Desolation Radio Desolation Radio

Dan sat down with Chris, Gerald and Jordan from the ALU to discuss their amazing campaign to establish and organize a trade union in their Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. Despite a huge union busting campaign from Amazon, the ALU's campaign culminated in a successful recognition agreement, the first of its kind worldwide and a huge symbolic victory for the working class across the world. We discussed conditions in Amazon, organizing strategies, union busting, why we shouldn't talk politics in trade unions, covid, the importance of fighting back and much more besides. This one is a must listen for socialists and organizers of any kind. Enjoy!

Ladies and gentlemen...we got him. For our 100th episode we were joined by the one and only Michael Sheen. We talked about films, politics, the homeless world cup, and lots more besides. An honour and a privilege to talk to Michael, and thanks so much to all of you who've supported us over the last 6 years. We love you. Peace out X

What's up everyone. For our 99th episode (!) we were joined by our friend Hussein Said to talk about his experiences in the Black Lives Matter movement and the environmental movement. We talked about class, policing, ecology and the problems the left faces in uniting these issues, as well as the intractable problem of identity politics seeping into leftist activism and much much more besides. This one is vital listening- Hussein is the man. If you want to donate to Asylum Justice you can do so here: https://www.asylumjustice.org.uk/fundraising/

Well, that hiatus was longer than expected! Sorry everyone. But we are back, fear not. For episode 98 we were lucky enough to be able to speak to the incomparable Ned Thomas. Ned is the author of the modern classic 'The Welsh Extremist', as well as being the founder of Planet magazine, which has become a modern Welsh institution. He is truly a giant of Welsh political and cultural life and he shares his wisdom with us here on a wide range of topics, reflecting on a lifetime of activism and intellectual work. We talked about the Welsh language, Welsh identity, the nature of devolution, direct action, and loads more besides. Hope you enjoy x

Dan was joined by our good mate and all round legend Paul O'Connell to discuss the Labour Party and Labourism as a political culture, following Paul's recent article on Conter https://www.conter.scot/2022/1/25/labouring-under-illusions/. They discussed the history and defining features of Labourism, the new left debate on Labour as a vehicle for socialism, its analysis of the state, its relationship with imperialism, why the Labour party annoyingly refuses to die and ultimately why socialists urgently need to break with Labourism in order to tackle the current crisis of capitalism.

In this episode we were joined by none other than Professor Walter Benn Michaels, the author of 'The Trouble with Diversity: How we learned to love identity and ignore inequality'. We talked about the rise of left neoliberalism and why it is wrong; the history of the civil rights movement and why it moved away from socialism; the material roots and role of racism in society; the role of Universities in marginalizing class analysis; the failure of the left to present an alternative analysis; the myth of 'class reductionism'; and how liberal anti-racism and all forms of progressive identity politics ultimately function to undermine socialism and aid capitalism. An extremely provocative episode with one of the best socialist thinkers around.