Going Underground Episode Archive

We speak to Chikwe Ihekeazu, the Director-General for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. He discusses the generally lower Coronavirus mortality rate in Africa, why dealing with previous infectious diseases before has made Nigeria more efficient in contact tracing, China’s national response to Coronavirus, lessons learned for Nigeria from Coronavirus and his prediction that there will be many more pandemics in the future!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza after a coup attempt by Silvercorp mercenaries, which Venezuela alleges were hired by US President Donald Trump. He discusses Iran’s oil shipment to Venezuela along with assistance to revive Venezuela’s oil industry, US attempts to block the shipment, the uncovered secret Venezuelan Reconstruction Unit within the British Foreign Office which is alleged to be for post-regime change Venezuela, allegations of Venezuela sponsoring terrorism by the United States, the US and EU’s support for Juan Guaido, a deal reached with the UN to allow Venezuela to access its Gold Reserves in the Bank of England which was prohibited by Boris Johnson, Venezuela’s Coronavirus response, the impact of US sanctions on ordinary Venezuelans, Venezuela’s relationship with Russia, China, Cuba and Iran, allegations of narco-trafficking by the United States against President Nicolas Maduro and more! STATEMENT FROM THE EIB: Regarding the EIB’s participation in the Conference in solidarity with Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the countries of the region, I would like to clarify that our support is not directly for Venezuela but for countries impacted by the migrant crisis . In order to improve the lives of people and strengthen the resilience of those countries most impacted by the migration exodus from Venezuela, the EIB, the EU bank – with the support of the European Commission - is building an investment pipeline of up to €400 million. What we have pledged in in the form of loans. The value of this is that when MDB’s like the EIB can step in , we can mobilise more investment on top of the financing we provide. These are important projects which will bring huge benefits to migrants and local populations alike : finance for sustainable water and wastewater treatment, clean energy, education and schools for all, healthcare, and the creation of sustainable jobs. The European Union is the main partner for the development of the Latin America region and its number one investor. The EIB has been operating in Latin America since 1993 and it has provided more than 10.2 billion euros to support investments in 14 countries focused on boosting inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to Prof. Frank Snowden of Yale University, author of ‘Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present’. He discusses the importance of pandemics and epidemics in shaping societies around the world throughout history, his own experience of getting infected with Coronavirus, the link between pandemics and capitalism’s destruction of the environment, how pandemics shaped history such as the Plague of Athens which caused the rise of Sparta, how today’s scapegoating of China by Boris Johnson and Donald Trump is similar to the response during the Plague of Athens and the growth of the HIV epidemic, how globalisation has caused a rise of viral diseases, Coronavirus ravaging the poor and more! Next, we speak to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Dubravka Simonovic. She discusses the risks faced by women stuck at home amid the Coronavirus lockdowns and lack of adequate services to prevent violence, the disparity of availability of services to help women in different regions of the world, countries not ratifying the Istanbul convention including Britain and Russia and its consequences and more! Finally, we speak to KK Shailaja, the State Health Minister for Communist Party-run Kerala, India. She discusses what has made Kerala’s Coronavirus response an example to the world and a major success, the strategies they have used to keep COVID-19 infections and deaths low, the Kerala government’s programs to ensure the vulnerable do not suffer from hunger or lacking necessities during the lockdown and more!

We speak to Rose McGowan, award-winning actress and the person who sparked the #MeToo movement. She discusses what she calls cult-like thinking and cult leadership that has taken over America and it’s traits in the mass media, the Black Lives Matter protests that have spread throughout the country following the death of George Floyd, Donald Trump’s response to the protests, Joe Biden’s attempts to garner support among African Americans despite his links to segregationists and helping pass laws which led to the mass incarceration of African Americans, the sexual assault allegations against Donald #Trump and Joe #Biden, how Black Lives Matter is a ‘cultural reset’ like #MeToo, statues of slave owners being torn down in the U.K. and US and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Board Chair of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation as well as the Special Envoy got ACT Accelerator. She discusses the public-private partnerships working on a Coronavirus vaccine, what ACT (Access to COVID-19 Tools) Accelerator is and the work they are doing to develop vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics and make them accessible to all, why Africa’s Coronavirus death rate is so low, how the Coronavirus vaccine will be a public good and whether big pharma is involved for the sake of earning massive profits. Next, we speak to Alexander Zevin, author of ‘Liberalism at Large: The World According to The Economist’. He exposes The Economist’s deep involvement in promoting free trade and the Laissez-faire disaster in Ireland during the Irish famine, pushing Western foreign policy goals such as the Pinochet coup in Chile, to the coup in Iran in 1953, to US-backed regime change operations in Venezuela today. He also discusses the class dimension to the rise of The Economist magazine, and why it it is so highly sought after for advertising purposes.

We speak to the UN Special Rapporteur on Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association Clement Voule on police brutality against Black Lives Matter protesters. He discusses why the Coronavirus pandemic should not completely limit freedoms of assembly and protest, whether it was right for the police in the U.K. to charge horses at protesters, actions the UN has taken following police brutality against protesters in the US, his belief that governments and authorities haven’t engaged in dialogue enough with the protesters, the assault and arrest of journalists covering the US George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests and more! STATEMENT FROM THE DEPARTMENT FROM HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE: 'There has been a misunderstanding, I think. There is no ban on staff from participating in demonstrations.'

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to world-famous communist philosopher and author of ‘Pandemic!: COVID-19 shakes the world’, Slavoj Zizek. He discusses different Coronavirus responses from governments around the world, from the ‘capitalist barbarism’ of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, to the responses of Governors like Andrew Cuomo, why the world as we know it no longer exists, the discovery of a new working class of nurses, caretakers and essential staff, class warfare in the pandemic world, why capitalism and free markets cannot be relied on for handling future crises, why he believes some form of communism is needed in the post-Coronavirus world, the need for increased international health collaboration and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Professor Karol Sikora, the ex-Director of the WHO’s cancer program. He discusses the UK’s new Coronavirus contact tracing app, the predictions of a COVID19 vaccine by 2021, why the lockdowns should be lifted soon, why Cuba’s health system excels whilst the US arguably fails, measures to protect the most vulnerable once lockdown measures are eased and more! Finally, we speak to Professor Danny Dorling of Oxford University and author of ‘Slowdown: The End of the Great Acceleration’. He discusses why the timing of the pandemic is unfortunate for Britain, calling Boris Johnson’s cabinet ‘the C-team’, why a global pandemic was inevitable, why the economic impact of Covid-19 on the global economy will be much different from the impact of previous pandemics, the slow down of growth of major Western economies and its consequences, why capitalism’s ‘Ponzi schemes’ such as student debt will unravel and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Sam Mahdi Torabi, the Director of the Risalat Strategic Studies Institute. He discusses the current situation regarding Coronavirus from Qom, US sanctions on Iran that have prevented Iran from getting access to vital medicines and equipment which has exacerbated the COVID-19 outbreak, the Iranian government’s request access its funds in foreign bank accounts to buy the equipment, Saudi Arabia’s continued bombing campaign against Yemen and more! Next, we speak to the Co-Founder and former General Secretary of the United Voices of the World Union Petros Elia. He discusses attempts to gag healthcare whistle-blowers who are exposing the shortage of PPE in the fight against Coronavirus, the shortage of PPE in the NHS, how frontline staff such as cleaners and porters, not just nurses and doctors, are at risk due to the shortages, how workers of colour are disproportionately the most at risk in the NHS, his demand that the government pay all essential staff a £15 minimum wage and the case of Percy, a cleaner at King’s College London who was fired for not attending a disciplinary hearing due to the lack of social distancing measures. Finally, we speak to Keir Milburn, author of Generation Left. He discusses what has caused the generational political divide between the young and old, the importance of the 2008 financial crisis in shifting the politics of young people leftwards, why economic interests entrench the generational divide, the generational divide in the UK 2019 General Election which saw Boris Johnson’s victory and Jeremy Corbyn’s defeat and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to Going Underground’s Deputy Editor Charlie Cooke about the government’s response to the Coronavirus outbreak. He discusses the criticisms surrounding the government’s press briefings, which have come under attack for an alleged lack of journalistic scrutiny, Rupert Murdoch allegedly beginning to support Michael Gove to take over from Boris Johnson, accusations by the Sunday Times concerning the government’s coronavirus response and more! Next, we speak to the UN Environment Programme’s Executive Director Inger Andersen on Earth Day. She discusses why we should hesitate to be jubilant about reduced emissions during the COVID-19 global lockdowns, how climate change could cause more viral diseases and possibly future pandemics, how human activity and capitalist production is causing species to move from natural habitats, causing more diseases to come from animals and more! Finally, we speak to the architect of the 2015 Paris Climate Treaty Christiana Figueres about the book she co-authored ‘The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis’. She discusses how Coronavirus and climate change are linked, why governments must not release corporations from their environmental obligations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, why governments must use the economic stimulus measures to tackle both climate change and COVID-19, what the world can learn from Cuba’s medical internationalism and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to Dean Baker, the co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and one of the first economists to predict the property market crash in 2008. He discusses the bailouts passed in the United States by Congress, how they have many giveaways to the richest in society, how the giveaways have nothing to do with the pandemic, why the Coronavirus bailouts are worse than TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program), how state and local governments have been left out of the bailout and why this will cause economic crises in the United States, the pointlessness of austerity for the last decade in the US and U.K and why high public debt is not as dangerous as commonly thought. Finally, we speak to an NHS Oncologist who is on the frontlines of the UK’s fight against COVID-19, Dr. Aislinn Macklin-Doherty. She discusses her and her colleagues’ experience catching the Coronavirus and how the virus likely passed to patients, the lack of adequate mass testing putting patients at risk, the widely-reported PPE shortages in U.K. hospitals, the £60,000 government compensation for NHS doctors who have died fighting Coronavirus, the impact of austerity on the health service, why she believes it is hypocritical of Boris Johnson’s Conservative government to join in in clapping for the NHS and more! STATEMENT FROM THE CHIEF CORONER’S OFFICE: “The purpose of the Chief Coroner’s latest notes to coroners is to provide them with guidance on how to deal with COVID related issues. Given that there has been new legislation and other new issues that have been raised, the guidance is intended to provide consistency for coroners. “ It’s important to note that none of this is the Chief Coroner creating new rules or legislation. He is summarising the existing legislation and regulations for coroners so they have got all the relevant information in one place. He makes this point in para 2 of his latest guidance, “"...nothing in this Guidance should be taken as a statement of any policy or indication of the Chief Coroner’s views on the way that coroners should exercise their duties. Likewise, in paragraph 13 he cites a Supreme Court ruling that inquests are not the proper forum to consider the issue of Government policy. The Guidance is an expression of the law as it currently stands." “ It's also worth pointing out that the Chief Coroner is an independent judge who has been appointed to provide leadership and guidance to coroners. He is not a member of the Government nor an adviser to the Government.”

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Lord John Bird, Founder of the Big Issue. He discusses Boris Johnson’s decision to end homelessness practically overnight due to the Coronavirus pandemic, why homelessness is a political decision, how Coronavirus forced the government to reckon with equality and end homelessness temporarily, the prospect of 500,000 homeless people caused by a Coronavirus economic collapse, his calls for banning evictions for two years until the Coronavirus crisis has been weathered, why a rise in homelessness would be ultimately more expensive for the government, how Britain has a tradition of being progressive at home and being reactionary abroad and more!

We firstly speak to Malia Bouattia, the first female black Muslim President of the National Union of Students (NUS). She discusses the Black Lives Matter Protests that have spread across the world after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, reforms that need to be made to de-colonise the British curriculum and increase national education on Britain’s colonial history, Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer’s condemnation of protesters who brought down the statue of Edward Colston, a former slave trader, her demand for the Labour Party to have an unapologetic and uncompromising anti-racist stance, reforms needed to give more opportunities to BAME students in universities and schools, demands to defund the police and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to legendary journalist and film-maker John Pilger about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He discusses the fact that the Conservative government was warned about shortages leaving the NHS vulnerable in pandemics 4 years ago, the damage privatisation has done to the National Health Service, budget cuts which have seen bed capacities fall to record lows, his criticisms of the Boris Johnson administration’s response to Coronavirus, the lack of mass-testing in the U.K. which has been seen in other countries such as Germany, South Korea and China, the government blaming China for the Coronavirus crisis, the threat to Julian Assange’s life as he is denied release from prison as Coronavirus claims its first victim in Belmarsh Prison and more! STATEMENT FROM ROBERT PESTON: "I take grave exception to the suggestion that I am favourable to any government or politicians. John Pilger is wholly wrong."

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to former Conservative MP and junior health minister under Margaret Thatcher Edwina Currie. She discusses attempts to stop or delay Brexit amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the reports that Boris Johnson’s government delay in implementing a lockdown resulted in thousands of deaths, the scandal over Dominic Cummings arguably breaking U.K. COVID-19 lockdown rules and Boris Johnson subsequently refusing to fire him, why the government is relying on the private sector for vaccine and test manufacturing as China takes the state-led approach, private sector involvement in contact tracing app development and more! Finally, we speak to UNHCR Yemen representative Jean-Nicolas Beuze about the Coronavirus pandemic reaching Yemen. He discusses why it is almost impossible for many people in Yemen to social distance and maintain good hygiene due to a lack of running water, the lack of COVID-19 test kits which has made it difficult to identify Coronavirus cases and deaths, the UN pulling out staff from Yemen amid the Covid pandemic, the destruction of much of Yemen’s health facilities during the conflict, the severe shortage of ICU beds and COVID isolation beds, UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led coalition which is bombing Yemen, ongoing negotiations to open Yemen’s ports to humanitarian organisations and more! We contacted the UK Department of Health and Social Care about the allegations made in this segment, and they referred us to this press release: "The government has collaborated internationally and learned from examples of best practice across the world, which has informed the development of a bespoke approach that is right for the unique needs of the UK. The app uses similar Bluetooth low energy technology to that employed by Australia, Norway, and Singapore among others. Full Statement Online" Full Statement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-test-track-and-trace-plan-launched-on-isle-of-wight

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Stuart Maconie, author of ‘The Nanny State Made Me’. He discusses the elitism and propaganda behind the term nanny state, why we should have a state that looks after the population from cradle to grave, why Thatcherism should be considered an unpatriotic revolution, the idea of patriotic socialism, how the privately-educated 6% of the population run our most important institutions, the revolutionary model of Cuban healthcare, austerity in the U.K. by Conservative governments, why Universal Basic Income's time has come in the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic and more!

We speak to Omar Ocampo, co-author of the ‘Billionaire Bonanza 2020: Wealth Windfall, Tumbling Taxes and Pandemic Profiteers’ Report. He discusses how inequality is an ‘American pre-existing condition’, the astronomical growth of the wealth of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos during the COVID-19 pandemic which has at the same time rendered 40 million Americans jobless, how Amazon is arguably risking the lives of its workers while Bezos gets richer, how the rich avoid paying taxes through philanthropy and charity, how the government ends up borrowing money from billionaires, how taxes paid by billionaires have fallen 80% between 1980-2018 and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Dr. Silvia Bignamini, the Health Director of San Francesco Hospital in Bergamo Italy. She discusses some of the difficulties medical services are facing in local communities due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) in hospitals all over the world, the main forms of transmission of the Coronavirus, important steps to suppress infection, the problems with the current available testing methods, her experience of becoming infected with COVID-19 and more! Next, we speak to Professor Guy Standing, the former economic adviser to John McDonnell of the Labour Party and author of ‘Battling 8 Giants: Basic Income Now’ about the Coronavirus economic crisis. He discusses his opinion on the government’s plan to pay 80% of workers’ wages and why he believes it won’t work, why universal basic income is the only way to save millions from homelessness and solve the lack of demand for basic goods, why Universal Credit will ultimately fail in alleviating the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, the current problems of neoliberal capitalism growing bigger due to the crisis, the ‘precariat’ growing due to Coronavirus and more! Finally, we speak to Dr. Helen Yaffe, author of ‘We Are Cuba! How A Revolutionary People Have Survived in a Post-Soviet World’. She discusses Cuba’s international medical effort against Coronavirus, from sending doctors to many countries abroad, to its drugs for COVID-19 treatment and vaccine development, the history of Cuba’s ‘Army of White Coats’ and medical internationalism, why the United States and Western powers view Cuba as a threat, Cuba’s Interferon Alpha-2b drug which could aid the fight against Coronavirus, the US blockade of Cuba, allegations of Cuba being a dictatorship and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to the UN Rapporteur on the Right to Food Dr. Hilal Elver. She discusses Coronavirus’s impact on food security, why inequality is important to understand the impact of Coronavirus, the disproportionate COVID19 deaths and cases of African-Americans, how powerful countries can help with food insecurity after the Coronavirus pandemic, UN Rapporteur Philip Alston’s assessment of post-2010 UK austerity and more! Finally, we speak to Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP on the leaked Labour report detailing shocking revelations on antisemitism and sabotage of Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign to win the 2017 general election. She discusses new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to take legal action regarding the leaks, the feeling of Labour activists being robbed after details of the conspiracy of the plot to make Jeremy Corbyn lose was revealed, the mainstream media’s silence on the leaks and bias against Jeremy Corbyn, bullying and abuse against Diane Abbott and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Dr. Vandana Shiva, the founder of Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy who was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’. She discusses why the war-like approach of government’s around the world to fight Coronavirus (COVID-19) will not succeed, how Coronavirus and other viral diseases such as Swine Flu and Bird Flu have been the result of monoculture factory farms and neoliberal capitalism, how big agriculture and the ‘poison cartel’ have caused the weakening of ecosystems and humans, which has resulted in humans being more susceptible to viruses, how a lack of diversity caused by the big agricultural industry has made viral diseases more inevitable, the damage GMO seeds have caused to ecosystems and have made pandemics more likely, why there must be a fight against neoliberalism and neoliberal capitalism, why big tech executives like Mark Zuckerberg are the new ‘robber barons’ and more! Finally, we speak to Tony O’Sullivan, the Director of ‘Keep Our NHS Public’. He discusses the damage privatisation and underfunding under governments since Thatcher has done to the NHS, why the NHS can’t produce its own PPE and is now relying on China for PPE, the revelations of the Operation Cygnus which showed in 2016 that the UK was unprepared for a pandemic situation and more! STATEMENT FROM THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION: WHO is deeply concerned about the impact the pandemic will have on other health services, especially for children. Prevention services for other infectious diseases and immunization campaigns have been put on hold or shut down in some countries, because of COVID-19. We call on the global community to ensure this life saving work is fully funded. WHO has issued detailed guidance on the issue. Please see this publication, on maintaining essential health services and systems: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/covid-19-operational-guidance-for-maintaining-essential-health-services-during-an-outbreak See also our COVID-19 strategy where these topics are addressed in detail. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/covid-strategy-update-14april2020.pdf?sfvrsn=29da3ba0_19 The issue was also addressed at one of our press meetings recently: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/transcripts/who-audio-emergencies-coronavirus-press-conference-20apr2020.pdf?sfvrsn=b5656a70_2

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to rapper and London Mayoral candidate DrillMinister. He discusses tragic deaths in his family due to Coronavirus (COVID19), Boris Johnson sending primary school children back to school amid the pandemic, thousands of elderly deaths in UK care homes, why London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s coronavirus response has made him fear for his safety, the Conservative government’s attempts to blame China for the spread of Coronavirus and more! Next, we speak to Scott Santens, Editor of Basic Income today. He discusses his disappointment with U.K. Chancellor Rishi Sunak ruling out universal basic income, stating that it is the easiest way to get money into people’s hands with the least bureaucracy possible. He also discusses why furlough schemes in the U.K., as well as means-tested relief in the US, is inefficient, the proposal for a $2000 universal basic income in the US, Joe Biden’s arguable disappearance amid the pandemic, how a basic income could rescue the United States and countries around the world from a long-lasting Great Depression and more! Finally, we speak to Sean Stone, the Director of the 2008 film ‘Singularity’ in which he arguably foreshadows the events of today where a pandemic virus brings in more mass surveillance. He discusses the rise of modern mass surveillance and why he predicted pandemics would be a catalyst for increasing surveillance, how an unhealthy American population has meant more Coronavirus deaths in the United States and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, first, we speak to David Ikard, Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University about the Black Lives Matter uprising in the United States, resulting from the murder of George Floyd by US police. He discusses Trump's tactics which he sees as deliberately flaring up the long-standing racial divisions in America, why he believes Joe Biden, although immensely flawed, is a better candidate than Donald Trump, the need for policing as we understand it to end, the growth of the prison-industrial complex, what reforms he believes should be enacted, why he believes the violence and riots following George Floyd's murder and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to John Ashton, the former President of the UK Faculty of Public Health. He discusses the recent revelations on Panorama which showed the government had been manipulating PPE figures to make them appear larger, the likely real current death toll and future death toll of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the government’s £60,000 compensation scheme for NHS workers’ families whose lives have been lost due to Coronavirus, the failure of Boris Johnson’s government to achieve 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, the lack of pandemic preparation following Exercise Cygnus and more! Finally, we speak to Dr. Thomas Hegghammer, author of ‘The Caravan: Abdullah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad’. He discusses the threat jihadism poses today in a pandemic world after the defeat of ISIS and the death of Osama Bin Laden, how the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was the springboard for the rise of jihadism, over-simplifications of the US-Taliban blowback theory, why jihadists and Islamists hated communism, causing the West to de-facto ally with them against the Soviet Union, who Abdullah Azzam was and why he has a key role in the rise of global jihad which led to the 9/11 attacks among many other terrorist attacks around the world.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq’s high Representative to the UK Karwan Jamal Tahir. He discusses the Kurdish art exhibition where our interview is taking place, the values of Kurdish culture, the 32nd Anniversary of the Halabja massacre which saw then US-UK ally Saddam Hussein drop chemical weapons and kill over 5000 Kurds, the Kurdish uprising which saw the establishment of democratic Kurdish autonomous rule in Iraq, the legacy of the Iraq War, the Kurdish reaction to the US assassination of Qassem Soleimani and the KRG’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. Next, we speak to Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan representative ‘Heela’. Her face is blurred to hide her identity for her safety. She discusses the US’ war crimes in Afghanistan, the instability the US presence has caused, the marriage between radical Islam and the United States in Afghanistan, US torture using black sites and more! Finally, Going Underground’s Social Media Producer Farhaan Ahmed speaks to former Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell MP about the new budget presented by Rishi Sunak, whether the Conservative Party is turning to the left, whether the government’s coronavirus measures are enough, whether the NHS is truly prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, large-scale poverty in the UK and more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to world-famous primatologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall. She discusses how Coronavirus has been brought about by our disrespect of the natural world and animals, how poverty is at the centre of tackling climate change, stopping future pandemics and deforestation, how deforestation is increasing the number of Zoonotic diseases, the effectiveness of animal experimentation for developing vaccines, capitalism’s role in the climate change and the destruction of forests, how individual action through boycotting companies can force change, her world-renowned work with primates over the years and more!