The Zeitgeist Tapes

This month, Steve and Emma look at 70s political assassination thriller The Parallax View. While it underperformed in terms of box office, it has had a lasting effect and stands as a classic of the paranoid genre. Even if at times it does look like an episode of Dukes of Hazard. The brainwashing scene can be watched here . Tickets for Emma's play, No Cure for Love can be bought here . 

This month, Emma and Steve are looking at the David Hare play The Absence of War. Originally set in 1993 (after extraordinary access to the Labour campaign of 1992) the play echoes many themes still discussed by the Labour Party today.  Tickets for Emma's play can be bought here: https://app.lineupnow.com/event/no-cure-for-love-camden-fringe?fbclid=IwAR2-qZFd6FHUvbsAnx_dsGGRd2wqj4_TtvbBCwz4w8VLkLU...

Emma and Steve finally discuss The West Wing. We use the double episode 20 Hours in America but take in as much of the show as can be covered in under an hour.  Links:  Tom Hanks Philadelphia acceptance speech:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBuDMEpUc8k Lin Manuel Miranda 'What's Next' rap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TTD5-3fuZE Emma Burnell: The West Wing was wonderful. But you're still not...

For international Women's Day, Emma and Steve discuss the feminist classic The Stepford Wives. A chillingly dark comedy horror about what men really want from women. 

We're back!  This month Emma and Steve look at the 1936 French film The Crime of Monsieur Lange. This morality tale from French auteur Jean Renoir divided us on some of the interpretations of characters. But the film is pacey and enjoyable and ahead of its time in many aspects of sex, gender roles and the evils of capitalists. 

This month, Steve and Emma are joined by Dr Scott Rodgers, Senior Lecturer in media theory at the University of London, Birkbeck to discuss The Hunger Games.  A film adored across the political spectrum, but is it too down on politics? And is it also inherently conservative?

In this episode, Steve and Emma are joined by journalist Helen Lewis - author of Difficult Women: A History of feminism in 11 fights - to talk about Mrs America.  The Series depicts the fight around the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s between two groups of women. The second wave feminists and the backlash from conservative women. It is an incredible and complex depiction which - while clearly...

In this episode, Emma and Steve are joined by the President of the New York chapter of National Action Network - Derek Perkinson - to discuss three seminal Spike Lee films. We cover Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and BlacKKKlansman.  All three speak to the moment we find ourselves in. Lee uses humour and great storytelling to drive home his point, never losing either anger or control. 

Today we are delighted to be joined by playwright James Graham. We interview him on the day that his play This House is due to go online (you can watch it here for free for a week  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vsSHyjEMrg ).  We talk about his portrayal of both real and fictional political actors from This House through Labour of Love and of course we touch on his portrayal of a certain Dominic...

We have a first this month as Emma and Steve are joined by our first guest ever to be portrayed onscreen as a character. Jon Lansman talks about the 1981 Labour Party conference and the battle to change the way the party elects its leader as depicted in a BBC docudrama which can be found here . 

As we all find ourselves willing Prisoners reliant on a strong proactive state to keep us healthy, we thought it might be fun to explore an alternative point of view.  In this iconic 60s drama, Patrick McGoohan finds himself trapped in the perplexing and frustrating world of The Village. Constantly experimented on and tortured by Number 2, he is number 6. Though he would argue he's a free man.  Th...

This month Emma and Steve discuss Parks and Recreation - possibly the least cyncial programme ever made about politics. 

This month, Emma and Steve discuss Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister. Prompted by the recent death of the last remaining regular, Derek Fowlds who played Private Secetary Bernard Woolley we re-examine what this show meant to perceptions of the civil service and where power really lies. 

This month, to keep us going through the election, Emma and Steve have been watching The Campaign. These politicians are not kissing babies - they're punching them!  Lighthearted and surprisingly sweet in places this is definitely a good antidote to UK politics. 

In this election special, Steve and Emma are joined by occasional broadcaster and TV's Clangers expert Tim Worthington to talk about the one-off special of that show: Vote For Froglet. This seven-minute-long slice of surreal seventies stuff has a lot more to tell us about our current political moment than you would think. You can find the whole thing here . As always do get in touch and let us kno...

This month, Emma and Steve discuss Netflix original series The Politician.  The first season of this show follows the campaign of consummate politician Payton Hobart as he campaigns to be Class President of his high school.  A dark comedy in primary colours The Politician is very watchable. But is it at once too cynical and too innocent?

This month Emma Burnell and Steve Fielding discuss England, England by Julian Barnes.  Written in the late 90s when New Labour was still new and The Referendum Party was just a joke outfit, this prophetic novel shows that our 'little Englander' never really went away.  The discussion covers Britpop's role in re-normalising patriotism and why Peter Mandelson didn't just use a female Bulldog!

In this episode, journalist Emma Burnell and Professor Steve Fielding discuss BBC 3 Drama The Left Behind . Bleak and uncompromising, it tells the tale of Gethin, a young man in South Wales who becomes radicalised into the far right. 

This month, Emma and Steve are joined by Jonn Elledge of the New Statesman to talk about BBC Drama Years and Years.  Written by Russell T Davies it's the tale of a dystopian (though sadly plausible) near future. Britain has descended into chaos, the banks crash - again and facism - in the smiling form of Vivienne Rook (Emma Thompson) is on the rise. 

As a nod to the discussions of sovereignty and independence that have surrounded the EU elections this month Emma and Steve have watched Passport to Pimlico. This Ealing comedy is a pean to the collectivism of the Attlee government. But it's also good at tweaking the nose of bureaucracy. 

This month, Emma and Steve interviewed Marlon Soloman about his one-man show Conspiracy Theory: A Lizard's Tale. In it, Marlon unpacks both antisemitism in conspiracy theories and specifically in the Labour Party. It's a fascinating show - full of rich humour and details that will shock. And we talk about the reaction he's had.

This month Emma and Steve are delighted to be joined by Steve Waters, playwrite and author of the recent highly successful play Limehouse.  Limehouse is a fictionalised account of the day the 'Gang of Four' broke away from the Labour Party to form the SDP. Originally performed at the Donmar Warehouse, this play is still very timely, especially after the formation of The Independent Group of MPs. ...

This month, Steve and Emma are joined by Historian and Screenwriter Alex Von Tunzelmann to discuss Vice.  Telling the story of Dick Cheyney this film - from the makers of The Big Short - does it's "fucking best" according to the makers. Do we agree? And if we dont, does it matter?

The Zeitgeist Tapes on tour!  This month, Emma has dragged Steve all the way down to 'That London' to a play above a pub in Clapham. But a play about Clement Attlee so very much on brand.  Listen to us chat while our teeth chatter (all will be revealed).

New Year - new naming scheme!  This is a special episode where Emma and Steve have got together to discuss last night's James Graham TV play Brexit: The Uncivil War.  Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Dominic Cummings, this covered the ins and outs of the in or out vote in 2016. Largely focussed on the successful leave campaign, we discuss the timeliness or otherwise of the drama, the casting and t...