The Lowdown from Nick Cohen

Nick Cohen

Get The Lowdown from Nick Cohen as he investigates a world that seems to get ever more crazy, with leading commentators and politicians.

Each week, leading commentator Nick Cohen talks to the country's leading movers and shakers - to cut the through much of the drivel and commentary that passes for so much political discourse these days. Nick - a long-term columnist for The Observer and The Spectator - will be attempting to make sense of our ever stranger and troubling world with insightful politicians, journalists and authors. Our mission is to help keep you sane! So please get The Lowdown from Nick Cohen and subscribe to his Substack column - Writing from London.

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Ep 38: Labour's chance to salvage the UK with Rafael Behr

Ep 38: Labour's chance to salvage the UK with Rafael Behr

Send us a textNick talks to Lowdown regular, author and Guardian columnist Rafael Behr about what Labour does now in government after 14 years in opposition on the sidelines of terrible Tory governments delivering austerity, brexit, a bungled pandemic response, five failed prime ministers, economic decline and collapsing councils and public services.Will the UK inherited from the Tories prove to be a poisoned chalice for PM Sir Keir Starmer and co or can Labour rescue and rejuvenate a country battered by years of Tory misrule?Rafael concludes Labour may have the policies and the right people to carry them out but wonders whether Sir Keir and his chancellor Rachel Reeves have the political vim to sell their vision and plans to the electorate. Already, the BBC has declared Labour's blink-and-you'd've-missed-it political honeymoon to be "over."Rafael @rafaelbehr concedes Labour has its work cut out - as latest opinion polls suggest - and a rocky passage lies ahead. But the Conservatives have not even begun to examine the reasons for their crushing defeat in July. Most media attention has been focussed on the split on the Tories' far right, and with Nigel Farage\s latest vehicle, Reform, while steadfastly ignoring the hemorrhaging of one-time rock solid Conservative seats to the Liberal Democrats, including the Witney and Maidenhead constituencies of former prime ministers Lord Cameron and Theresa May. Rafael contends that the famous "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" - which the Tories also lost to the Lib Dems - remain particularly disgusted by brexit and its abject and predictable failure. Rafael's recent book Politics: A Survivor's Guide: How to stay engaged without getting enraged is published by W.F.Howes Ltd and available at Amazon and in all good bookshops.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

Ep 38: Labour's chance to salvage the UK with Rafael Behr

Ep 38: Labour's chance to salvage the UK with Rafael Behr

Send us a textNick talks to Lowdown regular, author and Guardian columnist Rafael Behr about what Labour does now in government after 14 years in opposition on the sidelines of terrible Tory governments delivering austerity, brexit, a bungled pandemic response, five failed prime ministers, economic decline and collapsing councils and public services.Will the UK inherited from the Tories prove to be a poisoned chalice for PM Sir Keir Starmer and co or can Labour rescue and rejuvenate a country battered by years of Tory misrule?Rafael concludes Labour may have the policies and the right people to carry them out but wonders whether Sir Keir and his chancellor Rachel Reeves have the political vim to sell their vision and plans to the electorate. Already, the BBC has declared Labour's blink-and-you'd've-missed-it political honeymoon to be "over."Rafael @rafaelbehr concedes Labour has its work cut out - as latest opinion polls suggest - and a rocky passage lies ahead. But the Conservatives have not even begun to examine the reasons for their crushing defeat in July. Most media attention has been focussed on the split on the Tories' far right, and with Nigel Farage\s latest vehicle, Reform, while steadfastly ignoring the hemorrhaging of one-time rock solid Conservative seats to the Liberal Democrats, including the Witney and Maidenhead constituencies of former prime ministers Lord Cameron and Theresa May. Rafael contends that the famous "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" - which the Tories also lost to the Lib Dems - remain particularly disgusted by brexit and its abject and predictable failure. Rafael's recent book Politics: A Survivor's Guide: How to stay engaged without getting enraged is published by W.F.Howes Ltd and available at Amazon and in all good bookshops.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 37: The rise of the Far Right in Germany with Annette Dittert

Ep 37: The rise of the Far Right in Germany with Annette Dittert

Send us a textNick Cohen chats withAnnette Dittert, London Correspondent and bureau chief for ARD, Germany's first and celebrated post-war public broadcaster - also known as "Das Erste" (The First).The Far Right AfD (Alternative for German) made stunning gains in recent state elections in eastern German in Thuringia and Saxony, throwing mainstream parties into a funk and causing shockwaves across Europe. What does this mean for Germany 80 less than 80 years after the defeat of the Nazis?Annette, @annettedittert also a filmmaker, columnist and author, talks about the huge widespread disillusionment Germans share about the current coalition government led by the Social Democrat chancellor Olaf Scholz. There is also growing popular dismay over the state of Germany itself where nothing, as with spades in the UK, seems to work any more.What can be done to counter the threat of the AfD which is profoundly anti-EU, and anti-immigrant and is seen to be a cheerleader for Vladimir Putin and opponent of aid to Ukraine?Anglophile Annette also talks about her depression over the state of the UK under the 3 year Boris Johnson shit show and how Brexit has helped destroy the UK's reputation and and power in Germany and elsewhere, to the point where few Germans now appear interested in what happens there.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 36: A new age of authoritarianism with Anne Applebaum

Ep 36: A new age of authoritarianism with Anne Applebaum

Send us a textNick talks with Anne Applebaum, the celebrated American journalist, author and historian about her new book Autocracy Inc., The dictators who want to rule the world, published by Penguin.Putin, Xi Jinping, Jong Un, Trump, Maduro - dictators great and small - wannabe or real deal - dominate the news space these days. Democracy hasn't been under so much pressure since the 30's and 40's. Anne talks about the forces driving this new age of autocracy and the men with the often little iron fists who want to rule their part of the world. Meanwhile, some are doing their patriotic duty to themselves by enriching themselves at the cost of their country. "L'etat - c'est a moi!"After seventeen years as a columnist at The Washington Post, Anne became a staff writer at The Atlantic in January 2020. She is the author of five critically acclaimed and award-winning books: Twilight of Democracy, Red Famine, Iron Curtain, Between East and West, and Gulag, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. She divides her time between Poland, where her husband Radoslaw Sikorski is foreign minister, and Washington, D.C.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep: 35 Torygeddon - can the polls be right? With Tory expert Professor Tim Bale

Ep: 35 Torygeddon - can the polls be right? With Tory expert Professor Tim Bale

Send us a textNick talks to Professor Tim Bale of the Queen Mary University of London, who is widely looked on as the UK's keenest academic observer of the Conservative Party. Poll after poll indicates a near-extinction event for the Conservative Party on July 4th. The disasters of Brexit, Johnson and Truss coupled with the Tories' tedious and interminable culture wars have long exposed the supposed go-to party of government as more of an electoral suicide cult than anything else.Tim and Nick discuss the potential scale of defeat for the Tories and whether or not -post-election - they will try to recapture the vote-rich heartlands of the political centre ground or cling to its Farageist-Brexity wet blanket, a strategy that looks guaranteed to condemn them to the fringes of British politics for years to come, and possibly leave them exposed to a Reform Party reverse take-over. @ProfTimBale 's latest book The Conservative Party after Brexit (published by Polity) charts the Party's dizzying descent into nationalist and radical hard right Brexit populism.Don't forget to read Nick's regular Substack column Writing from London.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep: 34: The Twighlight of the Tories with Rafael Behr

Ep: 34: The Twighlight of the Tories with Rafael Behr

Send us a text @NickCohen4 and Guardian political columnist @rafaelbehr discuss the potential for an extinction-level general election result for the Tories on July 4th.Time and events seem to have caught up with the Conservative Party at last as they face retribution at the hands of an exasperated electorate after 14 years of chaos and 5 prime ministers, plus policy disaster after policy disaster including Brexit, Austerity, the bungling of Covid, the Tufton Street insanity of "Trussonomics", turds in rivers and seas and the endless Rwanda/immigration fiasco. And then there is the serial buffoonery and malfeasance of Boris Johnson.Rafael and Nick discuss how the Conservatives find themselves beached on political territory between the rabid right they tried and failed to appease and the centre ground where people have become increasingly repelled by Tory incompetence and hard right, populist antics. E.g. Tories may boast of "getting brexit done" but scarcely of brexit itself.Rafael is one of the Guardian's leading columnists and observers of the political scene. Rafael's book - "Politics - A Survivor's Guide" is published by Atlantic.Don't forget to read Nick's regular Substack column Writing from London.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 33: Will Hutton on Labour's path ahead

Episode 33: Will Hutton on Labour's path ahead

Send us a textNick talks to celebrated author, columnist and editor Will Hutton about his new book, This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain (Bloomsbury), described as "a brilliant book" by no less a figure than Sir Keir Starmer.If Labour wins - as currently expected - how does it pull the UK out of the doom cycle it's been put into by the Tories? Will explains how much work has to be done by Starmer and his team to put the country back on its feet after the Tory-inflicted disasters of austerity, Brexit, Boris Johnson and last, but not least, Liz Truss and her notorious mortgage-doubling "mini budget".How do you re-boot an economy growing when Brexit alone is forecast to eventually knock a ruinous 10 per cent off GDP and when wages have stagnated during 14 years of Tory misrule? Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 31: Pulling Brexit Britain out of its economic death spiral - with economist Danny Blanchflower

Ep 31: Pulling Brexit Britain out of its economic death spiral - with economist Danny Blanchflower

Send us a textNick Cohen gets The Lowdown from leading economist Danny Blanchflower CBE - onetime external member of the Bank of England's interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee.Danny foresaw economic woes mounting up in 2007 and predicted a crash - a year or so before the start of the bank collapses that led to the Great Recession. Since then, the Tories have visited on the country one failed economic project after another - austerity, Brexit, Trussanomics. Now the average Brit is forced to pay what's been called the "Moron Premium" for their chronic incompetence - higher food prices, extortionate energy bills and more expensive mortgages, while a failing economy stagnates in recession.The Tories have predictably descended into in-fighting and sinister culture wars as they await their inevitable rout at the next election. But what can Labour do to pull the UK economy out of its current death spiral?Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 30: The Tories' by-election blues and the stench of electoral death with Professor Tim Bale

Ep 30: The Tories' by-election blues and the stench of electoral death with Professor Tim Bale

Send us a textNick Cohen gets The Lowdown from Professor Tim Bale of the Queen Mary University of London, who is widely looked on as the UK's keenest academic observer of the Conservative Party.The Tories have been left reeling and predictably even more mutinous by their catastrophic defeats in last week's two by-elections in their hitherto safe seats of Kingswood in south Gloucestershire and Wellingborough in north Northamptonshire.Not only did they lose Kingswood with a 16.4 % swing, where Labour only needed a relatively modest 11-point swing. They also lost Wellingborough, where the swing was 28.5% - the second highest swing from Conservative to Labour in any post-war by-election.Tim - @ProfTimBale - discusses the shatteringly few options now left open to an incompetent populist governing party that is becoming more and more loathed by voters. Seemingly, all they have left to clutch are the meagre straws of their deranged Rwanda policy and the tattered flag of a failed Brexit project. So, will delaying Rishi Sunak's inevitable day of judgement only make a terrible situation even worse?Tim's latest book The Conservative Party after Brexit (published by Polity) charts the Party's dizzying descent into populist and radical hard right Brexit populism. Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 29 How Labour wins big & stays in power with former Blair adviser John McTernan

Ep 29 How Labour wins big & stays in power with former Blair adviser John McTernan

Send us a textNick Cohen gets The Lowdown from John McTernan, one-time political secretary to Tony Blair and seasoned political strategist and commentator.How does Labour not only win but replace the Tories finally as the natural party of government? 14 years of Tory misrule have brought the failed projects of Brexit and austerity and the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss shitshows. Now Rishi Sunak and his divided rabble fester low down in the polls, waging their culture wars, while the country falls apart around them.John argues that people are crying out for real change and Labour has an opportunity to win big and stay in power. Will Keir Starmer grasp the opportunity and give people the change they want and that the UK desperately needs?Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 28: The Left's failure to confront the Trumpism menace with writer Matt Johnson

Ep 28: The Left's failure to confront the Trumpism menace with writer Matt Johnson

Send us a textNick Cohen gets The Lowdown from US journalist and author Matt Johnson on the threat posed - yet again - by Donald Trump and his deranged far right MAGA cult that has captured the Republican Party.Matt - @mattjj89 - the author of How Hitchens can save the Left, explains how there is little evidence so far of a tangible centre-left coalition to confront Trump - who is a dead cert to be the Republicans' nomination to run for the presidency in 2024, despite facing 91 felony charges.. Incredibly, despite trying to overturn the result of the 2020 general election and provoking the January 6th insurrection, Trump is running against the incumbent Joe Biden who is 80 now and will be 86 were he to survive a second stint in the White House.Trump himself is 78 but exudes a certain demonic energy in comparison with Biden whose age and unpopular running mate, Vice-President Harris Kamala Harris, could prove to be telling factors counting against a successful re-run.Nick asks Matt what can be done to save the US and the world from the undoubted calamity of a second Trump presidency?Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 27: Breaking the Brexit Taboo with Professor Chris Grey

Ep 27: Breaking the Brexit Taboo with Professor Chris Grey

Send us a textNick Cohen gets the Lowdown on the UK's greatest taboo - the ever-deepening Brexit crisis - from Chris Grey, emeritus Professor @RoyalHolloway, and author of the highly-regarded and must-read blog, Brexit and beyond.Extra Brexit food checks come in from next week - threatening food price rises and shortages. Meanwhile, the Tories fail to get one of its promised "Canada-style free trade agreements" with Canada! Every week, @chrisgreybrexit - also author of the book Brexit Unfolded - exposes the many absurdities, lies and disasters of the Brexit Britain clown show and explains how the Brexiteers' preposterous promises were never remotely deliverable and were always likely to cause huge damage to the UK's economy and standing in the world. For example, we should now be seeing the Silicon Valley of the East End's Hoxton - as promised by @DanielJHannan. Er...where is it?Both Chris and Nick lament the chronic failure of the BBC and other MSM to hold to account the charlatans like Hannan , Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage who mis-sold Brexit. But how can Labour handle the Brexit mess they are set to inherit when so many people who voted for it refuse to accept the mayhem they were conned into inflicting on all of us?Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 26: The Post Office scandal & the curse of British managerialism with economist Chris Dillow

Ep 26: The Post Office scandal & the curse of British managerialism with economist Chris Dillow

Send us a textNick Cohen gets The Lowdown from Chris Dillow, the economist, and author of the Stumbling and Mumbling blog.Chris - @CJFDillow - is a keen commentator on British managerialism - the curse of incompetence and privileged entitlement that led to the Post Office scandal and blights much of modern Britain today.Chris explains how modern Britain seems to reject competent management - opting instead for psychopaths and incompetents - often a combination of the two - who practise "managerialism" rather than efficient management that prioritises the good over bad.All too often, today's hirers prize over-confidence - preferably relayed with private school tones - over quietly stated and competent management. The result is a UK - beset by management scandals - where nothing seems to work. Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 25: Crimes against humanity, lies & misinformation in the Gaza conflict with Daniella Peled

Ep 25: Crimes against humanity, lies & misinformation in the Gaza conflict with Daniella Peled

Send us a textNick Cohen gets The Lowdown from Daniella Peled, Managing Editor of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, on the terrible conflict in Gaza .At a time when South Africa is bringing its genocide case against israel before the International Court of Justice, Daniella discusses with Nick the allegations of Israel's war crimes as well as the crimes committed by Hamas on October 7th. Daniella talks about the extreme political voices in Israel today and the impact these are having on the current conflict in Gaza and on the region. Truth is often said to be the first casualty of war. So, what roles are misinformation and lies playing in the current conflict?Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 21: The Tories' perfect storm - how hard will it blow? with Professor Rob Ford

Ep 21: The Tories' perfect storm - how hard will it blow? with Professor Rob Ford

Send us a textNick Cohen gets the Lowdown from Professor Rob Ford of Manchester University, professor of political science, co-author of the award-winning book Revolt on the Right, and political commentator and pundit extraordinaire about the perfect storm of woe descending on the Tories.The disasters of Brexit, cost of living, the bungling of Covid, Partygate, the catastrophic and chaotic reigns of Boris Johnson and Liz "The Lettuce" Truss have been followed by the Rishi Sunak sh1tsh0w.Exhausted and divided , and appealing only to headbangers in their own party, the Tories stagger on from one disaster to the next, desperately trying to limit the scale of the tsunami of voter retribution heading their way. How big will the defeat be or will they manage somehow to salvage enough of a base to threaten a come-back in the not-too-distance future?Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 20: A Hitch in time? What would Christopher Hitchens have made of today's insanity? With author Matt Johnson

Ep 20: A Hitch in time? What would Christopher Hitchens have made of today's insanity? With author Matt Johnson

Send us a textNick Cohen gets The Lowdown from Matt Johnson, author of How Hitchens can save the Left [Pitchstone Books] a celebrated study of the writer and polemicist Christopher Hitchens who sadly died 12 years ago aged just 62.Hitchens lived in the US and was a controversial and vivid commentator on the US and its various foreign policy adventures following the 9/11 terror atrocities in the US. He started adult life as a Marxist but later espoused causes that were labelled "neo-con" at the time.But what would "Hitch" have made of a topsy-turvy politics which has seen dangerous buffoons like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson come to power and the rise of an authoritarian right that Matt Johnson identifies as the posing the greatest current threat to Mankind? Nick and Matt discuss this endlessly fascinating and brilliant writer and wonder what on earth he would have made of it all.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep: The strange death of the Left in the West & in Israel with Professor Shlomo Sand

Ep: The strange death of the Left in the West & in Israel with Professor Shlomo Sand

Send us a textNick Cohen gets The Lowdown from Professor Shlomo Sand, author and historian about his new book A Brief Global History of the Left (Polity).What is happening to the Left? It seems to be dying a slow death in the West and certainly in Israel.. While many commentators have predicted its demise, the Left has always defied these bleak prognoses and risen from the ashes in the most unexpected ways.Nevertheless, we are witnessing today a global decline in organised movements on the Left, and while social struggles continue to challenge dominant political regimes, these efforts do not translate into support for traditional left parties or into the creation of dynamic movements on the Left.Bestselling historian Shlomo Sand tells Nick that the global decline of the Left is linked to the waning of the idea of equality that has united citizens in the past and inspired them to engage in collective action. Professor Sand and Nick also discuss the current crisis in Israel and Gaza.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 16: War and peace in the Middle East with journalist Daniella Peled of Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Ep 16: War and peace in the Middle East with journalist Daniella Peled of Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Send us a textNick Cohen gets the Lowdown on the brutal conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza from Daniella Peled, Managing Editor of the of Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR).Daniella puts into context the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas. Approximately 1,400 Israelis were killed by Hamas on October 7th. Since then, the Israeli assault on Gaza has killed at least 4,000 civilians, and is leading to a humanitarian crisis.Daniella compares this latest violence with other conflicts that she has studied around the world.She and Nick try to make sense of the latest conflict between Israel and Palestinians, the prospect of peace between the 2 sides and examine the turbulent political situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories leading up to the lethal Hamas attack on Israel from October 7th.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep17: SLAPP BACK! How the rich abuse British courts with lawyer & author David Hooper

Ep17: SLAPP BACK! How the rich abuse British courts with lawyer & author David Hooper

Send us a textNick Cohen gets the Lowdown from celebrated lawyer and author David Hooper whose latest book, Buying Silence, How oligarchs, corporations and plutocrats use the law to gag their critics (Biteback) exposes how the rich and powerful use vexatious so-called SLAPP legal actions - Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation - to silence and destroy whiste-blowers, journalists and campaigners.Dodgy chancers from notorious warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin to the corrupt Robert Maxwell have found London courts law firms willing to abuse libel, data and privacy laws to ruin their critics and to deploy any tactics, including the use of private detectives and PR agencies.David Hooper explains that it is the crippling costs of defending such actions that pose such a threat to press freedom, freedom of speech and to the rule of Law in the UK.What can be done to counter this threat and why are solicitors and barristers being allowed to get away with such flagrant abuses of behalf of their often dubious clients, that have included sanction Russian oligarchs and even controversial former US presidents?Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 15: Israel, Hamas and the threat to Britain's Jews with antisemitism expert Dave Rich

Ep 15: Israel, Hamas and the threat to Britain's Jews with antisemitism expert Dave Rich

Send us a textThis week, Nick Cohen gets the Lowdown from Dr Dave Rich, Head of Policy for the Community Security Trust (CST) - an organisation that provides security for Jewish communities and institutions. Dave is also an expert in left wing anti-semitism and the author of the book Everyday Hate: How antisemitism is built into our world – and how you can change it (Biteback.)Jews in the UK often suffer instances of antisemitism when there is conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Dave reports that such incidents have increased four-fold in the wake of the tragic and horrific Hamas attacks on Israel and the retaliatory strikes on Gaza by the Israeli military.But it seems only Jews suffer from this phenomenon. For example, Russians in the UK seemingly experience no such back-lash despite Putin's illegal attack and genocide against Ukraine. Why is antisemitism alive and kicking in the UK, both on the left and on the right, and what can be done to counter it?Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 14: The Ascent of Woke with Yascha Mounk

Ep 14: The Ascent of Woke with Yascha Mounk

Send us a textNick Cohen talks to Yascha Mounk, the political scientist and author, about his new book about the astonishing rise of "Woke ideology" - The Identity Trap: A story of ideas and power in our time. According to the Washington Post, "whatever you call it — identity politics, political correctness, wokeness or cancel culture — some new power seems to be at work in our culture and institutions."Yascha tells Nick that advocates of this "Woke" ideology fixate on identity to the exclusion of all else, and that many reject “universal values and neutral rules like free speech and equal opportunity as mere distractions.” He argues that this ideology has grown ever more embedded in society - influencing many institutions.Right wing extremist supporters of Donald Trump are already manipulating fears over "The Great Awokening"" for the 2024 presidential elections in the hope that voters will see this revolutionary strain of identity politics as a threat to American values.Support the showListen to The Lowdown from Nick Cohen for in-depth analysis of the issues and events that shape our lives and futures. From Ukraine to Brexit, from Trump to the Tories - we hope to keep you informed - and sane! @NickCohen4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.