What Is Left?: Recent Episodes
Simon Brewis
‘What Is Left?’ is a Podcast for progressive people. Episodes will unpick ideas that are practically useful to being on the Left in accessible language.
The Podcast is created and hosted by Simon Brewis (He/Him). His politics are Social Democratic & Intersectional, and he studies Critical and Cultural Theory. He is in the Labour Party, and friendly with Lefties who are not. He also makes Theatre. He lives in Leeds, UK.
Text transcription with referencing & further reading etc will usually be available at - simonmatthewbrewis.co.uk
This spoken word essay reflects on the feminist themes in Wise Children‘s brilliant theatre production of Blue Beard.
I explore their stories and the tensions between different feminist responses to men's violence against women. I talk about inclusivity in feminism, and why leaving anybody alone at feminism's door is fundamentally inhumane.
You can find the text with references on my website: https://curiousideasandsocialstories.wordpress.com
In this episode, I discuss an act of everyday sexism that took place in a small social close to my heart - and how we have responded to it. The 'social world' is the Algaia faction at Curious Pastimes Live Roleplay Game. I discuss what happened, the response we agreed, men sharing the labor of confronting sexism as a feminist issue, and reflect on how some banter can impact social space. It is based upon an interview with Dom Zeal - a member of the Algaia command team - about the intervention he helped make.
For the article in text inc citations and references see: https://seeingtheinvisibleman.wordpress.com/
To buy me a coffee and support my work: https://ko-fi.com/simonbrewis
This is an audio recording of an article - full text and inline links can be found here. It is about the TV show 'The Boys' and reveals how modern storytelling makes normalising sexist culture - and other cultures of domination - more difficult for audiences to detect.
Opening paragraph -
"Recently I saw a social media post from a friend called Charli calling out sexist character writing in the TV show 'The Boys'. I like pop culture, yet I am also aware that mass-produced media like TV, film, radio, (graphic) novels, etc, have the potential to make oppressive ideas and behaviors seem normal. Charli's post made me think about a technique often used in modern storytelling to make sexist culture - and other cultures of domination - less visible."
‘What Is Left?’ is a podcast for progressive and Left-Wing people. This first episode unpicks the factional conflict between Identity and Economic or Class-based Politics. It will explain why this conflict is bad news for the Left.
It is part one of three in a planned series about Identity Politics and Economic or Class-based politics. The series will also talk about the collapse of Labour’s vote in traditional post-industrial seats.
To see this episode in a blog format with references and links go to simonmatthewbrewis.co.uk