The Social Review
by The Social Review
Join members of the Social Review editorial team as we discuss and debate the future of socialism, analyse what's going on in the world and speak to a wide array of fantastic guests - from MPs to academics, journalists to activists, and beyond. Theme is The Dance by Kyle Cox, licensed under creative commons.
Episodes
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House of Cards
Continuing our series discussing British political dramas of film and TV, host Ciaran is joined by Editors Michael and Sam to discuss House of Cards a 1990 BBC drama centring on the machiavellian rise of Francis Urquhart, the Tory Chief Whip passed over for a promotion to high office after the...
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Modernisation: What's In A Name? With Colm Murphy
Host Sam is joined by editor-in-chief Ciaran to interview Colm Murphy, Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute and Lecturer in British Politics at Queen Mary University of London, about his new book Futures of Socialism 'Modernisation', the Labour party, and the British Left 1973-1997. We talk...
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Sherwood
Host Ciaran is joined by Social Review editor Julia, and freelance trade union journalist Alex Maguire to talk about Sherwood - a BBC drama about two killings in a former mining village in Nottinghamshire. In this episode we cover; the weird Blue Labour politics of one of the killers, how the…
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Roadkill
Host Ciaran joins Julia and Harry to discuss Roadkill, the 2020 BBC drama starring Hugh Laurie and Helen McCrory. In this episode we examine what the show says about Boris Johnson, the 2019 election, Tory "libertarians", and the genre of TV political thrillers. Guardian review of Roadkill List of...
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Bodyguard
Ciaran, Harry, and Michael sit down to discuss the BBC 2018 series Bodyguard for a new series for The Social Review covering British political dramas of television and film. In it we'll examine what they say about the politics of their time and today, as well as why the genre has come to be so...
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Talking Union News with Alex Maguire
Hosts Sam and Harry speak to freelance industrial relations journalist Alex Maguire about the current state of British trade unionism. Alex talks about, the TUC's upcoming conference, the various upcoming ballots & disputes that will define the autumn & winter, and gives a brief overview of the...
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We need a dead cat, legalise mescaline
Just Sam, Harry and Julia toasting the end of Joris and mulling what and who comes next, as well as how none of us are safe in high crime Britain as Sir Beer Korma continues to walk the streets.
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Joris Bohnson goblin mode*
We're joined by Chris Terry (@CJTerry) to digest last week's by-elections and to offer advice to Boris after he tragically lost two more seats to the Progressive Alliance hordes. Some moaning about the state of Labour gets chucked in the mix too. *Alexander Boris D'Pfeiffel Johnson and the...
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Local Elections Special with Chris Terry
New host Sam joins @Harry_Balden, @ciaranmcgurdy, @michaeljbawden and @BallotWorld's @CJTerry to discuss the recent local elections. They talk: Tower Hamlets, Scotland, Wales, Chris gives a run down of how Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems did, and we discuss Keir Starmer's imminent…
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Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution Documentary Review
Join Michael, Julia, Tyron and Ciaran as they review the recent New Labour Documentary 'Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution. In this episode they go over all the various ways the 5-episode doc was essentially rubbish for a variety of reasons. Strong language throughout!
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The Wilderness Years and Labour Party Conference
Join Michael, Julia, Tyron and Ciaran as they dissect everyone's favourite Labour Party documentary - The Wilderness Years! In this episode they cover, the beef, how bizarre British politics is and was, as well as what can be learned from the documentary. They also rundown some of the events at...
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Conference is a-coming
Join Michael, Ciaran and Tyron in this week's episode as they sit down to chat the end of the silly season and the upcoming challenges Labour Party conference presents. Some strong language throughout!
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Reflections on the Unite Election with Alex Maguire
This week Michael and Ciaran sit down with Alex Maguire to discuss the recent Unite general secretary election which saw Sharon Graham, once decried as the candidate who would split the left vote, cruise to a shock victory. We talk what this means for Unite going forward, how Steve Turner and...
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Why Welsh Labour Wins - An Interview with Carwyn Jones (Part Two)
In the second part of this episode, Michael sits down with the former First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones for a wide-ranging discussion on some of the reasons he thinks Welsh Labour continues to win despite changing political weather, what specific lessons can be drawn from his time in office as...
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Why Welsh Labour Wins - An Interview with Carwyn Jones (Part One)
In the first episode of a new series, Michael sits down with the former First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones for a wide-ranging discussion on some of the reasons he thinks Welsh Labour continues to win despite changing political weather, and what the UK Labour Party can learn from it.
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An Island Strong and Fair? An Interview with Manx Labour Leader Joney Faragher
This week Wrenna sits down with Leader of the Manx Labour Party Joney Faragher, to discuss Manx politics and the history of the Labour movement on the Isle of Man in the run-up to the 2021 Manx General Election.
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What's Next for Open Labour with Alex Sobel MP
This week Michael sits down with Alex Sobel MP to talk all things Open Labour, what's next for the organisation as a whole as they elect their next National Committee, as well as a bit of a rundown of what's going on right now in UK politics.
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The Boundary Review with The Social Review
Join Julia, Sean, Tyron, Q, and special guest Chris Terry as they go full wonk and take a deep dive into the Boundary Review and what it means for British politics. Some strong language throughout!
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Football Came Home
Join Michael, Julia and Tyron this week as they sit down to talk England's heart-breaking Euro 2020 defeat, the Copa America and how national teams inform national identity. As well as this they take a look at the changes to Universal Credit and the Triple Lock coming down the track and how they...
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The Batley and Spen By-Election
Some strong language in this special episode as The Social Review gang rundown their thoughts on the Batley and Spen by-election, how the ground game felt for those knocking doors and how this narrow victory plays into the wider picture for the Labour Party.
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Bitcoin is bad, and it should make you feel bad!
Some strong language and discussion of gambling in this week's episode as the gang take a look at the world of Cryptocurrency; Crypto as a subculture and the environmental damage it's already causing.
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In the Court of the Sausage King
Strong language throughout as the gang sit down to discuss what went on during last week's G7 conference and the storm clouds forming on the horizon for the government.
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The Joker Review
This week the gang sit down to discuss the current dire state of the Labour Leadership and how it makes us all want to become the Joker. Strong language throughout!
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From the Vault: Campaign Against the Arms Trade
This week's episode is one from the podcast vault recorded during our hiatus. Wrenna chats with Andrew Smith from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade about the current state of the arms trade and the United Kingdom's role in it.
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The Welsh Parliament Election Results
Super Thursday wasn't all doom and gloom! Join The Social Review as we sit down with Matthew Hexter from Hiraeth and Megan Thomas from That's Devolved to chat all things Welsh Politics, Mark Drakeford's glorious victory and what the future holds for the Senedd.
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The Gang Take the Keith Pill
Strong language throughout as The Social Review gang look over the weekend from hell for the Labour Leadership, its implications for the Labour Party and UK Politics as a whole.
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Super Thursday - But for Who???
Join Julia & friends for a bumper episode as they unpick and unpack the upcoming set of Welsh and Scottish Parliament elections as well as the local elections in England. The gang dissects the current state of play in British Politics and what the picture looks like for the Labour Party. Tyron…
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Planet on Fire with Matthew Lawrence and Lauri Laybourn-Langton
We're back! Join The Social Review team for our first episode back off hiatus as Joe interviews Matthew Lawrence and Laurie Laybourn-Langton about their new book Planet on Fire: A Manifesto for the Age of Environmental Breakdown. Together they examine the scope of the challenge facing states when...
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Vernacular Social Democracy and the Politics of Labour
Historian Jon Lawrence (author of 'Me, Me, Me? The Search for Community in Post-War England') sits down with Jasper to discuss his article on 'Vernacular Social Democracy' in the latest issue of Renewal. They dissect what the concept means, the intersection of liberal individualism with...
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Jewish Labour
We're back! Jasper chats to Peter Mason, National Secretary of the Jewish Labour Movement, to delve into the EHRC's Report on antisemitism within Labour, its long-term history and why left-wing thought is so susceptible to it, the future plans of JLM, and much more.
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Left Out of This Land
Joe, Lines and Julia meet to discuss two big new books about Corbyn's Labour Party: 'This Land: The Story of a Movement' by Owen Jones, and 'Left Out: The Inside Story of Labour Under Corbyn' by Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire. The team discuss the book's different conclusions, whether it…
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Alexander Hamilton - Economic Radical?
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a... you get the gist. Jasper sits down with Christian Parenti, author of 'Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons From a Misunderstood Founder' (Verso, 2020) to discuss the political and economic legacy of the ten-dollar founding father. Was Hamilton really a...
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We're Bringing Brexit Back
Honey, time to break international law! Jasper catches up again with Shadow Minister for International Trade, Bill Esterson, about the government's plan to breach their Withdrawal Agreement, whether Tony Abbott's appointment as trade advisor is just to whip up the culture war, and much more.
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The Social Re-Q
Morgan and Pete found a way to connect to the internet, and take a deep dive, helped by Annie Kelly (UK Correspondent, QAnon Anonymous), into the world of the QAnon conspiracy theory. How proliferate is it? How do well-meaning individuals become radicalised? How can they be de-radicalised? And...
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MMT Whatcha Say
It's August and, with nothing better to do, Morgan embarks on an epic quest to discover what Modern Monetary Theory is, enlisting the help of trusty companions Megan Corton Scott (fellow-not-knower-of-what-MMT-is), William Sorenson (TSR writer, Labour Tenants), David Klemperer (TSR writer, former...
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An A-Grade Disaster
After a calamitous U-turn on exams, Jasper chats to Andrew Lawrence (Teach First Ambassador, HeadStartNE Co-Founder) and Fabia Crole (Head of Partnerships, Future Frontiers) about their respective work with disadvantaged students, what the algorithm revealed about Ofqual and government policy…
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We Can't Consent to This
This week, Jasper & Morgan speak to Eve from We Can't Consent to This, which campaigns for legal change in how men who kill and injure women during sex are prosecuted. Eve outlines the modern history of the rough sex defence, the stories of women killed by their partners, and future plans for the...
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Weight of the Nation
To discuss the government's new anti-obesity campaign, Jasper talks to TSR writer Liam Stewart about his essay on the measures for the website. They discuss their personal histories with food and weight, the socio-economic complexity of obesity, how bodies are socially judged, the internal…
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Not The End of Ideology
Jasper meets Dr Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite (Lecturer in 20th Century British History at UCL and Co-Editor of Renewal: A Journal for Social Democracy) to chat about how old ideologies and orthodoxies continue to shape the Conservative Party, continued narratives of the undeserving poor, who…
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Poland at the Polls
Jasper chats to Ana Oppenheim (Labour activist, Momentum NCG member) about Poland's presidential election result: how did the far-right Andrzej Duda win again? What is the state of the left in Polish politics? And is this a sign that global illiberal populism still has some fight left in it? Fill...
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Hong Kong Crackdown
Jasper and Morgan talk to Sam Goodman, Senior Political Advisor to Hong Kong Watch, to discuss China's imposition of a National Security Law on the territory - what it means for human rights, how the UK should respond, possible futures, and how much responsibility the rest of the world bears for...
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School's Out...?
Jasper and Wrenna sit down with Cathy Rowland, Headteacher of Dobcroft Infants School (and Wrenna's mum), to discuss life on the ground in schools right now, how the Department of Education has handled the crisis, the long and short-term impacts of school closures, keeping children safe online in...
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The 1987 Caucus
Jasper meets singer/songwriter Jermain Jackman, and Labour activists Jake Cable and Amen Tesfay, to discuss the 1987 Caucus, a new movement to enhance the representation and power of black men within Labour. They discuss racism in Labour, changing public perceptions of racism, how the…
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The View From America
In light of the murder of George Floyd, Jasper speaks to Richie Floyd, an organiser for the Democratic Socialists of America in Florida, to discuss the protests in the USA, abolishing the police, the intersection of racism and capitalism, and much more. Our new theme was composed by Katrina…
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One Year Later
One year on from the launch of The Social Review Podcast, Jasper looks back at the transformations and changes in British politics, what lessons we can learn, and what the future - uncertain as it is - may hold.
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Posh Boys with Robert Verkaik
Jasper sits down with Robert Verkaik, journalist and author of 'Posh Boys: How the English Public Schools Ruin Britain,' discussing the history of private education, how it could be dissolved and what could replace it. Plus, Jasper chats to Callum O'Dwyer about his journey in suffering from...
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Apocalypse Communism
Jasper and Morgan sit down with A.M. Gittlitz, author of 'I Want To Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism,' to discuss the life and afterlife of Posadas, UFology, and the history of revolutionary socialism and cosmism. Plus, in a new series on life in lockdown, Jasper chats to Kirsten...
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Science and Socialism
Jasper meets Ben Fernando and Daniel A. Villar of Scientists for Labour to discuss their work on Covid-19, how a socialist response to the pandemic would look, what happens when scientists become politicians, and whether coronavirus really will change the world.
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Commoning the Company
Joe and Jasper chat to Mathew Lawrence, Director of the think tank Common Wealth, to catch up on their work over the past year and their latest report on democratising private companies; they discuss the interplay between nation-states and international corporations, the future of air travel, and...
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International Trade with Bill Esterson MP
Jasper sits down with Bill Esterson, MP for Sefton Central and Shadow Minister for International Trade, to discuss the future of Labour's trade policy; how coronavirus will impact globalisation, and what kind of story Labour needs to tell about Britain's place in the world - as well as, of…
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About this show
Join members of the Social Review editorial team as we discuss and debate the future of socialism, analyse what's going on in the world and speak to a wide array of fantastic guests - from MPs to academics, journalists to activists, and beyond. Theme is The Dance by Kyle Cox, licensed under creative commons.
Hosted by
The Social Review