Stay ConnectedAn occasional series revisiting conversations and ideas from Reasons to be Cheerful (2017-2024), formerly hosted by ex-Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, and Sony Award-winning radio presenter Geoff Lloyd.
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Hello! Geoff’s hopped on a train up to Doncaster to visit Ed on the campaign trail. After their catch up, we explore the argument for compulsory voting in elections. Judith Brett tells us about how Australia got compulsory voting back in the 1920s and the impact it’s had on their politics. Then political scientist Sarah Birch argues that it’s time for the UK to follow suit.
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Comedian Glenn Moore returns to share his thoughts on the election news this week.
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Hello! Away from the set piece speeches and TV interviews, British elections are fought by thousands of party activists going door-to-door to speak to voters. But what impact does this really have and why are political campaigns around the world increasingly looking to the ‘ground campaign’? Becky Bond tells us the story of how her team pioneered a new way of involving volunteers in the Bernie Sanders campaign. Then Vincent Pons and Simon Kruschinski explain why door-to-door canvassing has made a return to French and German elections in recent years.
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Comedian Rosie Jones comes back to talk to us about what's keeping her cheerful in the election news this week
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Hello! The climate crisis is higher on the political agenda than ever before, with more than half of people saying it will influence how they vote in the UK general election. We’re discussing how to ensure that this is the first ‘climate election’ with Alice Bell from climate campaign Possible and Fatima Ibrahim from Green New Deal UK. Then Catherine Abreu talks us through the role of climate policy in Canada’s recent election and what the rest of the world can learn from it.
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Comedian Jen Brister joins us to sift through the more hopefully stories in another week of general election campaigning
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Hello! Why are political adverts banned on TV and radio but allowed all over websites like Facebook and Google? Is it time to update our campaign laws for the 21st century? Sam Jeffers explains how campaign group ‘Who Targets Me’ are opening up the black box of online ads in elections. Then digital campaigning expert Kate Dommett talks about why current electoral rules aren’t up to the job and what we need to do to fix them.
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The wonderful Sooz Kempner is here to chat through this week of the election campaign.
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Here's a preview of a new spin off we have with Owen Jones ahead of the general election. Head to https://play.acast.com/s/cheerfulelectiondaily or search for Cheerful Election Daily in your podcast app of choice and subscribe
27 DAYS TO GO
Episode 1 sees Owen looking over the country, how the surveys are looking and at the age of voters. Why are the Tories so keen to bring up immigration right now? What's Labour about to announce which could save every household a chunk of cash each month, bring us up to par with other countries around the world and allow people to live out of cities? Is playing into the contrast with Johnson going to be Corbyn's best tactic in the debates?
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Hello! The UK was late to the party on holding TV election debates. What can we learn from other countries about how to do them well? Nick Anstead talks us through why we avoided debates for so long and where we’re still going wrong. US expert Diana Carlin explains the history of presidential debates and why she thinks they’ve been good for democracy. Then Graham Fox discusses Canada’s recent experience of overhauling how their debates are run.
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Comedian Pierre Novellie returns to pick apart the first week of the General Election campaigning
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Hello! What if government promised a job to anyone who needed one at any time? That’s the principle behind an idea gaining traction in the US: the universal jobs guarantee. Economic historian Lord Robert Skidelsky explains how governments have approached full employment in the past and why a jobs guarantee is now the best way to achieve it. Then US expert Pavlina Tcherneva talks about how the policy could work in practice.
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We talk to period poverty activist Amika George. Amika tells us about setting up the Free Periods campaign, how they achieved a shift in government policy, and where it goes next.
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Hello! With 15% population taking 70% flights in the UK, is a frequent flyer tax the fairest way to tackle the contribution of aviation to the climate crisis? We talk to Professor Alice Larkin about the problem of aviation emissions and why technology isn’t coming to the rescue any time soon. Then Leo Murray makes the argument for a frequent flyer tax and explains how it would work in practice.
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Filmmakers Ken Loach and Paul Laverty talk about their latest collaboration on ‘I’m Sorry We Missed You’. They discuss the problems of the gig economy, their approach to filmmaking and why they remain optimists despite the issues their films depict.
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Hello! From Russian bots to deep fakes, what threat does fake news actually pose and how can we stop it spreading? We hear from social psychologist Sander van der Linden about why we believe fake news and how “prebunking” can help us to spot it. Samantha Bradshaw explains how tech firm business models contribute to the problem. Then Vesa Häkkinen talks us through Finland’s anti-disinformation campaign, which includes using teddy bears to teach toddlers about the media.
AND Tom Noble AKA Roger Gammon is here to talk about the book we’ve all been waiting for: ‘Chaos with Ed Miliband’. His account of Ed’s last few years is uncannily accurate…
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Hello! Is mobilising 3.5% of the population all it takes to achieve political change? As Extinction Rebellion continue their latest action in London, we’re talking about the ideas behind non-violent civil disobedience. We hear from some of those involved in Extinction Rebellion, before spokesperson Zion Lights talks us through their theory of change. Historian Talat Ahmed explains Gandhi’s approach to civil disobedience and how this has inspired movements since. And Serbian activist Srdja Popovic tells us about the principles of effective non-violent strategy that he teaches to campaigners around the world.
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