The Lowdown from Nick Cohen

Russia expert and author Dr Jade McGlynn joins Nick Cohen from Kyiv to talk about Ukraine's tragedy - a Russia that has been badly run by bad men - with a couple of rare exceptions here and there. And how this also happens to be Russia's tragedy. 

Jade explains how the recent "Mad March on Moscow" by Wagner militia mafioso Yevgeny Prigozhin is a symptom of Vladamir Putin's dysfunction and despotism, and how hatred flows now flows between Ukraine and Russia like drones and missiles.

Jade McGlynn - widely acknowledged as a brilliant and insightful author and Russian observer - is the author of two recent landmark books relating to the tragedy now playing out in Ukraine - Russia's  War,  published by Pushkin House, and Memory Makers, just published by Bloomsbury. 

Memory Makers, The Politics of the past in Putin's Russia,  is based on Jade's analysis since 2014 of the start of Russia's illegal incursions into Ukraine. The book examines how Russia's repeated misadventures into its neighbour's territories are driven by the obsessive lies and myths it's gaslit into believing by Putin, and too many of his predecessors.

Listen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4

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The Lowdown from Nick Cohen this week examines the issue of race and diversity in the UK with the freelance writer and author Tom Owolade.

Tom's brilliant and ground-breaking book This is not America - published by Atlantic  - argues that too much of the debate about race in Britain has been viewed through the prism of American experiences and history.  This prism fails to reflect the  challenges – and achievements – of an increasingly diverse black British population and distorts how many people view the issue of race in the UK.

Tom tells Nick that too few  Brits understand the ethnic changes that are taking place in the UK or even the wide diversity of black British communities themselves, especially given the arrival of people from west and east Africa in recent years. Tom also believes class is a hugely important additional factor in the UK.

Tom and Nick  explore the significant differences in the history and experiences of black Brits and Black Americans.  You can read Nick's assessment of Tom's important debut book in his Substack column,  Writing from London

Listen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4

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In 2018 , Conservative MP and Europhile Dr Phillip Lee resigned as a minister from Theresa May's stricken government over what he saw as the troubling direction of Brexit. The following year, he dramatically crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join the Liberal Democrats - during a speech by the disgraced former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

Now back working as a GP in Berkshire, Phillip Lee gives a fascinating insight into the Tories' descent into nationalism, Euro-phobia and hard Brexit - a journey dictated by the Party's dwindling, rapidly ageing and largely reactionary constituency association members.

Nick asks Philip about his reasons for joining the Conservative Party. They discuss his initial interest in joining the Tories and how he initially saw them as a natural home for him. Phillip immediately foresaw disaster when David Cameron insisted on going ahead with a referendum on EU membership in June 2016. From that moment on, he thought the Tories were "toast."

Listen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4

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Nick Cohen talks to Polly Toynbee, celebrated columnist, broadcaster and author about Britain's stubborn class system and the growing gap between the rich and poor under successive Tory governments.

Atlantic Books has just published Polly's latest book,  An Uneasy Inheritance, My family and other radicals, which has received rave reviews, not least from Nick himself in a  recent Substack column.

Polly explains how - over the years - she has taken a series of blue collar jobs to better understand the lives of working people. She laments how the class system continues to dominate British society and is now a bigger determinate in people's futures than factors such as ethnicity. Polly also discusses the extraordinary radicals from her family history, including her father, the journalist Philip Toynbee,  her grandfather, the historian Arnold J. Toynbee.

Listen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4

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Nick Cohen speaks to historian and author James Hawes about the crisis of Englishness and the consequences this crisis is having on the rest of the United Kingdom. James, the author of  internationally acclaimed The Shortest History of England , reveals how this crisis has deep historical and geographical roots that have dictated the turbulent history of our islands and could bring an end to the United Kingdom itself. This crisis is being brought to a head by the English nationalists, who now dominate the modern Tory Party, and their Brexit crusade that  has shattered the bonds of Union, and much else besides.

James sees the Tories becoming more extreme following their expected defeat at the next election, an inevitable consequence of a two-party system that forces a vanquished political party to tack ever more to its ideological core. This will further strengthen the hands of other nationalists in Scotland and elsewhere.

Listen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4

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Nick Cohen speaks in depth about Britain's growing Brexit food crisis with Liz Webster from the campaigns, Save British Farming and Save British Food.

#Brexit has already smashed food supply lines and jeopardised Britain's food security. Now new Brexit checks on EU imports scheduled for October look certain to lead to even more empty supermarket shelves and further fuel food inflation. 

Liz Webster explains how  Brexit threatens to worsen even further Britain's already chronic food shortages, a crisis already exacerbated by climate change and Putin's illegal aggression against Ukraine.

Listen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4

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Get The Lowdown from Nick Cohen with veteran reporter and author John Sweeney on Putin and Russia's illegal war against Ukraine.  John, the author of a recent book on Putin called "Killer in the Kremlin", discusses with Nick the possibilities for a Ukrainian victory as well as what defeat would mean for Putin's regime.  Will Putin fall if Ukraine wins further key battles and eventually takes Crimea? Who or what will replace Russia's dictator and what would that mean for all of us?

Listen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4

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Writers and columnists Nick Cohen and Rafael Behr discuss the events that have shaped our world and dominated their personal and professional lives. Rafel discusses his new book - Politics - A Survivor's Guide.
Rafel discusses how the impact of #Brexit and the wave of nationalist fervour in its wake has shaped his attitude to politics and the UK.

Listen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4

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