Desolation Radio

Kieron talks to Dr Rhian Barfoot and Dr Rhys Trimble about the little-known Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas. They discuss Thomas's life and work, his "Welshness", the Dylan Thomas industry, and the ambivalence surrounding his legacy in Wales. Enjoy!

Rhian is a critic and author of Liberating Dylan Thomas: Rescuing a Poet from Psycho-sexual Servitude (UWP, 2014) https://www.uwp.co.uk/author/1438/

Rhys is a poet whose books include Swansea Automatic (2015) and the Red Book of Hergest Ward (2018). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhys_Trimble

Rhian and Kieron co-edited the recent collection New Theoretical Perspectives on Dylan Thomas (UWP, 2020) https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/new-theoretical-perspectives-on-dylan-thomas/

The collection on Apocalyptic poets discussed is Jim Keery, ed., Apocalypse: An Anthology(2021)

Dylan Thomas audio clips from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyavcLn2_uo&ab_channel=WALESintheMOVIESWALESintheMOVIES

Following the evictions of Palestinian families in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah at the beginning of May, the conflict in Israel-Palestine has begun once again to spiral into conflict, with Israel beginning new lethal attacks on Gaza that have killed over 200 people including many women and children. We were privileged to be joined by one of our heroes, the great dissident Professor Professor Norman Finkelstein, to explain not just the current situation but the whole history of the conflict and the nature of the state of Israel. As expected, Norm provides an expert tour de force. Strap in!

We discuss the Senedd election results. We go through what this means for Labour, Conservatives and Plaid. Also we discuss the future of the indy movement.

Dan caught up with our good friend @cdbeaton from the Radical Independence Campaign to discuss Scottish politics and the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections. Connor talked us through the formation of Alec Salmond’s new Alba party, the state of the SNP, the Labour Party, his overall predictions for the elections & the next steps for the indy movement and the left in Scotland

As tensions continue to rise in the north of Ireland, Dan caught up with our friend Padraig from AIA Ireland to gain some historical context and a socialist, materialist analysis of the current situation. Padraig brilliantly explains the history of socialist republicanism, the nature of the Good Friday Agreement, Ireland's continued subordinate relationship with British imperialism, fighting fascism, and much much more. An incredibly insightful and important chat. Beir Bua!

Stef and Nath are joined by special guests double Dr Kieron and Dr Dan Evans to reflect on this month's news. We talk about Welsh Labour's fantastic campaign, joined Neil Mcevoy's Propel party, flags and try to solve the mystery of who has been killing dogs.

Enjoy!

Dan chatted to Catrin about her article in Planet 231 'All Mothers are Working Mothers', the writings of Silvia Federici and the global 'wages for housework' campaign that inspired the article. They talked about the role of reproductive labour within capitalism and the international roots of the wages for housework campaign. Catrin examines the Welsh care system (including childcare and elder care) and also puts forward concrete policy demands which would help achieve a society based on care in Wales.

We were joined by our good friend and comrade Paul to reflect on the global crisis of capitalism and think about what lies ahead in the coming years. Paul expertly talked us through the recent events in the USA and the rise of fascism across the world; the COVID- crisis, Brexit and class struggle in the UK, and the future of socialism in the UK. A must listen!

The episode we should've done 4 years ago! After much soul searching, the boys get together to go over the basics of Marxism. We talk about Marx's life and the historical context, have a go at explaining dialectics, historical materialism, classes, freedom, alienation, the state, and of course proletarian revolution. Enjoy, comrades!

Stef and Nath talk about Neil 'Scrappy Doo' Mcevoy's suspension.

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