The Lowdown from Nick Cohen

Why we think what we think! The factors beyond our control that form our beliefs!

Nick Cohen chats to author, journalist and entrepreneur Turi Munthe about his latest book "Why We Think What We Think," which explores how non-rational factors significantly influence political and social beliefs.

In an increasingly polarised and fractious world, the issue of people's beliefs and think and why they hold them is becoming increasingly of importance, and for our sinister tech giants, of monetary value!

Turi Munthe discusses various research findings showing how physical attributes like beauty, neurological differences, climate, and cultural background shape political preferences, including examples like taste bud variations between liberals and conservatives, and how collectivist versus individualist cultures affect moral reasoning. Turi's research also reveals how factors such as good looks can have an inordinate influence on people''s belief systems and how they succeed or fail in life.

Nick and Turi discuss concerns about using biological research to pathologise political differences, the importance of free speech in allowing different perspectives to emerge, and how gender differences in political attitudes have shifted over time. Turi concludes by emphasising that humans think better in conversation than alone, suggesting that robust debate remains essential for understanding and potentially overcoming our predisposed opinions.

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Turi Munthe FRSA is an Anglo-French journalist and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Demotix, which became the largest network of photo-journalists in the world, as well as Parlia, an encyclopaedia of opinion. His book Why we think what we think, The unexpected origins of our deepest beliefs is published by Penguin.

Nick Cohen's @NickCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond.
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Lowdown election special with Rafael Behr of The Guardian

Brexit Britons away with the fairies- and believing in at least 6 impossible things before Breakfast!

In the local - and national elections, British voters voted for parties in Wales & Scotland that want to destroy the United Kingdom and for Nigel Farage and his fellow Reform con artists who conned 17.4 million people into voting for Brexit and geo-political isolation and economic impoverishment!

WTF planet do these people inhabit?

In his latest Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen talks to Rafael Behr - the distinguished Guardian columnist - about the political crisis facing Britain and the Labour Party following recent election defeats across Scotland, Wales, London, and English local government. The two political commentators discuss Labour's leadership challenges, with Sir Keir Starmer facing significant unpopularity, and examine potential successors including Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner, and Andy Burnham. They discuss how the Labour Party lacks a clear identity or heartland support, while also addressing the rise of the Green Party and Reform Party as electoral forces. Nick and Raf conclude with analysis of Britain's broader political fragmentation, including the dominance of pro-independence parties across Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and the challenges facing centrist politics in the current political environment.

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Rafael's recent book Politics: A Survivor's Guide: How to stay engaged without getting enraged is published by W.F.Howes Ltd and available at Amazon and in all good bookshops.
Support the show You can also read his wonderful columns in the Guardian. His X handle is @rafaelbehr

Nick Cohen's @NickCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trumps disastrous foreign policy on Iran and Ukraine isolates the U.S and the UK!

In this latest Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen talks to distinguished defence expert, Phillips O'Brien from St. Andrews University, about military developments in Ukraine and Iran, focusing on how drone technology is changing the nature of warfare. Phillips explains how Ukraine's use of cheap, mass-produced drones has transformed battlefield dynamics, making traditional heavy armour systems obsolete and causing significant Russian casualties. Phillips and Nick discuss Trump's Iran strategy, with Phillips analysing Trump's psychological dependence on Putin and his desire for a quick military victory that hasn't materialised. They also examine the declining U.S.-Israel relationship in American politics and discussed Britain's post-Brexit foreign policy challenges, particularly regarding the special relationship with the United States and potential rejoining of the European Union.

The so-called Special Relationship" is dead - The UK's sucking up to the U.S. will achieve nothing!

Phillips says, "King's Charles' visit, sadly, might've unfortunately turned the clock back to make people believe that the special relationship still exists when it doesn't. That, Britain's future security wise and political wise is in Europe and the Europeans now are far more down that road.

"The Germans now are, are understanding that the United States is not reliable, not trustworthy, and Europeans have to look after themselves. States like the Baltics, the Nordics, all of them are farther down this road. The British might have been going down this road.

"I'm not sure they will now after the the Charles visit, but hopefully they, they do, because that is something Britain has to admit. Brexit was a disaster. It was stupid. It weakened Britain. It's put it outside of the tent. For now. Britain has to try and get inside the European tent because that's where its future is."

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Read Phillips' own regular Substack column - Phillips's Newsletter. Phillips is also professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews.

Nick Cohen's @NichCohen4 regular Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond is another must-read.

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Is there are braver new world out there for Brits or they doomed for ever to be the no-can-do nation?

Nick Cohen talks to journalist and author, John Kampfner, about his book "Brave a New World," which examines democratic governments that successfully address long-term challenges like aging populations, renewable energy, and housing. Kampfner highlights Japan's approach to demographic change through cross-party collaboration, insurance systems, and integrating older citizens into mainstream society.

Climate change, low birth rate amd and ageing populations, the dangerous instability of the US - these are are all existential issues some nations are grasping while others are ducking them, or tip-toeing around them.

Nick and John discuss Britain's failure to address such huge issues issues, particularly under Keir Starmer's government, which Kampfner criticises for adopting a cautious, incremental approach that avoids bold leadership. The failure is all the more mysterious when taking into acccount the huge landslide majority won by Labour at the last general election. They explore how Britain's political culture and journalistic practices create barriers to addressing long-term challenges, and John Kampfner suggests that unless mainstream politics embraces more daring leadership, it risks being overtaken by populist alternatives.

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John Kampfner @johnkampfner @johnkampfner.bsky.social is a journalist and author. His new book, Braver New World, The countries daring to do things other countries won't, is published by Atlantic Books.
John's Susbtack column is Citizen of Everywhere.

Nick Cohen's @NickCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond.
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We have the i-Phone to thank for the fast death of literacy & rise of autocracy

"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book because there would be no one who wanted to read one."
— Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

This week, Nick Cohen talks to essayist and Times journalist James Marriott about Marriott's essay on "The dawn of the post-literate society" and his upcoming book "The New Dark Ages." James argued that mass literacy, which emerged in the 18th century, was fundamental to democracy, science, and philosophy, but that modern screen-based technologies like smartphones are replacing reading and leading to mass cognitive decline.

James and Nick discuss how television and now social media platforms like TikTok are changing political discourse, making it more emotional and less rational, with examples like Donald Trump's anti-vaxx stance and the rise of populist leaders who thrive on screen.

James concludes that democracy may not be sustainable in our current information environment, as it relies on abstract thinking that doesn't translate well to visual media formats

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James Marriott is a columnist and film critic on The Times, and has own Substack column, Cultural Capital. James's Substack essay on how the smart phone is helping to usher in a new dark age - The dawn of the post-literate society - And the end of civilisation - went viral and has led to his first book, to be published by Bodley Head - an imprint of Penguin - either next month or in the Autumn, The new Dark Ages: the end of reading and the dawn of a post-literate society.

Nick Cohen's @NickCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.