It’s that time of year
The end of the year wouldn’t be complete without a list.
The rest of the blog
The end of the year wouldn’t be complete without a list.
Let’s be honest: most podcasts are fluff, background noise for the doomscroll. But every so often, you stumble across a few that feel vital, like they’re speaking directly to the part of you that knows something’s deeply off. These are the ones that respect the work of Peter Dale Scott, understand that the CIA has been playing dirty for decades, and quietly agree that Oliver Stone might have nailed it with JFK. From deep-state machinations and true crime to the gangsters, spies, and outright monsters shaping our unnerving present, these podcasts don’t just expose the cracks—they show you how deep they go.
In V13: Chronicle of a Trial, Emmanuel Carrère immerses readers in the unprecedented legal aftermath of the 2015 Paris terror attacks, illuminating the harrowing testimonies of survivors, the moral quandaries of justice, and the uneasy search for meaning amid almost unfathomable violence.
Picture a once-mighty empire, stripped to its underwear. Once hailed for its democratic values and global reach, the United States now staggers beneath the weight of its own contradictions—its institutions hollowed out, its alliances squandered, its climate left to burn. In the aftermath of a second Trump presidency, what was once dismissed as political theatre has morphed into a crisis so profound that even the most reluctant observers must confront the truth: the old order cannot endure.
In an interview with Posle Media, researcher and long-time activist Catherine Samary delves into the critical challenges facing the French left amidst a global rightward shift. She critiques the Macron-Barnier government’s austerity policies, rising xenophobia, and the growing influence of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, while advocating for grassroots mobilisation and international solidarity. Samary also addresses the complex dynamics of a left responses to the war in Ukraine, exploring the tensions between anti-imperialism and support for Ukraine’s resistance, and highlights the urgent need for a renewed internationalist strategy to counter neoliberalism, militarism, and environmental devastation. This wide-ranging discussion situates the French left’s struggles within broader global crises, offering a sobering yet hopeful call to action.
Richard Seymour’s “Dreaming of Downfall” provides a crucial analysis of the recent wave of racial violence across Britain, exposing the deep-rooted anxieties and deliberate provocations that have led to this disturbing moment in the nation’s history.
The UK government’s attack on dissent and protest rights echoes a long history of state suppression, revealing a deep fear of the power of a mobilised working class.
The Conservative Party’s recent by-election failures highlight more than just their own incompetence. They point to a fundamental crisis within the capitalist system itself, a system which the Conservatives strive to preserve amidst increasing dysfunction.
The development of artificial superintelligence (ASI) brings with it both great promise and great risk for humanity. This post explores the threats that unchecked ASI poses in concentrating power and wealth, as well as the need for deliberate governance and democratisation of this technology to harness its benefits for the global public good.
This letter from the GMB Women group highlights ongoing issues of bullying and harassment within the union, especially targeting women members. It calls for solidarity to address these problems and reinstate suspended members.
The Labour Party’s hasty withdrawal of support for by-election candidate Azhar Ali over benign comments critical of Israel exemplifies a wider pattern of oversensitivity regarding any anti-Zionist perspectives in the post-Corbyn era.
As revelations of systemic misogyny and abuse in prominent UK trade unions expose the corrupt old boys’ networks still clinging to power, sisters betrayed by false promises of reform continue their brave struggle for gender equality from below.
Decades of incremental climate action have utterly failed to spur the urgent systemic transformation needed to address the worsening climate crisis. Therefore, radical eco-socialist change involving confrontational civil disobedience targeting the continued use of fossil fuels may now be the only morally justifiable pathway left to break the stranglehold of capitalism and give humanity a chance at a livable future.
The following recently published articles criticise the weaponisation of rape allegations to justify a brutal military action against Palestinians in Gaza. The authors contend that propagandistic reporting and double standards reveal deep-rooted racism used to advance the oppression of Gazans.
Simon Pearson analyses the multifaceted documentary Israelism and the difficult questions it raises about ideology, identity, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Simon Pearson argues that Marxists must revive class-based language and analysis of capitalism’s exploitation to connect today’s diverse struggles against inequality and build mass working class power.