This is part of a longer podcast for our subscribers. You can become a subscriber and find lots of podcasts like this at https://www.patreon.com/conterscot. Jonathon Shafi and David Jamieson discuss Lee Anderson's defection to the Reform party, and the wider phenomenon of the revival of Islamophobia. How dangerous is the new backlash, and does it improve the prospects for Britain's flagging far right?

The state's response to George Galloway's by-election victory has exposed an anti-democratic, anti-Muslim backlash. Those on the left most concerned to distance themselves from Rochdale's new MP are an unprincipled liability, argues David Jamieson.

The political systems of the west are visibly decomposing. Who could represent this more than Joe Biden - the exhausted avatar of a dying world?

Nicola Sturgeon was hailed as a hero during lockdown, despite there being no evidence of her supposedly benign regime. The cabin fever has now broken - but what did it all mean?

In a new podcast series, James Foley and Ewan Kerr will interview key players and experts in Scotland's Covid saga. Cutting through mythology and posturing, they will ask the big questions about democracy, governance, class and power so often obscured in recent years. In this first episode, James and Ewan speak to Neil Findlay, former Labour MP and arch critic of the Scottish Government's handling of the Covid pandemic. They discuss the insults levelled at Findlay in uncovered government Whatsapp chats, what light the Covid inquiry casts on Sturgeonism in general, and the scandal of Covid era deaths in Scottish care homes.

From Scotland and London to Washington, liberal defenders of good governance and equality are finally admitting what we all knew - they just want to defend US global power, no matter the cost in blood and destruction.

As bombs from Fife pound Yemen and Gaza, David Jamieson asks where Scots wish to stand in our changing world.

Co-editors David Jamieson and Jonathon Shafi review the year, thank subscribers for all their support in 2023, and look forward to big changes in the new year.

Chris and Sara speak to Kenny MacAskill about the birth of the Scottish working class and its movements for justice. - What was the impact of the French Revolution in Scotland? - Why were weavers so important among labouring classes in 19th century Scotland. - Who were the Scottish radicals, and how serious was their Insurrection of 1820?

From Ukraine to Gaza, Britain is once again following the US into a series of disasters. Is the UK hopelessly shackled to a zombie empire, facing its own long decline? Someone Else's Empire is a new book by Tom Stevenson, which buries the myth of 'global Britain', and exposes the extent of British subservience to US power. On this episode he discusses the past, present and future of British vassalage, and where it's leading us - from Eastern Europe and the Middle East to the South China Sea.