Red Flare Podcast

Longest running guest Dave Renton joins the podcast to discuss his new book on the anti-fascist novel. We discuss the transformative power of fiction, the lessons to be learned from Cable Street, the limitations of Ridley Road and more. We also inevitably discuss Patriot Platform. Get a discount on Dave's book with the code ADC26 when ordering from the Routledge website https://www.routledge.com/The-Anti-Fascist-Novel-in-Britain-1923-2023-12-Authors-Take-Sides/Renton/p/book/9781041269144

In the final episode of 12 Rules for What, and the first episode of the Red Flare podcast, Alex talks to author, researcher and activist Daniel Trilling about his latest book, If We Tolerate This. Discussing the broad changes in the UK far right in the last 1`5 years, the rise of the far-right jester, the mainstream demonisation of migrants and more! Premium episodes of the show are now hosted on redflare.info. To access them, and support the work of Red Flare, consider subscribing!

Veteran guest Dave Renton joins the show to discuss the long history of the Socialist Workers Party and antifascism in the UK. We discuss the sexual assault crisis of 2013, its ongoing fallout, how the SWP has such influence over UK antifascism and more. Support episodes via our patreon, patreon.com/12rulesforwhat

Today we are joined by writer Richard Seymour to discuss last Saturday's Unite the Kingdom rally, the largest far right rally in British history. We disucss why it was so big, the anti migrant racism of the mainstream, the yankification of the British far right, Tommy Robinson, how we can oppose his movement and more. Support the show: patreon.com/12rulesforwhat Check out Richard's book here: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3147-disaster-nationalism Read Richard's take on the rally: https://www.patreon.com/posts/i-heard-you-want-138879347

Recently, the protest group Palestine Action was proscribed by the Labour government under counter terror legislation putting the group in the same category as Al Quaida, ISIS and National Action. This is stunning attack on the right to protest and will have wider implications for the palestine solidarity movement, and other movements that sometimes break the law in pursuing their political goals – which we should remember has a long history in UK protest movements. On the surface this seems to be outside the remit of this podcast, so why are we covering this? For one thing the British state has used the proscription of far right and fascist groups to give a veneer of acceptability this action. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, proscribed two far right groups alongside Palestine Action. But also there is a more fundamental issue here. We cannot divorce the actions and policies of far right governments from those of their liberal democratic counter parts. The British state continues to send fighter jet parts to the Israeli regime, which is committing a genocide. It is also running surveillance missions over Gaza from its base in Cyprus. In addition, Labour has chased Reform in its policy and rhetoric towards migrants. It was only a few months ago that Starmer echoed Enoch Powell in his island of strangers speech. Far right governments usually use existing laws and powers to push an authoritarian agenda. You can see this particularly in the United States of America, where Trump cites hundreds year old insurrection laws and alien enemies acts in order to further his mass deportation campaign. It is not hard to see a far right government in this country to use the proscription of PA to go after climate justice or civil rights movements. With that being said, today I'm talking to Iida Kayhko about proscription, counter terror and more, on with the show! Support the show on patreon: patreon.com/12rulesforwhat Iida's article in Race and Class: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03063968251323166

Kier Starmer's Powelite rhetoric last week shocked many in his party and on the left. Yet it fitrs into a long history of labour racism and racist border policies. Writer Michael Richmond joins the show to discuss all of this, the function of state race relations iniatives, the echoes of the August racist riots and more. Michael Richmond is the co author of two books: Fractured: Race, Class, Gender and the Hatred of Idenity Politics and Fascism and the Women's Cause. Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/12rulesforwhat

Author and historian Pádraig Ó Ruairc joins the show to discuss his new book, Burn Them Out: A History of Fascism and the Far Right in Ireland. We discuss Ireland's complicated political situation post war of independence, the rise of the Blueshirts and their leader Eoin O'Duffy, how FIne Gael reckons (or doesn't reckon) with its fascist origins and much more! Buy Pádraig's book from your local independent bookshop or buy directly from the publisher here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/burn-them-out-9781035915279/ Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/12rulesforwhat

This week Alex is joined by author Lois Shearing to discuss their new book Pink Pilled: Women and the Far Right. We discuss women's precarious positions within online fascists spaces, how gender motivates far right politics today, how the emptiness of liberal feminism can be exploited and more. The interview was conducted before Pink Pilled came out, you can now buy it via University of Manchester Press or bookshops everywhere. Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/12rulesforwhat Red Flare fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-antifascist-investigations-in-britain

Sam (now known by his real name, Youtube personality Richard Hames) comes back on the show to mark the the release of a new Spanish edition of The Rise of Ecofascism. We cover some of the things in the new preface of the book, reflect on the state of the world in the age of Musk and speculate about where all this is heading. Support the show: patreon.com/12rulesforwhat Check out Richard's course: https://crudefutures.substack.com/p/im-teaching-an-online-course-on-collapse Spanish edition of the book here: https://levantafuego.com/producto/baterias-bombas-y-fronteras/

We round up the key far right stories in 2024, discussing Tommy Robinson's incarceration, the fortunes of Homeland and PA and the absolute and total shutdown of the Traditional Britain Group xmas social. Final news, in early 2025 we will be moving to be hosted by anti-fascist researchers Red Flare! Look out soon for details of where you can find our content