This week we take a deep dive into the weird and wonderful world of wrestling, sports entertainment and combat sports, and its intersection with politics. From looking at the origins of UFC as a means for a notorious Brazilian family to show the world they can beat anyone up, to the antics of Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, particularly when he entered politics, to how the inane performative stupidity of the British political class can essentially be viewed as kayfabe, nothing is left off the table. Or ladder, or chair.


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 Hosts: Aarjan /// Connor




 Guest: George Thompson




  Production: Connor




  Music: Cardio /// Death Grips - Beware




LEFT/OVER Episode 57. - Squaring the Circle feat. George Thompson

We are online leftists trying to make sense of the surreal times we are trapped in. Every week we have conversations with esteemed guests (people who know much more than us) on a wide range of topics, from climate change to media to football to music, all within in the context of the pandemic, late capitalism and fascism, and try to work out what might be left over after it all ends. Hosted by Aarjan, produced by Connor.

News

Politics

With the UK government seeing more changes in personnel than an average season at Chelsea FC and the economy on the verge of total collapse, we bring you a little update on the cornucopia of clownery that is British politics in 2022. After the announcement of former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's neoliberal wet dream of a Growth Package sent the value of the Pound hurtling downwards, we have seen several weeks of unabated chaos, and of course the resignation of PM Liz Truss which happened in the time between the recording of this episode and its release. Happy times!


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 Hosts: Aarjan




 Guest: Mic Wright




  Production: Connor




  Music: Cardio /// The Dave Clarke Five - Sha Na Na Hey Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye










LEFT/OVER Episode 70. - The Ministry of Public Humiliation feat. Mic Wright

Since the dissolution of Estonian cultural collective ZA/UM, the minds behind 2019's hit indie video game Disco Elysium after being forced out by the money men, in a story that could very well have come from the game itself, we take a look at the quagmire that is the video games industry. Rife with abusive practices ranging from sexual assault and cover-ups to crunch culture and predatory practices such as microtransactions, video games as the biggest entertainment industry in the world has no shortage of things to talk about. 


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 Hosts: Aarjan




 Guest: Laura




  Production: Connor




  Music: Cardio /// Nintendo Wii Main Theme


LEFT/OVER Episode 69. - The End of Disco feat. Freezydorito

In the wake of riots between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester that were frightfully reminiscent of some of the worst scenes of violence from the Subcontinent, we take a look at Hindutva as a global force. We are joined by legendary activist Amrit Wilson in order to discuss the way in which the Hindu far right has gone about influencing politics in the UK, exporting its ideology with tactics from a familiar playbook, as well as the way in which the very inception of Hindutva was the result of the history of colonial rule. 


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 Hosts: Aarjan




 Guest: Amrit Wilson




  Production: Connor




  Music: Cardio /// Panjabi Hit Squad - Hai Hai


LEFT/OVER Episode 68. - A Crisis of Faith feat. Amrit Wilson

In light of a three-part documentary series by Al Jazeera detailing the various ways in which the Corbyn project was sabotaged from within the Labour Party there is a great deal to discuss. We are joined by one of left Twitter's most prolific polemicists Archie Woodrow to discuss everything from the lack of Labour's democratic processes, the seemingly never-ending antisemitism 'crisis' and the firmly established hierarchy of racism within the party. Apologies in advance for the audio quality for this episode - we had some major technical issues!


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/// CREDITS ///



 Hosts: Aarjan




 Guest: Archie Woodrow




  Production: Connor




  Music: Cardio /// Fred again.. - Bleu (better with time)


LEFT/OVER Episode 67. - A Labour of Hate feat. Archie Woodrow

We recorded this discussion about Spike Lee's classic 1989 film Do The Right Thing 2 months ago around the time of the heat wave. A story of rising racial tensions in a multi-ethnic Brooklyn neighbourhood on the hottest day of the year which lead to tragedy and police violence, it is a film which became quickly adopted into the canon of great American cinema. It has also unfortunately gained even more relevance through the years as we all witnessed the murders of Eric Garner, George Floyd and so many more. We discuss all the events around Sal's Famous Pizzeria as well as Spike Lee's wider filmography and unique aesthetic style and much more. 


Subscribe at patreon.com/leftoverpod for £5 a month (or more if you are  feeling generous) for the full episode as well as lots more exclusive  content coming your way soon!


/// CREDITS ///



 Hosts: Aarjan ///  Connor




 Guest: Oluwatayo Adewole




  Production: Connor




  Music: Cardio /// Public Enemy - Fight the Power


LEFT/OVER Episode 57. - Squaring the Circle feat. George Thompson

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