Boondoggle

The second part of what is now going to be a trilogy of episodes featuring Jim, Chris, and Luke Doherty.In this wide-ranging discussion, the trio begin by considering the US role in international politics in the run-up to and immediate aftermath of the end of the Cold War. They also consider the role of morality and populism in politics, before ending on a bombshell question of the

In this episode, Jim and Chris are joined by Luke Doherty, a fellow student with Jim in Birmingham. After talking for a little bit about what Luke was doing before he came to Birmingham, and what brought him back to studying, they consider the reasons for and possible lessons of the Trump victory. We had intended to discuss many more topics, but thought that since we had been going

With the UK hit by unseasonal snow, Jim and Chris spend a little bit of time discussing the shall we say unusual political approach of the Starmer government in the UK, which seems to involve annoying as many people as possible as quickly as they can whilst telling everyone things are not going to get better for years. They then move on to the main topic of the episode, a considera

In this episode, Jim talks with Chris about the course that he is doing on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Jim outlines the various theories of international relations that he has come across so far, realism, liberalism, and constructivism, and discusses with Chris the barriers to and possibilities for peace-building under these theories.We'd love to hear from you -@Boondog4442138

In this episode, recorded on Thursday 7th November, Jim Driscoll and Chris Floyd discuss the comprehensive Trump victory in the recent US election. Using Gore Vidal's idea that there is only one party in America, the Property Party, as a prompt, they discuss the extent to which so many elements of the US establishment have acquiesced in the dismantling of American institutions, and

After catching up with respect to Chris' Greek odyssey, and discussing his brief career as a cricket correspondent for the Moscow Times, Jim and Chris discuss the impact of the shock doctrine on Russia in the 90s before considering the extent to which it is proposed to be applied to the US if Trump wins the election and appoints Elon Musk to government.The election is on a knife-ed

In this episode Jim and Chris discuss the upcoming US election. Bypassing the usual horserace commentary, they talk about the unprecedented nature of the contest, the 'sane-washing' of Trump, possible futures after the election, and one possible reason why the Democrats seem to constantly misunderstand the strategy required to win against MAGA.We'd love to hear from you -@Boondog44

In this episode, recorded on the evening of the 8th October when there were still three candidates in the Tory leadership race and everyone expected James Cleverly to make the final two, Jim and Chris discuss the degree to which the British political system may be showing signs of realigning. With Reform functioning as an apparently irresistible magnet dragging the Tories ever furt

Chris talks to Jim about his recent relocation to Birmingham to start an MA in Global Conflict and Cooperation, and his fifteen-and-a-half day journey from Oxford to Birmingham by narrowboat. What does taking so long to travel such a small distance do to your conception of time? How do you steer the thing anyway? And will Chris ever learn how to pronounce the name of the city prope

Jim and Chris discuss themes arising from the recent Democratic Convention in Chicago - how, beyond the schmaltz, nothing much changes; how the centrist project leads to the triumph of the right; and how we are living in a decadent democratic culture. Also, Chris sings a number made familiar (but not written) by Woody Guthrie, The Hobo's Lullaby.We'd love to hear from you -@Boondog