With the UK government seeing more changes in personnel than an average season at Chelsea FC and the economy on the verge of total collapse, we bring you a little update on the cornucopia of clownery that is British politics in 2022. After the announcement of former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's neoliberal wet dream of a Growth Package sent the value of the Pound hurtling downwards, we have seen several weeks of unabated chaos, and of course the resignation of PM Liz Truss which happened in the time between the recording of this episode and its release. Happy times!
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Since the dissolution of Estonian cultural collective ZA/UM, the minds behind 2019's hit indie video game Disco Elysium after being forced out by the money men, in a story that could very well have come from the game itself, we take a look at the quagmire that is the video games industry. Rife with abusive practices ranging from sexual assault and cover-ups to crunch culture and predatory practices such as microtransactions, video games as the biggest entertainment industry in the world has no shortage of things to talk about.
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In the wake of riots between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester that were frightfully reminiscent of some of the worst scenes of violence from the Subcontinent, we take a look at Hindutva as a global force. We are joined by legendary activist Amrit Wilson in order to discuss the way in which the Hindu far right has gone about influencing politics in the UK, exporting its ideology with tactics from a familiar playbook, as well as the way in which the very inception of Hindutva was the result of the history of colonial rule.
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In light of a three-part documentary series by Al Jazeera detailing the various ways in which the Corbyn project was sabotaged from within the Labour Party there is a great deal to discuss. We are joined by one of left Twitter's most prolific polemicists Archie Woodrow to discuss everything from the lack of Labour's democratic processes, the seemingly never-ending antisemitism 'crisis' and the firmly established hierarchy of racism within the party. Apologies in advance for the audio quality for this episode - we had some major technical issues!
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We recorded this discussion about Spike Lee's classic 1989 film Do The Right Thing 2 months ago around the time of the heat wave. A story of rising racial tensions in a multi-ethnic Brooklyn neighbourhood on the hottest day of the year which lead to tragedy and police violence, it is a film which became quickly adopted into the canon of great American cinema. It has also unfortunately gained even more relevance through the years as we all witnessed the murders of Eric Garner, George Floyd and so many more. We discuss all the events around Sal's Famous Pizzeria as well as Spike Lee's wider filmography and unique aesthetic style and much more.
Subscribe at patreon.com/leftoverpod for £5 a month (or more if you are feeling generous) for the full episode as well as lots more exclusive content coming your way soon!
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We are back again with a good old dunking episode, this time on one of Aarjan's personal heroes - renowned Canadian psychologist Jordan B. Peterson. Joined by longtime adversary of the IDW Eiynah, also known as NiceMangos, we discuss everything from Peterson's recent troubles on Twitter, his medically induced coma in Russia, his bizarre relationship with his daughter, and more broadly the state of the IDW in 2022. Content warning for one of the worst dreams you have ever heard of narrated in JP's own voice.
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Fresh off the heels of the biggest rail strike in over three decades, we are joined by RMT rep Tony Collins to discuss how we got here and what we might be in store for over the summer. We discuss everything from the media's predictably hare-brained response to the strikes, how the unmitigated disaster of railway privatisation led us to this point, and how the movements across various sectors from teachers to postal workers may play out in the coming months. Solidarity to all workers, join a picket line, support strike funds!
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June is a month in which it has become increasingly apparent that we are in the midst of tectonic changes to our society, whether with landmark court cases being reversed, or with people across multiple industries saying enough is enough and organising. We take a look at some of the highlights from this month, including the cocaine-addled mind map of a certain intelligence adjacent journalist, and some inspiring scenes of people power.
Subscribe at patreon.com/leftoverpod for £5 a month (or more if you are feeling generous) for the full episode as well as lots more exclusive content coming your way soon!
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At a time when discussion around organised labour is finding newfound fervour in the face of a summer of strikes across the UK, we are joined once again by podcasting brother in arms Jack to discuss acclaimed screenwriter and long-time Martin Scorsese collaborator Paul Schrader's directorial debut, 1978's "Blue Collar". Starring Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto as Detroit auto workers at the tail end of the era of Reaganomics which destroyed the backbone of the American unions, the film takes a rather more jaded look at organised labour than the current Mick Lynch mania would suggest, as the three friends decide to rob their own union, and everything goes wrong. An uncompromising look at the daily hardships of American working class and the tragedy of how the insidious structures of capitalism find their way to undermine worker solidarity, Blue Collar is also something of an anomaly within Paul Schrader's filmography, as Jack and Connor get deep into.
Subscribe at patreon.com/leftoverpod for £5 a month (or more if you are feeling generous) for the full episode as well as lots more exclusive content coming your way soon!
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Nostalgia is a potent emotion, as well as a ubiquitous presence in our lives, both as an advertising tool as well as an ideological principle in politics. Britain in 2022 celebrates the queen's Platinum Jubilee by spending £1 billion in the midst of the worst living standards crisis in decades, desperately nostalgic and yearning for the lost glories of imperial domination in the past, where history has become a hotly contested ideological battleground in the wake of the toppling of Edward Colston's statue, and where the World War 2 callbacks are simply inescapable. We are joined by historian Hannah Rose Woods whose latest book takes a look at how societies throughout history have in fact looked to the past when faced with unprecedented change.
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The long-protracted Partygate sage has, if anything, proven that the popular liberal conception of the law as being a neutral arbiter is deeply flawed, and it is easy for us as leftists to become increasingly cynical of it. However the law is still a very real thing which is being instrumentalised by right-wing governments around the world to strip people of basic civil liberties. We are joined by barrister and activist Zehrah Hasan to discuss four recent pieces of legislation in the UK, as well as how they exist as part of a global phenomenon from the US to India to Israel.
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After the horrific shootings at both Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York, the debate around gun control in the US has found itself once again in the spotlight. We are joined by returning guest Sam Knight this week to discuss these shootings, the role of the police, the deeper underlying causes of US gun culture, and crucially, if there is any hope whatsoever of breaking this vicious cycle of often racialised violence.
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For the second of our Patreon episodes for this month we are bringing an update to some of the topics discussed recently, considering how the news cycle seems determined to give us many addendums daily. From the continued phenomenon of sexual misconduct in Westminster to Elon Musk's continued antics in trying to buy Twitter as well as quash certain allegations, May has been full of incident, and it is simply our job to chronicle it.
Subscribe at patreon.com/leftoverpod for £5 a month (or more if you are feeling generous) for the full episode as well as lots more exclusive content coming your way soon!
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This week we are joined again by frequent collaborator and friend of the pod Jack Frayne-Reid from Reel Politik to discuss the long-awaited album by Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. This episode covers the context for the album as well as Kendrick's discography and back catalogue, while the second half, available with the full episode on the Patreon feed, goes into the album itself and covers it from track to track. We discuss everything from Dr. Dre's influence over a lineage of West Coast Hip Hop to the similarities in the careers of Kendrick Lamar and Bob Dylan and much more.
Subscribe at patreon.com/leftoverpod for £5 a month (or more if you are feeling generous) for the full episode as well as lots more exclusive content coming your way soon!
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After renowned Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered at the hands of IDF forces, the whole world witnessed not only Israel's immediate disinformation campaign but even more horrifically the way in which her funeral procession was attacked. Aarjan is on the ones again this week joined by writer Hamza Ali Shah to discuss not just this incident but also Israel's ongoing war on journalism as well as the parallels to the dangers under which journalists in India also operate.
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In the wake of the recent local elections we are joined by friend of the pod Sinan to touch base with the goings on in UK politics after a few weeks which have given us no shortage of things to talk about. From all the worst people in the commentariat losing their minds over the result of the Tower Hamlets election to Keir Starmer 4d checkmating himself into potentially resigning over the Partygate scandal to the pervasive culture of sexual abuse in Westmister, we hold our noses as we dive into the Eldritch horror that is living in Britain in 2022.
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Aarjan by himself this week joined by none other than returning champion Amardeep Singh Dhillon to touch base on the motherland of all content, India. A year on from the Kisan Andolan, or Farmer Protests, that were the subject of our previous collaboration, we take a look at its historic victories, as well as the present political landscape in India. After a year in which Modi's stranglehold on Indian politics seemed to have begun to buckle, it seems back on track once again with a resounding BJP victory in the recent Uttar Pradesh state elections. The recent attacks in Jahangirpuri and the hijab ban in Karnata have also shown the extent to which, 8 years into Modi's rule, Muslims have effectively become second class citizens in India. With the backdrop of Boris Johnson's visit at the end of April, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the governments of the UK and India are on some very similar trajectories.
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As the Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp court case heats up we take a look at its spiritual predecessor: David Fincher's 2014 adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel Gone Girl. Joined by recent exile from Elon Musk's new hellsite, friend of the pod Joseph joins us from all the way across the Atlantic to discuss the story of Amy and Nick Dunne, which has achieved something of a cult status over the past years and inspired an entire generation of Girlbosses.
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This week we take a deep dive into the weird and wonderful world of wrestling, sports entertainment and combat sports, and its intersection with politics. From looking at the origins of UFC as a means for a notorious Brazilian family to show the world they can beat anyone up, to the antics of Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, particularly when he entered politics, to how the inane performative stupidity of the British political class can essentially be viewed as kayfabe, nothing is left off the table. Or ladder, or chair.
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Apologies to all our listeners for the irregular programming over the past few weeks but we are back with a banger this week, joined by fellow podcaster Jordan Hartley from Comradio. We discuss everything from the debacle with P&O Ferries sacking 800 members of its staff with no prior notice via video call, to the fact that the current "Cost of Living Crisis" has in fact been the reality for many millions for over a decade, to the Home Office's recent announcement to make asylum seekers Visit Rwanda. Thank you all for your patience and we promise there's some great stuff headed your way.
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