66. Elite Capture: An interview with Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò
This week, Grace Blakeley speaks to writer Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò about how elites have captured identity politics – and how liberation movements can resist establishment co-optation.
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Grace Blakeley
Grace Blakeley is a staff writer at Tribune.
65. The Care Crisis: An Interview with Emma Dowling
This week, Grace talks to author Emma Dowling about the crisis of care facing the world economy, the challenges of organising, and what it would take to genuinely democratise care work.
64. Speculative Communities: An Interview with Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou
This week, Grace talks to Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, associate professor of sociology at UCL, about how mutual cooperation within the uncertainty that characterises life under financial capitalism is building new communities.
How the Pandemic Made the Super-Rich Even Richer
Early weeks of the pandemic saw many claim that Covid-19 would be a ‘great equaliser’ – but with central banks desperate to inflate asset prices, the crisis has made the global elite richer than ever.
Do Unto Others
At its most radical, Christian teaching is a condemnation of a world exploited by the rich – and an injunction to fight for the liberation of the world’s poor and oppressed.
59. A History of Everything: An Interview with David Wengrow
This week, Grace speaks to David Wengrow, author of ‘The Dawn of Everything’ along with the late David Graeber, about human history, human nature, and how to change the world.
58. Neoliberalism and the Production of Uselessness: An Interview with Neil Vallelly
This week, Grace speaks to writer and researcher Neil Vallelly about utilitarian thinking in capitalism, and its collapse into ‘futilitarianism’ – and the impact of that futility on our individual and collective wellbeing.
Public Spending Isn’t Socialism
The pandemic has seen capitalist governments pivot toward more spending as a response to economic malaise – but unless it empowers workers, there’s nothing socialist about state intervention.
57. How We Win the Green New Deal: An Interview with Chris Saltmarsh
On this week’s episode, Grace speaks to eco-socialist activist and author Chris Saltmarsh about his new book ‘Burnt’ – and how we can build a movement to win a Green New Deal.
A Welfare State for the Wealthy
Today’s Budget promised both additional spending and a shrinking of the state. These might seem contradictory – but they are part of the same plan: to funnel yet more wealth to Britain’s elite.
56. Net Zero Is Not Enough: An Interview with Holly Jean Buck
This week, Grace speaks to Holly Jean Buck, Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Buffalo, about what net zero means – and what it’ll take to get there.
The Inflation Class War
Right-wingers have recently discovered the cost of living crisis, and sought to blame it on workers – but it has its roots in an economy built to enrich a tiny minority at the majority’s expense.
55. Work Without the Worker: An Interview with Phil Jones
This week, Grace speaks to researcher and author Phil Jones about when ‘automation’ is actually just poorly-paid microwork – and how those workers can organise to resist exploitation.
Democratise Central Banks
The past year has exposed the myth that central banks are neutral bodies which exist outside of politics – and made clear that their crucial economic functions must be brought under democratic control.
Keir Starmer’s Ninety Minutes of Nothing
Keir Starmer’s leaders speech was the longest in recent memory, but contained hardly any substance – an admission that Labour under his watch won’t respond to crisis with any great ambition for change.
53. Climate, Capital, and the State: An Interview With Geoff Mann
This week, Grace speaks to Geoff Mann, Professor of Geography at Simon Fraser University, about neoliberalism, state power, and why democracy is so important to anti-capitalist struggle today.
52. The Long Decline of the Tory Party: An Interview with Phil Burton-Cartledge
This week, Grace speaks with Phil Burton-Cartledge, author of ‘Falling Down: The Conservative Party and the Decline of Tory Britain’ about why, contrary to appearances, the Tories might be in decline.
51. Demand a Shorter Working Week: An Interview with Will Stronge and Kyle Lewis
This week, Grace speaks to Kyle Lewis and Will Stronge, authors of ‘Overtime’, about the historical struggle for a shorter working week – and why it should be a central demand of labour movements today.
50. The Transgender Issue: An Interview with Shon Faye
This week, Grace speaks to writer Shon Faye about transphobia in the UK, why the transgender issue is also a class issue, and how socialists can support trans rights.
49. Monopsony Capitalism: An Interview with Ashok Kumar
This week, Grace speaks to author and academic Ashok Kumar about how monopsony capitalism reshapes global value chains – and about how those changes affect worker power.