour should pull itself together to offer an inspiring vision - and whether Keir Starmer's crisis-ridden leadership is coming to an end. Please subscribe - and help us take on the right-wing media: https://patreon.com/owenjones84 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast...

Is it possible to grow concrete? This was the claim of a right-wing shock jock interviewing Insulate Britain's Cameron Ford in a viral clip watched by millions. As the much demonised protest group receives its first positive coverage in the aftermath, Cameron joins us to face down the movement's critics: about why they're targeting motorways, whether he worries for activists' safety after enraged...

Anybody who cares about democracy, independent journalism and human rights should oppose the extradition of Julian Assange. Croatian philosopher Srecko Horvat explains exactly what's at stake. Please subscribe - and help us take on the right wing media here: https://patreon.com/owenjones84 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

In an utterly baffling and disturbing turn of events, Novara Media - the biggest left media outlet in Britain - was summarily deleted from YouTube without warning - and then only reinstated after mass uproar. What the hell is going on - and what does this say about the stranglehold of tech giants over our democracy? Novara's Ash Sarkar and Michael Walker join us live. Please subscribe - and help s...

As Scotland's shift not to prosecute people caught with possession of drugs sparks a new debate over the failed 'war on drugs', we're joined by pre-eminent expert Prof. David Nutt and journalist Mattha Musby to talk over how a new approach is desperately needed. With Julian Assange facing extradition proceedings, the Belmarsh Tribunal has put the War on Terror on trial. We're joined by Croatian ph...

As cases surge and both hospital admissions rise, how much of a mess are we in? How could it have been avoided? Why are we doing worse than our European neighbours? What do we do to stop an even worse disaster - and is another lockdown on the cards? The brilliant Kit Yates from the University of Bath explains clearly all the facts you need to know. Please subscribe - and help us take on the right...

The sickening murder of Tory MP David Amess should have been a moment where we united in horror, and focused on how we keep Members of Parliament safe. Instead the conversation has been derailed: politicians and media outlets who whip up hatred against voiceless minorities on a daily basis attack left-wing critics, even though there is no relevance to this heinous crime. MPs who routinely speak to...

Stonewall is Britain’s main LGBTQ civil rights organisation, and as the country’s anti-trans moral panic spirals out of control, it has become obsessively targeted by the British media. What’s the truth about Stonewall - and how dangerous a moment is this for trans people specifically, and LGBTQ people more broadly? Joining me is bestselling author Juno Dawson and the i paper's equalities reporter...

As Britain's economic indicators flash red - how bad is the country's current plight, and how bad things are going to get this winter - and what lessons can we learn from the Biden experience across the Atlantic? We're joined by a stellar panel of guests: Laurie Macfarlane, economics editor of openDemocracy and Carys Roberts, Director of IPPR; plus Professor Adam Tooze, Columbia University, explai...

Omid Djalili is a comedy star, and we have a lot to talk about - comedy in the time of COVID, is COVID something you can joke about, the loss of the icon Sean Lock, and his first ever gig which is so unbelievably cringeworthy you've got to hear it to believe it. Please like, subscribe - and help us take on the right wing media here: https://patreon.com/owenjones84 Support this show http://supporte...

The horror of the murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer has been compounded by the reaction of the Metropolitan Police and other police forces: ranging from telling women to flag down a bus if they're frightened during an arrest to outright victim blaming - and a total failure to take any meaningful action. With police failures to tackle violence against girls and women - not least within it...

Nina Turner is one of the great emblematic figures of the US left. We talk about how she came to politics, about the Bernie Sanders phenomenon and the rise of the US left, whether Joe Biden really has been pushed in a more progressive direction, whether the criticism of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is well founded - and what hope there is for the left. Please like, subscribe - and help us take on the...

Tory Party conference takes place in a parallel universe: while ministers and delegates live the high life, low paid and poor households are being hammered by Universal Credit cuts in a country devastated by the disastrously mishandled pandemic. How will they respond when this brutality reality is put to them? My advice is, brace yourself... Please like, subscribe - and help us take on the right w...

Keir Starmer won a whopping majority to become Labour leader on a platform of party unity, radical policies, integrity and electability. Has he stuck to his word? How divided is Labour - and how angry are its members at his perceived betrayals? Does Starmer have the confidence of his own members - and does he have an inspiring vision for the country? Please like, subscribe - and help us take on th...

Rather than take the fight to the Tories - from the energy crisis to Universal Credit to food shortages - Keir Starmer has plunged Labour conference into civil war over his plans to shut down democracy. Will his proposal to scrap One Member One Vote for future leadership elections - giving MPs far more say than grassroots union and party members - get through? Is there any hope for a vision from L...