Heart Yoga Radio

UKRAINE & THE FOG OF WAR 3 - INTERESTING TIMES 52

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.]  

UKRAINE & THE FOG OF WAR 2 - INTERESTING TIMES 51

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.]

INSECURITY IN OUR TURBULENT TIMES

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.] 

CIVIL UNREST IN 2022? - INTERESTING TIMES 44

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.]

LAO TZU 44

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.]

DON’T LOOK UP - OUR THOUGHTS [2ND EDITION]

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.]

PARYTYGATE - INTERESTING TIMES 48

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]

TORY BY- ELECTION TROUNCING - INTERESTING TIMES 46

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.]

SCHRODINGER‘S PARTY - INTERESTING TIMES 44

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.]

TORIES ON THE ROPES? - INTERESTING TIMES 43

In the light of the MPs second jobs scandal, we ask, 'How much more will the public put up with?' This leads to questions about the nature of ideology, and the contradictory class consciousness of Tories who make light of in-work poverty and the cutting of Universal Credit on the one hand, and then, on the other hand, plead that MPs need second jobs because they can't discharge their familial duty on £82 per annum! We underscore the point that this current scandal isn't anything fundamentally new, but a symptom of the profound and toxic entanglement of corporate and state power in the UK. [Free. 44 minutes.]