May 5, 2022
In this podcast, we reflect of Chapter 60 of The Tao Te Ching in which Lao Tzu recommends a light touch on the part of rulers if destructivity is to be minimised in society. A light touch is possible when rulers and / or their advisors are aligned with the Tao and the processes of existence and life as they act through human beings. We relate Lao Tzu's recommendations to our current political state and the ever present realisation that governments do bad things even whilst some collective focus is necessary for our species survival. We examine variations on this insight found in neoliberal economic thought, Marxism and the anarchism. [Free. 36 minutes.]
April 2, 2022
In this podcast, I continue with an analysis of the war in Ukraine. The focus in this episode is mainly on events in the Maidan Square, Kyiv in 2014 and on the fallout that that event may have had in relation to the current war. I draw out some general themes, particularly on the character of large scale civil unrest and the relationship between larger geopolitical context and current events. [Free. 1 hour 1 minute.]
March 10, 2022
In this podcast, I examine important historical antecedents to the war in Ukraine. In particular, I appraise the argument that the eastward spread of NATO bears some responsibility for what is now so catastrophically unfolding. [Free. 1 hour, 12 minutes.]
February 24, 2022
This podcast is a wide-ranging consideration of individual, psychological insecurity and material, collective insecurity and the relationship between them. We make our observations in the context of current events, especially the war in Ukraine, global warming, and financial meltdown, whilst drawing on inspiration from process philosophers like the Buddha, Heraclitus, Whitehead, Watts, Nietzsche, Marx and Lao Tzu. We draw on a brief discussion of the sublime and the beautiful to help us identify the emancipatory comportment to our intrinsic vulnerability and mortality. [Free. 50 minutes.]
February 2, 2022
In this podcast, we consider the possibility of civil unrest in the UK as the consequences of inflation reduce the standard of living for many people. We consider the roles of strikes, mass refusals and information technology in the developing chaos. [Free. 31 minutes.]
February 1, 2022
In this podcast we discuss Chapter 57 of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. In this chapter, Lao Tzu extols the virtues of wu wei, non-doing, when it is employed by sage leaders. The question of the tendency for all governments to do things which are inimical to the flourishing of the people haunts this discourse and we tease out the resonances this has with a wide variety political philosophies. [Free. 23 minutes.]
January 18, 2022
This podcast is our original take on the recent film, Don't Look Up. [Discard the previous version which had the wrong file! Apologies. Free. 38 minutes.]
January 13, 2022
This podcast is a stream of consciousness stimulated by the current discomfort of the Tory Party and its leader in the wake of partygate. [Free. 22 minutes]
December 17, 2021
In this podcast, we discuss the various ramifications of the Tory loss of a 23k majority in a seat they have held since 1832 in yesterday's by-election brought about by the resignation of Owen Patterson. [Patterson's resignation is described and analysed in our podcast Interesting Times 41.] We enjoy a little Schadenfreude as we proceed. [Free. 30 minutes.]
December 9, 2021
In this podcast we consider the infamous party which both happened and didn't happen at the same time at 10 Downing Street on December 18th 2020. If it did happen [even though it didn't], a number of government ministers are ready to reassure the public that no COVID19 lock-down rules were broken with comical results. We examine the context of this spooky event in a cabal of government-right wing press connections, in the leaking of a video of the PM's press spokeswoman rehearsing how she might spin awkward questions about the event, in Johnson's apology to the Commons, and in the general propaganda system within which our ruling elites operate. We appraise the possibility that this shit storm may have cut through to the public consciousness. [Free. 43 minutes.]
