The Owen Jones Podcast

This country is a burning skip, and not since the aftermath of World War II has there been a more desperate need for transformative policies. But after Labour leader Keir Starmer abandoned his leadership promises, there is a massive vacuum. RMT leader Mick Lynch has shown courage and determination in fighting the Tories - and without more of that, the danger is of a Labour government which causes mass disappointment and opens the door for very dark political forces.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What on earth is going on here? There are allegations that Tory Chair Nadhim Zahawi has been forced to pay millions to HMRC, after allegedly not paying tax by using an offshore trust when he sold off his company. We don't know the truth because Zahawi hasn't answered the questions properly - and there isn't enough media pressure. But this sums up a society where it's one rule for the top - and one rule for everyone else.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enough. As the Tory government shuts down the democratic decision of the Scottish Parliament to expand trans rights, it's time to wake up to a gruesome reality. One of the most vulnerable minorities is being subjected to the exact same hate campaign gay and bi people faced in the 1980s and 1990s. You either have the courage to be on the right side of history - or you can stand back and allow an oppressed community to suffer unnecessary pain and fear. Here's the argument for trans rights - and why the opponents are going to be judged just as harshly as homophobes were.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have an action packed show today:- Nurse Maxine Wade on the strike and the NHS crisis- Commentator Ellie Mae O'Hagan on Tory crisis and Keir Starmer- Trans activist Beth Douglas on the stand-off over Scotland's reform of gender recognition- Holocaust survivor Joan Salter on confronting Suella BravermanSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are the Tories buckling before nurses' demands? News reports suggest they're beginning to accept they're going to have to increase their pay. For those who say we don't have enough money - we need to start asking ourselves what we value more: rich people being ridiculously rich, or a functioning healthcare system?Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rishi Sunak's budget is like English food before the 90s - with its overcooked vegetables - and Liz Truss' Mini-Budget is like bringing back Tex-Mex. Confused? In his new book EDIBLE ECONOMICS, Prof. Ha-Joon Chang uses food to take apart the ruling economic mantras of our time - and shows that there is hope for an alternative.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is absolutely gruesome stuff: what Tory MP Andrew Bridgen has said about vaccines is disturbing and dangerous. But it raises an important question - how do we reach people who've been radicalised by anti-vax conspiracism, especially given it's often a gateway?Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ugh, guys, I'm so angry with myself. I got comprehensively ripped off by a plumber and want you to avoid going through what I did!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To lots of people, the drama centred on Prince Harry must seem like a pointless distraction from a world that is on fire. But the revelations should spur on a long overdue conversation - about abolishing the monarchy. And the reason for that has been completely erased from this conversation - as I show.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a matter of life and death - nothing is more important. So why the silence? We know we lost a huge number of people because of Covid. But right now there is a surge in deaths happening not because of Covid. This is the biggest scandal all of us should be talking about.See this crucial thread here: https://twitter.com/ActuaryByDay/stat...Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Look, I'm not a fan of Rishi Sunak, fine, but this is absolutely ridiculous even by his standards. Just watch him repeatedly refuse to answer a basic question about whether he uses private healthcare - which he clearly does. He's responsible for the NHS, he knows it's imploding, but wants to protect him and his family for a crisis he's to blame for. And he's not the only politician being dishonest, as we can see...Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As you've noticed, the vast majority of my videos aim fire at the Tory government - but it's my job to challenge all politicians, including Labour. This week, Keir Starmer did a speech - and made clear he backs more privatisation of your NHS, and won't commit to the spending our imploding public services need. You deserve better than this - we all do.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You probably think this title is an exaggeration, that my contempt for the Tories is sending me over the top. But no. In response to nurses - and rail workers, and teachers, and other key workers - being driven to such despair that they strike, the Tories have finally come up with a response: to sack them. But it won't just be our nurses and other pillars of society who will pay the price - we all will.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Honestly, this guy. Firstly, if you still remember Rishi Sunak is Prime Minister, then fair play to you, because he's practically invisible. But having reduced the country to state of 'massive burning skip', he's now set out 5 pledges which can be achieved through literally nothing the Tories do. This is taking the mick on a grand scale - and here's why we should see through every single pledge.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This really has to be seen to be believed. During the referendum campaign, the Vote Leave campaign released a video about how the NHS was in chaos, but how it would be idyllic when Brexit happened. The people who staffed the Vote Leave campaign are the wing of the Tories who've run the country for years - and now the NHS is on the brink of collapse, with Britain now suffering a humanitarian catastrophe. This is the truth about what's happened - and this doesn't make your blood doesn't boil, then nothing will.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Tories are in so much trouble. 'Yeah I know', you might say, everyone knows that - they partied in lockdown and lied about it, they failed to deal with the cost of living crisis, had a massive civil war - then crashed the economy with unhinged policies. But it is so so so so much worse than that - as I'll explain!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ooooooooooof! From now on, epic misogynist Andrew Tate will be known as 'that guy who got wrecked by Greta Thunberg on Twitter'. He thought he was being well hard and clever, but suffered the mother of all smackdowns. But this matters - because this underlines the biggest issue of all which is at stake.Help us take on the right-wing media here: https://www.patreon.com/owenjones84Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Christmas you lot! Ok, so a lot of my videos verge on the bleak side, but we have to work with the material we've got. Yet there so many reasons to be happy and optimistic - and here I set them out. Consider it a Christmas present!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh dear oh dear. Two reports have come out showing that Boris Johnson's Brexit deal has been disastrous for the economy, meaning slashed growth and tax revenues. But what do we do about it - given the gruesome culture war detonated by the EU referendum?Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spare a moment for the poor suffering editor of The Spectator magazine. Besieged as it is - just because his publication publishes deeply offensive bile! - he now declares that the Royal Mail isn't delivering it on time to customers. But old on a minute: didn't you loudly cheer on its privatisation as a "resounding success"?!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why doesn't Rishi Sunak just give nurses and paramedics the pay rise they deserve? Their pay has plummeted, after all, it's left the NHS massively short of staff, the public on their side, and there's no evidence it'll drive up inflation. This is the truth - and it's gruesome.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeremy Clarkson's repulsive attack on Meghan Markle in The Sun newspaper has rightly been widely condemned. But what he said can't be seen in isolation. This is just one gruesome symptom of a system of male domination of women - and it's why all men must speak up.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elon Musk calls himself the king of free speech, but he's just mass banned a load of journalists who were scrutinising him from Twitter. Now the right don't really believe in free speech at all - by their own definitions, though they are hypocrites. What they really want to defend is the right of privileged white men like Musk to say what they want, not least about marginalised minorities, and face no response or consequence.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seriously, Alan Sugar's latest diatribe against Mick Lynch is one of the stupidest yet. What it shows is there is genuine fear at the RMT - they're attacking Lynch because they know his message has resonated. Here's what it tells us.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're now at the 'let's demonise nurses' stage of the collapsing Tory government. By going on strike, we're told, the nurses are putting the NHS at risk. But the truth is the demands of the strikers are key to saving not just the NHS - but saving lives. This is how...Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Owch! Mick Lynch was in no mood to play the standard media game, and turned his fire on the BBC live on air. His accusation: that it has an Establishment bias. Is that fair? The evidence is actually overwhelming - as we can see here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his war on striking public sector heroes, Rishi Sunak has told us that giving them a pay rise that matches the cost of living would cost £1,000 per household. This is a total lie. Here's this nonsense comprehensively debunked.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ok, so this was an experiment - I let people listening choose what we spoke about. This was a lot of fun!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the new Netflix documentary on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle drops, the media are in overdrive against the couple. But what's the truth? The brilliant Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu talks us through what the show tells us - and how the response of the media damns the industry. Plus: is Prince Harry now a republican?Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Weak doesn't cover it: Rishi Sunak's government is flailing around without any direction. Here we list some of Sunak's u-turns, underlining a weak, unprincipled politician blowing around with the breeze.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It gets worse and worse for the Tories: Rishi Sunak stood up at Prime Minister's Questions to say he was 'shocked' about the Michelle Mone scandal, involving allegations around a massive government contract to a company the Baroness allegedly lobbied for and allegedly profited from. But this scandal goes so much further: it's about how a society in which we are told that plucky entrepreneurs make their own money through their hard graft, while benefit claimants are dependent on the state. But who are the real state dependents we should be worried about?Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Tories want us to blame nurses, paramedics and railway workers for the coming chaos. But these strikes could have been avoided - if the Tories stopped screwing over the people who keep this country running on a daily basis. Here's why the last people we should blame are those forced into a corner - and why it's the Tories who have wrecked Christmas.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a scandal that rocked the monarchy: Lady Susan Hussey - Lady of the Household - subjected Ngozi Fulani - a Black British woman and chief executive of domestic violence charity Sistah Space - to a racist interrogation. In the aftermath of her resignation, much of the media has focused on sympathy for this senior member of the Royal court. This is a travesty. Mandu Reid - leader of the Women's Equality Party - witnessed the whole event, and tells us exactly what happened, why it matters - and what it tells us not just about the monarchy, but about British society in 2022.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keir Starmer won the Labour leadership contest with promises of party unity, a "broad church", and the right of Labour members to select their own candidates. All of these commitments have gone up in smoke - and Starmer's leadership has waged a remorseless war against the left.We speak to former Channel 4 News journalist Michael Crick - who has been following Labour's selections closer than any other journalist - about the shocking revelations he has uncovered; and former Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who has written to Starmer about the internal stitch-ups.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So I get flak from two sides - all part of the job!: from Starmer ultra supporters who are all waaaaa leave our boy alone!!! and lefties baffled at why a socialist could vote for the modern Labour party. So here's my main reasons - and I'd love to know your thoughts so do leave them in the comments!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Tories just suffered their worst defeat in Chester for nearly 200 years - and the polling shows that Rishi Sunak is well and truly sunk. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has made it clear that he's standing for re-election as a Tory MP. Here's why his return as PM isn't actually far fetched - but even plausible.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As our Prime Minister is reduced to defending private schools - a class privilege used only by Britain's elite - and denouncing striking workers - who the public are solidly behind - here's why Sunak is in a catastrophic mess.Help us take on the right-wing media here: https://www.patreon.com/owenjones84Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nigel Farage has responded to the 2021 Census - which shows Christians are a minority and Britain is more diverse - with objective untruths and nonsense. Here we comprehensively debunk the gibberish of him, Douglas Murray and Andrew Pierce.EDIT: Misspoke at 5:25, obviously meant "because white Britons have become a minority", not "non-whites" (doesn't make sense otherwise)Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This scandal is absolutely breathtaking: how vast sums of public money were showered on companies and individuals with Tory connections during the pandemic, often with no background in supplying PPE. Some provided useless PPE - but still made a packet at public expense. Why isn't there more outrage? We're joined by Russell Scott from the Good Law Project to explain clearly and succinctly all the details you need to know.Support the Good Law Project here: https://goodlawproject.org/donate/help us take on the Tory media here: https://www.patreon.com/owenjones84Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Osborne now graces our TV screens as an oh-so-wise pundit, dispensing his informed and learned tidbits about British politics like a detached observer. But no single person is more responsible for the mess this country is in than Osborne: his cruel ideologically-driven austerity agenda whipped up a whirlwind of discontent which helps explain our current plight. This rehabilitation of monsters - and the failure to hold the powerful to account - is why we will keep suffering over and over again.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain is a country which cracks down on the misdemeanours of the poor but facilitates the crimes of the rich. Shoplifting is soaring - but instead of dealing with the causes - mass poverty in a rich country - the government and supermarkets want to go to war with desperate people instead. Here's what that says about Britain in 2022.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to devastating revelations in The Guardian, the Tory peer Michelle Mone is alleged to have lobbied on behalf of a company she reportedly made vast sums of money from - despite previous denials. These allegations need answers, of course - not least from Michael Gove, who told Sky News that he referred the bid to the appropriate civil service channels - but this seems to be contradicted by the evidence. So what is really going on? And what does this say about modern Britain?Read David Conn's latest piece here: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/24/michael-gove-under-pressure-explain-role-ppe-deals-michelle-mone Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the moment where Suella Braverman's cruelty and stupidity was taken apart - and the horror of our asylum system exposed.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The right to an independence referendum is like the right to divorce: you don’t have to support separation to accept it as a right. The Scottish people voted for parties which back a referendum: denying them that right is an attack on democracy itself. I don't support independence - but I do support democracy, and the Scottish people must have their decision respected.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oooof. The RMT's Mick Lynch was in no mood for the Daily Mail's nonsense, responding to their description of him as the 'grinch' by referring to their history of backing the Blackshirts. So now is a good time to remind ourselves of the Daily Mail's record - back then and now, and what purpose they serve in society.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh great news everyone, Keir Starmer has secured the lucrative Nigel Farage endorsement: the former UKIP leader is cheering on Labour for being to the "right of the Tories on immigration". We've got to stop politicians constantly pretending that it's immigration responsible for falling wages - or other problems, like the housing crisis and struggling public services. Here's the real reasons!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the England team to wear the OneLove armband was the most basic act of solidarity possible - given the minor detail of the World Cup being held by a tinpot dictatorship which oppressed LGBTQ+ among others. But when FIFA banned them from even that, the Football Association immediately crumbled, showing how pathetically weak their solidarity really is. There's massive lessons here - and here they are.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeremy Hunt's Autumn Statement made it clear: Britain faces two years of acute social and economic pain. This is the only major country introducing cuts and tax hikes as we head into recession: laying the foundations for a doom loop of falling growth. Has the Tory project finally collapsed? Or will the world's most electorally successful political party find a way to claw back support?Please like, subscribe - and help us take on the right-wing media here: https://www.patreon.com/owenjones84Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's International Men's Day, and I want to talk about homophobia against straight men. No, this isn't a joke: it's deadly serious. Homophobia is the violent border guard of masculinity, there to punish and victimise any man deemed to violate the norms of 'being a man'. So obviously queer men are the principal victims of male homophobia - but it's homophobia against straight men that allows us to understand what this bigotry is, and how maleness is constructed.Here's my Guardian column about it: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/17/homophobia-against-straight-men-lgbtq Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh wow. This Tory MP - Vicky Ford, who represents Chelmsford, unlucky guys! - went on TV to claim Britain had better economic growth than other countries. She could not be more wrong! No European country is set to have such terrible economic growth. Ford offers us a valuable lesson though: about how much of an economic catastrophe Tory rule has represented, and why we should never let them get away with it.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.