Author: claimthefuture_admin

The first episode of the New Thinking Series: “How private corporations stole the sea,” presented by Guy Standing, Professor of Development Studies, SOAS.

For most of human history, the oceans have been seen as a global commons, which belong to us all. But our seas are now being ravaged by exploitation for corporate profit, resulting in a social, economic and ecological crisis that threatens the life support system of Earth.  

Guy Standing is a British labour economist, professor of development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, and a co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network. 

Guy Standing’s book, ‘The Blue Commons’, argues the only way forward is to revive the ethos of the sea as a commons, managed for the benefit of all, by those whose lives and wellbeing depend on it. This episode features contributions from John McDonnell, Economist Ann Pettifor, Caroline Lucas MP, Beth Winter MP and Ian Byrne MP. 

The New Thinking Series is a series of discussions in the House of Commons, which present innovative ideas to shake up the status quo. 

This podcast series is available wherever you get your podcasts, or via the Spotify player below:

Episode 9 in our podcast series is available now!

Explore the history of anti-colonialism, struggles against neo-colonialism, and the continued fight against global inequality – John McDonnell discusses these themes in-depth with Asad Rehman and Heidi Chow. 

• Asad Rehman has worked in the non-government and charity sectors for over 25 years. Today, his expertise puts him at the forefront of the climate justice movement in the UK, and around the world. Previously the head of international climate at major environmental NGO Friends of the Earth, Asad is now the executive director of War on Want, a movement committed towards ending poverty and injustice.
• Heidi Chow is the Executive Director of Debt Justice (formerly Jubilee Debt Campaign) which campaigns to end unjust debt in solidarity with affected communities in the global south and across the UK. Heidi has a long track record of winning public campaigns on economic justice issues and was formerly a senior campaigns and policy manager at Global Justice Now. 

You can find out more about debt and colonialism from Debt Justice’s latest political education program here.

This podcast series is available wherever you get your podcasts, or via the Spotify player below:

Episode 8 in our podcast series is available now!

Explore the formation, impact and goals of environmental movements globally and how they intersect with the fight against global inequality – John McDonnell discusses these theme in depth with Vijay Prashad and Asad Rehman. 

• Vijay Prashad is an Indian Marxist historian, editor and commentator. He is an executive-director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, and a senior non-resident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China.  Vijay has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations.
• Asad Rehman has worked in the non-government and charity sectors for over 25 years. Today, his expertise puts him at the forefront of the climate justice movement in the UK, and around the world. Previously the head of international climate at major environmental NGO Friends of the Earth, Asad is now the executive director of War on Want, a movement committed towards ending poverty and injustice. 

Available wherever you get your podcasts, or via the Spotify player below:

Episode 7 in our podcast series is available now!

A discussion on the context and events of the Russian Revolution including the nature of Russian society prior to the revolution; the emergence of the revolutionary movements and the Bolshevik Party; what sparked the revolution and the civil war; and the lasting international impact of the revolution. 

John McDonnell speaks to two expert historians and activists: Professor Mary Davis and Paul Feldman. 

• Mary Davis is visiting professor of labour history at Royal Holloway, University of London. She has written, broadcast and lectured widely on women’s history, labour history, imperialism and racism. Her published books include “Comrade or Brother? A History of the British Labour Movement 1789-1951” (2009); “Marxism & Struggle” (1998); , “Sylvia Pankhurst: A Life in Radical Politics” (1999) and “Class and Gender in British Labour History” (1999) and “Class and Gender in British Labour History.”
• Paul Feldman is a Marxist author, editor and activist and communications editor for the Real Democracy Movement. He has authored or co-authored ‘Time’s Up for Neoliberalism’, ‘Unmasking the State’, ‘A World to Win’ and the 2008 publication ‘A House of Cards – from fantasy finance to global crash’.  Paul edited  and co-ordinated the 2022 online political education course ‘Rethinking Our Future’.

Available wherever you get your podcasts, or via the Spotify player below:

Episode 6 in our podcast series is available now! In it we discuss the rise of fascism and the far-right in Italy and Spain, resulting in the brutal regimes of Franco and Mussolini.

This episode explores the conditions that led to their rise and the left struggles in both country during and after the establishment of both fascist regimes – John McDonnell speaks to three expert historians: Jessica Thorne; David Broder and Professor Paul Preston. 

Available wherever you get your podcasts, or via the Spotify player below:

Episode 5 in our podcast series is available now! In it we discuss the background to and the formation of the Attlee Government in 1945.  

With Francis Beckett, author, journalist, biographer and historian; Rebecca Long-Bailey, Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles, and former Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; and Paul Dimoldenberg, Labour Councillor in Westminster since 1982 and author of ‘Building the New Jerusalem’.

Available wherever you get your podcasts, or via the Spotify player below:

Episode 4 in our podcast series is available now!

Explore the rise of the trade union movement and eventual foundation of the Labour Party in 1900, with John McDonnell and three expert historians and activists: Matthew Worley, Simon Hannah and Baroness Pauline Bryan.

• Matthew Worley is a Professor of Modern History at the University of Reading, where he focuses on twentieth-century British culture and politics, with a particular interest in the British labour movement. 
• Simon Hannah is a writer, labour activist and trade unionist, and the author of “A Party with Socialists in It – A History of the Labour Left”, published by Pluto Press.
• Baroness Pauline Bryan is a Scottish writer and socialist campaigner. She is part of the Red Paper Collective and a founding member of both the Keir Hardie Society and the Campaign for Socialism.

Available wherever you get your podcasts, or via the Spotify player below:

What caused the English Civil War? What was society like for working people in this period? And what impact did the Civil War have on society then – and now, more than three centuries on?

Listen to John McDonnell explore these and other questions in a fascinating discussion with three expert historians: Ann Hughes, John Rees and Ted Vallance.

Have a listen on Spotify below, or try our Simplecast website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Amazon Music.