Going Underground Episode Archive

We speak to Phillip Lacôte, director of the film ‘Night of The Kings’, a film about life inside one of West Africa’s most notorious prisons ‘La Maca’, which is located in Ivory Coast. He discusses the film’s goal to portray the longstanding West African tradition of griots passing on history; poems and stories orally, his own mother being incarcerated at La Maca, how society operates in prisons, the colonial rule of Ivory Coast by France and how France still continues to dominate Ivory Coast’s economics and politics and much more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Shashi Tharoor MP, one of India’s most renowned authors and a heavyweight of the Indian National Congress. He discusses the Pegasus Spyware leaks that have showed 40 journalists, the leader of the Indian National Congress Rahul Gandhi and two serving union ministers were on a list of potential targets and the serious implications these have on an India arguably turning increasingly authoritarian under Narendra Modi and the Hindu-nationalist right-wing BJP. He also discusses India’s Coronavirus catastrophe, the paradox of a slow vaccination drive despite India being the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and relations with the People’s Republic of China. NSO Spokesperson: “Enough is enough! “In light of the recent planned and well-orchestrated media campaign lead by Forbidden Stories and pushed by special interest groups, and due to the complete disregard of the facts, NSO is announcing it will no longer be responding to media inquiries on this matter and it will not play along with the vicious and slanderous campaign. “We will state again: “The list is not a list of targets or potential targets of Pegasus. “The numbers in the list are not related to NSO group. “Any claim that a name in the list is necessarily related to a Pegasus target or Pegasus potential target is erroneous and false. “NSO is a technology company. We do not operate the system, nor do we have access to the data of our customers, yet they are obligated to provide us with such information under investigations. “NSO will thoroughly investigate any credible proof of misuse of its technologies, as we always had, and will shut down the system where necessary. “NSO will continue its mission of saving lives, helping governments around the world prevent terror attacks, break up pedophilia, sex, and drug-trafficking rings, locate missing and kidnapped children, locate survivors trapped under collapsed buildings, and protect airspace against disruptive penetration by dangerous drones.”

We firstly speak to Claudia Webbe MP. She discusses how the killing of Mark Duggan by the police revealed the extent of institutional racism in the UK, the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, being the Chair of Operation Trident at the time when Mark Duggan was killed, the cover-up of the actual events surrounding the killing of Mark Duggan, whether Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick should resign and much more!

We speak to Prof. Peter Smith of Scotland’s Climate Change Centre of Expertise. He discusses the agenda of this year’s COP 26 climate change summit, the meteoric rise in carbon emissions and the urgent need to reach an emissions peak before drastic reductions, the need for urgent action this decade on the climate crisis, fossil fuel industry lobbying against climate action, the potential industry of CO2 removal from the atmosphere and much more!

Going Underground’s Deputy Editor Charlie Cooke speaks to BAFTA-winning director Mark Jenkin about his film ‘BAIT’, which explores how gentrification under neoliberalism has completely changed the iconic British city of Cornwall, brining cultural and economic hardships for the people of the area. Mark Jenkin discusses how the experiences of the characters of the film reflect the lives of many in this economic climate.

We speak to Prof. Richard Murphy, co-founder of the Tax Justice Network. He discusses why the Boris Johnson government is ‘rotten to the core’ with numerous accusations of corruption throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, why the Treasury Committee exonerated David Cameron and why he believes it was a decision to protect the former Prime Minister, the appointment of a member of the notorious Bullingdon Club to a key oversight position, why Johnson’s decision to lift nearly all Coronavirus restrictions is a catastrophic mistake, why the UK has become one of the lucrative tax havens and much more!

We speak to Arsalan Ifthikar, author of ‘Fear of a Muslim Planet: Global Islamophobia in the New World Order’. He discusses the rise of right-wing ethno-nationalism from Trump, to Orban to Le Penne, the causes of Islamophobia in areas such as the southern United States, the perception of Islam as monolithic as opposed to Islam in different regions being very different, Islamophobia not just being a Western problem and much more!

We speak to Haiti’s Ambassador to the UK Euvrard Saint Amand. He discusses the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse who was killed in his private residence, what is known about the perpetrators such as the fact that many are Colombian and Haitian ex-military personnel, some with US training, the current status of the investigation into the assassination the upcoming hurricane season that is predicted to devastate Haiti, Haiti’s reliance on foreign aid and the geopolitical implications, US influence in Haiti and much more! STATEMENT FROM THE EU: · In relation to the broad waiver proposed by a number of WTO members, the European Commission, while ready to discuss any option that helps end the pandemic as soon as possible, is not convinced that this would provide the best immediate response to reach the objective of the widest and timely distribution of COVID-19 vaccines that the world urgently needs. The EU’s proposals to the WTO (4 June) aim at achieving that objective in a swift and effective manner. · We would need to have more information to assess the US position and how it compares to the proposal already made by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization. · The priority for the EU is to ramp up production of COVID vaccines to achieve global vaccination. The EU is at the forefront of deliveries of effective vaccines to the rest of the world: so far, more than 500 million doses have been exported outside the EU. As many as have been delivered to Europeans (by mid-July). · In the short term, we maintain that it is key for all vaccine producing countries to allow export immediately and to avoid measures that disrupt the supply chains. · Vaccine production requires complicated biological processes, involving know-how, technology, skilled personnel and infrastructure. It is not by simply waving intellectual property rights that safe and effective vaccines can be produced, but rather by collaboration between those that have the knowledge and those that have the capacity. · If voluntary solutions fail and intellectual property becomes a barrier to treatments or vaccines against COVID-19, the necessary mechanisms are already available under the TRIPS Agreement. This is why the EU presented specific proposals on how to facilitate the use of compulsory licencing in the context of a pandemic. This is a practical response to the specific concerns related to potential difficulties for making use of this existing TRIPs flexibilities. · The EU is engaged in a text-based process in the TRIPS Council to ensure that the IPR regime supports efforts to enhance access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. · This is also why Europe committed EUR 1 billion to create with our African partners and our industrial partners manufacturing hubs in different regions in Africa.

We firstly speak to one of the greatest fast bowlers in cricket history, former West Indies star Michael Holding. He discusses his new book ‘Why We Kneel and How We Rise’, the significance of football players and other sports players taking a knee before every game and the effect it has on anti-racism discourse, police brutality in the US and UK, accusations by Priti Patel that taking the knee is simply ‘gesture politics’, the Black Lives Matter movement and the effect of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of US police and much more!

We firstly speak to Anna Marriott of Oxfam GB and the People’s Vaccine Alliance. She discusses the Peoples Vaccine Alliance campaign for a patent-free global public Coronavirus vaccine, the G7’s ‘failure’ to help bring the pandemic under control as they have donated under a billion vaccine doses, the need for 11 million vaccine doses to bring the pandemic under control, how big pharma prioritising profit and governments refusing to lift parents on vaccines is damaging the developing world plunging millions into poverty and much more!

We speak to South Sudan’s Ambassador to the UK Agnes Oswaha. She discusses the first 10 years of South Sudan’s existence and the difficulties being posed by natural disasters such as floods and locusts, the Coronavirus situation in the country, the development of the oil industry, Chinese investment into South Sudan, the geopolitics of South Sudan with the US, UK and China competing for influence, alleged pressure from the US on South Sudan to stop deepening ties with China and much more!

We speak to Prof. Calum Semple, a member of the SAGE Committee that advises Boris Johnson. He discusses the changing pattern of hospitalisations with younger people including children filling up hospitals rather than the elderly, the growing threat of ‘long COVID’ causing additional health problems for those who have recovered from the initial infection and the damage caused by COVID to internal organs during hospitalisation, reports of the U.K. government considering rolling out vaccinations to 12-15 year olds and why the case for vaccinating children is growing stronger, whether we will see a new British variant as lockdowns restrictions have been lifted with much of the population still not fully vaccinated and much more! We contact Dr. Ahmed Elgazzar about the allegations made in this show about Ivermectin and he said: “1-Have you corresponded with Research Square about the retraction? My answer,yes I sent mail to Research Square on Jul 20 and received reply on Jul 21 from the site, regret and apologize for that. They informed me, the subject is under investigation. 2- Sentences in the introduction with very similar wording to other published work. My answer, It is a norm for researchers, when writing scientific papers, read each other’s publications. Often phrases are commonly used, including the whole sentence and referenced . Unless the whole long paragraph is copied, accusing plagiarism in a phrase or a sentence that is commonly used is lame. 3-- Raw data samples that appear to be duplicated (patients have identical data and initials) My answer , this is not mine,my raw data are coded, protected, kept under lock and key, and not allowed to be retrieved from electronic system, during and after the trial. The retrieval system is well protected. 4--The research was simply sent to research square for presentation on open digital platforms dedicated to the pre-print process. It is known (and surely the Guardian knows this!!!) that preprint sites are dedicated to presenting scientific research to the scientific community in order to take opinions, notes and comments in preparation for correcting errors and modifying the text and then sending it to a refereed journal in preparation for its publication. All preprint sites put on their homepage a notice “that the research published on the site is only preprint and did not take the status of the published research because it did not obtain accreditation and approval, which is issued by the peer review process and the editor-in-chief of a peer review journal.” The site adds that it warns the reader not to take remedial decisions and it is not correct to base any preprint research on any medical steps or procedures.”

Going Underground Social Media Producer Farhaan Ahmed speaks to Kawsachun News reporter Ollie Vargas. He discusses the declaration of victory by Pedro Castillo in Peru, the allegations of election fraud by his far-right rival Keiko Fujimori, what's next for Bolivia under the MAS and President Luis Arce, security in Bolivia after the 2019 US-backed coup, former President Lula Da Silva running to be President again in 2022 against Jair Bolsonaro, the state of the Bolibarian Revolution in Venezuela after years of US sanctions and Maduro bringing in foreign oil companies into Venezuela's energy sector, setbacks for the left in Ecaudor with the defeat of Andres Arauz and election of Guillermo Lasso and much more!

We speak to Afghanistan’s Former Ambassador to China, Prof. Janan Mosazai. He discusses the US withdrawal from Afghanistan which is almost complete, the risk of state collapse and all-out civil war between The Taliban and Afghan Government, the significance of the Tehran Inter-Afghan Summit and the role that other heavyweights such as Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and others in the region could play in either an all-out proxy war or development of peace in Afghanistan, the role of China in helping build stability in Afghanistan, why Afghanistan is very important for China geopolitically and much more!

On this online exclusive interview of Going Underground, Social Media Producer Farhaan Ahmed speaks to Alan Macleod, senior staff writer at Mint Press News and author of ‘Bad News From Venezuela: 20 Years of Fake News and Misreporting’. He discusses Western media bias against the Bolivarian Revolution from the start of Hugo Chavez’ Presidency and the roots of the bias, Venezuela’s dispute with COVAX as US sanctions cause Venezuelan transactions for vaccines to be blocked, the state of Venezuela’s public sector and social programs as the US oil embargo and crippling sanctions causes government revenue to continue shrinking, the state of the Venezuelan opposition as Juan Guaido has arguably lost all momentum, whether President Nicolas Maduro is incorporating neoliberalism in trying to fuel economic recovery, whether a second Pink Tide of left-wing governments sweeping Latin America can aid Venezuela’s recovery and much more!

We speak to Jay Naidoo, a former cabinet member under anti-apartheid hero and former South African President Nelson Mandela. He discusses the mass social unrest that has occurred in the past week following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma, the causes of the violence and unrest, neoliberalism’s failure in South Africa under the African National Congress, why a new South African system has to incorporate the ideas of the young generation and put ecology at the centre, the anti-apartheid campaign and the effects of the world boycotts of South African cricket and football which helped change white Afrikaner minds in South Africa and much more.

We speak to Palestine’s Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot. He discusses the importance of Nabka Day where 750,000 Palestinians were violently displaced as Israel was created, the link between Nakba Day and Sheikh Jarrah, the arguable failure of the Palestinian Authority to protect Palestinians from Israeli airstrikes and occupation, the growing unity of Hamas and the PA against the Israeli occupation, the need for the Palestinian resistance to go ‘all the way’ and end what he calls Israeli apartheid and supremacy, why he believes trying to defeat Israel’s occupation militarily will not work.

We speak to David Stubbs, friend and colleague of the late political commentator Mark Fisher and author of ‘ The Story of Electronic Music from Stockhausen to Skrillex’. He discusses the significance of Mark Fisher’s political commentary and journalism, his anti-neoliberal capitalism views and optimism for a brighter future, the mental health struggles Mark Fisher faced and why he attributed the mental health crisis with life in the 21st century, his view that everything is political, the Euro 2021 final between England and Italy, the England Football team and why it represents a more positive nationalism when they kneel in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and much more!

We speak to the Cuban Ambassador to the UK Bárbara Montalvo Álvarez. She discusses the anti-government protests in Cuba and the biased Western media coverage, the role of US companies in fomenting the unrest with hashtags such as SOSCuba, the effects of the US embargo on the Cuban economy which she calls a genocidal policy, the Cuban medical industry and its production of homemade vaccines, the US’ listing of Cuba as a state sponsor of terror, Cuba’s warmth to the prospect of Lula Da Silva returning to power in Brazil amid what some call the Second Pink Tide and much more! STATEMENT FROM THE EU: · In relation to the broad waiver proposed by a number of WTO members, the European Commission, while ready to discuss any option that helps end the pandemic as soon as possible, is not convinced that this would provide the best immediate response to reach the objective of the widest and timely distribution of COVID-19 vaccines that the world urgently needs. The EU’s proposals to the WTO (4 June) aim at achieving that objective in a swift and effective manner. · We would need to have more information to assess the US position and how it compares to the proposal already made by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization. · The priority for the EU is to ramp up production of COVID vaccines to achieve global vaccination. The EU is at the forefront of deliveries of effective vaccines to the rest of the world: so far, more than 500 million doses have been exported outside the EU. As many as have been delivered to Europeans (by mid-July). · In the short term, we maintain that it is key for all vaccine producing countries to allow export immediately and to avoid measures that disrupt the supply chains. · Vaccine production requires complicated biological processes, involving know-how, technology, skilled personnel and infrastructure. It is not by simply waving intellectual property rights that safe and effective vaccines can be produced, but rather by collaboration between those that have the knowledge and those that have the capacity. · If voluntary solutions fail and intellectual property becomes a barrier to treatments or vaccines against COVID-19, the necessary mechanisms are already available under the TRIPS Agreement. This is why the EU presented specific proposals on how to facilitate the use of compulsory licencing in the context of a pandemic. This is a practical response to the specific concerns related to potential difficulties for making use of this existing TRIPs flexibilities. · The EU is engaged in a text-based process in the TRIPS Council to ensure that the IPR regime supports efforts to enhance access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. · This is also why Europe committed EUR 1 billion to create with our African partners and our industrial partners manufacturing hubs in different regions in Africa.

We speak to Clare Daly MEP. She discusses the Julian Assange case and how it shows the hypocrisy of the West in calling out Russia on human rights abuses and Alexei Navalny’s arrest, the hawkish framing of the Vladimir Putin-Joe Biden summit by the Joe Biden administration, the West’s tensions with China and why the policy is pushing the EU closer to the United States, the myth of the Chinese threat, Ireland’s recent actions against Israel’s occupation of Palestine, the painting of Russia and China as imminent threats and much more! We contacted the European Parliament about the allegations in this show and they directed us to this article: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/world/20210128STO96606/eu-russia-relations-under-strain-what-are-the-causes

We speak to Wikileaks Editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson. He discusses the leaks showing up to 50,000 people were potential targets of the Pegasus spyware that has been sold to governments around the world by NSO, an Israeli company and the inescapable global surveillance apparatus, that has also now become privatised. He also discusses the Julian Assange US extradition case, where he slams the ongoing detention of Julian Assange despite a key witness in the case against Julian Assange admitting to lying. STATEMENT FROM NSO: “It is no surprise that this story has a splashy headline. When reading the story, readers quickly learn that there is no link between the 50,000 numbers to NSO Group or Pegasus. “In fact, even the Washington Post’s editor stated that “the purpose of the list could not be conclusively determined” and the list does not identify who puts the numbers on it or why. The report itself stated that “it is unknown how many of the phones were targeted or surveilled”. “Then the readers learn that the actual story is built around 37 of the 50,000 phone numbers, and even for those 37 - the reporters fail to prove a definitive link between the numbers and NSO. “This list is an equivalent of opening the WhitePages, choosing randomly 50,000 numbers, and drawing headlines from it. “The story has been flimsy from the beginning. When editors contacted NSO Group last week after spending months researching rumors and innuendos, the claim was even more sensational, not to mention imaginary. They originally claimed that the 50,000 numbers were found on an NSO server. After realizing that it’s impossible, since Pegasus has never been licensed that many numbers, and because NSO servers do not have such kind of data, the editors quickly turned their story into a massive ‘what if’, only not to ruin a good headline. “Now the new claim is that these 50,000 numbers exist on an unfamiliar list with no ties whatsoever to NSO. Yet, somehow, the editors decided to run with this story, even after it became clear that their unidentified sources had misled them, most likely intentionally. “Finally, instead of admitting that there is no massive plot, the editors and reporters are intentionally misleading readers using twists and turns to distract from that elusive term – “the truth”. “As NSO has previously stated, our technology was not associated in any way with the heinous murder of Jamal Khashoggi. We can confirm that our technology was not used to listen, monitor, track, or collect information regarding him or his family members mentioned in your inquiry. We previously investigated this claim, which again, is being made without validation. “We also stand by our previous statements that our products, sold to vetted foreign governments, cannot be used to conduct cybersurveillance within the United States, and no foreign customer has ever been granted technology that would enable them to access phones with U.S. numbers. It is technologically impossible and reaffirms the fact that your sources claim have no merit. “Notwithstanding the above, NSO Group will continue to investigate all credible claims of misuse and take appropriate action based on the results of these investigations. This includes shutting down of a customers’ system, something NSO has proven its ability and willingness to do, due to confirmed misuse, has done multiple times in the past, and will not hesitate to do again if a situation warrants. “NSO Group’s technologies have helped prevent terror attacks, gun violence, car explosions and suicide bombings. The technologies are also being used every day to break up pedophilia, sex, and drug-trafficking rings, locate missing and kidnapped children, locate survivors trapped under collapsed buildings, and protect airspace against disruptive penetration by dangerous drones. Simply put, NSO Group is on a life-saving mission, and the company will faithfully execute this mission undeterred, despite any and all continued attempts to discredit it on false grounds.”

We firstly speak to Nick Dearden, Director of Global Justice Now. He discusses Boris Johnson’s cutting of the foreign aid budget, the use of British aid to fuel privatisation and big business, the need for the UK to pay reparations to countries which have been the victims of the British Empire, how UK foreign aid has been used for soft power and inappropriate ventures, the need for global wealth redistribution and how foreign aid needs to be reformed globally to stop funds being used only to benefit big business and promoting neoliberalism, vaccine apartheid and the disparity between the global south and global north, how big pharma is making life and death decisions on who lives and who dies in the Coronavirus pandemic, the failure of COVAX and much more!

We speak to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Chief Economist Maximo Torero. He discusses the large increase in people around the world who are chronically undernourished, how the Coronavirus lockdown-fuelled economic recessions have reduced incomes dramatically and fuelled the food security crisis, the role of climate change and conflicts in exacerbating world hunger, why the FAO 2021 report doesn’t focus as much on hunger and poverty in Western countries, Cuba’s successful elimination of hunger prior to the pandemic and much more!

we speak to Steve Killelea, founder of the Institute for Economics & Peace, about the Global Peace Index 2021 report. He discusses the deterioration of peace through the Coronavirus pandemic, the increase of violent mass demonstrations against inequality and racial discrimination, the most violent countries in the world being in Latin America and much more!

We firstly speak to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, David Boyd. He discusses the class dynamic of the climate change crisis and how the rich are overwhelmingly to blame for the rise in CO2 emissions, how poor countries are bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change, why it is the responsibility for richer countries to fight climate change, myths about China being the world’s worst polluter, the increasing fatality of air pollution and much more!