Spring Podcast

Since ‘The personal is political’ became the mantra of the 1970s feminist movement, sexuality and sexual politics have been central to the development of left-wing ideology. Gay and women’s liberation groups became an integral aspect of the left, informing its discourse and cultural development. Today the concept of the personal extends beyond the broad catchments of race, gender and sexuality – into mental health, weight and the many intersecting identities which make up a personal...

In an article accusing comedy website The Onion of being the most effective Marxist propaganda machine in America, a journalist reflected that ‘from King Lear’s Fool to Samuel Clemens, humor is often the cover by which the radical reaches the mainstream’. From the Chartist usage of seditious, mocking cartoons to Da’esh’s bizarre Twitter trolling of the White House, satire has been long utilised as a tool to ridicule the established order. What is the state of satire in Britain today? What...

A whole generation of left-wingers in the United Kingdom have never had to deal directly with the question of wielding political power. But following a momentous summer, shocked socialists have found themselves with a radical Labour leadership advocating a ‘new politics’ and espousing ambitious economic vision. Do these developments make traditional strategies of ‘pushing Labour leaders left’ seem… outdated? Can this seismic shift relate to ideas of challenging capitalism? And what can be...

Many cultural movements relate to the crowd – from music, to football, to theatre. Being a part of a mass is clearly an integral aspect of the cultural drive… an event witnessed alone can be quite different from the same event in isolation.The scale of audience and participation builds into what defines the moment – feeds the tension, itself it is part of the spectacle. The experience of many thousands moving together, singing together or watching silently, together – all help define our...