Sunak calls the election and where now for the UK left w/ James Schneider

Andy Beckett joins PTO to talk about his new book, The Searchers: Five Rebels, Their Dream of a Different Britain, and Their Many Enemies. The five rebels in question being Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, and Ken Livingstone. We talked about the role of the global tumult of 1968 in the development of the politics of the five, the extraordinary racism that Diane Abbott has faced since entering parliament, and whether the current Labour leadership think there are votes to be gained in joining in in attacks on Britain's most important black politician. We also talked about the importance of  Salvador Allende's Popular unity government in Chile to the five and how their admiration for Allende contrasted with their view of the eastern bloc during the Cold War. Finally, we touched on the current conjuncture and what the future might hold for the remaining four rebels.

This week's episode is the recording of our recent live event. Gargi Bhattacharyya, Richard Seymour, and Eleanor Penny were joined by an audience in Finsbury Park, London to discuss the fascism debate, disaster nationalism, and the relationship between fascism and racial capitalism.

James Schneider joins the show to discuss Rishi Sunak's announcement that the UK general election will take place on July 4th, and to talk about his book 'Our Bloc: How We Win' in which James argues for a left bloc - a federated alliance of socialist forces comprising social movements, unions, and the residual left in parliament. In the interview we discussed what such a left bloc could look like and how it might knit together forces with varying political commitments and traditions. We also talked about the unprecedented vacuity of Keir Starmer's political project, and James also gave his thoughts on the domestic significance of the Gaza protest movement.

Israeli universities have long enjoyed a reputation as liberal bastions of freedom and democracy and they enjoy warm relationships with their counterparts in north America and Europe - including the University of Columbia. However, as Maya Wind explains in today's episode, contrary to the depiction of Israeli universities as centres of pluralism and free inquiry these institutions are directly complicit in the project to dispossess Palestinians of their land and rights. In her new book, Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom. Maya reveals how academic disciplines, degree programs, campus infrastructure, and research laboratories all service Israeli occupation and apartheid, while universities violate the rights of Palestinians to education, stifle critical scholarship, and violently repress student dissent.

In today's PTO Extra! Richard Seymour responds to some more excellent listener's questions. We talked about the protests against Israel's genocidal war on Gaza taking place at American universities and the extremely repressive response from university authorities. We went on to discuss the situation regarding Iran and Israel, and Richard responded to questions on the disgracing of Sam Bankman-Fried and the effective altruism movement, the Weather Underground and the relevance of armed militant groups of the 1970s to left strategy today. Finally, we talked about what can be expected from a Labour government in the UK and the prospects for a new left party.

Paul Rogers returns to PTO to talk about Iran's attack on Israel on the 13th of April - the first such direct operation carried out by Iran. We discussed whether the operation was a failure or a qualified success, and the role of the United States, Britain, France, and Jordan in the downing of Iranian missiles and drones. We also talked about the progress of Iran's programme and how the attacks on the 13th may have distracted attention from the IDF's failure to defeat Hamas in Gaza. Book your spot at the first PTO Live! event on May 16th in London here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/disaster-nationalism-politics-theory-other-podcast-live-tickets-883198700087

Since October 7th Israeli politicians, spokespeople, and Israel's supporters have mobilised feminist narratives in defence of the state's genocidal actions in Gaza and sought to portray Palestinian resistance to Israel as suffused with religiously inspired misogyny. In a recent article in Salvage, Sophie Lewis wrote about the way in which Zionist feminists have worked to defend the settler colonial project and how it places them in a long lineage of self-described feminists who have been enthusiastic supporters and participants in imperial conquest. In our conversation we talked about that history, and whether we're seeing a decline in Zionist feminism that parallels the broader crisis of liberal Zionism. Book your spot at the first PTO Live! event on May 16th in London here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/disaster-nationalism-politics-theory-other-podcast-live-tickets-883198700087

In part one of a two-part episode Richard returns to give his thoughts on an apparent turn against Israel on parts of the American right, the significance of the protests against Netanyahu within Israel, the role of students in the Palestine solidarity movement, and his view of post-Marxist thought. To get access to the full episode become a £5 PTO supporter on patreon.com/poltheoryother

Yanis Varoufakis joins PTO to discuss his book, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. We discussed why Yanis believes capitalism is no longer the appropriate term to describe contemporary economic and social relations. We also talked about the financial crisis, the Covid19 pandemic, and how central bank responses to both crises served to build the power of the tech giants. Finally, we also briefly discussed the situation in Gaza and why Yanis believes reports of the decline of US global hegemony are, for the moment, exaggerated.

If you'd like to hear the rest of this episode of PTO Extra! Please consider becoming a £5 supporter at patreon.com/poltheoryother Richard Seymour returns to discuss the likelihood of Israel launching its assault on Rafah (in the context of Israel's deliberate starvation of the Gazan population). We talked about the position of the United States and its recent resolution at the United Nations security council and the extent to which - if at all - it represents a shift away from unequivocal support for Israel. We also discussed the decline of liberal Zionism, as Israel increasingly becomes a pariah state, and finally we discussed "normie socialist" and post-left perspectives on the history of Israel-Palestine.