Radicals in Conversation is a monthly podcast from Pluto Press, one of the world’s leading independent, radical publishers. Every month we sit down with leading campaigners, authors and academics to bring you in-depth conversations and radical perspectives on the issues that matter the most.
Episodes
Tuesday May 08, 2018
Tuesday May 08, 2018
The Republic of Ireland is one of the last places in the EU in which having an abortion remains a criminal offense. Every day, an average of 12 people in Ireland have an abortion - either by travelling to the UK, or through using illegal abortion pills bought online. On 25th May, voters in the Republic will go to the polls in a referendum to decide whether or not to repeal the eighth amendment to the constitution, which has kept abortion illegal under almost all circumstances since it was first introduced in 1983.
The campaign to 'repeal the eighth' has gained a huge amount of traction across the country in recent months. Just a few weeks ahead of the crucial vote, we invited Maev McDaid, an activist with Alliance for Choice, and Lewis Kenny, a Dublin-based artist and activist, to join us in a discussion about the history of abortion in Ireland, and why a 'yes' vote is so crucial.
For more information about the campaign to repeal the eighth, go to:
Monday Mar 05, 2018
Monday Mar 05, 2018
At a time when EU nationals are being deported for sleeping rough; when banks, landlords, schools and even the NHS are deputised in the hunt for 'illegal' immigrants; and when detainees are forced to go on hunger strike to protest the failures and abuses of the Home Office, the issue of immigration has clearly never been more urgent.
Chris Browne is joined by Gracie Bradley from Liberty, and Luke Butterly from Right to Remain, in a timely discussion about the UK government's 'hostile environment' policy, the horrors and injustice of the immigration detention system, and the community groups and campaigners who are trying to put an end to it.
For more information, and to get involved in the fight to end immigration detention, go to:
Tuesday Feb 06, 2018
Tuesday Feb 06, 2018
Chris Browne and Emily Orford are joined by special guests Camille Barbagallo and Tithi Bhattacharya, national organisers for the Women's Strike in the UK and US respectively.
Focusing on the upcoming International Women's Strike - which takes place on International Women's Day (8th March) - the episode's discussion covers everything from the limitations of 'Lean In' feminism and the January 21st Women's March, to social reproduction theory and #MeToo.
Thursday Dec 14, 2017
Thursday Dec 14, 2017
Neda Tehrani is joined by Hareem Ghani, National Union of Students (NUS) Women's Officer, in a discussion about sexual violence and misconduct in higher education. We look at the specific case of universities, and the ongoing Staff-Student Sexual Misconduct Survey being conducted by the NUS, as well as the wider international context of the #MeToo campaign.
For more information about the NUS's Sexual Misconduct Survey, go to www.snapsurveys.com.
Friday Nov 17, 2017
Friday Nov 17, 2017
We discuss new forms of union organisation undertaken by workers today – and how new types of employment, from zero-hours contracts to the gig economy can actually pave the way for creative, successful forms of organisation. We also discuss the Picturehouse and Deliveroo strikes, (anti-)trade union law, Corbynism and renters’ unions.
With special guests Callum Cant, a former Deliveroo rider and organiser from the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB); Kelly Rogers, one of the key organisers in the ongoing Picturehouse strike; and Jamie Woodcock, author of Working the Phones: Control and Resistance in Call Centres.
For more information about the Picturehouse strike, go to: picturehouselivingwage.com
Wednesday Oct 25, 2017
Wednesday Oct 25, 2017
We talk to special guests Matt Myers, author, and Malia Bouattia, former president on the NUS, about Student Revolt: Voices of the Austerity Generation - a lively oral history of the '2010 Generation', bringing together activists, students, politicians and workers. We discuss the significance of the 2010 student protests and how, seven years later, they continue to reverberate through UK politics - both in Parliament and on the streets.
Wednesday Oct 04, 2017
Wednesday Oct 04, 2017
We talk to special guests Charlie Gilmour and Luke Billingham about the importance of reading for prisoners. Luke works for Haven Distribution, a charity that provides books to prisoners, and Charlie spent time in prison after protesting at a student demonstration in 2010. We discuss the politics and the pitfalls of the UK's prison system and how books can 'open windows' to those inside.
For more information about the important work Haven does, go to havendistribution.org.uk.
CW: suicide