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Radicals in Conversation

Radicals in Conversation

Pluto Press

Radicals in Conversation is a monthly podcast from Pluto Press, one of the world’s leading independent, radical publishers. Every month we sit down with leading campaigners, authors and academics to bring you in-depth conversations and radical perspectives on the issues that matter the most.
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Top 10 Radicals in Conversation Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Radicals in Conversation episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Radicals in Conversation for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Radicals in Conversation episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Radicals in Conversation - On Palestine with Ghada Karmi

On Palestine with Ghada Karmi

Radicals in Conversation

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12/06/23 • 46 min

Almost two months have passed since Hamas’s October 7th attack, in which it killed around 1,200 Israeli civilians. The retaliatory campaign that has been waged since then by the Israeli state against the Palestinian population—predominantly in Gaza, but also in the West Bank—has been nightmarish to behold. The latest estimates suggest as many as 15,000 people have been killed. For those of us who believe in the cause of Palestinian Liberation, how do we make sense of what is happening? And how can we act to stop it?

This month we’re joined on the show by Ghada Karmi. Born in Jerusalem, her family fled Palestine in 1948 during the Nakba. She has lived for several decades in Great Britain, where she trained as a Doctor of Medicine at Bristol University. She established the first British-Palestinian medical charity in 1972 and was an Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute for International Affairs. Ghada is also the author of the best-selling memoir In Search of Fatima and the new book One State: The Only Democratic Future for Palestine-Israel, which was published in 2023 by Pluto Press.

We discuss the history of Zionism, the Nakba and the creation of the state of Israel, and the situation in Gaza since October 7th. We also talk about the international response, the importance of language and framing in political discourse, and why any future political settlement must look beyond the rubric of a two-state solution.

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Radicals in Conversation - Queer Footprints: LGBTQIA+ Solidarity, Protest and Pride
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05/30/23 • 69 min

In May 2023, Pluto published Queer Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London’s Fierce History, by Dan Glass. The book is a groundbreaking guide that takes you through the city streets to uncover the scandalous, hilarious and empowering events of London's 'queerstory'. Accompanied by a chorus of voices of both iconic and unsung legends of the movement, readers can dip into beautifully illustrated maps and extraordinary tales of LGBTQIA+ solidarity, protest and pride, where the shadows of gentrification, policing, homophobia and racism are time and again resisted.

We are joined on the show by Queer Footprints author, Dan Glass, and Josh Rivers. Josh is the creator and host of the award-winning Busy Being Black podcast, and Head of Cultural Partnerships at UK Black Pride - the world’s largest pride celebration for LGBTQIA+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern heritage.

Dan and Josh discuss the connections and solidarity that has existed over the years between queer, feminist, anti-racist and labour movements; equivocations around celebrating the anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality; and how we metabolise grief - with particular reference to the AIDS crisis. They also talk about the exciting work being done by UK Black Pride, the process of researching, writing and editing Queer Footprints, and much more.

Queer Footprints is 40% off for podcast listeners. Go to plutobooks.com/podcastreading for more information.

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Radicals in Conversation - Exploring the Radical Politics of James Baldwin
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12/02/19 • 38 min

James Baldwin left an indelible mark on the face of Western politics and culture. Novels like Go Tell it on a Mountain, Giovanni’s Room and Another Country were groundbreaking when they were first published in the 1950s and '60s, and Baldwin’s work continues to resonate. The 2018 cinematic release of If Beale Street Could Talk, based on Baldwin's novel of the same name, is the latest testament to his enduring relevance and popularity.

Our final episode of the year features Bill V. Mullen, author of James Baldwin: Living in Fire (Pluto, 2019) in conversation with Megan Maxine Williams, a Ph.D. candidate in American Studies at Purdue University.

Bill and Megan explore the evolution of Baldwin's radical politics - expressed both on the page, and in his activism as a public intellectual - and consider his renewed relevance in the context of Black Lives Matter and police violence.

They consider his early advocacy of an 'indigenous' socialism in the US, his role in the civil rights movement, and his appraisal of Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party. Bill and Megan also discuss Baldwin's sexuality and the influence of Black feminists such as Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni and Lorraine Hansberry on the development of his gender politics.

James Baldwin: Living in Fire is available now from plutobooks.com.

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Radicals in Conversation - Art the Arms Fair with Peter Kennard

Art the Arms Fair with Peter Kennard

Radicals in Conversation

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09/02/19 • 44 min

On 10th September one of the world’s largest arms fairs returns to London. The Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) will feature hundreds of exhibitors, including many of the world’s biggest arms manufacturers - BAE systems, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and many more besides. Also attending, at the invitation of the UK government, will be countless national delegations, including those from authoritarian regimes, countries in conflict and countries identified as having major human rights concerns.

This is no ordinary industry event, and the arms fair has faced increasing censure and resistance every time it comes to town. In 2017, this resistance took many forms. One of the most exciting was Art the Arms Fair (ATAF) - a volunteer-run gallery, comprised of donated artworks from a diverse array of artists. With an original work by Banksy among the pieces auctioned off, ATAF raised over £200,000 for Campaign Against Arms Trade.

This year, as the arms fair returns to London’s docklands, so too does the gallery. Alongside artists from Yemen, the Iraqi diaspora and local community groups, the gallery will also feature donated artwork from Anish Kapoor, Guerilla Girls, Darren Cullen, Shepard Fairey and Peter Kennard.

Joining us to discuss the arms trade, 'artwash' and the power of political art, are:

Rhianna Louise, an organiser at Art the Arms Fair, and Peter Kennard, one of Britain’s foremost political artists, and author of the new book Peter Kennard: Visual Dissent (Pluto, 2019).

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artthearmsfair.com

caat.org.uk

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Radicals in Conversation - Deportation Charter Flights and the 'Stansted 15'
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03/27/19 • 50 min

In March 2017 a group of activists surrounded a plane at Stansted Airport in a peaceful protest, to stop what they believed was the unlawful deportation of 60 people on a charter flight to Ghana and Nigeria.

Charged with ‘endangering safety at aerodromes’ - an obscure piece of anti-terror legislation brought in after the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing - the 'Stansted 15' faced maximum possible sentences of life imprisonment. After a protracted and high profile court case they were all found guilty. Sentences were handed down in February 2019 - in the end, all non-custodial.

The heavy-handed prosecution of the Stansted 15 feels emblematic of our dark political times. But equally, the group's story shows the importance, and efficacy, of solidarity through direct action.

This month we are joined by Lyndsay Burtonshaw and Laura Clayson, two of the Stansted 15. We talk about the government's deportation charter flights, the colonial mentality underpinning the 'hostile environment', and what led them both to take the action they did. We also hear some of the stories of the people who were on the plane bound for deportation and discuss the many ways in which people can offer solidarity and take action.

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Go to www.plutobooks.com/podcastreading for 50% off selected books relating to this month's episode. Simply apply the coupon code 'PODCAST' at the checkout.

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Radicals in Conversation - Homeless in Cardiff

Homeless in Cardiff

Radicals in Conversation

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09/06/17 • 29 min

Tom Hall, the author of Footwork: Urban Outreach and Hidden Lives, reads an extract from his book.

Footwork is a street-corner ethnography of the homeless living in Cardiff in Wales, drawing on the themes of urban regeneration, lost space and the 24-hour city. It’s an insightful and at times very funny portrait of hidden lives, an ‘erudite book about city life that exudes a deep but irreverent sense of humanity.’

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Radicals in Conversation - Enough: Why It's Time to Abolish the Super-Rich
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04/08/24 • 52 min

Forbes' annual rich list reveals that 2,781 people in the world have fortunes in excess of $1 billion. 141 people joined the list in 2023, with a combined wealth of around $14 trillion - a $2 trillion collective increase on the previous year. There are now more billionaires than ever before. It is a grotesque state of affairs, when we reflect on the misery and hardship that have been wrought by the cost of living crisis, soaring inflation, and years of stagnating pay and decaying public services. Clearly, amidst such stark inequality, there is an urgent need to do things differently.

That’s the argument made by Luke Hildyard in his new book, Enough: Why It's Time to Abolish the Super-Rich, which is out now from Pluto Press. Luke argues that far from being the hard-working and productive entrepreneurs that they claim to be, the super-rich are an extractive, parasitic force sucking up a vastly disproportionate share of society's resources – making the rest of us all poorer as a result.

Politicians make absurd promises about economic growth while ignoring the solution that's staring them in the face: a major programme of progressive taxation and economic reform that could be used to get the wealth of the one per cent flowing instead to the workers who actually create it.

Luke Hildyard is also the Director of the High Pay Centre, a UK think tank focused on pay, employment rights and responsible business.

Use the coupon PODCAST on plutobooks.com for 40% off the book.

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Radicals in Conversation - The U.S. Constitution v. Democracy

The U.S. Constitution v. Democracy

Radicals in Conversation

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08/23/22 • 55 min

Recently, U.S. politics has appeared to be very much in a state of crisis. The last president was impeached by Congress, and stands accused of inciting an attempted coup in the January 2021 assault on the Capitol. What's more, in devastating acts of judicial review, The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, throwing out the right to an abortion; and its June 30th ruling on West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency severely curtailed the EPA’s authority under a provision of the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

But rather than all this pointing to a dysfunctional, or even broken, politics, what we are witnessing is a political system working exactly as it was designed to. This is the position taken by Robert Ovetz in his eye-opening new book, We the Elites: Why the U.S. Constitution Serves the Few, in which he examines the constitution for what it is – a rulebook for elites to protect private property and capitalism from democracy. As Robert argues, social movements have misplaced faith in the constitution as a tool for achieving justice when it actually impedes social change through the many roadblocks and obstructions we call 'checks and balances'. This stymies progress on issues like labour rights, poverty, public health and the climate crisis, ultimately propelling the American people and rest of the world towards destruction.

Robert joins us on the show this month to talk about the Constitution - from the historical context in which it was written and what its authors set out to achieve; to the many myths and misconceptions that exist around it; to its legacy today, more than 230 years after its ratification.

We the Elites is out in September 2022. Podcast listeners can get 50% off the book via plutobooks.com - just use the coupon PODCAST at the checkout.

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Radicals in Conversation - Public Health After Covid: A New Radical Blueprint
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01/20/22 • 65 min

Almost two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, and the limits of a neoliberal public health orthodoxy have been well and truly exposed. But instead of pushing for radical change, the left in Britain finds itself stuck in a rearguard action focused on defending the National Health Service (NHS) from the wrecking ball of privatisation.

In January 2022, Pluto published The Five Health Frontiers: A New Radical Blueprint, in which public health expert Christopher Thomas argues that we must emerge from the pandemic on the offensive - with a bold, new vision for our health and social care. He maps out five new frontiers for public health and imagines how we can move beyond safeguarding what we have, towards a revitalisation and radical expansion of the principles put forward by Aneurin Bevan, the founder of the NHS, over 70 years ago.

Beyond recalibrating our approach to healthcare, this radical blueprint calls for a fundamental redesign of our economy through 'Public Health Net Zero'; a bold new universal public health service that is fit to address the real causes of ill health; and a major recalibration in the efforts against the epidemiological reality of an era of pandemics.

Joining us on the panel are:

Christopher Thomas, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and author of The Five Health Frontiers;
Dr Sonia Adesara, an NHS doctor and campaigner

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Radicals in Conversation - Resisting Cop Cities and the Militarization of Policing
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10/09/24 • 56 min

What happens when the police become an army? Since 1997, the US Department of Defense has transferred more than $7.2bn in military equipment to law enforcement agencies. This militarization has, unsurprisingly, been shown to unjustly impact on Black communities and is associated with increased killings by police.

The Police Public Safety Training Center in Atlanta - more commonly known as 'Cop City' - is just the latest manifestation of the militarization of policing. It is a costly and controversial endeavor, being forced through by the local Democrat-run administration, in the face of widespread opposition among local communities. Resistance to the project has been met with spurious legal roadblocks, activist intimidation and violent repression.

But Cop City is far from being just a local issue; almost every US state now has a Cop City project of their own in some stage of development, and the logic, structures and ramifications of Cop Cities are truly international.

In this episode we are joined by Liliana, Joy James and Kalonji Changa to discuss the history of Cop Cities, the parallels with the notorious School of the Americas, and the ways in which the tactics and logic of US imperialism abroad are being brought to bear on working class and racialized communities at home.

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Liliana is an immigrant from Colombia based in Houston, Texas. She is an abolitionist and has worked directly with prisoners on death row and their families. She is the co-host of the radio show 'Voz de La Tierra' on KPFT Pacifica, discussing the geopolitical effects of militarism, policing, imperialism, and racism on Indigenous, Black, and immigrant colonized communities across the globe.

Joy James is an organizer and author. Her recent books include In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love; New Bones Abolition: Captive Maternal Agency and the (After)Life of Erica Garner; and Contextualizing Angela Davis: The Agency and Identity of an Icon. She is the editor of Beyond Cop Cities: Dismantling State and Corporate-Funded Armies and Prisons, and the forthcoming ENGAGE: Indigenous, Black, and Afro-Indigenous Futures. Joy also works with the Guerrilla Intellectual University (GIU) podcast collective on Black Power Media (BPM).

Kalonji Jama Changa is an organizer and founder of the FTP Movement. He is the author of How to Build a People's Army and co-producer of the documentary Organizing Is the New Cool. Kalonji is founder of Black Power Media and serves as co-chair of the Urban Survival and Preparedness Institute.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Radicals in Conversation have?

Radicals in Conversation currently has 97 episodes available.

What topics does Radicals in Conversation cover?

The podcast is about News, Society & Culture, Podcasts and Politics.

What is the most popular episode on Radicals in Conversation?

The episode title 'On Abolition Feminism with H.L.T. Quan' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Radicals in Conversation?

The average episode length on Radicals in Conversation is 50 minutes.

How often are episodes of Radicals in Conversation released?

Episodes of Radicals in Conversation are typically released every 26 days, 18 hours.

When was the first episode of Radicals in Conversation?

The first episode of Radicals in Conversation was released on Sep 6, 2017.

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