Boondoggle

Chris talks to Jim about his recent relocation to Birmingham to start an MA in Global Conflict and Cooperation, and his fifteen-and-a-half day journey from Oxford to Birmingham by narrowboat. What does taking so long to travel such a small distance do to your conception of time? How do you steer the thing anyway? And will Chris ever learn how to pronounce the name of the city properly?

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BoondogglePodcast2020

Jim and Chris discuss themes arising from the recent Democratic Convention in Chicago - how, beyond the schmaltz, nothing much changes; how the centrist project leads to the triumph of the right; and how we are living in a decadent democratic culture. Also, Chris sings a number made familiar (but not written) by Woody Guthrie, The Hobo's Lullaby.

We'd love to hear from you -
@Boondog44421386
BoondogglePodcast2020

Following the restructuring of our corporate sponsor, Crab Tut Beer (the best beer you've ever seen), Boondoggle is amending its offer by incorporating various modalities of speech-based content into a new magazine-style format designed to appeal across various demographics that engage with the podcast space. That's what the brief said, anyway, but who reads that crap? Forced to present the podcast alone due to co-host Chris Floyd being stranded on the South coast engaged in a secret mission detecting small boats on behalf of a mysterious individual known only as 'Toolmaker', and with the planned launch show in front of thousands of paying subscribers at a secret venue somewhere in the Home Counties consequently redesigned as a five-hour banjo concert, Jim is forced instead to interview Sasha Abramsky, the Boondoggle North America correspondent, about recent developments in US politics ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Apologies for the background noise in this segment of the show - on reflection, the choice of a cutlery factory as the venue to record the interview was not an entirely sensible one. Oh well, you live and learn.)
For anyone who listens to the end, there are no details in the description.

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@Boondog44421386
BoondogglePodcast2020

In this episode, Chris and Jim discuss the increasing extremism of the political establishments of the US and the UK in relation to the continuing horrors in Gaza. They talk about the Uncommitted movement in Michigan and the degree to which it might have influenced Biden's 'ice-cream' ceasefire announcement; the continuing fallout of the chaotic ceasefire vote in the UK, most recently exemplified by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's hijacking of the airwaves on 1st March to blether on about dangers to democracy (ie people marching in support of a ceasefire); and the election of a Communist MP to the House of Commons.

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@Boondog44421386
BoondogglePodcast2020

With Sasha unable to make the recording (since he was busy writing this article), Chris and Jim have a wide ranging discussion. The supreme court is on their minds, of course, with comparisons made to previous nomination battles and potential reforms of the court canvassed (many of which mirrored in this interesting leader from the Washington Post), but they also talk about Trump's unhinged rally in Minnesota and the DoJ designation of New York, Seattle, and Portland as 'anarchist jurisdictions'. Chris also speaks movingly of the fate of his hometown in Tennessee, ravaged by the economic storms of the 70s and 80s.
For a view of one possible future for America, and a powerful and compelling take on the place the country finds itself in, which interacts with many of the themes discussed in this podcast, check out Chris Hedges on Act TV here. If you subscribe to Act TV, then you may well soon get to see Sasha, who is a regular contributor to the channel.

We'd love to hear from you -
@Boondog44421386
BoondogglePodcast2020