Fintan O’Toole ...


Brexit is the long agony of English nationalism: a nationality in a multinational state that has struggled to find a place in the world after the end of empire. But a short boat ride away, an often neglected part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, has had its own struggles with monolithic national identity.


What can a divided Britain learn from the Northern Irish experience? And could Brexit tear it all apart? These are the questions we’re asking in this special edition of the Another Europe Is Possible podcast with Zoe Williams from the Guardian, and Luke Cooper from Anglia Ruskin University.


Our guest on today’s show is Fintan O’Toole, and his explosive new book, ‘Heroic Failure; Brexit And The Politics Of Pain’ sees the vote to leave the European Union as indicative of a crisis of Englishness, a national identity in search of a story.

17: Will Brexit break up the UK?

Hosts Zoe Williams (@zoesqwilliams) and Luke Cooper (@lukecooper100) are joined by guests with a left take on Brexit, Europe and more. Surveying the big transformative ideas of the age, interrogating the tough questions, and opening up new horizons radical thinking and policy, the Another Europe podcast confounds the expectation that 'pro-Europeans' just want to defend the status quo. Brought to you by the Another Europe Is Possible campaign, the podcast is a vital tonic for those despairing at the state of Brexit Britain.

Praise for the Another Europe podcast

"A bracingly honest post mortem on the remain movement, especially its relationship with Labour, by people who were a vital part of it. I found it insightful and weirdly cathartic"
----- Dorian Lynskey, writer and Remainiac

"Provocative... highly balanced and critical... a much-needed space for critical reflection and nuanced discussion"
----- E-International Relations

News

Liz Truss has managed to persuade herself of a very convenient (from her perspective) "truth": she wasn't a terrible prime minister with a flawed economic strategy, but the victim of a deep state conspiracy. Swinging aggressively to the far right, she has been courting Steve Bannon and the American Trumpists on a recent US tour. 



What does this mean for the future of British conservatism? What's the game plan of this group of radicalised Tories - and how worried should we be? To talk us through these questions, hosts Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper talk to David Runciman, professor of politics at the University of Cambridge and the author of a number of books including How Democracy Ends. David's new podcast is called Past, Present and Future and can be found in the usual places. His recent Guardian essay on the strange world of the Truss phenomenon can be read here https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/30/she-still-carries-an-aura-of-spectacular-failure-why-hasnt-liz-truss-gone-away 



An extended version of this podcast is available to members of Another Europe is Possible. To join and support our work go to https://anothereurope.org/join  

98: Liz Truss and the scary future of the British Conservatives

He's the city trader that went rogue. But he didn't lose the bank money. Quite on the contrary, he made them hundreds of millions from the fallout of the financial crisis. Then he dared to speak out against a system that was broken for the many but working for the few. In The Trading Game former city trader and friend of the Another Europe podcast Gary Stevenson has now put his remarkable story down on paper. It's an incredible story and a brilliant read. In this podcast, Gary talks to Another Europe's Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper about the sociology of the City of London and how extreme wealth can so easily drive you mad. He also - in 'extra time' - offers his thoughts on the ecosystems of the political left.



You can buy a copy of the Trading Game here: 

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455809/the-trading-game-by-stevenson-gary/9780241636602 



You can also check out our earlier podcasts with Gary here: 

https://www.anothereurope.org/episode-88-the-cost-of-living-crisis/ 

https://www.anothereurope.org/episode-62-i-made-millions-from-the-financial-crisis-trust-me-the-system-is-broken/ 


97: How the rich win: A story of misogyny, money and power

George Galloway has done it again, in a byelection as predictable as it was depressing. But surely this is isn't just about one individual. It feels like a moment of crisis and disruption in British politics. After the dust had settled on the result, Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper spoke to James Meadway and Michael Chessum about what it means for British politics in this age of crisis and contention. Their conversation was kicked off by a discussion of Michael's Guardian article that can be read here.



Members of Another Europe get access to extra podcast material as a benefit of membership. To join and support our work go to http://anothereurope.org/join 



Production and editing by Malek Banat. 

96: British politics after the return of George Galloway

Poland has dumped its far right government in a historic election victory for pro-democratic forces. After years of authoritarianism and anti-migrant racism, the Law and Justice party have been defeated by a coalition of pro-democratic parties. 



In this podcast, Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper talk to Polish activist Ana Oppenheim about the historic triumph of liberals, pro-democrats and the left. A member of the Another Europe National Committee, co-host of the Polish news and history podcast Polkast and an activist with the left-wing party Razem (personal capacity), Ana offers her thoughts on the election, and what it means for European politics and Ukraine's resistance to Russian imperialism. 



The podcast is published as part of the Ukraine and the World series, an initiative taken in collaboration with Foreign Policy in Focus – Institute for Policy Studies in the United States and our longstanding partner, European Alternatives. 






95: The Polish Spring

It was a scientific discovery that changed the world forever. The nuclear bomb was largely a brainchild of left wing scientists who were determined Nazi Germany would not win the race to build this terrible weapon. The recent Hollywood biopic focuses on the role of Robert Oppenheimer in this fascinating period in history, the man who led the team working under the direction of the American government in this top secret project, who would become a prominent victim of the McCarthyite purges in the 1950s. 



In this podcast, Luke Cooper and Zoe Williams talk to LSE professor and Another Europe Is Possible member, Mary Kaldor, about this fascinating history. While she never met Oppenheimer himself, Kaldor met a number of other figures in the film and others that didn't make it into the script, particularly at the Pugwash conferences on disarmament that created a unique space for dialogue between scientists on either side of the Cold War divide.

17: Will Brexit break up the UK?

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