What's Left? With Jovan + Freddie

Finale of SZN 1 w the donny herself, Grace Campbell ❤️!!!

This might be our funniest episode yet. Or maybe just the one where we all laughed the most.

Recently, I found out a listener had stopped engaging with the pod as he was finding the topics too depressing. I get it. Confronting our myriad crises has been hardly been reassuring. But I'm hoping that this ep could be the antidote that brings him back into the fold.

Why has there been no revival of the political comedy genius of 'The Thick Of It'? My thesis is that reality itself has become satire. What need is there for fiction, when each and every day of political life feels utterly script-written.

Chatting, or more accurately, creasing with Grace is a reminder that we just need to find the humour in the s**t things in life. While events and actions can hurt us, like muscular tears, we end up growing back stronger. And maybe it's a thicker skin we should all be wishing for from Santa this year.

In this convo we go all over the shop, from why many on the urban left have abandoned Labour to why young men and women feel so divided and what we can do to bring us back into connection.

There's also some bombshell exclusives...

It's the perfect way for us to wrap our first season of WTF is Left. 18 episodes, 50 million social views and 130k+ followers since taking a big old Kierkegaardian dive into the ether... Trying to make a podcast about progressive politics while the government falls to record lows. If you don't laugh you'll cry.

Big massive juicy thank you to each and every one of you who listened and supported the show this year. We're gonna be taking a bit of a break but will be back in 2026 for S2. Until then x

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:20 Are the Campbells Posh Elite?

11:52 Why Grace is Voting Green

19:50 Zack Polanski vs. The Rest is Politics

29:14 Has the Left Lost its Sense of Humour?

37:08 Embracing Dark Humour

43:06 Why are Young Men and Women Divided?

50:38 In Defence of Relationships, Connection + Empathy

1:02:01 Wanting to Have Kids

1:07:06 Beauty Trends + Hating the Daily Mail

1:14:21 Why Grace will NEVER write for the Guardian

1:21:35 How We Move Forward

George Gilbert, the Gen-Z Farage fan recently kicked off Big Brother, joins us for a chat on cancel culture, young men and the radical right, with guest host Jordan Stephens!

As you know, What’s Left aims to stick its head above the culture wars. But we can’t avoid the magnetic pull from controversial personalities that keep the digital news cycle churning. We’re just as human as you.

Following our interview with the Oxford Union’s George Abaraonye, it appears we’ve found a new theme: interviewing cancelled Georges. Indeed, George Gilbert is a very different phenomenon - a young Parish councillor, recently booted off one of the UK’s biggest reality TV shows for voicing contrarian and inflammatory views, which included an allegation of antisemitism which ITV decided not to broadcast.

When I asked Jordan Stephens to guest host, we agreed we wanted to make something fresh. How rare is it to see a healthy conversation of three lads with very different politics, discussing challenging topics?

George had already been on the circuit of right-wing anti-woke podcasts with Dan Wootton and Andrew Gold. We wanted to show that the Left are equally as up for these chats. Yep, some ‘Wokies’ are, in fact, against culture.

This is not to absolve George from the framing of his questions, but to show that civil society must explain to young people why some views and questions are considered beyond the pale. Just shutting down the conversation is clearly not working. If anything, it pushes some young people further down the rabbit hole.

Jordan and I believe that openness and dialogue is key to dissolving animosity and encouraging compassion in our politics. Hopefully this conversation is a step in the right direction.

Chapters

00:00 Intro, Waffle + Housekeeping

09:54 Greens vs. Labour

20:15 George Gilbert Arrives

25:50 Why George Got Kicked Off Big Brother

36:00 The Right-Wing Rabbit Hole

51:55 Tommy Robinson Is A Grifter

58:05 Stop and Search Racism Allegations

1:06:42 George’s Dating Challenges

1:15:13 Post-Christian West

1:22:15 How Social Media Creates Populists

1:35:20 Has Brexit Destroyed the UK?

1:42:13 Wealth Inequality Is Out of Control

1:50:41 George’s National Identity Mission

UK's biggest politics substacker, Sam Freedman, explains the deep rot at the heart of British politics. In this episode we address the big questions: why is Keir Starmer's Labour government failing and what would Reform do differently?

After winning a swathe of councils at the last local elections, Reform have struggled with the realities of governing. Indeed, a majority of Reform councils look set to raise council tax by the maximum after winning power by promising millions in cuts to spending.

Freedman argues that this is the result of the failure of state capacity, devolution and the brittle British economy which is at the mercy of foreign capital. With few levers to change the underlying fundamentals that incapacitate Britain, Freedman thinks that Reform would govern like chaotic populists - borrowing directly from Trump's MAGA playbook.

It's starting to look existential for the Labour Party. If the brutal budget and Welsh and Scottish elections in May go as badly as expected, pressure will inevitably mount to change leader. But what would a new boss actually do differently?

Is there really such a thing as 'not being in hock to the bond markets' without growth or a budget surplus? Or is this just 'good vibes' comms that will rub up against reality...

We are staring down a bleak future, where a politics of false promises and resentment could turbocharge Britain's malaise.

Progressives need to get real about our political project: what is the radical antithesis to nativist populism? We need a positive vision to unite the left and create a future worth fighting for.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

01:49 Dominic Cummings Lost The Plot

12:10 Reform Are Moving Further Right

20:28 Remigration vs. Integration

28:17 Will Farage Copy Trump’s Playbook?

49:42 Why Labour is Losing

1:01:20 Disaster of Privatisation and Zero Growth

1:15:30 Economic Populism vs. Bond Market

1:22:04 Labour’s Budget Dilemma

1:34:00 Should Labour Replace Starmer?

Jonathan Hall, the Independent Reviewer of Terror Legislation, was in the room when the UK Govt decided it would proscribe Palestine Action as a terror group, alongside the likes of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Since then, we’ve seen anti-war activists, including pacifist priests and grandmothers (even both!) arrested for carrying placards, as the police enforce the letter of the law. A recent Guardian article revealed that the home office was advised that proscribing Palestine Action could make the organisation more popular. Over a thousand arrests later, it appears the advisors have been proved right.

Simultaneously, Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom marches have taken place in the capital with far fewer arrests, despite now-viral footage of some attendees calling for racist violence (see Niko Omilana!). Moreover legal responses to the Southport Riots last year found swift convictions without one terror law invoked, despite the threshold seemingly being met.

So is there really two-tier policing going on or is it all just a game of optics and perspective… and has the government’s use of terror laws undermined trust in terror law itself?

National security expert Jonathan Hall addresses:

• Why the Home Office chose proscription of PA as a ‘terror group’ over other means
• 2-tier policing accusations + Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ marches
• Whether Elon Musk’s call for revolution in the UK is foreign interference
• Hall’s concerns about the government’s ineffective communication with the public
• Iranian, Chinese and Russian interference in the Culture Wars
• The threat of AI, deepfakes and tech deregulation
• How to protect democracy via a ‘Blitz’ resilience spirit
• Deep concerns re the far-right narrative against multiculturalism
• The likelihood of civil war or mass civil disobedience
• Prisons crisis and the threat of islamist violence vs far-right

In times of grievance politics, subversion and widespread cynicism about politics and government, how do we ensure the protection of our civil liberties? We hope this episode, discussing some of the most controversial issues of the day, helps elucidate the challenges in applying the law equally to all.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:13 Palestine Action Proscription

10:47 Is this Chilling Dissent in a Democracy?

19:45 Two-Tier Justice and the Far-Right

25:36 Failures in Political Communication

33:42 Undermining Democracy and Foreign Interference

44:21 Subversion, Culture Wars and Free Speech

51:42 Generative AI + Big Tech’s Deregulation Threat

1:02:28 Algorithms, Revolutions and Civil Unrest

1:14:11 Islamist Extremist vs Far-Right Threat

Miles Taylor, the Trump whistleblower, is now an enemy of the state.

Latest WL? dispatch comes from McGill University's conference on big tech's threat to democracy. We’ve stitched together four interviews with leading thinkers on whether the AI bubble will burst and how to confront mass manipulation in the digital age.

The first half is a deep cut with Miles Taylor, the author of the explosive NYT ‘anonymous’ op-ed, which revealed the chaos inside the first Trump administration. A vociferous critic of Trump and MAGA, Taylor is now experiencing the regime’s nefarious tactics to quell dissent.

Currently under investigation by the deep state, Miles is convinced the US has slid into techno-authoritarianism. We discuss:

- Dissent = treason for Trump, a crime punishable by death

- Threat of Martial Law under the Insurrection Act

- Stephen Miller’s “shock and awe blitz” of Executive Orders

- Taylor’s fears for the safety of his family

- Trump using tech & AI to silence critics

- Why Taylor believes the rule of law is dead in America

- Mass mobilisation = chance to save American democracy

- The Real Matrix: war of pro-tech vs anti-tech humans

The second half of the episode explores the big questions around free speech, big tech accountablity, and European competition with political heavyweights:

- Sasha Havlicek, CEO of Institute for Strategic Dialogue, on owning our data and how algorithms profit from polarisation

- Imran Ahmed, CEO of Centre for Countering Digital Hate, explains how the free speech argument distracts from the perverse incentives of the digital attention economy.

- Alexandra Geese, 🇩🇪 Green MEP, on whether Europe can compete with big tech America and find some backbone to enforce good regulation.

It’s striking how age-defining these issue are and how little air time they get – it’s almost like big tech’s lobbying efforts are working…

When the AI bubble inevitably pops, which politicians will stand up and say ‘I told you so’? Time’s running out.

Huge thank you to Taylor Owen, John Matheson and the folks at the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy for the invite. Was also great to meet some listeners of the podcast at McGill!

----------------------

00:00 Intro

01:20 Republicans Against Trump

09:08 MAGA’s Authoritarian Plan

16:55 Dissent = Treason

21:50 The Rise of TechnoFascism

31:07 Corruption in America

39:02 How To Save Democracy

44:42 The Real Matrix

50:24 Sasha Havlicek on Digital Radicalisation

56:12 Control Over our Data

1:02:46 Imran Ahmed on Free Speech Online

1:08:29 Imran’s Triggernometry Interview

1:14:52 The Ragebait Economy

1:23:35 Green MEP on Tech Accountability

1:34:15 Can Europe Rival American Tech?

1:43:25 Outro

Aaron Bastani, co-bossman ⁨@NovaraMedia⁩ just burnished our leftie credentials!!!

Super gassed to share this episode with one of our absolute favourite political commentators. We filmed this on August 20th (2 months before release) so we didn't manage to get into the Your Party in-fighting / capitulation nor the rise of eco-populist Zack Polanski. Sorry about that.

But we still managed to get into the weeds on immigration, identity politics and why Aaron thinks the Labour Party is failing to win over the public!!! You're welcome.

In a time of insurgent politics, commentators like Bastani have taken the risk of meeting audiences where they are. While mainstream media continues to flounder, Novara has grown to new heights, breaking audience records month on month. Given the way digital is now dominating electoral politics, it's hard to see how Novara's coverage isn't shaping the weather for Leftist audiences in the UK and further afield.

That said, Bastani often appears as a bug bear amongst leftist comrades, exasperated at his heterodox takes, pushed from his marxist-futurist, self-confessed socially conservative vantage point. He is not afraid to think for himself nor challenge those who disagree with him. That's why he's at the frontier of what's left.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:25 Digital Political Communication

10:50 Corbyn’s Labour Failures

20:22 Why Labour is Losing

34:30 End of 2 Party Politics

43:40 Reform’s Immigration Plans

54:00 Labour’s Comms Problem

1:05:35 Britain’s Managed Decline

1:16:08 Identity Politics and Race

1:25:00 Can Leftist Politicians Capitalise

1:35:45 Strategic Autonomy and US-UK Relations

Come hang @wtf_is.left

EXCLUSIVE: Oxford Union President wants to make amends for insensitive Charlie Kirk comments.

In June, George Abaraonye rose to uni fame as the Oxford student who challenged Charlie Kirk about ‘toxic masculinity’. Just a few months later, his name and face was plastered all over digital and broadcast media as the Oxford Union President who ‘celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s death.

What happened?

Moments after news broke that Kirk had been shot at one of his classic campus debate events, Abaraonye took to Instagram to post a public note ‘Charlie Kirk got shot LOOOOL’ and in a private group chat, ‘Charlie Kirk got shot let’s f——ing go’. After seeing the shockingly gruesome video of Kirk’s execution, Abaraonye deleted his comments. But by this point, screenshots had already been taken that would soon be leaked to the press.

In our interview, George tells his side of the story, including:

- those notorious leaked messages

- the campaign for his resignation from the Union and expulsion from Oxford, pushed by ex-PM Liz Truss and Elon Musk

- that viral Union video which has led to accusations of Abaraonye calling for violent revolution

- death threats and racist abuse

- what really goes on in the Oxford Union

- his apology and accusations of doubling down

- his hopes for making amends

There are going to be some people watching this interview who think we’ve gone too soft on George. The question I would ask is, ‘Where else do you see conversations like this?’ – Discourse where a young man is held accountable, reflects on his actions and charts a path for his personal growth.

Honestly, when I look at George, I see a 20-year-old lad learning on the job about the weight and power of language in our febrile political environment. He found out in no uncertain terms just how much political capital he had, while being, like us all, a work in progress.

When Jovan Owusu-Nepaul and I started What’s Left - these were the exact conversations we had in mind. The ones that democracy are all about.

Oh btw, thank you for 100k followers x

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

06:08 Why George Debated Charlie Kirk

15:30 Labelling People ‘Fascists’

26:43 George’s Journey Through the Oxford Union

36:20 Reacting To Kirk’s Death

46:33 George’s Apology + Reaction

55:15 Dealing with Radicalised Online Abuse

1:04:00 Free Speech vs. Campaign for George’s Resignation

1:13:33 How To Defuse Political Anger

1:21:10 Immigration, Labour + Community

1:30:10 Building A Great Britain

Come hang @wtf_is.left

Will Ed Miliband take on Richard Tice in a Misfits Boxing Match for the future of Net-Zero? We’ve got the exclusive 🤣

It’s been an exhilarating 10 days of b2b conferences and a huge milestone for What’s Left as we interviewed ex-Labour leader, Energy Secretary of State Ed Miliband and Kamala Harris’ immigration tsar Frank Sharry!

In this episode we’ve got something a bit different for you – a buy one get one free. The first half is an interview with Miliband, where we discuss the challenges of urgently lowering bills and industrial energy costs, while delivering new jobs.

We all know Reform is on the offensive, but Miliband is up for the fight against Tice and his legion of chronically online climate change deniers. LPC was a curious bubble, with attendees drifting from ‘complacency to cynicism’. The vibe, as Ed pointed out, was “anxious”. We felt the PM delivered a punchy speech against Farage, framing the next election as Labour vs Reform - but will it be enough to pull together a fractured and divided left?

Deindustrialisation, how the PM has handled Trump, and ofc my Issey Miyake trousers also feature in our convo w Ed… Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen a Labour politician look more natural and relatable in an interview for quite some time. But then again, we didn’t have enough time to truly get into the weeds of policy. Ed you’ll have to come back for some more scrutiny!


The 2nd half of the ep joins us at the Global Progress Action Summit (think centre-left CPAC!) which saw the PM announce digital ID cards in a bid to tackle illegal immigration. Once polling at +35%, support has cratered to -19, demonstrating a govt severely lacking in trust to deliver the change the country needs.

Now even Palantir has come out against the policy, which may be surprising to some, but consider their current PR troubles and the type of access they could acquire under a Reform govt. Maybe twisting the knife is in their interest?

Frank Sharry, the Biden-Harris border security policy tsar was kind enough to give us an interview on how the centre-left responds to the challenge of illegal immigration. He makes a compelling argument for Labour to change tack and become the party of both immigration and controlled borders.

We also discuss the government’s £5bn high-street regeneration plan - the exact sort of policy that could go some distance in galvanising community spirit in the places hit worst by the cost of living crisis. It’s a brilliant policy. So why do we hear so little about it?

Ofc, we were delighted to be invited to GPAS and to discuss with leading experts of the Left how we unite against populism. But, I can’t help feeling that we’re still lacking the radicalism we need at such a crisis point in our politics. It’s not looking good brev but we’re still holding out hope.

Follow us @wtf_is.left + fix up as we organise against the Right.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:08 Cold Water Swimming, Chappell Roan + Mental Health

05:50 Fears of Reform + Radical Right

12:20 Taking the Fight to Richard Tice

18:30 Challenges for Net-Zero

24:26 Cutting Edge Communication

27:47 Our Verdict on Ed

32:57 Global Progress Action Summit

38:45 Starmer’s Digital ID Gamble

45:40 AI + Growth Agenda

50:10 Best Policy for Fighting Populism

53:00 Interview with Frank Sharry - Biden/Harris Immigration Tsar

58:35 Farage Copying Trump’s Playbook

1:07:08 American Authoritarianism Backsliding

Bill Gates Advisor + LSE academic Hassan Damluji offers us a glimmer of hope to avoid international catastrophe!

Expert in global politics, climate change, pandemics and education reform, Hassan spent a decade at the Gates Foundation in charge of the Middle East, Pakistan and East Asia, closely advising Bill Gates and holding discussions with the likes of Saudi’s MBS, UAE’s President MBZ, Pakistan’s PM Nawaz Sharif and original GOAT investor Warren Buffet. Quite the line up.

Currently, he is a senior visiting fellow in International Relations at LSE and director of the think/do tank ‘Global Nation’, which advises UN agencies. He is also the author of ‘The Responsible Globalist’, a manifesto for reforming internationalists, unmoored by the MAGA-led nativist populist insurgency that has multilateralism on its knees. Gates described it as “thought-provoking and well written”, endorsing Hassan’s “ideas that can help make global systems more successful’.

At the UN General Assembly this week, Trump doubled down on the end of American Internationalism. In the face of increasing global disorder and violent conflict, what strategy should the Labour pursue to protect the UK’s interests while meeting its principles as a moral mission?

Such a tightrope has seemed contradictory at times - with the pomp and flattery of a Trump state visit being counterbalanced by the historic recognition of Palestine as a state. Hassan believes this can be turned into a coherent strategy, with the UK pursuing a middle powers alliance that stands up for the international rule of law. His latest report, Rules Britannia, is well worth a read:

In this episode, we chart the failures of ‘globalism’, addressing the rise of populism in response to the immigration crisis, as well as the economic challenges facing developed economies. Hassan explains his vision for a world that feels solidarity around global identity, giving international institutions the requisite consent to solve complex problems like climate change.

We also spend a long time discussing the US’ internal contradictions and how it’s not in billionaire’s interests for the world to descend into war and chaos. An international wealth tax must form some part of the solution.

This chat with Hassan is probably our favourite so far for the podcast. It addresses the seemingly intractable political problems of our era and offers a real yet narrow way forward. I hope it gives you a bit of hope in these worrying times.

As always, follow us @wtf_is.left on Instagram/TikTok Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/ZJe5aef3

00:00 Intro

01:25 Bill Gates, Billionaires and Philanthropy

11:10 Globalism vs Populism

22:15 Democracy Matters Most

35:18 Why Populists are Winning

43:09 Britain + Middle Powers Alliance

53:05 An End to American Hegemony

1:04:02 Avoiding World War 3

1:12:04 UK’s Response to America’s Economic Revolution

We are addicted to ragebait - Jameela Jamil dropped serious bars in the latest What’s Left? pod!

Short Form content is information crack. We’re hooked on it, even though doomscrolling leaves us feeling empty.

Your da’ gets sunday scaries now - isn’t that mad.

But what’s even more mental is hosting Jameela on the podcast discussing what the hell is left?! Thanks for coming Jam 🤝

A legend who has experienced the culture war from the eye of the hurricane. Conquered London + LA. A megaphone for millions, whose voice is valued by many across the activist base.

Our chat meandered from populism to relationships to the influencers shaping modern culture. But the common thread that tied it together was the spectre of ragebait.

In echo chamber freefall, we are ploughed with ragebait content, intoxicating us with something to hate and fear.

Is the algorithm just holding a mirror up to ourselves, like the social media bosses want us to believe? Or are we in fact being sold an identity, that doubles as a product - constantly?

We discussed how the Right looks for converts, while the Left indefatigably looks for traitors. Infighting has naturally been the achilles heel of the Left. Now, we must look for unity as we dive headfirst into a fight against international populism.

If we are indeed addicted to division, I urge us to remind ourselves: recovery is about progression, not perfection.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:43 Why Jameela is an Advocate not an Activist

09:33 How the Left gets Ragebaited

16:40 Building a Left Co-alition

25:10 Populism and Anti-System Feeling

31:10 Bonnie Blue Documentary + Being Deepfaked

37:28 Challenging Misogyny

46:10 Algorithms are Exploiting Us

51:15 The Reality of VAWG

58:10 Ending Polarisation

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As always, drop us a follow on IG/TT: @wtf_is.left

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