Going Underground Episode Archive

We speak to Barnaby Phillips, author of Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes, a colonial-era theft of some of the most awe-inspiring art in Africa from modern day Nigeria. Phillips discusses the ongoing battle for formerly colonised countries to get their national treasures back from colonial powers. #BeninBronzes #Nigeria #Politics STATEMENT FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM: The British Museum works in partnership with colleagues, communities and organisations across the world. We are currently collaborating with The Legacy Restoration Trust (LRT) in Nigeria and Adjaye Associates on major new archaeology project, linked to the construction of the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA). This innovative collaboration will investigate the archaeology of the Kingdom of Benin, including archaeological remains buried below the proposed site of the new museum. The EMOWAA will reunite Benin artworks from international collections. The Benin Dialogue Group, of which the BM is a member, will work with EMOWAA to help develop this new permanent display of Benin works of art. The devastation and plunder wreaked upon Benin City during the British military expedition in 1897 is fully acknowledged by the Museum and the circumstances around the acquisition of Benin objects explained in gallery panels and on the Museum’s website. We believe the strength of the British Museum collection resides in its breadth and depth, allowing millions of visitors an understanding of the cultures of the world and how they interconnect over time – whether through trade, migration, conquest, or peaceful exchange.

We speak to Khing Maung Zaw, lawyer for detained former State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi. He discusses his family’s role in the heroic resistance of communist Aung San, who helped liberate Myanmar from colonial rule, the condition of Aung San Suu Kyi and the conditions she faces in prison, international action on her detainment and action against the military regime, the atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims, the geopolitics of the Myanmar-China relationship and much more!

We speak to Antony Loewenstein, independent journalist and author. He discusses the arrival of new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, how Bennett’s record is largely similar to Netanyahu’s if not even more right-wing, the analysis that 100 out of 120 members of the Israeli Knesset are pro-occupation, international pressure on Israel as the “only way” to end the occupation of Palestine, the extent of US influence over Israeli policy, Israel’s refusal to acknowledge its own nuclear weapons programme, the double standard on the nuclear weapons issue for countries such as Iran and much more!

We speak to Victor Gao, Vice President of the Center for China and Globalisation. He discusses the COVID-19 lab leak theory and makes the case against why the claim is a baseless conspiracy, highlighting the fact COVID-19 samples have been discovered in many other parts of the world that predate the Wuhan outbreak, US funding for Chinese virus research, the closing of Chinese databases and the absence of a direct species source for zoonotic transmission of the virus, the Uighur Tribunal and much more!

We speak to Prof. Guy Standing. He discusses his new book ‘The Corruption of Capitalism’, the shocking revelations made by Dominic Cummings about disastrous Coronavirus pandemic mismanagement by the Boris Johnson government, arguable neglect and chronic corruption, the revolving door between big finance and politics in the UK, the financial sector’s tremendous control and influence over the British economy, the mainstream media being a part of the rentier economy system, how big financial companies groom people to go into politics to ensure favourable policy, why work doesn’t pay in the UK and how the economy directs most wealth to the capitalist class, why the furlough scheme was fundamentally unfair, the prospect of economic catastrophe coming out of the pandemic for the working class killing more people than Coronavirus in the UK, mass privatisation of public services due to neoliberal economic doctrine and much more!

We firstly speak to Nicholas Wade, former Science Editor at the New York Times. He discusses the hypothesis that Coronavirus may have been manipulated and leaked from a laboratory, COVID-19’s ability to target human cells from the very start, what makes COVID-19 unique in the same family of viruses, US funding for research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and much more!

We speak to Mahesh Zagade, former Principal Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra. He discusses the Coronavirus catastrophe in India where over 326,000 people have died from the disease, Narendra Modi’s failure to secure enough vaccine supplies for India despite it being one of the pharmaceutical production hubs of the world, the Indian variant and the causes of its ‘black fungus’ in some patients and more! Afshin Rattansi challenges him on the Indian government’s neoliberal approach to the pandemic, arguably prioritising big pharma Coronavirus vaccine profits thanks to contracts with foreign countries as hundreds of thousands continue to die and go without the vaccine in India. #India #Coronavirus #Modi Indian High Commission spokesperson: "India’s domestic vaccination programme started in January 2021 and within a few days, we also started assisting our immediate neighbours. Quite appropriately, Vaccine Maitri began in the immediate neighbourhood. The extended neighbourhood followed thereafter including nations of the Gulf. We were also mindful of our obligation to fulfil contractually binding agreements both bilateral and also via COVAX -the UN run initiative to vaccinate the poor and vulnerable. "By 25 May, India had supplied over 66 million doses of home-produced vaccine to 95 countries (including 10 million gratis, others under contractual obligations or through COVAX), and had vaccinated her population with 196.4 million doses, setting a global benchmark of being the fastest nation to do so, having administered 170 million doses in 114 days (the US took 115 days, and China needed 119 days) . At the end of February we had less than 10,000 cases a day. Therefore, sending vaccines to some vulnerable regions was a pragmatic decision in the interest of welfare and well-being of humanity. "India has currently approved three vaccines - Covaxin of Bharat Biotech, Covishield of Serum Institute and Sputnik V. India, being the largest producer of vaccines in the world, has the capacity to ramp up production by speedily licensing the indigenously developed Covaxin to other producers. We are also pursuing procurement of 510 million doses by the end of August 2021 and, between September and December 2021, we anticipate the procurement of over 2 billion doses, which should be enough to fully vaccinate everyone above 18 years in India."

We speak to the late leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation Yasser Arafat’s nephew Dr. Yasser Al-Kidwa. He discusses the Presidential election next door in Syria which saw Bashar Al-Assad re-elected for another 7 year term, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Ramallah to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, perceptions that the Palestinian Authority and ruling elite are out of touch for still pursuing negotiations with the United States, whether the Palestinian resistance is moving towards armed struggle as Hamas has arguably sidelined the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas’ attempts to remove him from the Yasser Arafat Foundation’s board of directors, how the situation would look if Yasser Arafat were to be leading the resistance in 2021 and much more!

We speak to Prof. Forrest Hylton, Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Colombia. He discusses the causes of the protests that have rocked the government of US-backed President Ivan Duque, Duque’s proposed ‘regressive’ tax laws abs neoliberal US-style healthcare reforms, the dire economic situation of millions of Colombians living in poverty, statistics of Colombian police brutality and sexual violence against women protesting, the growing number of forced disappearances, his belief that Ivan Duque will try to sabotage the chances of leftist candidate Gustavo Petro, the US’ lack of action against the crackdown in Colombia and much 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 lead scientist in the Oxford team which designed the AstraZeneca vaccine, Dr. Adrian Hill. He discusses the process of the development of the vaccine, early hypotheses that existing vaccines such as the polio vaccine could help fight Coronavirus and why these claims were not accurate, the Indian variant of COVID-19 and if the Oxford-AstraZeneca and other vaccines will be able to protect against it, reports of blood clots associated with the vaccine, calls for the removal of patents on vaccines to give global south countries access and the ability to produce vaccines of their own and much more!

We speak to Luz Lopez, Senior Supervising Attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Centre. She discusses the US-Mexico border crisis, why Biden’s policies are no different to Trump’s despite the contrasting rhetoric, the causes of mass immigration from Latin America to the United States including US interventionism in the region and the promotion of neoliberal orthodoxy, her own story of fleeing with her family from El Salvador to the United States after US support for a right wing government in her country, the horrors faced by migrants on their journey to the US and much more.

We speak to Steve Howell, former advisor to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He too discusses the Israeli occupation and violence targeting occupied Palestine, his new book ‘Collateral Damage’, Sir Keir Starmer’s electoral disaster in the recent elections, why the Labour Party lost a traditionally socialist stronghold in Hartlepool, US regime change in the Middle East and its origins in the 1986 bombing of Libya and much more

We firstly speak to Sir Tony Brenton, the former UK Ambassador to Russia. He discusses Boris Johnson’s decision to send UK warships to the Black Sea, Russia’s recent military build-up near the Ukrainian border for military exercises which have since concluded, Alexei Navalny’s imprisonment in Russia and his history of racist comments in the past, whether conflict between the US, NATO and its allies vs Russia and China can be avoided and much more!

On our 1000th episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer. He discusses the significance of the arrest of Julian Assange on this day 2 years ago on the war on press freedom, how Julian Assange’s persecution started with the arbitrary detention at the Ecuadorian Embassy, the health of Julian Assange and his assessment that he has been psychologically tortured, the war crimes and corruption Wikileaks has exposed, the media’s role in the psychological torture of Assange and much more!

We speak to the Jerusalem Post’s Yonah Jeremy Bob. Afshin Rattansi challenges him on Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza which have killed scores of civilians including children, allegations from human rights organisations that Israel is an apartheid state, the ongoing expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, why Hamas is better able to penetrate the Iron Dome Missile Defence system, attacks targeting the Dimona nuclear facility and Israel’s nuclear program and much more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate & founder of Women Journalists Without Chains, Tawakkol Karman.

We speak to Pádraig Ó Muirigh, the solicitor representing Ballymurphy families. He discusses the coroner’s verdict on the Ballymurphy massacre, which concluded that all those who had been killed by the Parachute Regiment of the British Army in Operation Demetrius were not guilty of any crime, despite the decades of smears that the victims had been IRA gunmen who had acted violently against British soldiers. He also discusses why contrary to some opinions, the inquest and finding out the truth helps to heal the divisions of the past, pressure on Prime Minister’s from elements of the British government which allegedly didn’t want the truth to come out, the brutality of the Parachute Regiment as described by witnesses, an alleged culture of immunity for loyalists and the British Army for crimes in Northern Ireland, whether there’s any hopes for prosecuting those in command of Operation Demetrius, the families’ prioritising the pursuit of justice over an apology from Boris Johnson and much more! STATEMENT FROM KAREN BRADLEY MP: “The findings from the Ballymurphy inquest are truly shocking and show that all victims of the troubles need to find out the truth about what happened. The remarks referred to were an occasion where I made a mistake and corrected the record at the earliest opportunity. I apologised to anyone who was offended by those comments at the time and am happy to repeat that apology. I believe that nobody is above the rule of law. In the time between the remarks, for which I have apologised, and the Prime Minister carrying out a reshuffle, I chaired nearly 15 weeks of talks to try to restore the Executive in Northern Ireland. These talks ultimately led to the restoration of devolved power sharing government in Jan 2020.”

We firstly speak to Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, founder and leader of the Palestinian National Initiative. He discusses the attempt to displace Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah by Israel and Israeli settlers, the invasion of Al-Aqsa mosque by Israeli forces in which Palestinians were shot with rubber steel-coated bullets, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, Britain’s and the United States’ responsibility in the suffering of Palestinians and much more!

We speak to the Jerusalem Post’s Yonah Jeremy Bob. Afshin Rattansi challenges him on Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza which have killed scores of civilians including children, allegations from human rights organisations that Israel is an apartheid state, the ongoing expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, why Hamas is better able to penetrate the Iron Dome Missile Defence system, attacks targeting the Dimona nuclear facility and Israel’s nuclear program and much more!

We speak to Prof. Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University. He discusses the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd which sparked Black Lives Matter protests across the world, why diversity training doesn’t work, why the American story is not one of oppression but one of struggling to live up to the founding ideals of the nation, the alleged rise of ‘cancel culture’ and suppression of Conservative thought, the transformation of the American left and much more!

We speak to Organiser for the Twin Cities Minneapolis Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and candidate in the Minneapolis City Council elections Robin Wonsley. She discusses the emotional trauma that the police killing of Daunte Wright has once again had on the US’ African-American community, the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd and the excuses of drug use being used by Chauvin’s defence, how Joe Biden has already shown that he won’t America’s arguably racist policing won’t be changing under him and much more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to the former President of Catalonia and European Parliament MP Carles Puigdemont. He discusses the independence referendum that was held in Catalonia in 2017 and the Spanish state’s subsequent crackdown on Catalonia’s independence movement, the history of repression against Catalonia through the history of Spain through the Franco-era to the present, his own family’s history of political persecution by the Spanish state, the rise of far-right parties like Vox in Catalonia and why this isn’t a new historical trend, why hopes for an agreement under Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez may be shaky after a prominent pro-negotiation politician has left Sanchez’ cabinet, how the Spanish ‘deep state’ of today is the same as the Franco-era deep state and much more!

We speak to Frank Grillo, star of the new film ‘Body Brokers’. He discusses who the Body Brokers were and how they scammed drug addicts with extortionate rehabilitation costs, how his own father fell victim to the body brokers, his roles in ‘No Man’s Land’ and other new films he’s working on, his thought process behind picking which roles he’ll accept and much more!

We speak to John Paul Mejia of the Sunrise Movement. He discusses why environmentalists and progressives are demanding the Line 3 pipeline be shutdown, the encroachment of many of these fossil fuel pipelines on indigenous peoples’ rights, why all future permits for oil and gas pipelines should be denied, why the Line 3 pipeline is arguably a test of trust between voters of colour and President Joe Biden, why the move away from Middle East oil and the US’ wars in the Middle East, why Biden will face more scrutiny than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama and much more!