COUNTER•POWER

War and resistance in UkraineJust over four years ago, as Putin launched Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he expected the war to be over in a matter of days. But Putin’s army would soon be shocked by the resistance they encountered, and today Ukraine still hasn’t fallen. But it hasn’t won either. This is now a complex, attritional war for endurance against an autocratic, imperial state that appears willing to absorb huge economic and human costs to fight on. If you’re unsure of what to make of the war, its history, and some of the debates it throws up, then this is the show for you.Host Luke Cooper is joined by Roksolana Nesterenko, a researcher at the Kyiv School of Economics, and Taras Fedirko, an academic with positions at the University of Glasgow and the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. In this episode:  Mood and situation in Ukraine as of early 2026 Historical context of the war, including the Maidan protests and the Revolution of Dignity A culture of active everyday citizenship  Revenue mobilisation for the war effort through crowdfunding, and how it’s impacted the rise of drone warfare Russian propaganda and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy A transition away from the “rally around the flag” stage of 2022 and where Ukraine is now Featured Organisation: Ukraine Solidarity Campaign BlueskyInstagramTwitter/XFacebookLinks to things we discussedCome Back Alive: a charitable foundation that comprehensively equips the Defence Forces of Ukraine with everything from vehicles to grenade launchers, as well as implementing educational projects for the military.Freefilmers: a cinemovement and NGO from Mariupol, UkraineSerhiy Prytula Charity Foundation: focused on strengthening the Defence Forces of Ukraine and providing assistance to the civilians affected by Russian aggression.Solidarity Collectives: a group of Ukrainian anarchists and anti-authoritarians who united in 2022 to support comrades fighting the Russian imperial aggression in Ukraine and help people affected by the war. Since then, they have built a mutual aid network for the anti-authoritarian movement in Ukraine.UNITED24: this platform allows one-click donations to Ukraine from anywhere. Why is this so important? Because Ukraine itself knows best what is needed and can deliver aid directly.ABOUT THE PODCASTCOUNTER•POWER is brought to you by Stop Trump Coalition, Another Europe Is Possible and Global Justice Now, three organisations at the centre of the new global resistance. This podcast isn’t just about chatting and conversation — it’s about turning ideas into action and building real community power. That’s why we have a simple pledge to you, our audience. On every single episode we’ll leave you with something you can do to catalyse change. Whether it’s the latest big ideas or the movements you need to check out, you’ll find them on COUNTER•POWER. But we need your help to launch this project. We need £8,000 to catapult COUNTER•POWER into the podcasting sphere with the aim of making it self-sustaining in the future.The funds will cover high-quality production – including sound and visuals – as well as consistent editorial quality, all of which are essential to creating the kind of impactful podcast we’re aiming for.Any donation – big or small – can help us get there. Thank you for your support.DONATE HEREFollow Us Instagram@anothereuropeispossible@globaljusticenow @ukstoptrumpTikTok@global.justice.now@uk.stop.trump.coaTwitter / X @Another_Europe@GlobalJusticeUK@UKStopTrumpMusic(cc): Intro R&B instrumental loop, Mcgrogo (Freesound.org)

The issue which has, more than any other, shown the depth of hypocrisy in the international rules based order is Palestine. In Gaza, the world watched a genocide in real time. Despite massive global protests, the machine rolled on – yet Palestinians remain hopeful. Host Nick Dearden speaks with Omar Barghouti, founder of the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) Movement and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, and a recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award. They discuss the source of hope in the face of ongoing atrocities, the continued devastation post-ceasefire, and what Trump’s approach to Greenland and Gaza means for the world order. In This Episode Hope as a duty to future generations The ceasefire as a means to continue genocide with less media coverage — and how complicit media outlets inadvertently contributed to continued solidarity by causing people to seek out alternate, direct coverage from the beginning Israel’s use of genocide in Gaza as a smokescreen for unprecedented brutality in the West Bank, including the destruction of refugee camps Israel’s policy of brutality toward Palestinian political prisoners in the West Bank The links between the genocide in Gaza and corruption in the colonial West Trump’s goal of undermining the United Nations with his ‘Board of Peace’ The history, evolution, and success of the BDS movement – and what’s next Why solidarity begins with ending complicity Boycott, Divest Sanction MovementBDS MovementFacebook: @BDSNationalCommitteeInstagram: @bds.movementTwitter/X: @bdsmovementTikTok: @bds.movementFeatured Organisation: Na’amodNa’amodFacebook: @NaamodUKInstagram: @NaamodUKTwitter/X: @NaamodUKABOUT THE PODCASTCOUNTER•POWER is brought to you by Stop Trump Coalition, Another Europe Is Possible and Global Justice Now, three organisations at the centre of the new global resistance. This podcast isn’t just about chatting and conversation — it’s about turning ideas into action and building real community power. That’s why we have a simple pledge to you, our audience. On every single episode we’ll leave you with something you can do to catalyse change. Whether it’s the latest big ideas or the movements you need to check out, you’ll find them on COUNTER•POWER. But we need your help to launch this project. We need £8,000 to catapult COUNTER•POWER into the podcasting sphere with the aim of making it self-sustaining in the future.The funds will cover high-quality production – including sound and visuals – as well as consistent editorial quality, all of which are essential to creating the kind of impactful podcast we’re aiming for.Any donation – big or small – can help us get there. Thank you for your support.DONATE HEREFollow Us Instagram@anothereuropeispossible@globaljusticenow @ukstoptrumpTikTok@global.justice.now@uk.stop.trump.coaTwitter / X @Another_Europe@GlobalJusticeUK@UKStopTrumpMusic(cc): Intro R&B instrumental loop, Mcgrogo (Freesound.org)

Islamophobia and antisemitism are unfortunately no longer fringe. Increasingly open, increasingly violent, they are reshaping what it means to be Muslim or Jewish in Britain today. And yet these hatreds are rarely examined directly. Instead, they are instrumentalised, folded into debates about immigration, national security, public order, and foreign policy, in ways that often do not represent the actual communities. Host Zoe Williams is joined by Shaista Aziz from the Three Hijabis and Stop Trump Coalition, and Em Hilton, a Jewish organiser and writer based in London, and co-founder of Na’amod: UK Jews against Israeli occupation and apartheid. In this episode:  How these prejudices have evolved in their distinctly 21st-century forms The essentialisation of identity and denial of plurality  The experience of being a British Muslim and a British Jew today The ramifications of the Balfour declaration Who gets to speak for a community, and how these communities are often used as shields for other issues Featured Organisation: CADFA (Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association)Facebook: @camdenabudisInstagram: @c.a.d.f.aTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/camdenabudisLinks to things we discussedHow White Feminism Harms Muslim Women (Shahed Ezaydi)Islamophobia and Securitization: Religion, Ethnicity and the Female Voice (Tania Saeed)Huey P. Newton archiveFacing antisemitism: the struggle for safety and solidarity (Runnymede Trust)Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All (Runnymede Trust)The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil (Philip Zimbardo)ABOUT THE PODCASTCOUNTER•POWER is brought to you by Stop Trump Coalition, Another Europe Is Possible and Global Justice Now, three organisations at the centre of the new global resistance. This podcast isn’t just about chatting and conversation — it’s about turning ideas into action and building real community power. That’s why we have a simple pledge to you, our audience. On every single episode we’ll leave you with something you can do to catalyse change. Whether it’s the latest big ideas or the movements you need to check out, you’ll find them on COUNTER•POWER. But we need your help to launch this project. We need £8,000 to catapult COUNTER•POWER into the podcasting sphere with the aim of making it self-sustaining in the future.The funds will cover high-quality production – including sound and visuals – as well as consistent editorial quality, all of which are essential to creating the kind of impactful podcast we’re aiming for.Any donation – big or small – can help us get there. Thank you for your support.DONATE HEREFollow Us Instagram@anothereuropeispossible@globaljusticenow @ukstoptrumpTikTok@global.justice.now@uk.stop.trump.coaTwitter / X @Another_Europe@GlobalJusticeUK@UKStopTrumpMusic(cc): Intro R&B instrumental loop, Mcgrogo (Freesound.org)

Fascism has never really gone away—but it has changed shape. From the street-level racism and open organising of the British National Party in 1990s East London to today’s globalised far right, this episode traces how authoritarian politics have moved from the margins to the mainstream.Host Nick Dearden draws on personal experience of anti-fascist organising, and is joined by Seema Syeda from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and co-author of Creeping Fascism, and Luke Cooper, author of Authoritarian Contagion and academic at the London School of Economics. Their conversation explores how the far right has built international networks, institutions, and narratives that now feel disturbingly normal. They dig into why “fascism” remains a contested term on the left, what’s genuinely new about the current moment, and what can still be done to resist it.In This Episode The rise and fall of the BNP, street fascism, and the mass anti-racist movements that defeated it Debates about whether “fascism” is the right label for today’s authoritarian politics Key similarities and differences between past and present far-right movements What a Reform government might actually look like in power, and whether figures like Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson represent fundamentally different threats The “Unite the Kingdom” rally and what it reveals about the current far right Featured Organisation: No to HassockfieldNo To HassockfieldFacebook: The No to Hassockfield CampaignInstagram: @no2hassockfieldTwitter/X: @No2HassockfieldLinks to things we discussedCreeping Fascism by Neil Faulkner with Samir Dathi, Phil Hearse and Seema Syeda.Authoritarian Contagion by Luke CooperA Town Within: Visiting Baqa’a Refugee Camp by Madihah KarimWhat happened when I met my Islamophobic troll by Hussein KesvaniThe law of the jungle by Nick DeardenPraxis: The essential guide for changing minds on migrationUNRWA: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugeesTime For Change: The evidence-based policies that can actually fix the immigration systemMake a donation to COUNTER•POWERABOUT THE PODCASTCOUNTER•POWER is brought to you by Stop Trump Coalition, Another Europe Is Possible and Global Justice Now, three organisations at the centre of the new global resistance. This podcast isn’t just about chatting and conversation — it’s about turning ideas into action and building real community power. That’s why we have a simple pledge to you, our audience. On every single episode we’ll leave you with something you can do to catalyse change. Whether it’s the latest big ideas or the movements you need to check out, you’ll find them on COUNTER•POWER. But we need your help to launch this project. We need £8,000 to catapult COUNTER•POWER into the podcasting sphere with the aim of making it self-sustaining in the future.The funds will cover high-quality production – including sound and visuals – as well as consistent editorial quality, all of which are essential to creating the kind of impactful podcast we’re aiming for.Any donation – big or small – can help us get there. Thank you for your support.DONATE HEREFollow Us Instagram@anothereuropeispossible@globaljusticenow @ukstoptrumpTikTok@global.justice.now@uk.stop.trump.coaTwitter / X @Another_Europe@GlobalJusticeUK@UKStopTrumpMusic(cc): Intro R&B instrumental loop, Mcgrogo (Freesound.org)

The first year of Donald Trump’s second term is over — with three long years still to go. Far from the myth of “Trump the peacemaker,” the past twelve months have been marked by war, repression, corruption, and growing global resistance.In this episode, we take stock of Trump’s record so far: from bombing seven countries and backing Israel’s assault on Gaza, to embracing tech oligarchs at home and unleashing ICE against immigrant communities. But resistance is growing. From some of the largest protests in US history to mass demonstrations in the UK against Trump’s second state visit, a global movement is pushing back.Host Zoe Williams is joined by Zoe Gardner from the Stop Trump Coalition and Alyssa Elliott from Indivisible London, the first international chapter of the major US resistance movement. Together, they explore what Trump’s first year tells us about the road ahead — and how movements can confront authoritarianism moving forward. In This Episode One year into Trump’s second term: what has actually happened The myth of “Trump the peacemaker” vs the reality of endless military action ICE raids, police violence, and the targeting of immigrant communities Mass protests in the US and UK — and what they’ve achieved What global resistance to Trump looks like going forward — and why appeasement and fear are not the answer ABOUT THE PODCASTCOUNTER•POWER is brought to you by Stop Trump Coalition, Another Europe Is Possible and Global Justice Now, three organisations at the centre of the new global resistance. This podcast isn’t just about chatting and conversation — it’s about turning ideas into action and building real community power. That’s why we have a simple pledge to you, our audience. On every single episode we’ll leave you with something you can do to catalyse change. Whether it’s the latest big ideas or the movements you need to check out, you’ll find them on COUNTER•POWER. But we need your help to launch this project. We need £8,000 to catapult COUNTER•POWER into the podcasting sphere with the aim of making it self-sustaining in the future.The funds will cover high-quality production – including sound and visuals – as well as consistent editorial quality, all of which are essential to creating the kind of impactful podcast we’re aiming for.Any donation – big or small – can help us get there. Thank you for your support.DONATE HEREFollow Us Instagram@anothereuropeispossible@globaljusticenow @ukstoptrumpTikTok@global.justice.now@uk.stop.trump.coaTwitter / X @Another_Europe@GlobalJusticeUK@UKStopTrumpMusic(cc): Intro R&B instrumental loop, Mcgrogo (Freesound.org)

To much fanfare, Britain has announced yet another "strategic" defence review - the fifth that a UK Government has undertaken in the last 15 years. The peculiar thing, however, is that despite the frequency of these reviews, they have a strong tendency to assert continuity over change. This is certainly the narrative of the present UK Government's latest review: that nothing has changed in UK and US transatlantic relations, apart from the willingness, they suggest, of the UK to spend more on defence. Trump's close friendship with Vladimir Putin and sympathy towards Russia's geopolitical narrative - and the broader turbulence of American politics he forms part of - is, apparently, unimportant for Britain's future defence and security arrangements. And rather than address the varied range of threats and challenges, the review advocates more submarines and nuclear weapons as its big-ticket proposals. In this podcast, Zoe Williams, Luke Cooper and Mary Kaldor discuss this muddled and small-c conservative thinking. They lay out what an alternative defence policy would be, at the centre of which should be a closer relationship with our European allies.  For more on the discussion in this podcast, check out Luke and Mary's recent blog, "‘Organised irresponsibility’: How Britain’s defence strategy clings to a bygone world"

Tim Jackson, an ecological economist and author of 'Prosperity Without Growth', dives into the heart of the care economy. He argues for a fundamental shift in politics and economics, emphasizing that care is essential for all human development. Jackson critiques current healthcare systems, spotlighting how profit motives undermine care quality. He also explores the gendered perceptions of care work and urges society to recognize caregiving as a universal human quality. This engaging discussion challenges conventional views and calls for a transformative approach to care in our lives.

The drift of the global billionaire oligarchy to the radical right is quickening its pace. The Arc conference - billed as a "far right Davos" and with ticket prices to match - recently descended on London, and was joined by the various luminaries and politicians from the British right. On this podcast, Zoe Williams and Luke Cooper are joined by Stella Tsantekidou, a rising star in the UK media and an unusual category of progressive, who likes to wine and dine across the political divide. Stella spent three days and nights at the Arc conference. In the podcast she offers her fly-in-the-wall account of why we should be worried about this extremely well funded global network, drawing the mainstream right into discussion and collaboration with far more radical and in some cases extreme political forces.  For more from Stella and the Arc conference check out her Substack, the Human Carbohydrate, which includes a blog with her Arc Forum diary: https://humancarbohydrate.substack.com/p/jordan-peterson-and-pieter-thiel 

With the return of Donald Trump in the White House - and his insistence that Kyiv and Moscow strike a peace deal "in 24 hours - huge uncertainty now hangs over the future of Ukraine's democracy and freedom. In this podcast, Luke Cooper and Zoe Williams discuss the huge challenges and hardships Ukraine has experienced in the war, drawing on insights from Luke's recent visit to Ukraine. They are joined by Ukrainian academic Yuliya Bidenko from Karazin University in Kharkiv. For more on some of the topics discussed in the podcast, check out these articles: On the Home Front: Ukraine's War Economy and the Spirit of DefianceWill oil decide the fate of the Russia-Ukraine War?Additional podcast material is available to members of Another Europe Is Possible. In this week's extra time, Luke and Zoe discuss the Labour government and to what extent its terrible lack of popularity in what should be its honeymoon period is a crisis of its own making. To join and support our work go to AnotherEurope.org/Join

Millions of people across the world have looked on at the American election result with a sense of dismay and fear. As the world tries to compute and digest a second Trump presidency, Luke Cooper and Zoe Williams try to put the pieces of this catastrophe together and work out what comes next. A reminder that members of Another Europe Is Possible get access to extra material as a benefit of membership. In this extra time, Zoe and Luke have a long old chat about what it all means, from the nature of the new fascism to the difficulties facing those trying to de-dollarize from the global economy and the response of the UK government. To join and support our work go to https://www.anothereurope.org/join/On the main show, they are joined by Graham Campbell, an activist with the SNP who is been in the United States campaigning for Kamala Harris. They also speak to John Feffer from Foreign Policy in Focus, Institute for Policy Studies, in the US about where the Democrats went wrong and what the result means for the rest of the world. If you want to hear more from Graham and John check out these links:  John's rapid response: https://fpif.org/the-plot-against-democracy/Graham's election night report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3IHfZYpqIA