In conversation with Pablo Simon, Clara Jiménez and Fernando Arancón at Telefonica Fundacion, Madrid.
‘Why can’t we agree on what’s true any more?’
Long Read published in the Guardian, on the ‘bias’ wars that now dominate our public sphere, and the challenge posed by ‘big data’ to the traditional media.
Britain’s ‘asymmetric polarisation’
The LRB has published a round-table of contributions on the current crisis of British politics. I’ve focused on the worrying degree to which the radical right has now pulled away from the rest of the political spectrum, turning against compromise, parliament and Whitehall.
England’s new rentier alliance
Blogpost looking at how ‘no deal’ Brexit is driven by a coalition of asset-owners, without any interest in production or the future. (Reposted at The New Statesman)
‘Green populism?’
Over the past three years, I’ve been editor of a series of essays on the topic of sustainable prosperity, published by CUSP (where I’m a Co-Investigator). The final one is by me, entitled Green Populism?: Action and Mortality in the Anthropocene.
‘Britain’s Nervous Breakdown’ – seminar recording
I joined Jeremy Gilbert for the Culture, Power and Politics open seminar, to discuss Brexit, Boris Johnson and the broader crisis of liberal democracy. Listen to an audio recording of the seminar here.
Review and interview with The Economist
I discussed Nervous States with Richard Cockett from The Economist, and the possible routes forward for an evidence-based politics.
Interview with FT Alphaville
This podcast interview with Jamie Powell and Thomas Hale explores central themes from Nervous States, especially in relation to economics and economic policy.
‘The funny side of politics’
Article published in openDemocracy on the convergence of comedy and politics.
Essay: Populism & the Limits of Neoliberalism
The surge in so-called ‘populism’ over the past year, largely of a right-wing variety, has provoked an ongoing debate as to how we should characterise its central driver. To put this somewhat crudely (though not much more crudely than some of the debate’s protagonists), the choice comes down to a simple binary: economics or culture? Class or identity? An awkward new category of ‘the left behind’ has emerged in political discourse to capture the unexpected supporters of Donald Trump, Brexit, Marine Le Pen and other nationalist movements. Continue reading “Essay: Populism & the Limits of Neoliberalism”