Boondoggle

In this episode, Jim and Chris discuss the woeful response of Columbia University to Trump's aggressive attempt at control and crackdown on academic freedom and free speech. They discuss the letter organised by friend of the podcast and journalist for The Nation, Sasha Abramsky, recently published in the Guardian and available here. (Incidentally, the question was raised in the epi

Freedom of speech is a fundamental right, but it is not unrestricted. There are things that you do not have a right to say, even when a broad free speech right is in place, as in the US. The classic example is shouting 'fire' in a crowded theatre when there is no fire. But how is this restriction to be understood in a democratic society? Jim and Chris discuss a possible answer to t

Free speech is, supposedly, a right-wing issue and yet the Trump administration is engaging in the most severe crackdown on political speech since McCarthy, and they may shortly surpass even that dismal nadir. Jim and Chris discuss freedom of speech, and how the right, even when they are nbot cracking down on it, often misunderstand what it is. They enjoyed their discussion so much

Chris describes watching Mississippi Burning with his son, how that brought back memories of his time as a local reporter in Mississippi in the 1980s, and how the themes of the film resonate with today. The social norms that have been in place since the 90s that have, piecemeal and to an incomplete degree, made overt expressions of racism and sexism unacceptable are in the process

Trump and Musk and their enablers and acolytes are busy dismantling the entire American system of government. As the US hurtles towards a constitutional crisis, with the Trump administration preparing the ground to ignore the rulings of courts (which they are already doing in certain cases), what can be done to resist? Jim and Chris discuss this question. It is not surprising that

Jim and Chris welcome back Guido Haefli to hear about his time working at the Swiss Embassy in India. We hear some details of the Swiss relationship with India, before discussing the history of the situation in Kashmir, where it currently stands, and prospects for the future. We also discuss current relations between India and Pakistan, and India and China, all three of them nuclea

Is what is happening in the US a coup? The short answer is yes. By rummaging around in the digital plumbing of various government departments and shutting down funding to those he disapproves of, private citizen, I beg your pardon, 'special government employee' Elon Musk is subverting Congress' power of the purse and acting in violation of the constitution (as well as breaking a wh

What is it like to be a military peacekeeper? What do military peacekeeping missions actually do, and do they make any difference? Jim and Chris are joined by Swiss national Guido Haefeli, who prior to studying in Birmingham was a peacekeeper in Kosovo and Western Sahara. He talks about the relevant histories of both places, what it is like to work as a military peacekeeper (whethe

After marking the death of The Band's Garth Hudson, Chris and Jim get in to the dark spectacle of the Trump inauguration. Unconstitutional policies, barely veiled threats of invasion and territorial expansion, plans for economic terrorism, baseless calumnies against political opponents, and of course blatant lies, all normalised by the media commentary. 'A remarkably policy heavy s

Chris and Jim are joined in this first episode of 2025 by old friend of the podcast, author and journalist Sasha Abramsky. Sasha talks a little bit about the situation in LA which he visited at the weekend (see his photo essay for The Nation here). We then move on to think about the state of the Democratic Party and the US in general in the last few days before the inauguration of