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Part 4.  What would it mean for a UK government to fully break with the history of neoliberalism?  In the final episode of a four-part mini-series, Alan Finlayson and Jeremy Gilbert consider what it would mean for a UK government actually to break with the history of neoliberalism. What kind of economic policies, systems of government, media culture and […]

Why do some people say neoliberalism does’t exist? How did neoliberalism respond to the conditions of the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic? Is it still the ruling ideology of our age? And is neoliberalism always socially conservative? 

Alan Finlayson and Jeremy Gilbert explore how neoliberalism went from being a set of obscure academic ideas to the governing philosophy of late twentieth-century capitalism

Alan Finlayson and Jeremy Gilbert explore the meaning and origins of 'neoliberalism'

In this episode Jeremy Gilbert talks to David Wilkinson about his article 'Mark E. Smith, Brexit Britain and the Aesthetics and Politics of the Working Class Weird' and his book Post-Punk, Politics and Pleasure in Britain.

Part 2 of our interview with pioneer of feminist cultural studies, Angela McRobbie For notes, info and to support us: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/08/07/angela-mcrobbie-feminism-culture-politics-part-2/

An interview with pioneer of feminist cultural studies, Angela McRobbie. For notes, info and to give us support: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/08/07/angela-mcrobbie-feminism-culture-politics-part-1/

Alan Finlayson and Jeremy Gilbert discuss the beginning of the Andy Burnham premiership.

Do the universities have a future (and why does the tech sector hate them?)? For info, link and to support us: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/07/16/universities-in-crisis-part-1/

How have universities changed in the eras of Fordism, post-Fordism and Platform Capitalism? How has the intersection of this history with the politics of neoliberalism and financialisation brought the entire sector to the brink of catastrophe? For info, links and to support us: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/07/16/universities-in-crisis-part-2/

How did UK universities reach their current catastrophic condition? For info, link and to support us: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/07/16/universities-in-crisis-part-1/

The fourth and final seminar on John Clarke's book The Battle for Britain For info, links, and to support us, go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/07/14/the-battle-for-britain-with-john-clarke-part-4/

We discuss Andy Burnham's speech launching his formal bid for the Labour leadership. For info, errata and to give us support (Please give us support!): https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/07/03/emergency-podcast-the-rhetoric-of-burnhamism/

John Clarke and Anamik Saha discuss the politics of Brexit, racism and authoritarianism UK 2020-22 For info, links and to give us support: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/06/30/the-battle-for-britain-with-john-clarke-part-3/

The second of four episodes with John Clarke, discussing his book The Battle for Britain. For info and to support us: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/?p=2561

As we predicted, Burnham won the by-election and it wasn't even close. For info and to support us: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/?p=2550

What role do images of total catastrophe play in our culture and politics? For notes, info and to support us, please go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/06/16/the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-catastrophe-culture/

For information and to support us: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/06/12/emergency-podcast-june-12th-2026/

What were the historical, political, cultural conditions for Brexit? Jeremy discusses the first two sections of The Battle For Britain: Crises, Conflicts and the Conjuncture with author John Clarke. For info, notes and to give us support go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/06/07/the-battle-for-britain-with-john-clarke-part-1/

In this episode Jem is joined by Dhanveer Singh Brar and Ashwani Sharma to discuss their 2019 article ‘What is This 'Black 'in Black Studies? From Black British Cultural Studies to Black Critical Thought in UK Arts and Higher Education’. We actually recorded this in March 2026 We talk about the history of academic and non-academic responses to the experience of racism and radicalisation in Britain since the 1960s, with particular reference to the 1980s Black Arts movement, Cultural Studies in the 1990s, more recent debates over ‘Afro-pessimism’, and the revival of militant anti-racism. 
We make a couple of references to Ash & Dhan’s article about the work of filmmaker Steve McQueen, but we will have them on the podcast again to discuss that. Here are some links to more information about things we discuss: Black Audio Film Collective https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Audio_Film_Collective Stefano Harney and Fred Moten The Undercommons https://www.minorcompositions.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/undercommons-web.pdf Afro-Pessimism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-pessimism_(United_States) The Empire Strikes Back https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9780203639948/empire-strikes-back-centre-contemporary-cultural-studies Hammer and Hope: https://hammerandhope.org/ Together Alliance: https://www.togetheralliance.org.uk For more information about Culture, Power, Politics, including information about live events, see: culturepowerpolitics.org If you can support us with a small regular donation, please do so here: https://patreon.com/culturepowerpolitics. If you’d like to make a one-time donation, please do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/xu2grba5ttx Btc donations: bc1q64590fsdzxe7rmfgp7f2jc97v7rp8fr4n0lspf

Jem completes his narrative account of Stuart Hall’s career. For information, links, notes, errata and to give us support go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/05/31/stuart-hall-class-race-and-conjuncture-part-2/

An introduction to the career and ideas of British cultural theorist, political activist and pubilc intellectual, Stuart Hall. This episode covers the period 1960-85. For information and to give us support go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/05/29/stuart-hall-part-1/

In this episode, Alan and Jeremy answer questions posed by listeners during the live recording of the previous one. For information and to give us support go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/05/15/answers-to-questions-may-2026/

In this episode, Alan Finlayson and Jeremy Gilbert discuss the crisis in the Labour Party following the cataclysmic local and devolved election results of the previous week. The Greens and Reform UK are destroying Labour’s voter base from left and right respectively, nationalist parties are cleaning up in Scotland and Wales, and it looks like Andy Burnham may […]

Concluding our discussion of religion in politics. For information and to give us support, go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/05/08/religion-and-politics-part-3/

Continuing our discussion of religion in politics. For information and to give us support, go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/05/08/religion-and-politics-part-2/

Exploring f the relationship between religion and politics. For information and to give us support, go to: https://culturepowerpolitics.org/2026/05/08/religion-and-politics-part-1/

In this episode, Jem and Alan discuss a range of current issues in UK politics: the continued fallout over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US, the build up to possibly the most consequential set of local and devolved elections in living memory, the continued speculation over the political fate of Prime Minister Keir […]

This is a recording of an online seminar about the book The Politics of Feeling: Populism, Progressivism, Liberalism by Ben Anderson and Anna Seccor. With the authors, Carolyn Pedwell, Will Davies and Jeremy Gilbert For more information about Culture, Power, Politics see culturepowerpolitics.org If you can support us with a small regular donation, please do […]

In this episode Jem comes back to the question of how to think about ‘vibes’ in politics, discussing how they relate to the question of material interests and whether vibes can be rational. We look at a few different thinkers who have tried to define ‘vibes’, we go back to Raymond Williams’s concept of the […]

In this recording of an online seminar, Michael Hardt discusses the significance of the concept of ‘multitude’ for radical philosophy, from Spinoza, to Marx, to Michael’s own writing with Antonio Negri. NB: The podcast immediately before this one in your feed should be ‘Multitudes in the Age of Brexit: on Hardt & Negri’. That episode […]

In this episode, Jem offers an introduction to the work and ideas of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. Who are they? Where did their ideas come from? Why were they so widely read at the turn of the twenty-first century? How does their idea of the democratic ‘multitude’ confronting the ‘Empire’ of international institutions help […]

Alan and Jem discuss the implication of the Green Party’s historic win in last week’s Gorton and Denton by-election. We cover the meaning of Manchester, making Britain normal and the ordinary charisma of new Green MP Hannah Spencer. Finally we ask – what are the strategic implications for the Labour left and the broader, multi-party […]

This is a recording of an online seminar with philosopher Katja Diefenbach . It forms part of our ongoing series, From Marx to Spinoza: Affect, Ideology, Materiality. This is a more specialist seminar than much of what you will find in this podcast feed, so check out some of the introductory sessions in that series […]

In this episode, Jeremy is joined by Dr. Jilly Kay of Loughborough University to discuss her fascinating and crucial research into new forms of reactionary feminism. Why do Catholic traditionalists and pessimistic dating-influencers all now want to call themselves ‘feminist’?  This is part 2 of 2: the start of the conversation is the previous episode in the feed.  For […]

In this episode, Jeremy is joined by Dr. Jilly Kay of Loughborough University to discuss her fascinating and crucial research into new forms of reactionary feminism. Why do Catholic traditionalists and pessimistic dating-influencers all now want to call themselves ‘feminist’?  This is part 1 of 2: the rest of the conversation is the next episode in the feed.  For […]

Jem and Alan get deep into the historical significance of Peter Mandelson, his career and his recent fall. What has the Epstein case revealed about the ideology of our ruling elites? Why did Mandelson achieve the complicated status that he did, and was his reputation ever deserved? Why did Starmer and his advisors cling to […]

In this actual emergency podcast, Alan and Jem  give way to overwhelming public pressure to respond to a recent decision taken by Labour’s National Executive Committee. The NEC have voted to block popular Mayor of Manchester (and former cabinet minister and MP) Andy Burnham from even having a chance of being selected by the local party to […]

In this episode, Alan and Jem go deep and long on the concept of nationalism and its implications for UK politics, at a time when nationalist parties are making significant gains across the country. Where do ideas of nation and nationalism come from? Is the break-up of Britain inevitable or desirable? Is England an incorrigibly […]

Why was One Battle After Another the biggest film of 2025? What does it have to do with Zohran and Trump? How can Anna Kornbluh’s concept of ‘immediacy’, Raymond Williams’ idea ‘structures of feeling’ and Lawrence Grossberg’s analysis of Trump’s chaotic politics help us understand these signs of our times? Jem tackles all this single-handed, […]

Alan Finlayson is back to discuss with Jem the key developments in UK politics since the last time they talked about it. Covering the Labour deputy leadership, the politics of the Budget and of immigration, the origins of Britain’s bargain-hunting austerity mindset, Starmer on Tik-Tok, the Green Party surge, whether Blue Labour actually exists, whether […]

This is actually an episode of the Compass podcast, ‘It’s Bloody Complicated’, that featured me (Jeremy Gilbert) and Alan Finlayson being interviewed by Compass director, Neal Lawson. I’ve recorded a ten-minute introduction explaining who and what Compass is. Most of the recording is an excellent discussion of the history of factionalism in the Labour Party, […]

In this seminar we will talk with Yves Citton about his books Mythocracy: How Stories Shape Our World, Mediarchy, and Spinoza et les Social Sciences: De la Puissance de la multitude à l’économie des affects (co-edited with Frédéric Lordon), and about the myths that dominate contemporary thought, how they are disseminated, and how and understanding of the intersection […]

A recording of our online seminar with Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Mark Perryman, Alan Finlayson and Jeremy Gilbert, recorded October 8th 2025 We ask: How has it all gone so wrong for a government elected with one of the largest peacetime majorities on record?  How have we got here?  Do Starmer and his political allies even want […]

So, yeah, a listener pointed out that Jem had got some details about Andy Burnham’s career wrong, and he thought it was best to set the record straight, as well as follow up on a couple of other questions left open by the September 2025 Emergency Podcast. So here we are!

Rayner resigned! Mandelson sacked! ‘Mainstream’ launched! Your Party Chaos! Fascists on the Streets! Alan Finlayson and Jeremy Gilbert bring you all the analysis they can fit into two hours of this truly momentous couple of weeks in UK politics… For more information about Culture, Power and Politics see https://culturepowerpolitics.org To book free tickets for ‘The Starmer […]

In this episode, Jem offers a critical response to Adam Curtis’ oeuvre: an extraordinary series of fascinating, yet never-fully-satisfying, films about culture, power and politics in the epoch of advanced capitalism. This is something that friends of the show have been requesting for years, so here it finally is! For more information about Culture, Power […]

Professor Alan Finlayson is back to discuss the latest developments in UK politics: the suspension of several Labour MPs and the announcement of a new left party to be led by Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn (maybe). We also discuss the vexed questions of why Starmer’s government is so unpopular after its first year in […]

‘Blue Labour’, an explicitly conservative tendency within the politics of the UK’s Labour Party, is said to be one of the few intellectual influences on the government of Keir Starmer.So in this episode, Jeremy is joined by Alex Worrad-Andrews to answer the question on everyone’s lips: what is ‘Blue Labour’?  We discuss the history of the term […]

Jem is joined by medieval historian, comrade and friend of the show Eleanor Janega, to talk about what exactly is ‘feudal’ about ‘techno-feudalism’ or ‘neo-feudalism’. Several prominent theorists and commentators have recently claimed that somehow, we’ve left the age of capitalism behind and entered a new epoch of…some kind of ‘feudalism’. But what even is […]