Casement's Leftovers

Helen and Matt finally conclude their famed Berlin trilogy by speaking to Caoimhe of The Irish Bloc Berlin. A "Berlin-based platform for Irish solidarity with Palestine", the Irish Bloc has been on the frontlines of opposition to Germany's continued support for Israel and the Berlin police's brutal repression tactics. We talk to Caoimhe about the group's organising efforts, but also dig deeper into just why Germany is so fucked. 

Follow The Irish Bloc at irishblocberlin on Instagram

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We continue our German urlaub with a very simple question: what the fuck is going on in Europe??

There is no one better to help us with this burning question than Ciarán from the fantastic Corner Späti podcast. Ciarán (like somebody else we know) is an Irish podcaster currently living in Berlin, but he also happens to be the only person in the world who actually understands the EU (editor's note: we fact-checked this, it's true). 

Recorded from Matt's safehouse in the heart of the European empire, we discuss an array of topics such as odd socks, our favourite flags, and the benefits of drink-driving, before Ciarán answers all of our questions about Europe, like: what is Ursula von der Leyen's actual *job?*  What's a "fiscal transfer"? And who the fuck are Volt?

Make sure to check out Corner Späti for all your European needs and tune in next week for the conclusion of our Berlin Trilogy! 

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The housing crisis is the definitive social issue of our time, affecting almost everybody across the West in varied and horrifying ways. But how do we go about. solving it?

One seemingly novel idea has been put forward by housing activists in Berlin: simply take properties out of the hands of the massive landlords and place them back under tenant control. In this, the first in our mini-series of episodes recorded live from Matt’s bedroom in Berlin, Matt and Helen speak to Danielle of Right 2 The City / 'Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen' about the 2021 referendum on the expropriation of over 200,000 properties in Germany’s capital. What’s the thinking behind this move? What has happened since? And can we learn anything from this mass movement that we can apply to the situation in Ireland?  

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The moment you've all been waiting for: Helen's first solo episode! They're joined by Mark Malone from The Hope & Courage Collective (formerly The Far Right Observatory) to talk about the far right in Ireland. 
They talk about the influence of the British far right, the key actors and funders, the gains they made in the local elections and crucially; how to tackle them. 
(We had a few technical issues recording this so it's not the cleanest listen: please forgive us.) 

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The whole gang is back together for a quick catch-up and a dive into what each has been reading. Glen brings us on a culinary trip through the history of Ireland via Margaret Hickey's Ireland's Green Larder., Helen finds God in John Dominic Crossan's Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, and Matt disproves the labour theory of value through the divine power of tunes in Jacques Attali's Noise: A Political Economy of Music. 

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Helen’s on holiday this week but Glen and Matt bravely soldier on without them, as the news isn’t going to react to itself. Tune in to the world’s only male-exclusive podcast as we perform our semi-regular temperature check on the state of Western civilisation.
 
The U.K. is having an election, the U.S. is entering a home, and Germany’s brain is unfortunately gone totally kaput. We also talk about Ireland recognising Palestine and the reactions to the ICC potentially issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others. Come join us in the testosterone tank, won’t you? 

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During the middle of the 20th century, the Third World movement represented the desires of billions for agency and justice. As the old colonial empires collapsed and new power structures were emerging,  there was a brief moment of hope for a world in which the Global South stood strong, united and liberated.  This was until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the solidification of US-led liberal capitalist democracy as the dominant global system seemed to put an end to these hopes.

However, things are now changing again. At the same time as China and other large economies are helping to shift the global centre of gravity away from North America, a new global movement has sprung up in support for Palestine against the genocidal campaign being waged by Israel. We speak to Indian Marxist historian, author and public intellectual Vijay Prashad about the newfound confidence of the nations in the Global South, and the potential for a new Third World political project. 

This is a wide-ranging conversation that touches on the history of colonialism, the politics of resistance and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Vijay also surprised us by having an extensive knowledge on the post-colonial history of Ireland, so we also speak about Ireland's role in the dynamics of this brave new world. 

Make sure to check out Vijay's books and follow him on Instagram at @possiblehistory

The outro music is Ennio Morricone's 'Tema di Ali' from the 1966 film The Battle of Algiers. 

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What happens when scions, aristos, tycoons, speculators, moguls and tech gets thrown into a blender? We’re living it.

In this episode of Casement’s Leftovers; Helen, Matt and Glen come together to chat Techno-feudalism. When so many of the global hyper rich are treated like deities and given unprecedented access to policy and power, can the serfs push back? What organisational strategies have worked in the past? Is blowing the taxi driver a way of avoiding the sticky fingers of capital? And why does Elon look like that? 

Answering the big questions with small minded answers. Listen to your mam’s favourite inverts, right here.

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Leo Varadkar has resigned, and we couldn’t be more upset about it

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With an almighty Helen-shaped hole to fill, Glen and Matt recruit culture journalist Gary Grimes for a Boys Only episode on Pitchfork, and the culture media landscape in general. We talk lay-offs, the devaluing of culture writing, the changing tide of popular music, the artifice of celebrity, the cancer of fake authenticity, Stan culture, and the future of music & culture journalism. Do people even read articles anymore? How do you get a celeb to agree to an interview? And – obviously – what would Mark Fisher think of it all? 

Gary is a freelance journalist with words in the likes of Rolling Stone, The Economist, The i, W, Dazed, Interview, Attitude, Wallpaper*, The Face and HeadStuff. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @gary_is_hip 

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