Desolation Radio

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The people's podcast returns to bring hope to the starving masses (starved of podcasts). We linked up with our old friend Huw to discuss the Gething affair. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. Here is a man who stood up! Here is...Huw Williams.

Dan sat down with Chris, Gerald and Jordan from the ALU to discuss their amazing campaign to establish and organize a trade union in their Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. Despite a huge union busting campaign from Amazon, the ALU's campaign culminated in a successful recognition agreement, the first of its kind worldwide and a huge symbolic victory for the working class across the world. We discussed conditions in Amazon, organizing strategies, union busting, why we shouldn't talk politics in trade unions, covid, the importance of fighting back and much more besides. This one is a must listen for socialists and organizers of any kind. Enjoy!

Ladies and gentlemen...we got him. For our 100th episode we were joined by the one and only Michael Sheen. We talked about films, politics, the homeless world cup, and lots more besides. An honour and a privilege to talk to Michael, and thanks so much to all of you who've supported us over the last 6 years. We love you. Peace out X

What's up everyone. For our 99th episode (!) we were joined by our friend Hussein Said to talk about his experiences in the Black Lives Matter movement and the environmental movement. We talked about class, policing, ecology and the problems the left faces in uniting these issues, as well as the intractable problem of identity politics seeping into leftist activism and much much more besides. This one is vital listening- Hussein is the man. If you want to donate to Asylum Justice you can do so here: https://www.asylumjustice.org.uk/fundraising/

Well, that hiatus was longer than expected! Sorry everyone. But we are back, fear not. For episode 98 we were lucky enough to be able to speak to the incomparable Ned Thomas. Ned is the author of the modern classic 'The Welsh Extremist', as well as being the founder of Planet magazine, which has become a modern Welsh institution. He is truly a giant of Welsh political and cultural life and he shares his wisdom with us here on a wide range of topics, reflecting on a lifetime of activism and intellectual work. We talked about the Welsh language, Welsh identity, the nature of devolution, direct action, and loads more besides. Hope you enjoy x

Dan was joined by our good mate and all round legend Paul O'Connell to discuss the Labour Party and Labourism as a political culture, following Paul's recent article on Conter https://www.conter.scot/2022/1/25/labouring-under-illusions/. They discussed the history and defining features of Labourism, the new left debate on Labour as a vehicle for socialism, its analysis of the state, its relationship with imperialism, why the Labour party annoyingly refuses to die and ultimately why socialists urgently need to break with Labourism in order to tackle the current crisis of capitalism.

In this episode we were joined by none other than Professor Walter Benn Michaels, the author of 'The Trouble with Diversity: How we learned to love identity and ignore inequality'. We talked about the rise of left neoliberalism and why it is wrong; the history of the civil rights movement and why it moved away from socialism; the material roots and role of racism in society; the role of Universities in marginalizing class analysis; the failure of the left to present an alternative analysis; the myth of 'class reductionism'; and how liberal anti-racism and all forms of progressive identity politics ultimately function to undermine socialism and aid capitalism. An extremely provocative episode with one of the best socialist thinkers around.

We were rejoined by our friend Frank Ledwidge to discuss war crimes conducted in the war on terror. Frank talked us through the enquiry into crimes committed by the Australian SAS, the parallel British investigations into allegations against British special forces, the Overseas Operation Bill, Marine A, Soldier F and what the domestic response to war crimes says about our society.

In part 2 of our mini-series on the fall of Afghanistan we were lucky enough to be joined by the one and only Professor Michael Hardt, author of the seminal work Empire. Michael talked to us about what the US withdrawal from Afghanistan means for US imperialism, whether there is a future for humanitarian intervention after Afghanistan, the differences between imperialism and his concept of 'empire', the nature of the modern global capitalist system, and a whole lot more. Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

The Graveyard of Empires mini-series. Part 1. After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last month, the boys bring you a mini-series of reflective episodes on the war in Afghanistan and what the withdrawal of foreign troops means. The first episode in the series is with Dr Frank Ledwidge, a former military intelligence officer who served in Helmand province as a civilian adviser and who authored the devastating book 'Losing Small Wars: British Military Failure in Iraq and Afghanistan'. Frank talks us through the tragic failures of British strategy in Afghanistan and the culture which allowed these failures to happen. We cover everything from the history of British colonial presence in the country to the military industrial complex to daily life on the ground. Frank now regularly writes on defence and war for The Guardian.