Tag: politics
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Idea-ology: Neo-liberalism, where it started (part 3)
Over the past 40 years, neoliberalism has demolished trade unions and stripped away financial restrictions which has led to more wealth for people with money and a stagnation in wages for the rest of us. President Reagan imposed this in the USA and Thatcher did so in the UK. In later years, neoliberalism repurposed the […]
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Idea-ology: Doctrine for the Masses (Part 2)
Neo-liberals believe that the free market is the best way to organise society. They claim that the government should be just an administrator, not a supervisor or a player in the market, even to the point that private companies should provide services such as hospitals, schools and prisons. This is a common misconception, or a […]
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EPISDOE 40: The Future of Unidas Podemos
Sorry this episode is a bit late but I have covid! Recorded two weeks ago, Nerea Fernández Cordero, Co-coordinadora at IU Exterior (Izquierda Unida), and political journalist Eoghan Gilmartin join me to discuss the coalition party called Unidas Podemos. We talk about how it came to be and where it goes from here that their […]
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Back in Lockdown: Interviews with Sara Soto and Simon Hunter
Madrid has been placed in (partial) lockdown once again. In this episode I explore how this come about in two very different interviews. Firstly, I speak with Sara Soto, Secretary of the Young Socialists of Vallecas. Here we talk about the response to lockdown on the 18th September and the effects it has had over […]
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Pandemic Politics: an Interview with Eoghan Gilmartin
This week Eoghan Gilmartin joins me. As a political journalist based in Madrid, he has been covering the stories as they have unfolded. Here we talk about the more immediate stories of the day, such as the management of the virus in Madrid and the future for Spanish politics. Later, we then explore how this […]
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The New Democratic Memory Law: a Discussion with Tom Wardle
In 2007, the Spanish government passed the historical memory law to address issues from the country’s past. Since then the law has been starved of funding and criticised as not going far enough regarding victims’ rights. The new coalition government has put forward a new law named the Democratic Memory. This law will look at exhumations of mass graves, education, prosecutions, the removal of honors and medals that go against democracy and the Valley of the Fallen. Tom Wardle joined me to discuss the proposals.
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Diada, The National Day of Catalonia: an Interview with Alícia Hernàndez Grande
In this special edition of Sobremesa, I interview researcher and Phd candidate Alícia Hernàndez Grande. Here she explains the history behind the independence movement, and Diada, the national day of Catalonia. She also shares her observations from the 2017 referendum and where the Catalan identity comes from.
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Regional Identity and the EU: an Interview with Professor Sandie Holguin (Part 2)
In this episode I interview Professor Sandie Holguin about the regional identities in Spain and how they interact with the national identity. We also discuss the EU and how it forms a part of the political scene in Spanish politics today.
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Where is Juan Carlos?
Where is Juan Carlos? This is the question on everybody’s lips. In this episode I talk to Spanish Historian Tom Wardle about Juan Carlos the first and his role in the Spanish Transition. I also look at some previous referendums that have been held in Spain, and what the current state of affairs might mean […]
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Covid, the King and I
No Confidence motions, jealous partners and a naughty King. Welcome to Sobremesa!
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Covid Comeback
Cases are up but so is testing, and each region is doing its own thing with track and trace, some better than others. Taking a look at the whole picture is worth it to get an idea of where the country stands, but treating it as one big problem is probably not the answer. What do you think the government will do next?
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The EU Flashes the Cash
In this episode I look at how the historic deal came to be and how it might affect the politics in Spain. I also talk about the junior doctors strike and Fernando Simon going surfing? #Sobremesa
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Who is Fernando Simón?
This week, I put out a tweet asking if would people be interested in this sort podcast? And someone said yes, but just don’t make another podcast. So, what I’d like people to do is tweet on the hashtag #SOBREMESA and then I will read out the tweets next week. I think someone that hasn’t […]
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Ending the State Alarm and the Return of the Tourist
With the State of Alarm ending and tourists returning to Spain, there seems to be a feeling of worry in the air for some, and for others not so much. How do you feel?
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Spanish Populism in a time of Crisis
Both Vox and Podemos continue to attack each other whilst the rest of Spain try to get on with life
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The Spanish Government Hold on as the Political Landscape Shifts Post- Coronavirus
Protests and political dramas are a sign of what is to come for Spain post-Covid 19
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When the Posh came to Protest
The latest spectacles to replace an everlasting stream chat shows on Spanish television are protests. These protests are taking place in one of Europe’s richest neighbourhoods. The Salamanca district in the centre of Madrid. Throughout the week various numbers of Spaniards have taken to the neighbourhood’s streets during the allotted exercise time, but they have […]
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Systemic Societal Change, Not Self-Care, Will Fix Our Nation’s Mental Health Crisis
Ending austerity, individualistic thinking and unstable employment must be the first steps to addressing the ever-growing epidemic of mental health.
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Coronavirus: A Test For Europe
The European Union will not survive coronavirus unless it evolves. To do that it must break its own rules
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Labour needs People on TV, not Political Pundits
I love Novara Media and leftie take downs of Tories on the BBC. But it is not connecting with people, only the fanboys. My opinion on why we need people not pundits.
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Fuck Brexit. Save the NHS
Vote to save the NHS. Fuck Brexit. Brexit is a fantasy. It is not real, not yet. Our NHS however it is real and dying.
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Spanish Elections 2019: How did it come to this?
Spanish Elections 2019: How did it come to this? The campaigns finished on Friday and this will give people their traditional day of reflection, before they make their decision on the Sunday in Spain’s most divided election in years.
Alan McGuire 