The Verso Podcast

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Reactionary Democracy: How racism and the populist far right became mainstream Jul 02, 2020

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Co-organised by the IPR, PoLIS, Verso and Surviving Society Aurelien Mondon and Aaron Winter speak to co-hosts of the Surviving Society podcast, Chantelle Lewis and Tissot Regis; chaired by Dr Fran Amery.

Sinews of War and Trade: Laleh Khalili speaks to Rafeef Ziadah May 13, 2020

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Sinews of War and Trade: Laleh Khalili speaks to Rafeef Ziadah by Verso Books

The Socialist Manifesto: Bhaskar Sunkara in conversation with Dawn Foster Jul 08, 2019

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In the current race to be Democratic presidential candidate, a socialist is in second place. Meanwhile, in the UK, Jeremy Corbyn’s left-led Labour Party has revived a political idea many had thought dead. But what, exactly, is socialism? And what would a socialist system look like today? Bhaskar Sunkara is joined by journalist and author Dawn Foster to examine the key ideas behind his new book, The Socialist Manifesto. In The Socialist Manifesto, Bhaskar Sunkara, editor of Jacobin magazine, argues that socialism offers the means to achieve economic equality, and also to fight other forms of oppression, including racism and sexism. The ultimate goal is not Soviet-style planning, but to win rights to healthcare, education, and housing and to create new democratic institutions in workplaces and communities. The book both explores socialism’s history and presents a realistic vision for its future. A primer on socialism for the twenty-first century, this is a book for anyone seeking an end to the vast inequities of our age. This is a recording of an event at Foyles, Charing Cross Road, on the 30th of May 2019.

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights Nov 27, 2018

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Juno Mac and Molly Smith in conversation with Frankie Mullin about how the law harms sex workers—and what they want instead Do you have to think that prostitution is good to support sex worker rights? How do sex worker rights fit with feminist and anti-capitalist politics? Is criminalising clients progressive—and can the police deliver justice? In Revolting Prostitutes, sex workers Juno Mac and Molly Smith bring a fresh perspective to questions that have long been contentious. Speaking from a growing global sex worker rights movement, and situating their argument firmly within wider questions of migration, work, feminism, and resistance to white supremacy, they make clear that anyone committed to working towards justice and freedom should be in support of the sex worker rights movement.

New Dark Age: James Bridle and Ben Vickers on Technology and the End of the Future Jul 16, 2018

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What is technology trying to tell us in an emergency? James Bridle, in conversation with Serpentine Galleries CTO Ben Vickers, discusses 'New Dark Age' and the dark clouds that gather over our dreams of the digital sublime. As the world around us increases in technological complexity, our understanding of it diminishes. What is needed is not new technology, but new metaphors: a metalanguage for describing the world that complex systems have wrought. We don’t and cannot understand everything, but we are capable of thinking it. Technology can help us in this thinking: computers are not here to give us answers, but are tools for asking questions. Understanding a technology deeply and systemically allows us to remake metaphors in the service of other ways of thinking – without claiming, or even seeking to fully understand – and to ask the right questions to guide us through this new dark age. The discussion, presented in collaboration with Serpentine Galleries and the Goethe-Institut, also featured a performance by artist and writer Erica Scourti and a screening of We Help Each Other Grow (2017) by They Are Here, a collaborative practice steered by Helen Walker and Harun Morrison.

Tariq Ali discusses May '68 on BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking, February 2018 Mar 23, 2018

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1968 was one of the most seismic years in recent history -- Vietnam, the Prague spring, Black Power at the Olympics and protests on the streets of Paris and London. This interview is part commemoration, part reassessment. What remains of that turbulent time and where can we discern its features in our political landscape today?

Anna Feigenbaum Discusses Tear Gas at Wooden Shoe Books Feb 14, 2018

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Discussion with author Anna Feigenbaum about Tear Gas, which tells the story of how a chemical weapon went from the battlefield to the streets.

Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change by Ashley Dawson Nov 07, 2017

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A conversation with writer and professor Ashley Dawson on his latest book, Extreme Cities. Here, he presents a disturbing survey of the necessarily ecological history of global urbanization and industrialization, as well as the unstable futures they are producing. As much a harrowing study as a call to arms Extreme Cities is a necessary read for anyone concerned with the threat of global warming, and of the cities of the world. The book is available for sale at Verso Books: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2558-extreme-cities

The End Of Policing: A conversation with Alex Vitale Oct 12, 2017

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Among activists, journalists, and politicians, the conversation about how to respond to and improve policing has focused on accountability, diversity, training, and community relations. Policing is an institution whose primary function is the creation and reproduction of massive inequalities. In "The End of Policing," Alex Vitale reveals the tainted origins of modern policing as a tool of social control. The expansion of police authority is inconsistent with community empowerment, social justice—even public safety. Law enforcement has come to exacerbate the very problems it is supposed to solve. The best solution to bad policing may be an end to policing. The End of Policing is 40% off until Sunday, October 15 at 11:59PM PST (US only): https://www.versobooks.com/books/2426-the-end-of-policing

The Ontological is Political: Timothy Morton in conversation with Verso Books Sep 27, 2017

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Timothy Morton discusses the political idea of the collective, subscendence, solidarity, fighting Nazis, and lots more. Humankind: Solidarity with Non-Human People, by Timothy Morton, is out now.

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