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On this episode, Kumars is joined once again by Emily Robinson to discuss Jeremy Corbyn's stunning victory in the recent UK parliamentary elections. Emily is a co-convener of Momentum Edinburgh and she does communications for Scottish Young Labour Socialists and the Democratic Socialists of America. Emily also brings along her friend, Rory Scothorne, the co-author of Roch Winds: A Treacherous Guide to the State of Scotland. He is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh studying the Scottish radical left since the 1960s, is on the committee of Momentum Edinburgh, and is a member of Scottish Labour Young Socialists.
Kumars, Emily and Rory talk about the UK election results, giving an overview of the British parliamentary system and the various parties involved. Emily and Rory talk about how Theresa May's decision to call a snap election in an attempt to consolidate power for her Tory party backfired massively. They discuss how Labour's Jeremy Corbyn was able to capitalize on May's hubris with a radical and positive platform which contrasted dramatically with Tory plans for continued austerity. Emily and Rory explain how Theresa May's plan to form a weak coalition government with the right-wing Protestant fundamentalist Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party could jeopardize the Good Friday Agreement which ended the Northern Ireland Conflict. The gang also discusses how leftists at home and abroad can support Corbyn's project and how we can hold him accountable in the face of a full-frontal assault by the capitalist class.
You can follow Emily on twitter at @See_Em_Play. You can follow Rory on twitter at @shirkerism. Check out Rory's blog here.
If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!
On this episode, Kumars is joined once again by Eric Holthaus, a meteorologist who writes about weather and science for a variety of outlets. He’s also the host of the podcast Warm Regards, where scientists, activists, and journalists join Eric to discuss climate change and what to do about it. Kumars and Eric follow up on their last conversation to see how climate policy is progressing under Trump. Eric discusses the mostly symbolic effect of Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords which obscures the more pernicious climate policies of his administration. Kumars and Eric stay hopeful, pointing to how Trump's climate agenda is galvanizing the opposition in ways previously thought unimaginable.
Next, Kumars is joined by friend-of-the-show Freddy Martinez, a computer security researcher and activist specializing in communications security and police accountability. He is also the director of Lucy Parsons Labs. Kumars and Freddy talk about the recent FBI arrest of Reality Leigh Winner for the leaking of an NSA report on Russian hacking attempts to The Intercept. Freddy details mistakes made by both Winner and The Intercept that led to her arrest, and how this prosecution fits into the war on whistleblowers that began under Obama and now continues under Trump. Freddy gives us some tips on how to mitigate risk when leaking documents to the press.
You can follow Eric on twitter at @EricHolthaus. You can follow Freddy on twitter at @B_Meson.
Helpful links mentioned during the episode:
https://securedrop.org/directory
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/1971/
And make sure to send all of your leaks to:
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/1971/
Please, for the love of god, don't email them to Josh Rogin.