Going Underground Episode Archive

We speak to Michael Albert, author of ‘No Bosses: A New Economy For A Better World’. He discusses the framework for the economy that comes after a communist or socialist revolution, why Karl Marx was so vague about what follows a revolution, participatory economics which would see the end of the power of capitalist billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, attempts at revolutionary economics that have happened in the past and their shortcomings and much more!

We speak to Martyn Whittock, author of ‘The End Times, Again? 1000 Years of the Use & Misuse of Biblical Prophecy’. He discusses the issue within Christian churches when people believe they are truly living in the end times, the relationship between US evangelicals and US policy towards Israel and the wider Middle East, the contention between Islam and Christianity through the ages, the climate crisis and whether these are the end times and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to former Middle East Advisor to the European Union and the Founder of Conflicts Forum Alastair Crooke. He discusses rising tensions between the US and China over the US’ tacit support for Taiwan independence, the ‘Kosovisation’ of Xinjiang and Taiwan, China and Russia’s refusal to continue to allow the US to shape the future of the world order, Western media hysteria over a supposed invasion of Ukraine by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and much more.

We firstly speak to the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants François Crépeau. He discusses the closing of borders over Omicron Coronavirus variant fears and why the strategy will likely be ineffective, the death of 27 migrants in the English Channel and why the policies of European states are responsible for the deaths of the migrants, why migrant crises and the business of illegal smuggling is a recent phenomenon and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Jerusalem Post’s Editor in Chief Yaakov Katz about the results of the Israeli elections, how Netanyahu’s plan to lower Arab voter turnout backfired, the ostracizing of certain groups during the Israeli elections, the success of the Arab parties, the war-like situation between Iran and Israel, the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn coming to power in the UK and more! Next we speak to Kristinn Hraffnson, Editor in Chief of Wikileaks about the latest reports regarding Julian Assange including his controlled moves around Belmarsh his lack of access to lawyers and his health condition. Finally we speak to Leana Hosea on her film ‘Thirst for Justice’ showing at the Raindance Film Festival which highlights the amount of covered-up nuclear disasters in the US and how millions of Americans are drinking unsafe water.

We speak to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Michael Lynk. He discusses Israel’s deepening occupation of Palestine and how international arms sales and agreements only embolden Israel, the designation of Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organisations by Israel, Britain’s proscribing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation and why the move will only harm efforts to reach a peace agreement and much more.

We speak to Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch, the former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-2002) about the current crisis in Bosnia which could see the potential breakup of the country. He discusses why the Croats and Serbs are threatening to boycott Bosnian elections next year and the background of the ethnic tensions, the controversial legacy of the Dayton Accords in setting the stage for the current crisis both ethnically and economically, the perception in the West that Russia's Vladimir Putin is behind the crisis and much more.

We speak to Nancy Hollander, lawyer for Guantanamo Bay prisoners such as Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Mohamedou Ould Slahi. She discusses the case of Majid Khan and the first public testimony of the experience at Guantanamo Bay, shocking torture methods used by the USA at Guantanamo Bay and other black sites around the world, the 26 people at Guantanamo Bay not charged with anything, the US’ bribery campaign in Pakistan, the persecution of Julian Assange and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Oscar-winning actor Peter Capaldi. He discusses the COP26 climate summit and why it was a largely a PR opportunity and a disappointment, launches a scathing attack on Boris Johnson's government on the lack of trust and its record on climate change including plans for more fossil fuel extraction in the UK, why the fight against the climate crisis means so much to him and more.

We speak to Philippe Lazzarini, the Director-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). He discusses the crisis facing the agency as it faces collapse due to a lack of funding, the impact the lack of funding for UNRWA has had on Palestinian refugees which is a lifeline for them, his message for Boris Johnson who cut funding for UNRWA, UNRWA’s work in Gaza and its schools being a safe haven during the Israeli bombardment campaign this summer, the international community’s ‘abandonment’ of refugees and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to Sudan’s Ambassador to the United States Nureldin Satti. He discusses the coup in Sudan which overthrew Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok just hours after US envoy Jeffrey Feltman was in Khartoum, Sudan’s economic crisis with the majority of the population impoverished, the legacy of former autocrat Omar Al-Bashir, economic ties with China and much more.

On this special episode, we speak to legendary film Palme d’Or winning film director Mike Leigh, who has made iconic films such as ‘Topsy Turvy’, ‘Peterloo’ and ‘Abigail’s Party’.

We speak to Ubai Al-Aboudi, one of the Palestinian activists targeted by Pegasus Spyware and Executive Director of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, one of the organisations Israel labelled a terrorist organisation. He discusses his reaction to finding out that he had been hacked using Pegasus Spyware and Israel’s draconian control over Palestinian communications, why he believes Israel labelled his group and 5 others terrorist organisations, the Palestinian Authority’s arguably complicit persecution of Palestinian activists alongside Israel and much more.

We speak to Lebanon’s former Foreign Minister Farés Boueiz. He discusses the rising power of Hezbollah within Lebanon and the growing tension between Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and the US, sectarian tensions being so high in Lebanon that a war could break out at any moment, the deepening economic collapse which the World Bank has called the world’s worst since 1850 and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to ex-Israeli diplomat Daniel Levy on Trump’s Deal of the Century. He discusses why the peace plan is doomed to fail, why it reflects Israeli propaganda, what the deal would mean for Palestinians, Palestinian claim over Jerusalem, Netanyahu’s influence and more! Next, we speak to Lieutenant Steven Rogers, member of the Trump 2020 Advisory Board on the Iowa Caucus chaos, why the Democrats’ chaos in Iowa helps Trump, why he thinks Bernie Sanders is more of a threat to the Democratic Party than Donald Trump, why the US has had a troubled relationship with Russia and what makes Trump different in the context of US-Russia relations and why he thinks no Democrat has a chance against Trump. Finally, we speak to Ajamu Baraka, the Green Party’s 2016 Vice Presidential candidate on alleged DNC dirty tricks against Bernie Sanders including irregularities at the Iowa Caucus and media attacks, why the Democratic and Republican Party have very little difference in foreign policy, the similarities of Joe Biden’s, Pete Buttigieg’s and Donald Trump’s economic message and more!

We speak to Daniel Levy, Israeli negotiator in the Oslo 2 agreements. He discusses the US’ inaction over the Israeli aerial bombardment of Palestine and how China showed leadership at the UN in trying to begin international action against Israel, whether the Palestinian resistance is moving away towards armed struggle following Hamas’ show of force despite Israeli bombardment, how public opinion among Democrats is shifting towards a pro-Palestinian position after Israeli PM Netanyahu and former President Trump made Israel’s occupation of Palestine a partisan issue, the designation of Israel as an apartheid state and much more!

We speak to the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon on the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. He discusses Netanyahu’s statements to cabinet calling his assassination a purely American event and urging Israeli ministers to stay out of the conflict, Soleimani reportedly carrying an Iranian answer to the Saudi peace initiative, why Trump notified Netanyahu before the assassination but not other US allies and more!

On this episode, we speak to author, filmmaker and activist Tariq Ali. He discusses the death of Colin Powell and his involvement in the US’ many foreign wars, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and why it won’t mean the end of US imperialism, US & UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia’s role as a client state of imperial powers, the US’ increasing hostility towards Russia & China as they refuse to follow Washington’s directives, the extradition trial of Julian Assange and more.

We speak to Jonathon Porritt, author of ‘Hope in Hell: A Decade to Confront the Climate Emergency’. He discusses whether people can expect a success or failure in an agreement being reached at COP26 that could turn the tide against climate change, lying by fossil fuel companies on net zero targets, Boris Johnsons’s record on climate change and his recent comments rubbishing plastic recycling, the absence of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping from COP26 and much more!

Going Underground's Social Media Producer Farhaan Ahmed speaks to Jeremy Corbyn MP, Wikileaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson and Richard Burgon MP at the Belmarsh Tribunal, which featured some of the biggest names in international politics and journalism speaking in solidarity with Julian Assange, who faces 175 years in a super-max prison in the United States should British courts decide that he should indeed be extradited.

We speak to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor. He discusses his advice for new investors seeking to enter the cryptocurrency world and gives his forecast for Bitcoin and other crypto prices, how cryptocurrency is the fastest-adopted technology in history, the coming war to regulate cryptocurrency in the US, the first Bitcoin ETF and what it means for the crypto world and much more!

We speak to Prof. Branko Milanovic, Visiting Presidential Professor at the Graduate Centre of the City University of York and former Lead Economist at the World Bank’s Research Department. He discusses Boris Johnson’s quoting of the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who argued poverty could only be eliminated through economic growth, the unaccountability of politicians as inequality continues to become more extreme, why he doesn’t find long-term economic projections useful, why he compared Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution death toll to the neoliberal Coronavirus response death toll in the United States, Coronavirus’ effects on globalisation and why it will likely hit the middle classes of richer nations, why he believes economic growth is the only way to eliminate poverty and the dilemma the world faces in convincing developing countries to decarbonise and much more!

We speak to 2021 Nobel Prize Winner Prof. Klaus Hasselmann. He discusses why the political classes of the world have been unable to formulate a long-term united plan against climate change, he discusses the method and data used to separate long-term climate trends through Earth's history from the carbon-intensive human era since the industrial revolution for his pioneering climate change modelling, the CIA’s early knowledge that climate change would become a civilisation-threatening danger, the 1.5 degrees Paris Agreement target and much more!

We speak to Prof. John Ashton of Liverpool University. He discusses the House of Commons’ Health and Science Committees’ report on Boris Johnson’s government’s coronavirus response, how the report exposes the government as seriously unprepared in multiple areas with disastrous policies in other areas leading to more deaths such as in care homes, the UK’s death rate being one of the highest among developed countries, the UK falling behind in COVID-19 vaccinations compared to Europe, ‘social murder’ committed by the government during the pandemic through ‘arrogance and incompetence’, democracy being under threat by the government’s recklessness, the consultants who have become extremely wealthy through the development of the privatised NHS track and trace service, the possibility of more lockdowns and much more!

We speak to Gonzalo Boye, the lawyer of the former Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont. He discusses the recent arrest and release of Carles Puigdemont in Sardinia after the triggering of an arrest warrant, Spain’s alleged misleading of the European Court of Justice on the Puigdemont case, why Spain is not acting as a democratic state and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’ changing stances on the Catalonia issue, his accusation that Spain is not acting like a democratic state towards its minorities, smear campaigns against himself, Puigdemont and other Catalonian figures and much more!