In Solidarity - by openDemocracy

If the US once claimed it was “defending Democracy” to justify attacking countries without pretext, the current administration has made no such excuses.

Last week US security forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife from a compound in Caracas in an operation that killed 70 people.
Maduro was presented in a courtroom in Manhattan, on charges of supposedly “importing tons of cocaine into the United States”, and his deputy Delcy Rodriguez was installed in his place as acting President.
To make this all make sense, we speak with Laura Tedesco, a long time openDemocracy contributor and professor of political science and international relations at St. Louis university in Madrid. Prof. Tedesco is also the author of several books on democracy and politics in Latin America.

Read Laura's Book, Latin America's Leaders: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781783601028

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/newsletters/
In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. Support the show by visiting https://www.openDemocracy.net/donate/

Credits:
Presented by Aman Sethi
Audio engineering by James Battershill
Theme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward Abela
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Waring factions have dominated the headlines, but inside the Your Party conference the embers of hope for a different kind of politics were still burning.

Investigative reporter Ethan Shone tells what the mood was like among the party members following months of public spats and PR disasters.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/newsletters/
In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. Support the show by visiting https://www.openDemocracy.net/donate/
Credits:
Presented by James Battershill
Audio engineering by James Battershill
Theme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward Abela
—

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve normalised the idea that the world is ending, that society is tearing itself apart, that our countries — wherever we live — are falling apart. But what does that really look like? What does it feel like? What emerges in the aftermath?

In this episode host Aman Sethi speaks to Renata Salecl, a Slovenian philosopher, sociologist and political theorist to decode how the experiences of post-socialist countries can help us understand the crisis gripping the West.

A Passion For Ignorance - https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9780691240992
The Spoils of Freedom - https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9780415073585
On Anxiety - https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9780415312769
The Tyranny of Choice - https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781846681868

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/newsletters/
In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. Support the show by visiting https://www.openDemocracy.net/donate/
Credits:
Presented by Aman Sethi
Story production by Ayodeji Rotinwa
Audio engineering by James Battershill
Theme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward Abela
—
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:30 Post socialist societies
07:22 The modern respect for cunning
08:45 Lessons from pop culture
10:16 The (mis)use of fake news
13:53 On accelerationism
16:11 The dissolution of societies
18:53 Times when nothing and everything changes
20:50 Those that enjoy life the wrong way
22:24 Neoliberal collapse

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this year, Labour overwhelmingly voted in favour of an amendment that would end the criminalisation of women and pregnant people seeking abortions outside the 1967 Abortion Act exemptions. As the debate went through the Lords, we sat down with MSI Reproductive Choices’ Louise McCudden to discuss why we need decriminalisation now - and what this win means amid a global backlash against abortion rights.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/newsletters/
In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. Support the show by visiting https://www.openDemocracy.net/donate/
Credits:
Presented by Sian Norris
Story production by Ayodeji Rotinwa
Audio engineering by James Battershill
Theme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward Abela
—
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:07 What is the current legal state of abortion across the UK?
05:13 The women being imprisoned for abortion
10:16 The late-term abortion argument
13:10 Imported tactics from the US
16:21 The case for optimism
19:02 Anti-abortion's international bankroll
23:17 The future of the pro-abortion movement
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can we learn about the future of consumer rights from the merger between Microsoft and Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard?

When Labour came into power in 2024, they accused regulators like Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of inhibiting growth and appointed influential figures from the business world into key positions and advisory roles. This includes a former Amazon boss being made the head of the CMA, or as one lawyer observed “A monopolist had been appointed to lead the anti-monopoly watchdog”.

In today’s episode Ethan Shone tells us what we can expect from a government that has put growth and prosperity for business ahead of the rights of everyday consumers.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/newsletters/
In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. Support the show by visiting https://www.openDemocracy.net/donate/
Credits:
Presented by James Battershill
Story production by Ayodeji Rotinwa
Audio engineering by James Battershill
Special thanks to Indra Warnes
Theme song ‘Odyssey’ performed by Edward Abela
—
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:28 Why do regulatory bodies matter?
04:35 Who is influencing the CMA now?
07:25 Why are Labour taking this 'anti-consumer' approach?
10:15 Who should we be paying attention to?
14:09 What can we expect from Labour based on this trajectory?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.