Red in the Face Podcast

With the Euro’s and the lifting of restrictions we’ve had a bit of a delay in pod content but we hope to continue to steady get episodes out as the months roll by.   This episode we were joined by Ant Lehane to chat about drug policy in the U.K and what reform/legalisation would practically look like. Ant is Head of Comms for Volte Face and the Secretariat for the Labour Campaign for Drug Policy Reform. Checkout their work on the links below 👇   Ant Lehane - https://twitter.com/antlehane?s=20   Volt Face - https://volteface.me   Labour Campaign for Drug Policy Reform - https://www.labourdrugpolicy.com   Morning Star Article - https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/calls-reignited-for-non-violent-drug-offenders-to-be-released-as-research-reveal   Tribune Article - https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/05/its-high-time-for-the-left-to-debate-drugs-policy   Red Pepper Article - https://www.redpepper.org.uk/a-new-drug-policy-for-the-21st-century/

With socialist candidate Pedro Castillo winning the Peruvian Presidential election, we re-invited Katerina and her friend and comrade Betty Rhaza from Movimiento Micaela Bastidas UK to discuss the importance of the victory.   Links:   https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/06/peru-pedro-castillo-human-rights-constitution-state-corruption   https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/pedro-castillo-peru-presidential-elections-fujimori   https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/e/socialism-or-barbarism-whats-stake-peru

Another monthly round-up of goings on in the world over the last month from Morgan, Dan and Jarrad:   🇵🇸 Palestinian Struggle   🇵🇪 Peruvian Elections   🍺 Brewdog - @PunksWPurpose   🚩 Unite Elections    As always thanks for your support and please support us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ✊

We’re bringing State of the Union back after a short break. The spin-off series looks to discuss with trade union activist and organisers about ongoing disputes and talk about the UK trade union movement generally.   Dan and Jarrad were joined by Henry Fowler from Strike Map this week to talk about their incredible work since setting up the site in December last year. Below are all the links to Strike Maps social media pages and some of the resources Henry mentioned in the episode.   Links:   Strike Map: Web - https://strikemap.wordpress.com/ Tw - @StrikeMapUK Facebook - Strike Map UK   Strike Map Book Club: https://twitter.com/StrikeMapUK/status/1392173000057835524?s=20   https://www.facebook.com/strikemapuk/photos/a.101418148548718/173798557977343   https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745340869/workers-inquiry-and-global-class-struggle/  (use discount code STRIKE30 at checkout)     Working the Phones - Control and Resistance in Call Centres https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745399065/working-the-phones/     China Labour Bulletin: https://clb.org.hk/ Payday report: https://paydayreport.com/ Cornel Strike Map: https://striketracker.ilr.cornell.edu/   Notes from Below: https://notesfrombelow.org

We were joined by Luke from Worcester City FC and SD Europe to again discuss the future of football. We thought we would do a little update after the dust has settled on the short lived European Super League.   If you haven’t listened to the previous episode please find it on the link below. This episode builds on some of the themes we talked about previously and we discuss how fans can continue to push for reform.   Links:   The Future of Football (Part 1)   https://redintheface.podbean.com/e/the-future-of-football-1611649408/     SD Europe   https://sdeurope.eu     Football Supporters’ Association    https://thefsa.org.uk

Dan and Jarrad sat down with Joe Ryle from the 4 Day Week Campaign to discuss the four day week, its benefits for workers and why employers around the globe are adopting it. You can follow the campaign on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram   Links:   - Four Day Week FAQs   - Advice for Workers   - Advice for Employers

A really important chat with Matt Zarb-Cousin on this week’s episode. Matt’s campaign work within the gambling industry has been incredible and serves as a blueprint for all activists looking to force change in society.   Matt is the director of Clean Up Gambling & the Coalition Against Gambling Ads who both do incredible work.   As Jeremy Corbyn’s former spokesman we also had a short chat at the end of the episode about the current situation in the Labour Party.   Links:   Where to get support   https://twitter.com/gambanapp/status/1384122903822704648?s=20   https://www.gamcare.org.uk/talk/   https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/gambling-addiction/     Clean Up Gambling   https://cleanupgambling.com     Coalition Against Gambling Ads   https://caga.uk     How to Campaign for Social Change — and Win: By Matt Zarb-Cousin   https://tribunemag.co.uk/2019/01/fixed-odds-betting-terminals-fobts     The Gambling Act Review Is a Chance to Stand up to the Bookies: By Matt Zarb-Cousin   https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/12/the-gambling-act-review-is-a-chance-to-stand-up-to-the-bookies

Thought we’d have a quick chat about the last 24 hours for Labour, their long-term decline and the future of the progressive politics. Lot to fit in for an off the cuff 50 minute episode but as always we give it a good go.

We’ve had a break but we’re gonna be back chatting regular shite for a few weeks again. We wanted to start back with a last orders and we go through Kill the Bill, the Derek Chauvin trial, Labour (again) and finish on a lovely bit of conspiracy theory chat.   Enjoy ❤️   https://dianamystery.com

Morgan and Dan dive into international issues again this week as they are joined by Rob Miller to discuss Cuba.   Rob is the Director of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign which is a British organisation that campaigns against the illegal blockade of Cuba among a whole host of other things.   We chatted with Rob about Cuba pre and post revolution, the crippling effects of the blockade and discussed the incredible work Cuba continues to do under incredible external pressure.   Solidarity with the Cuban people in their struggle to be freed from foreign intervention 🇨🇺✊   Links:   Cuba Solidarity Campaign   https://cuba-solidarity.org.uk/about-us/   https://cuba-solidarity.org.uk/information/   https://cuba-solidarity.org.uk/get-involved/join/   https://cuba-solidarity.org.uk/get-involved/affiliate/     CUBA: Defending Socialism, Resisting Imperialism [Film]   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxFPZaurHZA     Fidel Castro: The Untold Story [Film]   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WXn1qsjnI0     Maestra [Film]   https://vimeo.com/ondemand/maestra

We sat down with Hasan Dodwell, Director of Justice for Colombia, to discuss the recent history of Colombia and contextualise the years of conflict and the 2016 Peace Agreement.   This episode provides a good introduction to the topic if you have not engaged with it previously. If you want to learn more about Colombia and JFC’s work please go to the below links.    Links:   About JFC - https://justiceforcolombia.org/about-jfc/     Colombia in Detail - https://justiceforcolombia.org/about-colombia/colombia-in-detail/     Join JFS - https://justiceforcolombia.org/get-involved/support-jfc/join-jfc/     JFC News & Resources - https://justiceforcolombia.org/news-and-resources/     JFC Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JFColombia/     JFS Twitter - https://twitter.com/JFColombia?s=20

This week we were joined by Sarah Doyle and Rachael O’Byrne to discuss gendered violence in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder and the recent actions of the Met Police.   There is a content warning with this episode as we discuss rape and sexual harassment. We felt it was important to record this episode and add to the discussions currently going on around the U.K about how we make our communities and spaces safe places for women to be in.    Links:   National Domestic Abuse Helpline   https://novaramedia.com/2021/03/11/whether-or-not-a-cop-killed-sarah-everard-the-police-are-complicit-in-what-happened-to-her/     Reclaim the Night (Liverpool)    https://www.facebook.com/RTNLiverpool/   https://twitter.com/RTNLiverpool?s=20     Sister’s Uncut    https://www.sistersuncut.org     Rachael Baylis Brighton Uni SU President Campaign:    https://twitter.com/baylis_rachael/status/1371416510682570754?s=20     Whether or Not a Cop Killed Sarah Everard, the Police Are Complicit in What Happened to Her - Rivkah Brown   https://novaramedia.com/2021/03/11/whether-or-not-a-cop-killed-sarah-everard-the-police-are-complicit-in-what-happened-to-her/     ‘The Police Crackdown Bill Is Dystopian’ - Zarah Sultana    https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/03/zarah-sultana-the-police-crackdown-bill-is-dystopian     Outro: "Un violador en tu camino" by feminist collective Lastesis during the protests in Santiago de Chile   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZWHua6PHa8   Picture by Paul McGowan

Morgan leads the discussion this week about the state of U.K mainstream media, their conduct during the Corbyn’s leadership and how the left can combat a hostile media.   Links:   Myth of a Public Service by Tom Mills   https://www.versobooks.com/books/3630-the-bbc   VICIOUS, HORRIBLE PEOPLE by Oliver Eagleton    https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii127/articles/oliver-eagleton-vicious-horrible-people   Jeremy Corbyn: The Outsider - Vice   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94ptAcbfKP0   Press Hostility to Labour reaches new levels in 2019 election campaign - Loughborough University   https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2019/december/press-hostility-to-labour-reaches-new-levels/

We were joined by Primary School Teacher, Labour Councillor and NEU officer James McAsh for this most recent episode of State of the Union.   We talked about the last 10 years of cuts, academisation and curriculum changes in education before discussing the incredible work the NEU have done during the pandemic.   Don’t forget to follow us on social media and spread the word about the podcast:    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redinthefacepod   Twitter: https://twitter.com/RedintheFacepod   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redinthefacepod/

We chat all things America on State of the Union this week. We spoke to U.S union activist Nicholas Wurst about the structure of the U.S Trade Union movement, their engagement with the political system and the significance of Amazon workers fighting for unionisation.    Links:    Independent Socialist Group - https://independentsocialistgroup.org     Amazon Unionisation -  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/03/amazon-intensifies-severe-effort-discourage-first-warehouse-union   https://jacobinmag.com/2021/02/amazon-union-racial-justice-bessner-alabama     American Unions -  https://jacobinmag.com/2020/09/american-unions-democracy-labor-movement

Another round up of all goings on in politics over the last month in this most recent Last Orders. We chat about the lifting of COVID restrictions, where the hell the Labour Party is heading and Ted Cruz leaving Snowflake the poodle out of his Cancún adventure.    As always keep sharing the podcast amongst your friends and comrades and follow us on social media: https://twitter.com/RedintheFacepod   https://www.facebook.com/redinthefacepod/   https://www.instagram.com/redinthefacepod/

We had the pleasure of talking to Anthony O'Hanlon and Matt Roylance from the UCU to talk about the effect of the pandemic on higher and further education as well as the marketisation of education generally.   LINKS:   Redundancies during a pandemic:    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/22/despicable-in-a-pandemic-fury-as-10-uk-universities-plan-job-cuts     Novara Media: Is Coronavirus Incubating a New Student Movement?   https://novaramedia.com/2020/11/26/is-coronavirus-incubating-a-new-student-movement/     Morning Star: Marketisation of universities has led to an education crisis   https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/marketisation-universities-has-led-education-crisis     Morning Star: Government urged to end pandemic punishment for students   https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/government-urged-to-end-pandemic-punishment-for-students

We tackle all things identity politics in our most recent episode. We talk about the importance of combining identity politics with a strong class consciousness and briefly touch on issues such as performative politics and ‘cancel culture.’    Please follow us on all of social media platforms and keep spreading the word:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/RedintheFacepod   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redinthefacepod/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redinthefacepod/

Amazing to be joined by Dean Spade to discuss his book Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next).   This is a chat for all those that are worried about the direction of politics in this country and around the world. If you want to make a difference in your community and build that into a wider social movement for change, then this episode is a must listen.   Links:   Dean Spade - Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)   https://www.versobooks.com/books/3713-mutual-aid     Vicky Osterweil - In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action   https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/vicky-osterweil/in-defense-of-looting/9781549161193/     Rebel Steps Podcast   https://rebelsteps.com/about/

Dan and Jarrad sat down with Steve Wright this week from the FBU for our second State of the Union episode.   Despite being asked to take dead bodies to morgues, help out the ambulance service and support care homes, firefighters are now being attacked by Fire Chief’s for demanding COVID-19 testing before returning to their station.   We also chat about the importance of being politically active as a Trade Unionist, coordinating our action as a Trade Union movement and the effects on the fire service of the climate crisis.    Links:    Fire Service Bosses pulling out of COVID-19 Agreement:   https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2021/01/15/fire-service-bosses-pull-out-covid-19-agreement     FBU response to HMICFRS report:    https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2021/01/22/fbu-responds-“political-and-biasedâ€-hmicfrs-report     Thousands lobby MPs to fund the frontline:   https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2020/11/13/thousands-lobby-mps-fund-frontline     ‘Not our mission’: private fire crews protect the insured, not the public:    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/03/not-our-mission-private-fire-crews-protect-the-insured-not-the-public     Labour Representation Committee:   https://labourrep.com     Outro Music - FBU Bella Ciao:    https://youtu.be/80l4juoORPs