Downstream

Will Harry and Meghan bring down the monarchy? Ash Sarkar is joined by gal-dem political editor Moya Lothian-Mclean and Novara Media's very own James Butler to discuss how we ended up with a family of dysfunctional aristocrats at the very top of British society, why republicanism is still so marginal, and the collision course between celebrity culture and 1200 years of feudalism.

Novara Audio: Radio for a Different Politics

Downstream: Abolish The Monarchy

The criminalisation of drugs has almost no impact on drug use, denies access to proven medical treatments and disproportionately targets people of colour. Yet the idea that drugs are ‘evil’ and that drug users are criminals is entrenched in international and domestic law. How can we begin to shift this point of view? What are the first steps towards decriminalisation? Ash Sarkar speaks to David Nutt, Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

Downstream: Why All Drugs Should Be Decriminalised w/ David Nutt

In recent years Scottish and Welsh independence, as well as Irish unification, have become increasingly plausible with Britain’s departure from the EU highlighting major points of difference, as well as economic imbalances, across the home nations. But could the break up of the UK ever include the North of England? And what would a sovereign ‘Northumbria’ actually look like?

Aaron Bastani speaks to Philip Proudfoot, founder of the Northern Independence Party.

Downstream: Independence for the North of England w/ Philip Proudfoot

Excluding Tony Blair’s back-to-back victories, the Conservative Party has governed the UK for all but 18 of the last 100 years. While the media often presents elections as Labour’s to lose, the truth is that Britain is a one-party state that occasionally lets the other side have a go in the interest of fairness. With the Hartlepool by-election just a month away, Ash Sarkar is joined by journalist Samuel Earle to discuss how the Conservative Party became the most successful political party in the Western world – and what it might take for the left to topple them.

Downstream: Why The Tories Keep Winning w/ Samuel Earle

Political scandal no longer seems to cut through the conversation, but is the unfolding saga around Max Greensill and David Cameron an exception? Aaron Bastani is joined by Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund to discuss the implications of a story which is only set to grow.

Downstream: 'Dodgy Dave'? The Facts on the Greensill Saga

Following the shock announcement of a European Super League, Ash Sarkar talks to podcaster Laurence McKenna about how a sport created by the poor was stolen by the rich – and what can be done to take football back.

Downstream: A Super League for the Super Rich w/ Laurence McKenna

For some, Joe Biden has already exceeded expectations. For others, his economic programme is nowhere near enough to address the climate crisis and American decline. While the president's Covid relief package has seen billions dispensed immediately, his Jobs Plan proposes to invest $35 billion in green R&D over eight years - less than Americans spend annually on pet food. So how radical is President Biden? Is there such a thing as ‘Bidenomics’? And does the new president represent a break with the orthodoxy of Democrat predecessors such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama? Discussing all those questions with Aaron Bastani is Adam Tooze, professor at Columbia University and author of Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World.

Downstream: How Radical is President Joe Biden? w/ Adam Tooze

Between a fifth and a quarter of scripted network TV shows involve police or law enforcement. From Paul Blart: Mall Cop to A Touch of Frost, 'copaganda' has our pop culture bang to rights. What impact does the ubiquity of police dramas on our screens have on the real criminal justice system? And - mother of god! - has Line of Duty been feeding us pure ideology all this time? Ben Smoke and Caspar Salmon join Ash Sarkar to turn the tables and interrogate the world of fictional police.

Downstream: Is Line of Duty 'Copaganda'?

In March this year the UK’s new military strategy declared Israel remains a ‘key strategic partner’. But what does that mean, and where does it sit in relation to Israel and its war on Palestine? Aaron Bastani is joined by Mark Curtis editor and co-founder of Declassified UK.

Downstream: How Britain Supports Israel's War on Palestine

The Undercover Policing Inquiry, which started in December last year, is examining the infiltration of more than 1,000 political groups by British police since 1968. How much has been disclosed? Will more revelations come to light? And what does justice look like for those whose lives have been destroyed by ‘spycops’? Aaron Bastani is joined by Tom Fowler, host of the Spy Cops Info podcast.

Downstream: How Britain's Police Spied On The Left w/ Tom Fowler

In 1987, private detective Daniel Morgan was found murdered with an axe to the head in a pub car park in south London. Despite the brutal circumstances of his death and multiple  investigations, the case remains unsolved, prompting suspicion of corruption and cover-ups. Ash Sarkar speaks to Alastair Morgan as he awaits the results of the fifth police inquiry into his brother's death.

Downstream: The Daniel Morgan Murder Inquiry

Since 2010 Len McCluskey has been the general secretary of Unite, one of Britain’s largest trade unions. That changes this year with the election of his successor, a three-way race between Gerard Coyne, Sharon Graham and today’s guest on Downstream, Steve Turner.

Downstream: The Fight for Unite w/ Steve Turner

Has the left forgotten how to have fun? Ash Sarkar is joined by #ACFM's Jeremy Gilbert to discuss euphoria, liberation and wisdom in the rave.

Downstream: Love In This Club w/ Jeremy Gilbert

Nearly 12 months ago some said that we were on the verge of entering a new Roaring '20s. How prescient they turned out to be. 

One pandemic and a global economic freefall later, all the assumptions we started out with in January have turned to dust. In their place are pressing questions. Did Boris Johnson's landslide breathe a new lease of life into the Conservative Party? Has coronavirus changed politics for a decade? What does the explosive rise of BLM mean for the anti-racist cause?

Downstream hosts Ash Sarkar and Aaron Bastani are joined by NovaraFM's James Butler to discuss the year in review and what comes next.

Novara Audio: Radio For A Different Politics  

Downstream: The Year In Review 2020

On Monday a British judge ruled that Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States on charges of espionage and computer hacking. Yet despite that verdict the judgment arguably represented a blow to freedom of the press, with the judge accepting the substance of the case made by the US State Department. 

On Downstream, Aaron Bastani is joined by Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister and prominent supporter of Julian Assange during his time in prison, as they discuss the meaning of the outcome and what next for the founder of Wikileaks.

Downstream: Does the US Want Julian Assange Dead?

The last few years have heralded the rise of the influencer: social media users who have, in essence, found a way to get paid for being themselves on the internet. But has this commodification of the self poisoned the public sphere? Or are we witnessing the end of gatekeeping - and the beginnings of a new, more democratic kind of celebrity? Moya Lothian-McLean, politics editor at gal-dem magazine, joins Ash Sarkar on Downstream to crack open the influencer industrial complex.

Downstream: The Influencer Industrial Complex w/ Moya Lothian-McLean

A year after the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic, with Britain enduring more than 100,000 deaths since, major questions remain unanswered. Why was the response of the UK among the worst in the world? How is it possible that the death toll of countries in Europe and North America is so much higher than poorer countries such as Thailand and Vietnam? And when will things go ‘back to normal’?

Aaron Bastani poses these questions to Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the prestigious medical journal The Lancet and author of The Covid-19 Catastrophe: What's Gone Wrong and How to Stop It Happening Again.

Downstream: Why Has Britain Failed On Covid? w/ Richard Horton

What can the Apollo missions teach us about dealing with the major crises of the 21st century? And why are politicians so eager to dwell on caricatures of the public rather than engage in problem-solving - from climate change to housing and education?

Aaron Bastani speaks to author and academic Mariana Mazzucato to find out.

Downstream: Can Capitalism Solve Its Crises? w/ Mariana Mazzucato

Can the BBC be trusted to fight for its own survival? Television has become ground zero in the reactionary backlash against liberal norms and, for some reason, current affairs comedy has found itself in the crosshairs. This week on Downstream, Ash Sarkar meets Nish Kumar – comedian and host of The Mash Report – to talk about how he became the accidental face of the Defund the BBC movement, and why right-wing comics are the real snowflakes.

Downstream: Maybe Don't Defund the BBC? w/ Nish Kumar

Should we all be vegan or vegetarian? Does climate change require a new relationship to nature and non-human animals? And will Covid-19 be the moment when we realise industrial farming carries devastating, unacceptable risks? Aaron Bastani speaks to the author of 'Animal Liberation' and professor of bioethics at Princeton University, Peter Singer.