Two and a Mic - The Social Podcast

This is a review of Ken Follett’s The Armour of Light. It is the latest in his Kingsbridge series and is set in the times of the Napoleonic Wars, the industrial revolution, mass poverty and times of significant social and religious change. I cannot overstate the relevance of the many topics introduced in this one tale. As such Greg’s choice to review this story was an inspired one and I am gratefu...

While this spat between Lago and Washington appears to be about Boko Haram and their religious conflict, to only see this viewpoint is to accept the word of a liar, even a presidential one, at his word. In this episode Ademola talks about many of the issues that plague Nigerian politics and he is very clear on why he thinks the problems in Nigeria go much deeper than Boko Haram and are more proble...

In a just world gender equality would no longer be a demand but a reality. People will point towards progress being made yet misogyny and violent abuse against women continues. How can we in good conscience claim to live in a democracy when half of the population has a genuine reason to be fearful of so many potential male abusers, aggressors, rapists or murderers? If our politicians wanted to cha...

Ademola contacted me some months ago to say that he might be visiting Berlin for a conference as a guest of the German foreign ministry. A few weeks ago Ademola and a group of African activists from different African nations came to Berlin and then Hamburg to meet with politicians, civil servants, lecturers and journalists. Their purpose was to discuss the legacy of German colonialism and in parti...

Making ______ Better Again, wherever that may be, has always been an extremely discomforting concept. Whether it is spoken in English, German, Italian or any other language, the idea that some unknown point in history is for some reason the enviable destination of modern society is worrisome. Never are these points in history defined. There is only ever a general reference to some point before tod...

What drives us to celebrate insignificances when pain is banging on the windows crying out for a helping hand? Why do we believe that some have the right to the glitz and at the same time care not that so many will never know any of the freedoms we take for granted? This reflective, critical, and frustrated monologue expresses what has taken me some time to put together. It places at the centre th...

Oscar Wilde remains one of the greatest writers in the modern era. A genius with the pen he was born in Dublin, Ireland on October 16 1854 an died on November 30th 1900 in Paris, France. He took his artistic talents from his mother Jane Francesca Elgee, a poet and a journalist. He published his fairy tales for his two sons in 1888. His only novel, the Picture of Dorian Grey was published in 1891 t...

This is a treasure of a story because it speaks to the hearts of many who would today happily be forgotten about by the authorities. Not through criminality or to avoid financial duties, but just because people are so fed up of all the oversight, control and continuous badgering. If only a few more streets could get mislaid like this, how might their value increase as a result? Not that they could...

I had my eye on Dept Q for quite some time before taking that plunge into the delights of Edinburgh’s latest crime series (that I am aware of at least). The opening scene sets a tone which continues throughout, not in the violence necessarily but in the mood and characterisation. Aggressive humour meant to overpower and influence, awkward laughter, disconcerted expressions, and a traumatic event t...

Rarely does a book make such a splash 90 years after it was first published. Yet this is the case of Sally Carson’s masterpiece Crooked Cross. Reissued after it was rediscovered by Persephone Books this is a story of love, hate, tragedy and politics. It is told as subtly as such destruction can be recounted. It is a shame the world grew so ignorant of the book but I am hopeful schools will pick it...

Lynchings are a thing of the past – how I wish that statement were fact-based. Considering the nature of politics and the degradation of social justice in the USA I cannot say with any confidence that it is. Terms such as “No foul play” suddenly take on a different meaning. When a loved one is dead and the family cannot understand how such a tragedy unfolded without the participation of ‘unexplain...

What does it mean to have a school in your locality? Why do people move to areas in cities that provide basic services like healthcare, education, employment, transportation, alimentation and entertainment? When these services are taken away, society dies, communities die. When Ravenswood High School was closed down in the 1970s, so many dreams went with it. Though it is hard to tell why decisions...

This entire hearing was performative politics with a heavy dose on the “performance”. There was no substance to it. Nobody truly gave a damn. They were playing to the cameras and pretending the entire time. People appeared, said what they said, made out they were angry, crossed a faded line or two, and moved on to their next appointment. Even the head of the committee left early as he had another...

The only guarantees in life are death and taxes so the saying goes. We should add to that injustice as well for it has accompanied human civilisation since the dawn of our time. We see it today, in our technological, advanced and moral societies, where our supposed level of understanding has risen above that of the barbaric. When we see what is happening in the world I am convinced that all we hav...

Severance as a TV show on Apple TV+ probably introduces itself. There is a link below to the original season’s trailer and I’d highly recommend you take that in as well if you are yet to watch the show. If you have already seen Severance, I’d love to hear from you about what you liked most or what you found troublesome in one way or another. This is my first episode with my uncle on this simple an...

A year on from the Farage Riots and what have we learned? The basic truth is that rioting does nothing. It doesn’t exhibit patriotism. It doesn’t convince people that a movement based on hate will do anything other than eventually dissipate. It has shown that a vast number of the people on the streets talking about safety to women and children had themselves been either accused of or in many cases...

There has been a lot already written and said about Palantir but I wanted to get a few of my own thoughts in order on the subject. Below I have links to mainstream and independent reports on Palantir and its dangers as a company and its software Gotham in particular. We cannot allow our passive acceptance of governance to continue in the way that it has done. Humanity has almost completely run out...

On July 25th Jubilee released a show called Surrounded with Mehdi Hasan confronting 20 far right voices in the USA. You can see that episode on YouTube here: 1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives (ft. Mehdi Hasan) In this podcast Esheru joins me to give his thoughts on the Surrounded show and also to talk about some of the wider themes that underly the reasons behind the spread of right wing...

Roald Dahl wrote some of the most amazing children’s stories I’ve even read. My personal favourite of his is The Fantastic Mr Fox, but other classics such as James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG and The Twits, not forgetting George’s Marvellous Medicine were all must-reads when I was growing up. If I had a hundred wishes I wouldn’t know where to start, but...

Here is my narration of Checkov's short story called A Slander. How does the story’s protagonist interpret a joke, how much importance does he give it and how does he perceive the character that tells it? What webs the human mind spins when all is needed is calm, a sense of humour and little less pride. For any feedback, please come and find me on most socials with the hashtag TwoandaMic. Link to...

How did the world get into the state that it is in today? Why do we hate one another so much when we are all so much alike? Every choice has a consequence, yet we are collectively too shortsighted to realise how our own small voices can lead to such significant changes in the DNA of our societies. Since November 1963 when certain questionable actions occurred and a state cover-up was initiated, th...

Talking about freedom when we believe we have it makes for a deeply reflective experience. There are definitely occasions where we feel free. There will be times when we even act freely. In many places we speak freely and congregate freely. Yet those freedoms are being tightened, and our free speech is being choked. I will address those sentiments in a future episode, so for now I thank Amin for t...

The world is melting. Climate crises and tipping points, wars, bombs, propaganda and social strife. We are experiencing everything, everywhere, all at once (isn’t that a movie title too?). Yet rather than taking a step back to calm the situation down, our apparent ‘leaders’ are making things worse. The criminals are running the show and the other leaders have simply fallen into line behind them. T...

Rose, a specialist in Geopolitics, has worked tirelessly to create this fantastic project whereby students from Marseilles and Yerevan have the opportunity to experience life in each other’s cities, learn about the more than century-old history that unites the two towns, and the cultures that have grown through centuries of strife and fluctuation. Below are a few links to the project. Thank you Ro...

Amber from the Road to Tar Valon joins me in this episode on the cancellation of an epic TV Show the Wheel of Time. Amber has her fingers on the pulse of that big spinning wheel and world of WoT themes and theories and shares a few morsels for us to chew on. Plus a very quick chat about Murderbot (more to come when the TV Series season 1 concludes). As always, thank you so much Amber for your time...