What's Left? With Jovan + Freddie

What's Left? With Jovan + Freddie

'What's Left?' is a progressive political podcast for the generation tasked with returning order to political chaos. With 'Left/Right' no longer a clear distinction for our politics, what does it really mean to be on the political 'left'? And given the enormous change we're living through, what is left of our values, institutions and political systems? Co-hosts Jovan Owusu-Nepaul and Freddie Feltham are ex-Labour Party staffers, who have scrapped with Nigel Farage and Andrew Tate between them. Through in-depth chats with friends and experts inside Westminster and beyond, we hope to reveal what's really at stake as civilisation crosses the AI Rubicon. This is a show for anyone fed up with the status quo; ready to listen, learn and do in pursuit of a better and fairer future. Oh - and we wanna have some fun with it too. Jovan + Freddie

  1. Sep 23

    Should The Left Talk About Birthrates - Stephen J Shaw

    JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft **** Demographer Stephen J Shaw's research on global birthrates has become a cause célèbre of the radical right. Since publishing his data on delaying parenthood as the cause for "unplanned childlessness", Stephen has been welcomed to the upper echelons of Right-wing discourse - with the likes of Jordan Peterson and appearances at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. Undoubtedly, these are places that don't share our politics. So why have we hosted Stephen? Well, because Stephen's research and his methodologies have been peer reviewed. His data, as much as we might find it uncomfortable, is real. And if the Left doesn't have an analysis for the effects of global birthrate decline, then the Right certainly will. In this discussion, we explore Stephen's findings and why there has been cross-cultural delaying of parenthood. In particular we question why population decline would be harmful, how attitudes toward parenthood have changed and why the Right have co-opted this issue as their own. Is there a case for a left-natalism, drawing on the innovations and heritage of social democracy? Chapters 00:00 Intro 05:43 Are Birthrates "Collapsing"? 13:03 Population Apocalypse? 16:05 Is Immigration a Fix? 22:00 The 'Replacement' Debate 26:03 Why The Left are Suspicious of Stephen 31:51 The Challenge of Ecological Collapse 37:42 Freddie and Jovan's Theory of Birthrate Decline 45:30 The Vitality Curve 51:24 Is 'Unplanned Childlessness' a Fair Term? 58:25 Can Delayed Parenthood be Reversed? 1:05:21 Is 'Hypergamy' Real? 1:11:20 The Loneliness Epidemic 1:15:02 Do Freddie and Jovan Want Kids 1:21:33 Have Romantic Relationships Changed? 1:25:50 Why Religious Fundamentalists Are Pro-Natalist 1:29:36 Is There A Case for Left-Natalism? 1:36:02 How Do AI and Demographics Affect Labour and Capital? 1:40:00 Should People Move To Africa? 1:45:18 How Can We Talk About Birthrates Maturely?

    Should The Left Talk About Birthrates - Stephen J Shaw
  2. Sep 16

    Don't Worry About AI Apocalypse - Cory Doctorow

    JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft Meet Schrödinger’s AI apocalypse - it is / isn’t happening. Cory Doctorow is the final boss of AI criticism. His sophisticated understanding of computer science paired with science fiction writing talents means he gets a good story about the future. AI companies have been spending billions. Much of it has been in data centre buildout that is filtering out into the US economy though at a ~2% growth rote. But the rest has been in marketing budgets, selling us an ideological story about how AI will take on all the menial tasks we don’t want to do. We don’t have our heads in the sand. There have been some monumental breakthroughs in computing power that is solving millennial maths problems, creating hyper-targeting weaponry and surveillance, advancing exotic isotope development for cures for cancer. It is enhancing what some, who use the software proficiently, are able to achieve. Yet AI is not infallible. AI will not inevitably replace human labour. Like every political tradeoff, it is a choice. Something has changed in recent days. En masse, the major AI players of Sam Altman, Dario Amodei and Elon Musk have agreed to a slowdown in AI buildout. Why? Because, they say, too many AI safety researchers are raising alarm bells of a mass extinction possibility from this tech. So is it time to hit panic stations? Cory Doctorow is not convinced. All the most threatening things tech is capable of: shutting down economies, ransomware cyber attacks, monopoly rent extraction, are risks we are already living with. If you’re worrying about the future, you should be worried about today. 00:00 Intro 07:09 Is the AI Apocalypse Happening? 12:30 Is The Crita-Hype View Cynical? 19:28 Stock Valuations from Storytelling 27:40 Can AI Replace Labour? 35:30 Who Wins From Automation Adoption? 43:52 Slowdown in Buildout and the AI Bubble 50:50 Digital Sovereignty Is Not About AI 59:05 A Post-American Internet 1:08:01 Can the Left Get Serious? 1:13:01 Are the Elites Divided?

    Don't Worry About AI Apocalypse - Cory Doctorow
  3. Sep 8

    Exposing The Slopulist-Right Money Machine - Decoding The Gurus

    JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft **** If you want a counter-counter-culture take based on FACTS and LOGIC, look no further than the Decoding the Gurus podcast. Who said there is nothing sexy about being sceptical about scepticism, defending institutional arguments or stress-testing scientific methodologies? Matthew Brown and Chris Kavanagh have been dissecting the internet’s favourite gurus for over 5 years - debunking conspiracies and critically evaluating the totalising philosophies of these alternative media sensations. It certainly seems that there are more gurus today than ever before. The internet and in particular video-based media is servicing a special kind of cult-like business, enabling mass dissemination and pseudo-community. So why is it that there are more right-wing gurus than left-wing ones? What do the politics of online gurus tell us about wider society? Is there a grievance-mongering machine that is pointing people away from organised religion to a digital silo where they must pay for a worldview? We answer all of this and so much more! Chapters 00:00 Introduction 04:20 Are There More Gurus Than Ever? 10:01 The Relation Between Gurus, Science and Modernity 20:21 Is Grievance Culture Driving Gurufication? 26:02 How Does Economic Crisis Explain The Growing Market of Gurus. 30:30 Don’t Trust Faux Centrists 36:12 Does the Traditional Political Spectrum Exist Anymore? 42:10 The Alt-Right Political Content Industry 47:25 What Psychological Needs Are Met By Ideology? 51:15 Why Are There Fewer Left-Wing Gurus? 56:02 Is Gary Stevenson a Guru? 1:09:55 Have We Become Addicted to Frictionless Capitalism? 1:13:55 How Betting Has Got Out of Hand 1:20:11 Do We Need To Suffer More for Social Cohesion?

    Exposing The Slopulist-Right Money Machine - Decoding The Gurus
  4. Aug 25

    Will Andrew Tate Face Justice in the UK? - Matt Shea

    JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft **** Friend of the show, Matt Shea, returns for an update on the Andrew Tate case and a meaty analysis of Looksmaxxing CEO Clavicular. Are young boys really looking up to these jokemen? Has the media misunderstood the manosphere as a moral panic? Or does it reveal something deeper about the gender wars and who is funding them? Matt is your most hated grifter's worst enemy. An ex-VICE documentarian, Shea has investigated some of the most notorious stories. It led him to making a series of docs on Andrew Tate, where he spent intimate time with the Tate brothers and their 'War Room' in Romania. Shea now co-hosts the BBC's new podcast 'Top Comment' which looks at disinformation and online subcultures. It's worth a listen if you've exhausted all your WL episodes while poolside chilling this summer x Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:54 Louis Theroux’s Manosphere Documentary 07:48 Manosphere Ideology 10:15 Truth About Looksmaxxing 17:35 What’s Wrong with Clavicular? 24:06 The Online Freak Show Circus 27:10 Ceuta Crisis and Foreign Interference 34:25 The Right Wing Amplification Network 37:45 Tate’s Links to Russia 41:10 Andrew Tate’s Lunatic Lawyer 47:41 Latest Updates in The Criminal Investigation 54:01 It’s a Cult 1:01:56 Deep-seated Male Insecurities 1:05:08 What Is Positive Masculinity? 1:12:45 Changing the Culture

    Will Andrew Tate Face Justice in the UK? - Matt Shea
  5. Aug 11

    Is Restore Ethno Nationalist? - Peter McCormack, Hassan Damluji

    JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content **** FIRST EVER RESTORE SUPPORTER IN THE HOT SEAT. WHATS LEFT, WHATS RIGHT, WHAT COULD GO WRONG? INFLATION, MONETARY POLICY, CRYPTO, IMMIGRATION, CULTURE, DEMOCRACY, DEPORTATIONS, BILLIONAIRES, TAXES, LIBERTARIANISM, ECONOMIC GROWTH... WE COVER IT ALL. CONSIDERED PUTTING IT BEHIND A PAYWALL... NAHHHH. But please please please consider donating to our show either via substack or by https://studio.buymeacoffee.com/dashboard . We need donations to keep our ting going. Big ups to Peter McCormack for joining us for an open and wide ranging discussion on why he'd vote for Restore! Peter is one of Restore's biggest supporters, with a podcast sporting over 400k subscribers talking about crypto, economics and the right-wing side of the culture wars. While we might disagree on much, we are very grateful for giving us his time with his contribution to this episode! Great to also see Hassan Damluji (WL #6) return to the stu for his second outing. If you liked Hassan's bars, he'll be returning soon with a show of his own. You can find out more about the work of his think tank, Global Nation by dropping him a follow @hassandamluji on all socials. Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:45 Peter's Background 07:42 Hassan's Background 12:56 Monetary Policy and Inflation 20:54 Is Inflation Always Bad? 26:45 Democracy and Short-Termism 30:42 Restore and Deportations 38:32 Does Peter Have More Free Speech than Hassan 44:30 Why People Want To Deport All Muslims 49:36 Do Different Religions Mix? 57:42 Why Has Immigration Failed? 1:04:30 Hard Trade-Offs of Government 1:10:01 Billionaires, Relative Inequality and Minimum Wage 1:19:09 Can The Government Fix The Country? 1:29:02 Real Austerity, Debt and Balancing the Books 1:36:34 Wealth Taxes vs. Spend? 1:44:13 What We've Found In Common... 1:48:18 University Education

    Is Restore Ethno Nationalist? - Peter McCormack, Hassan Damluji

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

'What's Left?' is a progressive political podcast for the generation tasked with returning order to political chaos. With 'Left/Right' no longer a clear distinction for our politics, what does it really mean to be on the political 'left'? And given the enormous change we're living through, what is left of our values, institutions and political systems? Co-hosts Jovan Owusu-Nepaul and Freddie Feltham are ex-Labour Party staffers, who have scrapped with Nigel Farage and Andrew Tate between them. Through in-depth chats with friends and experts inside Westminster and beyond, we hope to reveal what's really at stake as civilisation crosses the AI Rubicon. This is a show for anyone fed up with the status quo; ready to listen, learn and do in pursuit of a better and fairer future. Oh - and we wanna have some fun with it too. Jovan + Freddie

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