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What's Left? With Jovan + Freddie

What's Left? With Jovan + Freddie

by What's Left? With Jovan + Freddie

Politics Society & Culture

Season 2

Will The AI Bubble Burst - AI Minister Kanishka Narayan MP

We're delighted to be joined by the Rt Hon Kanishka Narayan MP. In our first episode from Labour Conference 2026, we discuss the backlash to AI doomsday warnings, the fragility of the AI economy and how this tech will be used - to the benefit or detriment of workers. As listeners will know, we've approached AI with a healthy dose of scepticism. Technology is itself neutral but the politics emerges in its application. We have plenty examples in history of how industrial revolutions disempowered workers before inevitable backlash and revolution. Do we need to wait for things to get bad? Or does the UK have a serious plan for a future that harnesses the white heat of technology? We delve into all of this and more, asking how the UK is preparing for the moral mission of worker-centric AI.

Should The Left Talk About Birthrates - Stephen J Shaw

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft **** Demographer Stephen J Shaw's research on global birthrates has become a cause célèbre of the radical right. Since publishing his data on delaying parenthood as the cause for "unplanned childlessness", Stephen has been welcomed to the upper echelons of Right-wing discourse - with the likes of Jordan Peterson and appearances at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. Undoubtedly, these are places that don't share our politics. So why have we hosted Stephen? Well, because Stephen's research and his methodologies have been peer reviewed. His data, as much as we might find it uncomfortable, is real. And if the Left doesn't have an analysis for the effects of global birthrate decline, then the Right certainly will. In this discussion, we explore Stephen's findings and why there has been cross-cultural delaying of parenthood. In particular we question why population decline would be harmful, how attitudes toward parenthood have changed and why the Right have co-opted this issue as their own. Is there a case for a left-natalism, drawing on the innovations and heritage of social democracy? Chapters 00:00 Intro 05:43 Are Birthrates "Collapsing"? 13:03 Population Apocalypse? 16:05 Is Immigration a Fix? 22:00 The 'Replacement' Debate 26:03 Why The Left are Suspicious of Stephen 31:51 The Challenge of Ecological Collapse 37:42 Freddie and Jovan's Theory of Birthrate Decline 45:30 The Vitality Curve 51:24 Is 'Unplanned Childlessness' a Fair Term? 58:25 Can Delayed Parenthood be Reversed? 1:05:21 Is 'Hypergamy' Real? 1:11:20 The Loneliness Epidemic 1:15:02 Do Freddie and Jovan Want Kids 1:21:33 Have Romantic Relationships Changed? 1:25:50 Why Religious Fundamentalists Are Pro-Natalist 1:29:36 Is There A Case for Left-Natalism? 1:36:02 How Do AI and Demographics Affect Labour and Capital? 1:40:00 Should People Move To Africa? 1:45:18 How Can We Talk About Birthrates Maturely?

Don't Worry About AI Apocalypse - Cory Doctorow

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft Meet Schrödinger’s AI apocalypse - it is / isn’t happening. Cory Doctorow is the final boss of AI criticism. His sophisticated understanding of computer science paired with science fiction writing talents means he gets a good story about the future. AI companies have been spending billions. Much of it has been in data centre buildout that is filtering out into the US economy though at a ~2% growth rote. But the rest has been in marketing budgets, selling us an ideological story about how AI will take on all the menial tasks we don’t want to do. We don’t have our heads in the sand. There have been some monumental breakthroughs in computing power that is solving millennial maths problems, creating hyper-targeting weaponry and surveillance, advancing exotic isotope development for cures for cancer. It is enhancing what some, who use the software proficiently, are able to achieve. Yet AI is not infallible. AI will not inevitably replace human labour. Like every political tradeoff, it is a choice. Something has changed in recent days. En masse, the major AI players of Sam Altman, Dario Amodei and Elon Musk have agreed to a slowdown in AI buildout. Why? Because, they say, too many AI safety researchers are raising alarm bells of a mass extinction possibility from this tech. So is it time to hit panic stations? Cory Doctorow is not convinced. All the most threatening things tech is capable of: shutting down economies, ransomware cyber attacks, monopoly rent extraction, are risks we are already living with. If you’re worrying about the future, you should be worried about today. 00:00 Intro 07:09 Is the AI Apocalypse Happening? 12:30 Is The Crita-Hype View Cynical? 19:28 Stock Valuations from Storytelling 27:40 Can AI Replace Labour? 35:30 Who Wins From Automation Adoption? 43:52 Slowdown in Buildout and the AI Bubble 50:50 Digital Sovereignty Is Not About AI 59:05 A Post-American Internet 1:08:01 Can the Left Get Serious? 1:13:01 Are the Elites Divided?

Exposing The Slopulist-Right Money Machine - Decoding The Gurus

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft **** If you want a counter-counter-culture take based on FACTS and LOGIC, look no further than the Decoding the Gurus podcast. Who said there is nothing sexy about being sceptical about scepticism, defending institutional arguments or stress-testing scientific methodologies? Matthew Brown and Chris Kavanagh have been dissecting the internet’s favourite gurus for over 5 years - debunking conspiracies and critically evaluating the totalising philosophies of these alternative media sensations. It certainly seems that there are more gurus today than ever before. The internet and in particular video-based media is servicing a special kind of cult-like business, enabling mass dissemination and pseudo-community. So why is it that there are more right-wing gurus than left-wing ones? What do the politics of online gurus tell us about wider society? Is there a grievance-mongering machine that is pointing people away from organised religion to a digital silo where they must pay for a worldview? We answer all of this and so much more! Chapters 00:00 Introduction 04:20 Are There More Gurus Than Ever? 10:01 The Relation Between Gurus, Science and Modernity 20:21 Is Grievance Culture Driving Gurufication? 26:02 How Does Economic Crisis Explain The Growing Market of Gurus. 30:30 Don’t Trust Faux Centrists 36:12 Does the Traditional Political Spectrum Exist Anymore? 42:10 The Alt-Right Political Content Industry 47:25 What Psychological Needs Are Met By Ideology? 51:15 Why Are There Fewer Left-Wing Gurus? 56:02 Is Gary Stevenson a Guru? 1:09:55 Have We Become Addicted to Frictionless Capitalism? 1:13:55 How Betting Has Got Out of Hand 1:20:11 Do We Need To Suffer More for Social Cohesion?

Will Andrew Tate Face Justice in the UK? - Matt Shea

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content MAKE A DONATION: https://buymeacoffee.com/wtfisleft **** Friend of the show, Matt Shea, returns for an update on the Andrew Tate case and a meaty analysis of Looksmaxxing CEO Clavicular. Are young boys really looking up to these jokemen? Has the media misunderstood the manosphere as a moral panic? Or does it reveal something deeper about the gender wars and who is funding them? Matt is your most hated grifter's worst enemy. An ex-VICE documentarian, Shea has investigated some of the most notorious stories. It led him to making a series of docs on Andrew Tate, where he spent intimate time with the Tate brothers and their 'War Room' in Romania. Shea now co-hosts the BBC's new podcast 'Top Comment' which looks at disinformation and online subcultures. It's worth a listen if you've exhausted all your WL episodes while poolside chilling this summer x Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:54 Louis Theroux’s Manosphere Documentary 07:48 Manosphere Ideology 10:15 Truth About Looksmaxxing 17:35 What’s Wrong with Clavicular? 24:06 The Online Freak Show Circus 27:10 Ceuta Crisis and Foreign Interference 34:25 The Right Wing Amplification Network 37:45 Tate’s Links to Russia 41:10 Andrew Tate’s Lunatic Lawyer 47:41 Latest Updates in The Criminal Investigation 54:01 It’s a Cult 1:01:56 Deep-seated Male Insecurities 1:05:08 What Is Positive Masculinity? 1:12:45 Changing the Culture

The Anti-Tech Revolution is Coming - Beeban Kidron

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content **** Baroness Kidron completed Hollywood. She could be living the high life. Instead she's outchea trying to take down the latest Frankenstein of Capitalism: Big Tech. Beeban is a crossbench peer in the House of Lords and has dedicated the latter stage of her career to keeping children safe online. It's somehow a contentious topic. Are children safe on the internet? Or has our generation been exposed to irreparable harms? We discuss all this and more: what does AI sovereignty look like? How has Britain been captured by American corporate interests? What can we do to fight back? Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:15 Growing Up With Socials 07:20 Gen-Z, The Anxious Generation? 13:08 Does Big Tech Own Us? 17:03 Corporate America's Capture of Westminster 22:00 How the Tech Broligarchy Took Over 26:35 AI Sovereignty 32:05 What Could Spark the Anti-Big-Tech Revolution 39:15 The UK's AI Security Institute 43:23 Temporarily Embarassed Millionaires 48:14 Destruction of Real Life Communities 52:15 Britain's Dependency On US Tech 56:45 Gen-Z and Unemployment 1:03:01 Left-Wing Patriotism and National Service

Is Restore Ethno Nationalist? - Peter McCormack, Hassan Damluji

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content **** FIRST EVER RESTORE SUPPORTER IN THE HOT SEAT. WHATS LEFT, WHATS RIGHT, WHAT COULD GO WRONG? INFLATION, MONETARY POLICY, CRYPTO, IMMIGRATION, CULTURE, DEMOCRACY, DEPORTATIONS, BILLIONAIRES, TAXES, LIBERTARIANISM, ECONOMIC GROWTH... WE COVER IT ALL. CONSIDERED PUTTING IT BEHIND A PAYWALL... NAHHHH. But please please please consider donating to our show either via substack or by https://studio.buymeacoffee.com/dashboard . We need donations to keep our ting going. Big ups to Peter McCormack for joining us for an open and wide ranging discussion on why he'd vote for Restore! Peter is one of Restore's biggest supporters, with a podcast sporting over 400k subscribers talking about crypto, economics and the right-wing side of the culture wars. While we might disagree on much, we are very grateful for giving us his time with his contribution to this episode! Great to also see Hassan Damluji (WL #6) return to the stu for his second outing. If you liked Hassan's bars, he'll be returning soon with a show of his own. You can find out more about the work of his think tank, Global Nation by dropping him a follow @hassandamluji on all socials. Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:45 Peter's Background 07:42 Hassan's Background 12:56 Monetary Policy and Inflation 20:54 Is Inflation Always Bad? 26:45 Democracy and Short-Termism 30:42 Restore and Deportations 38:32 Does Peter Have More Free Speech than Hassan 44:30 Why People Want To Deport All Muslims 49:36 Do Different Religions Mix? 57:42 Why Has Immigration Failed? 1:04:30 Hard Trade-Offs of Government 1:10:01 Billionaires, Relative Inequality and Minimum Wage 1:19:09 Can The Government Fix The Country? 1:29:02 Real Austerity, Debt and Balancing the Books 1:36:34 Wealth Taxes vs. Spend? 1:44:13 What We've Found In Common... 1:48:18 University Education

Independent Journalism Or Harassing Politicians? - Jack Roworth

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content **** This one is gonna set the cat amongst the pigeons. In the spirit of openness and fair hearings, we've decided to bring Jack Roworth on the show. Jack is a controversial online figure - a young man (the youngest to ever grace the stu at 19 years old) - who has been documenting his life on social media. From messy sesh content to dangerous japes abroad, Jack broadcasted his antics as he was spiralling down alcohol and cocaine addiction. He became a mainstay of the cursed TikTok algorithmic circus, feeding viewers viral drips often under the influence. He is not the first, nor will he be the last, of this zany and alarming content. Jack left school at 14, flunked his GCSEs and has since been raising himself amidst the hedonic pulls of adult society. For a period he was a NEET, (not in education, employment or training). But about a year ago, Jack decided to get sober. Concentrating his entrepreneurial spirit into journalism, he's now on a clip farming journey around Westminster and beyond. Jack's recent doorstepping of Reform's Richard Tice and Robert Jenrick, his local MP in Newark, has been the subject of criticism on the Right. The Telegraph's Camilla Tominey called Jack and other 'faux journalists' out for harassing politicians. Jack's defence is that he is asking questions in the public interest. With the context of the brutal murder of Ann Widdecombe, you can understand the heightened concerns around MPs safety. Widdecombe is the third MP to be murdered in a decade. Does this new style of independent journalism amount to genuine scrutiny? Or is it simply a new vehicle for virality, used to intimidate those in public office to push a certain agenda? Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:09 Ann Widdecombe and Political Violence 07:07 Journalism or Harassment? 16:13 Ethics of Platforming Jack 19:53 Public Interest Journalist 26:30 Growing Up and Going Viral 31:45 Jack's Education and Community 38:04 Jack's Cocaine + Alcohol Addiction 45:51 How Did Jack Become Political? 50:15 Planning Jack's Career 55:50 Friends Who Went Down the Wrong Path 1:02:01 Do Reform Understand the White Working Class 1:05:10 Jack's Next Steps

Burnham's Plan to Beat Farage - TUC Chief Paul Nowak

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft WE NEED YOUR (FINANCIAL) SUPPORT TO KEEP GOING! **** Babe wake up, new PM just dropped! Since we launched this podcast, politics has been lurching from crisis to crisis. Yet again, Britain has a new leader. Our 5th in 4 years, our 7th in a decade. It can’t go on like this, surely?! This week we have a special episode with Paul Nowak, the General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress, the national umbrella organisation for trade unions in England and Wales, representing nearly 6 million workers. Founded in the 19th century, The TUC has a storied history. Agitating for greater rights and protections for workers, Trade Unions have guaranteed the weekend, sick pay and holidays. As the relation between capital and labour is rewritten by new tech, we forget our Union heritage at our own peril. Collective bargaining has been at the core of progressive change. Without it, we are at the mercy of vested interests. For many historians, Margaret Thatcher won a decisive victory over agitating Unions. Union memberships drop from over 50% to 22% today. But now, memberships are rising again as workers realise the threat ahead. Oligarchy has returned. Tech is taking jobs. And democracy itself appears to be on the line. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:00 Union Members For Farage 06:05 Burnham’s Change Agenda 11:01 Getting Britain Building Again 17:36 Can Burnham Take On Vested Interests? 23:42 Employment Rights vs. Farage’s Crypto Interests 29:05 Populist Right Hypocrisy 36:30 Ending Neoliberalism 42:03 Fixing the Unproductive State 48:52 Can the Union Movement be Reactionary? 53:37 Left-Wing Talent Pipeline 59:54 Trades vs. Universities 1:05:34 Reindustrialising Britain 1:13:16 Lifelong Educational Reform 1:20:20 Can The State Afford Radicalism? 1:25:10 Youth Unemployment and Mental Health

What Brexiteers Don't Want You To Know - Tom McTague

JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content **** Are we more American than European? Has the UK's future been fatalistically forged? New Statesmen Editor and Brexit Historian Tom McTague offers an account of the real trade offs faced by the British establishment. Too often, politics resorts to a conclusion of managed decline. A despondent shrug. Are we suffering from learned helplessness? A belief that it’s now too hard to create the change our society is yearning for? History does not work like that. A radical contingency of events might present as inevitability. But in McTague’s chronicle of Britain’s topsy-turvy relationship with the Europe and its Union, one thing stands out: it is never over. So perhaps the Pro-European Left needs to channel their inner Declan Rice (“It’s not done!”). Maybe it isn’t - maybe the dream of Britain as an integral player in the EU need not be abandoned. But if that is to be the unwritten Post-Brexit story, the #FBPE brigade need to get real. Why did Britain choose to leave? One answer is to lament the brainwashing of the right-wing press, the outsized influence of Cambridge Analytica and the weather on the day (it was raining for both teams, Ty!). But another answer, one that cuts deeper, would argue that this is a profound civilisational question. One that must arrest the hard realities of geopolitical competition, like a British moth to an American flame. In the end, it is about money and it is about power. How much hard power should Britain give up to be able to choose its own destiny? Is it even possible to decouple from the American empire? What control is really open for us to wrest back, after all? Some of these questions we attempt to answer. But the diagnosis is clear: if we want to keep the welfare state, things are going to have to change. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:11 Is Farage Closer to Power or Failure? 08:37 Unpredictability of the Next Election 14:28 Where’s the Left’s Dominic Cummings? 18:18 Why the Starmer’s Project Failed 23:32 Reindustrialisation and the AI Revolution 28:42 Tech Regulation and British Sovereignty 35:05 The Populist Right’s Civilisational Project 40:01 Restoring the Left’s Radical Tradition 44:35 A Federal Europe or an Imperial America? 51:32 Can Middle Powers Create an Alliance? 58:82 Britain’s Post-Brexit Ambitions 1:03:19 A Left-Mythology on English Identity 1:10:58 Enoch Powell’s Impact on The Modern Right 1:14:00 A Future For European Integration?

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