In Solidarity - by openDemocracy
In Solidarity is an openDemocracy podcast about people, power and politics, co-hosted by editors based in London, Abuja and Montevideo. It features guests from around the world and offers independent journalism delivered to your inbox.
Episodes
Trump, Putin and the Betrayal of Ukraine
In this episode Sian Norris speaks with The Guardian’s Luke Harding about his book Betrayal: Putin, Trump and the New Age of Conquest (https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781783353378), covering Harding’s 2007–2011 Moscow posting, FSB harassment and his expulsion while investigating Litvinenko and Putin’s wealth.Luke argues Putin’s worldview is neo-imperial and explains how Western leaders mi
Can Burnham 'Unbreak' Britain?
How do progressive movements defeat the far right without adopting their doom-laden narrative?In this episode of In Solidarity, Aman is joined by fellow openDemocracy investigative journalists Sian Norris and Ethan Shone to break down the recent Labour conference and how it fits into the rapidly changing political landscape in the UK.From repealing Thatcher-era bans on public water owners
Palantir and the art of Tax Avoidance
Governments hand out billions in lucrative contracts to tech corporations to build surveillance systems, track migrants, and process public health data. Yet those same companies use every legal loophole available to avoid paying tax on their profits.In this episode of In Solidarity, openDemocracy editor Aman Sethi and tech reporter Jade-Ruyu Yan sit down with Jason Ward, principal analyst
The Great Venezuelan Oil Steal
Nine months after the US abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a highly unusual oil deal has surfaced. The US claims to have struck an agreement to take control of about a fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves. But this isn't a standard international trade agreement; it’s structured through a Barbados-based private company owned by a controversial businessman, with the US Department o
How the UK Establishment Normalised Reform
Is Reform fascist, far-right or merely right wing? And do we really need to get into this?Our guest on this episode, thinks we should: Daniel Trilling is a journalist, a long-time openDemocracy contributor, and the author of a new Book: If We Tolerate This: How the British Establishment Made the Far Right Respectable.Daniel has spent decades covering the wild west of right-wing politics i
The Climate Wars: How Superpowers Are Carving Up the Earth
The climate crisis is changing the way nations think about food, energy, resources, war and peace. Melting ice caps are opening up new trade routes fought over by the world's great powers, conflicts are waged over food and mineral resources, shifting climates are fuelling migration – and Donald Trump says it's all just a scam.Join Arthur Snell as he discusses his new book Elemental: the n
The AI Panopticon: How Big Tech and the State are Watching You
"My ultimate vision... was to achieve by means of AI and technology, what Jeremy Bentham tried to do with his panopticon." — UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.When the state openly admits it wants its eyes on you at all times, how do citizens fight back?In this episode of In Solidarity, Matthew Linares sits down with Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group. We cut through
Iran, Oil, Inflation, Unrest: The Global Fallout of the US-Israeli War in the Gulf
As the US-Israeli war on Iran continues to escalate, the effects of the conflict are spiralling outwards across a world already whiplashed by cross-border violence, global tariffs, and the unravelling of regional alliances.There is much that we do not know: How will spiking energy prices affect developing economies in Asia and Africa? What are the long term impacts of the destabilisation
The "Danish Model" of Asylum Explained: Cruelty by Design?
Why are British and European politicians obsessed with Denmark's immigration strategy? We uncover the dark reality of the "Danish Model" and how it punishes asylum seekers by design.Politicians across Europe - including the UK government - increasingly point to the so-called "Danish Model" as the ultimate solution for controlling borders, immigration, and asylum. But beyond the political
The Secret Pipeline: How the Far-Right is Radicalising Gen Z
Are anti-rights movements infiltrating high schools? We uncover the deliberate, decades-old strategy the far-right is using to target young people, weaponise their insecurities, and build a pipeline of extremist power.In this episode of In Solidarity, openDemocracy’s Senior Investigations Reporter Sian Norris sits down with Jamie Vernaelde, Senior Researcher at Ipas. They dive deep into a
Gaza's Illusionary Ceasefire
Over 71,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the war began on Oct 7 2023, in what a UN inquiry has described as a “genocide”. When a US-brokered ceasefire was declared in October last year, the world's attention moved on to the next crisis. Since then at least 463 Palestinians had been killed by Israel as of Jan 21 this year, of whom 100 were children, according to the UN Re
After Maduro: Storm Warnings in Venezuela
If the US once claimed it was “defending Democracy” to justify attacking countries without pretext, the current administration has made no such excuses. Last week US security forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife from a compound in Caracas in an operation that killed 70 people.Maduro was presented in a courtroom in Manhattan, on charges of supposedly “importing
Democracy from the ashes: Inside the Your Party conference
Waring factions have dominated the headlines, but inside the Your Party conference the embers of hope for a different kind of politics were still burning. Investigative reporter Ethan Shone tells what the mood was like among the party members following months of public spats and PR disasters. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/newsletters/In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about peopl
End Times: What Post-Socialist Societies Teach Us About Today
We’ve normalised the idea that the world is ending, that society is tearing itself apart, that our countries — wherever we live — are falling apart. But what does that really look like? What does it feel like? What emerges in the aftermath?In this episode host Aman Sethi speaks to Renata Salecl, a Slovenian philosopher, sociologist and political theorist to decode how the experiences of
Abortion decriminalisation now
Earlier this year, Labour overwhelmingly voted in favour of an amendment that would end the criminalisation of women and pregnant people seeking abortions outside the 1967 Abortion Act exemptions. As the debate went through the Lords, we sat down with MSI Reproductive Choices’ Louise McCudden to discuss why we need decriminalisation now - and what this win means amid a global backlash aga
Labour puts capital over consumers
What can we learn about the future of consumer rights from the merger between Microsoft and Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard?When Labour came into power in 2024, they accused regulators like Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of inhibiting growth and appointed influential figures from the business world into key positions and advisory roles. This includes a former Amazon bo
Now that we have to say 'genocide'
Did Western media manufacture consent for Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza?In the last two years since Hamas' attack on Israel, and the latter's bombardment of the territories of Palestine it partially occupies, mainstream media particularly in the U.S. and Europe have broken their own rules of fairness, accuracy, conflict of interest, objectivity and so-called "neutralit
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal: Is This A South Asia Spring?
In early September, Nepal witnessed massive protests under the banner of GenZ protests to demonstrate against what they viewed as a hopelessly corrupt and sclerotic regime. The immediate trigger was a government ban on social media apps, but as the protestors themselves have made clear – their grievances run much deeper. The protests in Nepal bear parallels to similar uprisings in Sri Lan
Worse Than Trump: India is Deporting Its Own People
The world is rightly horrified by how US President Trump is deporting people, including minors, without due process. Something similar is underway in India, but worse and under the radar. Even since the border skirmishes between India and Pakistan this year, Indian authorities have been rounding up Muslim citizens and deporting them on the spurious grounds that they either Pakistani or Ba
What has Labour done for women?
As Labour marked a year in government, Fawcett Society's Penny East asks: what has Labour done for women? And what needs to happen next? —https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/newsletters/In Solidarity is openDemocracy’s podcast about people, power, and politics. Support the show by visiting https://www.openDemocracy.net/donate/Credits:Presented by Sian NorrisEdited and produced by James Batte
Planet Patriarchy
Patriarchy refuses to die. In every country of the world, women are oppressed by male violence, patriarchal religions, and ideas of the family. But women are resisting, as Rahila Gupta explains, in a fascinating analysis that takes us from Riyadh and Russia, to Rojava. Buy Planet Patriarchy: Global Tales of Feminism and Oppression: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781805262879—https://www.
The tech start-up targeting sexual assault survivors
Content warning: This episode discusses sexual assault, rape and trauma.When our investigative reporter Sian Norris heard worrying claims about a Silicon Valley-style start-up targeting rape survivors at universities in Bristol, she knew she needed to uncover what exactly was going on.Over the next six months, Sian interviewed more than a dozen people on and off the record, sent multiple
Who is funding Nigel Farage’s Reform party - and why?
This is the first episode of our new mini-series exploring the financial interests of political parties in England and Wales. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has banked almost £5m from wealthy donors since 2023, including those with links to fossil fuels, the financial services industry and tax havens. It has also received significant financial investment from the general public in the form of p
A momentous day for reproductive rights
On 17 June 2025 UK Parliament voted to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, reversing a Victorian-era law. The amendment will prevent women from being prosecuted for ending a pregnancy after 24 weeks or without approval from two doctors.We spoke to our senior investigative reporter Sian Norris, author of Bodies Under Siege: How the Far-Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Glob
Locked up: protesters in prison
Earlier this year, openDemocracy explored how successive governments had cracked down on protest rights. Now, with Just Stop Oil activists facing lengthy sentences for "conspiring" to commit protest offences, the impact of these laws is being felt more than ever. We sat down with human rights lawyer Katy Watts to discuss the sentencing, and how she and the NGO Liberty won a legal challeng
Generation Crisis: Why generational labels miss the mark
Boomers ruined everything, Millennials are work-shy and Gen Z can’t comprehend anything that isn’t a TikTok dance. Generational language defines the way we think about broad cohorts of society, but is this way of viewing the world dividing us further at a time when solidarity has never been more important?Tom Nicholas, a writer, filmmaker and YouTuber, joins us to discuss his latest film
How Protest Became a Crime in the UK: "We’re All Arrestables Now"
This week on In Solidarity, we're in discussion with openDemocracy's senior investigative reporter and feminist activist, Sian Norris. Sian joins us on the podcast to reveal how recent laws are quietly dismantling the right to protest in the UK.Drawing on six months of in-depth reporting, Sian breaks down the true impact of the Public Order Act 2023 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and C
Women, life, freedom: resistance and protest in Iran
As a young woman in 1980s Iran, Nasrin Parvaz was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the Iranian regime. In this moving interview, she shares her experience of torture and incarceration, reflects on the successive women's revolutions in Iran, questions the West's ideas of regime change, and offers a powerful call for global sisterhood.http://www.nasrinparvaz.org/web/tag/https-www-victor
Companies are making billions from anti-immigration fears
For many years, politicians have sold the public a simple story: The answer to undocumented immigration is a strong, fortified border. This story has a seductive, common-sense reasoning — but it is also wrong. Decades of research has shown that people determined to move, find a way to move. And when States respond with border controls, people turn to smugglers to circumvent these controls
Why organising locally matters
Community organisers around the world have long argued that to change a country, canvas a community. But is that really true? In this episode, we catch up with someone who literally wrote the book on the subject. Our guest George Goehl started organising in a soup kitchen in Southern Indiana 30 years ago in the Clinton era and continues to do so in the time of Trump. Listen in to understa
Palestine, Musk and BRICS: the issues dividing US and South Africa
The already fraught relationship between the United States and South Africa has been put under even more strain with Donald Trump's decision to cut foreign aid, not to mention South Africa's case against Israel at the ICJ.Menzi Ndhlovu, a political economist and risk analyst at Signal Risk a risk analysis consultancy focused on Africa, joins us to discuss this critical moment for South Af
Populism's Silver Lining
Danny Sriskandarajah is the author of Power to the People: Use your voice, change the worldSriskandarajah discusses the shift from a positive phase of civic engagement to a reversal over the past decade, emphasising the importance of community networks beyond state and market fixations. He highlights the role of civil society in nurturing democracy and the need for international solidarit
Escaping The Alt-Right Pipeline
Jimmy The Giant is a popular YouTuber who did what many would consider to be beyond the pale - he changed his mind about politics. Jimmy went from heading down the right wing pipeline of self improvement gurus to U-turning and becoming, dare we say, ‘woke’. In today’s episode Aman Sethi talks to Jimmy about how and why he changed his mind about the political landscape and together they ex
Migration, AI and The Rise of the Machines
Borders patrolled by AI-powered robotic dogs once seemed like something purely in the realm of dystopian sci-fi novels. But the border industrial complex is working hard to make them a part of our (still dystopian) reality. Petra Molnar, author of The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, joins us to discuss the militarization of border technologies,
What Germany's Rightwing Voters Are Telling Us
Something strange is happening in Germany. Last year, the Alternative for Germany or AFD, as it scored, became the first far right party to win a state election in Germany since World War Two. Then in February this year, the AfD came second in Germany's national elections, with 20% of the votes.The AFD isn't just another populist right wing party. Members of the party have consistently do
Ukraine and the return of Empire
What do the Ukrainians at the heart of the conflict with Russia feel about being used as a bargaining chip by countries like the United States? In this episode we speak to Volydomyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, academic, and editor of Ukraine World. Volydomyr lives in Kyiv and is also the host of the Explaining Ukraine podcast.—Get our independent journalism delivered direct to yo
What's actually behind the Far Right's anti-women agenda?
The rising global far right is violent, racist and misogynistic – and depends on exploiting women. While many of us associate attacks on women’s bodily autonomy with ultra-religious groups, openDemocracy’s Sian Norris argues that the stripping away of abortion rights is a political issue, rooted in fascistic ideas about women and men. Her book, Bodies Under Siege: How the Far-Right Attack
Misdiagnosing Donald: Trumpism is Religion not Politics
Have we all been looking at Donald Trump’s success in the wrong way? Jeff Sharlet, journalist and author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, makes a compelling case for examining his rise not as a political figure, but as a religious one. After all, Trump himself would surely be the first to suggest that he is divine.Do the president’s most ardent supporters truly believe that
Syria’s future lies in its past
Since al-Assad’s regime fell from power in December 2024, much of the reporting on Syria has focussed on geopolitics in the region. More concern has been paid to the reactions of neighbouring nations than the ordinary Syrians whose lives have been uprooted by years of violence. But Syria is so much more than a strategic stronghold to be fought over by nations in the Global North. We spoke
Trump 2.0: Is This the Inauguration of A New Era of the Strongman?
Trump 2.0: Is This the Inauguration of A New Era of the Strongman?Professor Wendy Brown is an American political theorist, UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and an author. Professor Brown’s bibliography includes what we refer to as ‘the Trump trilogy' - three books that span the political career of President Donald Tr
