PTO is joined by the Palestinian writer and analyst Muhammad Shehada. In our conversation we talked about the humanitarian situation in Gaza after fifteen months of war and genocide. We also talked about the military capabilities of Hamas and why Israel was unable to inflict a total defeat on the group. We dicussed how the Trump administration will relate to Israel, and finally Mohammad shared his thoughts on the effects of the international solidarity movement during the genocide. Our conversation was recorded before the ceasefire negotiations accelerated, but plenty of the discussion remains relevant to the current situation.

Will Davies joins PTO to talk about his recent article in the London Review of Books on the UK government's economic agenda. We discussed the policies that Labour has adopted in its attempt to break out of the low growth and low productivity rates that have characterised the UK economy in recent years. We also chatted about the extent to which the Starmer-Reeves project emulates and diverges from the Biden administration's economic policies, and the left de-risking critique of so-called 'modern supply side economics'.

If you would like to listen to this episode of PTO Extra please consider becoming a £5 patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/poltheoryother In today’s episode Richard Seymour responds to listener questions on the overthrow of Assad in Syria, the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the significance of widespread public sympathy for Luigi Mangione. We also talked about “normie socialism”, a Soviet counterfactual, and what books Richard has been reading this year. As always, thanks to everyone who sent in a question and for your continued support.

If you would like to listen to this episode of PTO Extra please consider becoming a £5 patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/poltheoryother In today’s episode Richard Seymour responds to listener questions on the overthrow of Assad in Syria, the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the significance of widespread public sympathy for Luigi Mangione. We also talked about “normie socialism”, a Soviet counterfactual, and what books Richard has been reading this year. As always, thanks to everyone who sent in a question and for your continued support.

To get access to episodes of PTO Extra please consider becoming a £5 supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/poltheoryother In this second part of a two-part episode Richard Seymour responds to more of the questions sent in by listeners on the US presidential election and its ramifications. We also talked briefly about the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. As always thank you so much for your support and to everyone who sent in questions!

To get access to episodes of PTO Extra please consider becoming a £5 supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/poltheoryother In part one of a two part episode Richard Seymour responds to some of the excellent questions sent in by listeners on the US presidential election and its ramifications. Richard answered questions on the role of social media in the election, the nomination of RFK Jr. to the position of secretary of health and human services, the racial dynamics of Donald Trump's voter coalition, and what to expect from the new administration amongst other topics.

Today we're publishing a crossover episode with our friends at the Macrodose podcast, hosted by James Meadway. In the episode talk about the economics of Donald Trump's election victory and why James lays much of the blame for Kamala Harris' defeat at the door of mainstream economics. We also talked about why Donald Trump did so well amongst young white men, and about what role the Democrats' enabling of the Gaza genocide had in the election results. You can get more excellent economic analysis from James at the Macrodose podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/Macrodose

Adam Tooze returns to PTO to discuss the extent to which war with China is increasingly being treated as a serious prospect in Washington and the Pentagon. We also talked about how successful, or otherwise, the Biden administration has been in constructing regional alliances against China during the last four years. And we went on to talk about why the Chinese Communist Party leadership's decisions over climate policy dwarf the US presidential election in significance. Finally, we discussed the economic slowdown in the country and Adam explained why he disagrees with analysts who see China's economic problems as primarily a consequence of increasing authoritarianism.

In today's episode Richard Seymour responds to more of the great questions sent in by PTO supporters. Those questions covered topics including degrowth, the extent to which Green party's can be vehicles for radical change, the left's impasse in the UK and Richard's appearance in the audience on BBC Question Time at the tender age of twenty-one. Become a £5 supporter of PTO on patreon to get access to this and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/c/poltheoryother

As Israel's genocide in Gaza escalated in the autumn of last year, there was much speculation as to whether we would see mass uprisings in the Arab States of the region. Yet although there have been major Palestine protests in the region, and other acts of solidarity, we have not seen the kinds of uprisings that many hoped for. Nihal El Aasar takes up this question and argues that repression and the threat of violence alone cannot be the sole explanation for the relative lack of public tumult. In our conversation we talked about the Arab Spring, the kind of political subject it brought into being, and the profound effects of the counterrevolution that destroyed the hopes that so many had invested in the Arab Spring. We also talked about how the demoralisation of the Arab publics of the region is critical to the regime of capital accumulation in the Middle East - and Israel's central role in that process.

On the 27th of September Israel dramatically escalated its war on Hezbollah, by assassinating its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. Four days later Iran responded to the killing of its long-standing ally by launching a missile attack on Israel - targeting military and intelligence facilities. In today's episode Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Nathaniel George join PTO to talk about whether the killing of Nasrallah - and the wider leadership - represents an existential threat to Hezbollah, and about the group's prospects in combating Israel's ground invasion. We also talked about the effectiveness of Iran's missile strikes and the degree to which Iran has been able to restore any measure of deterrence. We also touched on the dire humanitarian situation in Lebanon, which comes on top of years of grinding economic and political crisis. Finally, we discussed the position of the United States and the apparent appetite in Washington for settling accounts with the America's regional adversaries.