Crash Course With Michael Walker

India's elections are the world's largest. But in a context in which Modi's political opponents are subject to arbitrary arrest, can we really call the country a democracy?LSE Anthropologist Alpa Shah thinks we shouldn't, and in her new book 'The Incarcerations' she explains how the arrest of 16 intellectuals and activists symbolises India's slide into authoritarianism, and even fascism.**This is a free preview of a paid episode. To listen to the full interview sign up at patreon.com/crashcoursepod**

To mark India's general election, I'll be doing a few episodes on the politics and economics of the world's most populous nation. In this first interview, I speak to the Oxford historian Pratinav Anil about Modi's Hindu Nationalism, and how it came to dominate politics in India.**This is a free preview of a paid episode. To listen to the full interview sign up at patreon.com/crashcoursepod**

In the second part of my conversation with Vincent Bevins we discussed the arab spring and the fall of the Soviet Union. The conversation includes Vincent giving a really useful explanation of the rise and fall of the Egyptian revolution, and me making a tentative case for small-c conservatism.**This is a free preview of a paid episode. To listen to all Crash Course episodes in full sign up at patreon.com/crashcoursepod**

Vincent Bevins is one of my favourite authors - and a good friend of mine - so I knew when I got him sat down in a room our conversation good go on for a long time. I wasn't wrong. This is the first part of a three hour conversation where we discuss his latest book "If We Burn: The Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution" . In this episode I tell Vince my doubts about the protest movements I was part of in the early 2010s, and we take a deep dive look at protest movements in Brazil and Chile.To listen to the full episode sign up at patreon.com/crashcoursepod

In my first crossover episode with Novara FM I spoke to Nick Bano about his new book "Against Landlords". Nick also wrote a recent piece in the Guardian which caused controversy due to Nick's unusual claim that Britain doesn't need to build more houses. I fundamentally disagree with Nick on that point, hence this became a bit of a debate!You can read Nick's Guardian piece here -> https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/mar/19/end-of-landlords-surprisingly-simple-solution-to-uk-housing-crisis

**This is free preview of a members only episode. To listen to the full interview sign up at patreon.com/crashcoursepod**As Israel bombards Gaza, the Tory Party have used anti-war protests as an excuse to whip up a moral panic about British muslims. To discuss the long history of Tory animosity towards muslims - and the broader ideology that sees islam as a threat to the West - I spoke to Peter Oborne. Peter Oborne is the former chief political commentator at the Daily Telegraph. His most recent book is "The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam."

** This is a free preview of a paid episode. To listen to the full interview sign up at patreon.com/crashcoursepod **Events since October 7th have shown the strengths and weaknesses of international law. On the one hand, differing attitudes to Russia and Israel have shown the West's commitment to international law to be paper thin. On the other, cases brought to the International Court of Justice have given Palestinians a real voice in international affairs. To get a crash course on international law, how its made, who enforces it, and who can ignore it, I spoke to Alonso Gurmendi. Alonso is lecturer in international relations at Kings College London, and an expert on international law. 

**This is a free preview of a longer paid episode. To listen to the full show visit patreon.com/crashcoursepod**I've taken a break from the Palestine series on this episode to interview an expert on another topic that has fascinated me this month: The election of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador. Bukele has been criticised by human rights groups for locking up vast numbers of people suspected of being members of gangs. He is far from a liberal. But the harsh measures have been incredibly effective at reducing what were astronomical levels of violent crime. El Salvador's population has rewarded him with 83% of the vote in this month's presidential election. I spoke to Latin America analyst Nik McNally to discuss how we should interpret Bukele's success.

** This is a free preview of a longer paid episode, to access the whole interview visit patreon.com/crashcoursepod **Is the West's unconditional support for Israel thanks to the existence of a powerful Israel lobby? I spoke to Hil Aked about Britain's Israel lobby, and its activity during the war on Gaza. Hil Aked is author of "Friends of Israel: The Backlash Against Palestine Solidarity" - https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/723-friends-of-israelTwitter: @hil_akedWebsite: hilaked.com