Expert on China-Iran relations William Figueroa joins PTO to talk about the relationship between China and Iran in the wake of the twelve day war between Iran and Israel. We chatted about why China's backing for Iran has been - and is likely to continue to be - relatively limited as China balances support for Iran with its other interest in West Asia. We also talked about the extent to which Xi Jinping and the Chinese leadership are happy to see the US bogged down in the Middle East, and we spoke about whether the scale of Israeli violence and expansionism may lead China to take a more overtly pro-Iran position.

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Owen Hatherley responds to listener questions by Politics Theory Other

In 1998 Leigh Claire La Berge was hired by a major communications conglomerate, where she worked alongside employees of the soon to be disgraced Arther Anderson (the auditor of companies involved in high profile corporate fraud such as WorldCom and Enron). Leigh Clare and her colleagues were tasked with working on the problem of Y2K - also known as the millennium bug - when it was predicted that the turn of the millennium would cause computer systems to fail - with potentially catastrophic consequences. Based on her experience of working for the conglomerate, Leigh Claire wrote a book: Fake Work: How I Began to Suspect Capitalism is a Joke.We talked about the absurd nature of the conglomerate's work on Y2K, the socio-cultural atmosphere of the late 1990s, and about how Leigh Claire's experience of becoming a Marxist affected her perspective on the diary she wrote whilst working for the company. Finally, we touched on the extent to which the book fits within the tradition of Workers' Inquiry.

Jeremy Gilbert on the Oasis reunion and the britpop phenomenon more generally. We talked about the music that britpop marginalised, why 90s nostalgia is so prevalent, and why it was that of the various guitar groups of the time it was Oasis who became so successful in the mid 1990s.

Journalist Séamus Malekafzali joins PTO to talk about the aftermath of the Israel-Iran war. We chatted about where the cessation of hostilities leaves the two states militarily, and whether Iran's strategy of reliance on ballistic missiles and a loose regional alliance was wholly misbegotten or just poorly implemented. And we talked about why the Trump administration shifted from their red line of opposition to the weaponisation of Iran's nuclear programme to the hardline Israeli position that opposed enrichment entirely.In the interview we touched on Séamus' recent article in Parapraxis which you can read here:

https://www.parapraxismagazine.com/articles/axes-of-resistance

Owen Hatherley returns to discuss his New Left Review article on the Welsh guitar band, the Manic Street Preachers. We talked about the particular appeal the group seemed to hold for working class kids from non-metropolitan backgrounds in the 1990s, and about the forbearance and occasional embarrassment that is the lot of fans who've followed their work in the subsequent decades. We also talked about why such an avowedly left wing and politicised group have shown such little regard for contemporary left movements such as the Corbyn moment in the UK.

Show notes:

Music:

Owen's acceptable Manics playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/53GV8dNKLZlo72Wp3GOdy5?si=e25a5413ece248ed&pt=8393e6591814e26432a7fd35670b2d43

Alex's reluctant Manics playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/55IG8eV1kVH3kwAfEo9Z2y?si=ee8bcba703fc437a&pt=9a1779265389af95dcd44445656ef4c8

Videos:

Faster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0f9qUheits

Faster TOTP performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5PI7k_ZiQ0

You Love Us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgKXBJ2LZKo

A Design for Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfEoVxy7VDQ

Enjoyably angry Design for Life TV performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbdsc-YxGB4

4st 7lb acoustic MTV performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXrzttSPlc0

Motorcycle Emptiness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gavcjNniIvk

The Love of Richard Nixon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_G_R_1gMfc

Jackie Collins Existential Question Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYvbtSTamRc

Further Reading:

Owen's New Left Review article

https://newleftreview.es/sidecar/posts/mislaid-plans

Everything (A Book about Manic Street Preachers) by Simon Price

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780753501399/Everything-Book-Manic-Street-Preachers-0753501392/plp

Triptych: Three Studies of Manic Street Preachers’ The Holy Bible by: Daniel Lukes, Larissa Wodtke, Rhian E Jones

https://repeaterbooks.com/product/triptych-three-studies-of-manic-street-preachers-the-holy-bible/

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Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi joins PTO to talk about his recent article in the New Left Review on Israel's unprovoked attack on Iran. Eskandar explained why he sees Israel's goals as not being confined to destroying Iran's nuclear programme, but also - and more importantly - the de-development of Iranian society and the balkanisation of the country. We also talked about how Iran is weathering Israel's assault and the degree to which there is any support for Israeli objectives in Iran and within the Iranian diaspora. Finally, we talked about whether the United States will intervene more directly on Israel's side.

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