In the last twenty years Britons and Eastern Europeans have become closer and more intertwined than ever before. But it's often been a relationship of frustration, and, through the rise of anti-immigration and Eurosceptic politics, marked by xenophobia and racism. In this podcast hosts Luke Cooper and Zoe Williams talk to Yva Alexandrova and Alena Ivanova about Yva's new book, Here to Stay: Eastern Europeans in Britain (Repeater Books, 2021). They discuss the problems the left in the UK has had in engaging the issue of European migration and giving voice to these experiences, and reflect on the myriad of ways in which the peoples of these islands are now connected to Eastern Europeans.  




Here to Stay is out now: 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/677207/here-to-stay-by-yva-alexandrova/ 

85: Betwixt and between? Eastern Europeans in Britain

Hosts Zoe Williams (@zoesqwilliams) and Luke Cooper (@lukecooper100) are joined by guests with a left take on Brexit, Europe and more. Surveying the big transformative ideas of the age, interrogating the tough questions, and opening up new horizons radical thinking and policy, the Another Europe podcast confounds the expectation that 'pro-Europeans' just want to defend the status quo. Brought to you by the Another Europe Is Possible campaign, the podcast is a vital tonic for those despairing at the state of Brexit Britain.

Praise for the Another Europe podcast

"A bracingly honest post mortem on the remain movement, especially its relationship with Labour, by people who were a vital part of it. I found it insightful and weirdly cathartic"
----- Dorian Lynskey, writer and Remainiac

"Provocative... highly balanced and critical... a much-needed space for critical reflection and nuanced discussion"
----- E-International Relations

News

He's the city trader that went rogue. But he didn't lose the bank money. Quite on the contrary, he made them hundreds of millions from the fallout of the financial crisis. Then he dared to speak out against a system that was broken for the many but working for the few. In The Trading Game former city trader and friend of the Another Europe podcast Gary Stevenson has now put his remarkable story down on paper. It's an incredible story and a brilliant read. In this podcast, Gary talks to Another Europe's Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper about the sociology of the City of London and how extreme wealth can so easily drive you mad. He also - in 'extra time' - offers his thoughts on the ecosystems of the political left.



You can buy a copy of the Trading Game here: 

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455809/the-trading-game-by-stevenson-gary/9780241636602 



You can also check out our earlier podcasts with Gary here: 

https://www.anothereurope.org/episode-88-the-cost-of-living-crisis/ 

https://www.anothereurope.org/episode-62-i-made-millions-from-the-financial-crisis-trust-me-the-system-is-broken/ 


97: How the rich win: A story of misogyny, money and power

George Galloway has done it again, in a byelection as predictable as it was depressing. But surely this is isn't just about one individual. It feels like a moment of crisis and disruption in British politics. After the dust had settled on the result, Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper spoke to James Meadway and Michael Chessum about what it means for British politics in this age of crisis and contention. Their conversation was kicked off by a discussion of Michael's Guardian article that can be read here.



Members of Another Europe get access to extra podcast material as a benefit of membership. To join and support our work go to http://anothereurope.org/join 



Production and editing by Malek Banat. 

96: British politics after the return of George Galloway

Poland has dumped its far right government in a historic election victory for pro-democratic forces. After years of authoritarianism and anti-migrant racism, the Law and Justice party have been defeated by a coalition of pro-democratic parties. 



In this podcast, Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper talk to Polish activist Ana Oppenheim about the historic triumph of liberals, pro-democrats and the left. A member of the Another Europe National Committee, co-host of the Polish news and history podcast Polkast and an activist with the left-wing party Razem (personal capacity), Ana offers her thoughts on the election, and what it means for European politics and Ukraine's resistance to Russian imperialism. 



The podcast is published as part of the Ukraine and the World series, an initiative taken in collaboration with Foreign Policy in Focus – Institute for Policy Studies in the United States and our longstanding partner, European Alternatives. 






95: The Polish Spring

It was a scientific discovery that changed the world forever. The nuclear bomb was largely a brainchild of left wing scientists who were determined Nazi Germany would not win the race to build this terrible weapon. The recent Hollywood biopic focuses on the role of Robert Oppenheimer in this fascinating period in history, the man who led the team working under the direction of the American government in this top secret project, who would become a prominent victim of the McCarthyite purges in the 1950s. 



In this podcast, Luke Cooper and Zoe Williams talk to LSE professor and Another Europe Is Possible member, Mary Kaldor, about this fascinating history. While she never met Oppenheimer himself, Kaldor met a number of other figures in the film and others that didn't make it into the script, particularly at the Pugwash conferences on disarmament that created a unique space for dialogue between scientists on either side of the Cold War divide.

94: Robert Oppenheimer, anti-fascism and the nuclear bomb

In the first podcast in our Ukraine and the World series, Luke Cooper talks to Masha Shynkarenko, a Research Associate with the Ukraine in European Dialogue programme at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and an expert on the Russian colonisation of Crimea and the Crimean Tartar national movement. 



They discuss the long history of Russian and Soviet imperialism in the Crimean peninsula, life under Russian occupation, and the need for nuance and complexity in discussion of what decolonisation of Crimea should look like in practice. 



The Ukraine and the World series is an initiative taken in collaboration with Foreign Policy in Focus - Institute for Policy Studies in the United States and our longstanding partner, European Alternatives. 



Members of Another Europe get access to extra material as a benefit of membership. In this pod's extra time, Masha and Luke discuss the implications of the decolonisation of Crimea for the wider appeals to decolonisation globally and the fall of empires in the 21st century.

85: Betwixt and between? Eastern Europeans in Britain

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