billy-anania

4323 Articles by:

Billy Anania

Billy Anania is an art critic, editor, and journalist in New York City.

Second City Games

Ten years after London 2012, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham are another opportunity to examine the role of sporting mega-events in urban change – and see if we’ve learned anything from last time.

The Return of the Scrounger Myth

Tentative attempts by Tories to resurrect the ‘scrounger’ myth to push an even harsher welfare system prove how comfortably they slip back into austerity logic – and how completely at odds they are with the reality of today’s economy.

Liz Truss’s War on Workers

Britain’s anti-union laws are already the harshest in the developed world. Liz Truss’s plan to make them even more draconian should be recognised for what it is – an attack on the basic democratic rights of working people.

The Liberal Myth of London 2012

London’s 2012 Olympics opened a decade ago today. In the time since, the event has become a symbol for centrists of an ideal, progressive Britain that never really existed.

Letting Down the North Again

Since 2019 the public spending gap between the North and London has doubled – a reminder that government talk of ‘levelling up’ has so far been little more than hot air.

Struggle is Brewing at Budweiser

Despite spiralling living costs, employees at the Budweiser factory in Samlesbury were offered an insulting 3% pay rise – in response, these ‘beer heroes’ went on strike for the first time ever.

Not Just Looking

Ana Kinsella’s ‘Look Here’ is a book about fashion, but also one about the personal politics of moving around the city before and during the pandemic.

The Market Can’t Save Us

From the cost of living crisis to climate chaos, our era is defined by enormous social challenges – and the private sector has shown it can’t solve them. It’s time for massive state intervention in the economy.

150 Years of ‘The Housing Question’

Friedrich Engels’ 1872 pamphlet ‘The Housing Question’ highlighted the mutual reliance between the housing crisis and the capitalist system in Victorian England. In the years since, that relationship has only deepened.

Remembering the Pentonville Five

On this day in 1972, five trade unionists were arrested after refusing to obey an injunction against picketing. We republish a report from Tribune on the campaign which secured their freedom.