Explore every episode of the podcast Life of the Party
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29: Zack Polanski is Here to Stay | 12 oct. 2026 | 01:25:38 | |
In this week's episode your hosts continue the lively - sometimes fractious - debates around the politics and strategy of the Green Party. Jonas leads us off with his take on the now-passed Zionism is Racism motion - taking us back to anti-imperialist basics - before examining the Green's by-election loss in Holborn and St Pancras. With your hosts split on whether Zack's performance in the by-election was good or not, they end with a unanimous view on Zack's future prospects as Green's leader. READINGS Sivamohan Valluvan and Amit Singh - Pubs for the People: The Fight for the Pint and the Nation Barney Iley - Mass Politics Must Win Greens for Palestine - Anti-Zionism is Not Just Principled, It's Pragmatic THE LIFE OF THE PARTY CADRE Noor, Liam Miller, Neil Rogall, Fraser Amos, Andrew Glassford, Skeleton Wizard, Said Karimi CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 28: Green Party Conference, Zionism is Racism and Organising Beyond Elections | 28 sept. 2026 | 01:06:05 | |
Shanice digs into the Green Party Conference, highlighting some of key motions being debated, and interrogating some of the political tensions at the heart of the Zionism is Racism motion. While Joe questions the Green party's current strategy: offering up some thoughts on how we might practically organise and engage locally to strengthen community relationships and build power from below. READINGS Stuart Hall, Bill Schwarz - Familiar Stranger THE LIFE OF THE PARTY CADRE Noor, Liam Miller, Neil Rogall, Fraser Amos, Andrew Glassford, Skeleton Wizard CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 27: Fighting to be Heard: Attention, Information, and Power | 14 sept. 2026 | 01:08:44 | |
In this week's episode, Joe offers us insights into Zack Polanski's burgeoning campaign for a seat at the parliamentary table. Meanwhile, Shanice dissects the dynamics within contemporary capitalism's information ecosystems. In the context of the gut-wrenching death of Jason Arday, your hosts ask what struggle and contestation looks like when information is organised within an increasingly powerful, and malign, attention economy. READINGS WING - Worlds Apart: Women Under Immigration Law DSA Program - Workers Deserve More! Amelia Horgan - Lost in Work: Escaping Capitalism THE LIFE OF THE PARTY CADRE Noor, Liam Miller, Neil Rogall, Fraser Amos CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 26: Imagined Communities: Should We Embrace the Nation? | 31 août 2026 | 01:16:06 | |
Joe and Jonas reflect on their recent trip to France to take part in the annual festival of Jean-Luc Melenchon’s radical left party, La France Insoumise, while Shanice offers some reflections on the enduring challenge presented to socialist strategy by nationalism and the nation-state. READINGS Kate Fox - Watching the English Satnam Virdee - Racism, Class and the Racialized Outsider Colson Whitehead - The Nickel Boys CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| After Hours Preview: Who Are Reform Voters? | 17 août 2026 | 00:41:56 | |
We are on a summer break so this week you are getting a special preview of our brand new spin-off show, After Hours. In our very first episode of After Hours, Jonas, Joe and Shanice breakdown a recent report from the National Centre for Social Research, investigating what it says about the average Reform voter and what makes this emerging radical right coalition tick. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 25: Talkin' About The Good Life | 03 août 2026 | 01:39:16 | |
Joe breaks down the Greater Manchester mayoral race and argues that poor candidate selection and even worse political strategy had a significant role to play in the Greens’ bad showing. While Jonas then offers us some thoughts on the contemporary challenges to reaching the Good Life, provoking a deeper conversation on how the internet and the attention economy are harming our collective bonds. READINGS John Trickett - The End of Social Democracy Christopher Nolan - The Odyssey Jonas Patrick Marvin - The Breaking of the English Working Class CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: lifeoftheparty.uk Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 24: Cruel Optimism: Can Ecosocialism Stop the Climate Crisis? | 20 juil. 2026 | 01:20:56 | |
In this week's episode, Jonas takes us through the latest wave of machinations within the Labour Party, arguing that Andy Burnham’s strategy is neither radical nor realistic. Afterwards, Joe asks some fundamental questions of eco socialist strategy, pondering to what extent we could mitigate the climate crisis and what vision of eco socialism is possible on a burning planet. READINGS C.L.R. James - The Black Jacobins Erik Olin Wright - How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut for Ampersounds Productions. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: lifeoftheparty.uk Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 23: Immigration: Is the Left Getting It Right? | 06 juil. 2026 | 01:18:48 | |
In this week's episode, Joe raises doubts about the Green Party's choice of candidate in the Manchester mayoralty - spurring wider questions about leadership on the left. After discussing the Green Party's proposals for internal democratic reform, your hosts zoom out to discuss politics' most significant wedge issue: immigration. Shanice opens by critiquing the left's go to arguments, proposing an alternative lens for viewing the critical yet divisive immigration debate. READINGS Joshua Virasami - A World Without Racism: Building Antiracist FuturesThe Productive State - A Framework for Manchesterism Margaret Kennedy - The Feast Please subscribe, comment and leave a review! Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut for Ampersounds Productions. Become a supporter: lifeoftheparty.uk Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 22: Burnham Wins Makerfield: Is It Time For a Progressive Alliance? | 22 juin 2026 | 01:16:30 | |
Jonas runs through Burnham’s big win in Makerfield and what it might mean for the Labour Party and the country, while Joe gives a deep cut on progressive alliances, assessing their history, viability and whether the Greens should sign up. Live show London 3rd July - Get Your Tickets Readings All in: A Revolutionary Theory to Stop Climate Collapse Bitch: A Revolutionary Guide to Sex, Evolution and the Female Animal The Secret History Donna Tartt Please subscribe, comment and leave a review! Become a supporter: lifeoftheparty.uk CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 21: The First 6 Months of Mayor Mamdani | 08 juin 2026 | 01:26:22 | |
Shanice opens up the episode probing why the left’s response to the killing of Henry Nowak has been so lukewarm, whilst Joe gives us a deep dive into six months of Zohran Mamdani’s mayoralty, assessing what’s gone well and what challenges might arise for the young democratic socialist politician. Live show: London 3rd July - Get your tickets! Readings Patrick Radden Keefe - London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth H. V. Morton - In Search of England Asad Haider - Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump Please subscribe, comment and leave a review! Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut for Ampersounds Productions. Become a supporter: lifeoftheparty.uk Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 20: LIVE SHOW! Andy Burnham and British Politics After the Local Elections (Norwich Transformed) | 25 mai 2026 | 01:00:48 | |
Who is Andy Burnham? What is Manchesterism? Should the Greens be afraid of Labour's so-called soft left? Jonas, Joe and Shanice dissect the state of British politics after the local elections, and ask where next for the Left in a rapidly disintegrating two-party system. This episode was recorded live at Norwich Transformed 2026. Please subscribe, comment and leave a review! Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut for Ampersounds Productions. Become a supporter: lifeoftheparty.uk Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 19: Antisemitism, Local Elections and the End of Two Party Duopoly | 11 mai 2026 | 01:36:19 | |
In this week’s episode, Joe takes us on a tour through the recent local elections as we contemplate the end of the two-party system and the brewing Green insurgency. Then Shanice discusses two of this disintegrating system’s morbid symptoms: the rise of both antisemitism and moral panics about antisemitism, asking how the left fights both racism towards Jews and the instrumentalisation of Jewish identity by bad faith actors defending a broken political settlement. Readings Abram Leon - The Jewish Question Callum Cant and Matthew Lee - The Future in our Past: The General Strike Please subscribe, comment and leave a review! Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut for Ampersounds Productions. Become a supporter: https://lifeoftheparty.uk/ Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 18: Your Party Is Dead, But Are The Greens Enough? | 27 avr. 2026 | 01:37:53 | |
Jonas breaks down the latest shenanigans inside Your Party and the crew ask themselves how it got so bad. Whilst Joe offers some thoughts on what we do next, now that it seems the Jeremy Corbyn-led party has entered into a zombie state. Readings Anton Jäger - Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization without Political Consequences Laleh Khalili - Extractive Capitalism: How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global Economy Lotte L.S. - An Economy of Starlings Please subscribe, comment and leave a review! Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut for Ampersounds Productions. Become a supporter: https://lifeoftheparty.uk/ Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17: The Troubled Story of the Socialist Workers’ Party | 13 avr. 2026 | 01:22:58 | |
Shanice opens us up by comparing the outwards-looking priorities of Zack Polanski’s Greens with their fraught neighbours in Your Party. Whilst Jonas uses the opportunity of the recent mass anti-racist Together march to deep dive into one of its central organisers: the Socialist Workers Party. Readings John Maynard Keynes - The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money Red Mole Substack - Duncan Chapel Please subscribe, comment and leave a review! Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut for Ampersounds Productions. Become a supporter: https://lifeoftheparty.uk/ Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 16: NATO is Dead. So What Next? | 30 mars 2026 | 01:28:32 | |
Jonas takes us across the pond in this week's news section, analysing the French municipal elections and gleaning some insight from Jean-Luc Mélenchon's La France Insoumise. Whilst Shanice argues that the acceleration of US imperial decline also heralds the fracturing of Western military alliances and the emergence of new possibilities for anti-war politics. Readings Now, the People! Revolution in the Twenty-First Century - Jean-Luc Mélenchon Homeland Empire w/ Nikhil Pal Singh - Politics Theory Other Love, Loneliness and AI: Where Should We Begin? Live with Esther Perel Please subscribe, comment and leave a review! Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut for Ampersounds Productions. Become a supporter: https://lifeoftheparty.uk/ Follow us on Instagram. This is an Ampersounds production. CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 15: Should the Greens Poach Labour’s Left MPs? | 16 mars 2026 | 01:22:34 | |
Shanice brings in this week’s news with a warning that the Green Party needs to tread cautiously as left-wing MPs consider jumping off the sinking Labour ship and defecting to the eco-populist insurgency. Whilst Joe and Shanice clash over the growing recourse to motion maximalism within the Green Party, as the former’s defence of socialist comms rubs up against the latter’s insistence on the primacy of political principle. Reading Mars Trilogy - Kim Stanley Robinson Adults in the Room - Yanis Varoufakis Become a supporter: lifeoftheparty.uk/support CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 14: Queen of the North? What Hannah Spencer's Win Means for the Left | 02 mars 2026 | 01:33:54 | |
What a week! Shanice, Joe and Jonas dissect the Green party's exciting and decisive victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election. How did Hannah Spencer's campaign win? Is Keir Starmer’s Labour party finished? And where does this leave Your Party? With Jeremy Corbyn's The Many slate coming out of the CEC elections with a big majority, we ask where next for the beleaguered new left party. To wrap up a big episode, Jonas digs deeper into the question of ideology and positioning: should left parties advocate for radical policies like drug decriminalisation and decarceralisation, or do we need to appeal more to the status quo? Reading Golden Gulag - Ruth Wilson Gilmore Policing the Crisis - Stuart Hall The Interpretation of Dreams - Sigmund Freud RSPB Handbook of British Birds - Tim Cleeves On the Ground in Gorton and Denton - Joe Todd CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 13: Left Parties That Win: Lessons from the DSA and the Belgian Workers’ Party | 16 févr. 2026 | 01:15:22 | |
With the Your Party CEC elections in full swing, Jonas breaks down the current state of play in the party - and the gang despair at Your Party’s deteriorating culture of political debate. Would Your Party and the Greens be better if they were a little bit more like the Belgium Worker's Party (PTB), or the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)? Joe challenges the assumptions of the British left, arguing that the PTB and DSA are very different organisations, and we need to analyse them on their own merits. Reading The Breaking of the English Working Class - Jonas Patrick Marvin We Found Love in a Hopeless Place - Gabriel Wynatt The History and Practice of Political Police in Britain - Tony Bunyan Parks and Houses For the People - Johan Pries Your Party's Infantile Disorder - Sam Joyce CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 12: Matt Goodwin is a Loser | 02 févr. 2026 | 01:10:40 | |
With Andy Burnham out for the count - blocked by Keir Starmer and his allies from running to be Gorton and Denton's next MP - Joe, Jonas and Shanice grapple with the dynamics at play in this upcoming, historic by-election that could change the face of British electoral politics. Can the Greens really beat Reform in the North? Are Labour out of the race? And most importantly, why is Reform's candidate Matt Goodwin such an incorrigible loser? Reading A Very British Coup - Chris Mullen The Gorton and Denton by-election: a tale of two Manchesters? - Rob Ford Matt Goodwin and the Politics of Resentment - James Bloodworth How to Block ICE in Your City - Eric Blanc Support Help make Life of the Party happen. Donate at lifeoftheparty.uk/support CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 11: Who Are the Trade Unions Really For? | 19 janv. 2026 | 01:07:54 | |
To kick off series two of Life of the Party Shanice, Jonas and Joe are back to their usual antics with spicy hot takes and pressing party news. This week Jonas gives you the lowdown on Your Party's CEC elections so far. Meanwhile Shanice goes against the grain: arguing that trade unions aren't the only site of working class struggle, and why Your Party and the Greens shouldn't formally affiliate to them. Readings: Disaster Nationalism - Richard Seymour Grub first, then ethics? - Jonas Marvin Lenin's Last Struggle - Moshbe Lewin CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10: Uprisings, New Leaders and the End of MAGA? | 05 janv. 2026 | 01:17:00 | |
Wrapping up the first season of Life of the Party Shanice, Joe, and Jonas give out awards for the major players (and wreckers!) on the burgeoning British left. Meanwhile your hosts dust off their crystal balls to give their predictions on the big political moments heading our way in 2026. Readings: Mistaken Identity - Asad Haider The Populist Moment: The Left after the Great Recession - Anton Jäger and Arthur Borriello Black Marxism - Cedric J. Robinson Become a supporter at lifeoftheparty.uk CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 9: Are We Revolutionaries? Your Questions Answered | 22 déc. 2025 | 01:19:26 | |
In the run up to Christmas Joe, Jonas, and Shanice answer your listener questions. Are we revolutionaries, what does that even mean? Should the left run as councillors? What does community organising mean? Why have some of the Independent Alliance remained in Your Party? We answer these questions, and more - as well as give you our favourite reads of 2025. Readings: Workers Can Win - Ian Allinson Supermarket Struggle - Workers' Inquiry Pessimism of the Will - Asad Haider New Model Island - Alex Niven Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain - Sam Wetherell CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 8: A Wild Weekend at Conference | 08 déc. 2025 | 01:16:05 | |
** Help keep the podcast ad free - become a Life of the Party supporter ** Coming back from a wild weekend in Liverpool, Jonas gives us an insider account of the vibes, schisms and politics shaping the long-awaited founding conference of Your Party. Meanwhile Joe probes at critical questions: have the Green party completely over-shadowed Your Party? Should Your Party ditch elections and focus on the hard work of building popular power? Reading: The Days of Abandonment - Elena Ferrante Social Infrastructure Proposals - Organising For Popular Power Your Party Conference: Total Chaos or the Future of Democracy - Novara Media CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 7: Is This the End for Your Party? | 24 nov. 2025 | 01:06:56 | |
As Your Party’s founding conference approaches, Joe breaks down the latest financial shenanigans and resignations, whilst Jonas makes the case that even if the launch has been a disaster, the historical opportunity presented by the crisis of British capitalism hasn’t been totally squandered. Reading: Melinda Cooper - Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance Helen Walsh - Once Upon a Time in England Oliver Eagleton - Your Party: The Return of the Left CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 6: The Irresistible Rise of Zohran Mamdani | 10 nov. 2025 | 01:10:23 | |
With Your Party's regional assemblies in full swing Jonas breaks down the dynamics and debates shaping the grassroots of the party. Meanwhile, Shanice puts the debates about class and identity politics under the microscope; making the case you cannot understand the seismic and irresistible rise of Zohran Mamdani without taking seriously how class is felt through identity. But what are the lessons for the British left? Reading Can Apartheid Free Zones Help Liberate Palestine? - The Bristol Cable CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 5: Can Palestine Solidarity Win a Left Majority? | 27 oct. 2025 | 01:11:09 | |
As Zack Polanski’s comms campaigning takes the Greens from strength to strength, Your Party releases its founding documents; with debates beginning at regional assemblies. Shanice gives us a look into this contrasting picture, whilst Joe kicks off a debate about NATO, anti-imperialism, and whether Your Party and the Greens need to be more than simply pro-Palestine parties. Reading: Burnout: The Emotional Experience of Political Defeat - Hannah Proctor CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 4: Can Economic Populism Beat Nigel Farage? | 13 oct. 2025 | 01:09:20 | |
As the left turns to economic populism as the way to beat Farage, Jonas, Shanice and Joe explore it's potentials and imitations. Meanwhile, the Greens surge to 100,000 members, Joe tests the water at Green Party conference, and Zarah Sultana comes out gunning for the Greens at The World Transformed. Reading Organising for Popular Power - An Anti-Capitalism Base Building Tendency in Your Party The Neapolitan Novels - Elena Ferrante Belgian Workers Party Congress Documents New Times, New Circuits: Recovering Sivandan's Political Economy - John Narayan CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 3: We Need New Leaders | 29 sept. 2025 | 01:00:10 | |
What the f!#k has just happened with Your Party? Shanice, Joe and Jonas try their best to shake off their collective depression and get a handle on the drama and controversy underlying Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn’s very public fallout. How did we get here, and more importantly how the hell do we get out? Readings: Whose Party Is It Anyway - Archie Woodrow Your Party’s Messy Public Breakdown Shows It Has Big Questions to Answer - Archie Woodrow Disaster Nationalism - Richard Seymour Theory of The Party - Phil A. Neel CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 2: Can Zack Polanski Break the Green Ceiling? | 15 sept. 2025 | 01:07:21 | |
As Zack Polanski begins to make his mark scrapping with journalists and political opponents, Joe and Shanice disagree on where his biggest challenge will come from. Meanwhile the row between MPs Zarah Sultana and Adnan Hussain on trans politics raises critical questions about what Your Party stands for. Readings: Regime Change in the West - Perry Anderson In and Against the State. Revolutionary Feminism During De-industrialisation - Katrina Forrester Greens Who Organise - Robert Magowan Their End is Our Beginning - Brian Bean Credits: Design: Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music: Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 1: Our Party? Who Really Has the Power? | 01 sept. 2025 | 00:53:13 | |
Shanice, Joe and Jonas dive into all things democracy, examining Zarah Sultana’s saucy New Left Review interview, travelling way back to the Greek agora, and asking searching questions of Corbynism’s legacy. As the Your Party founding conference looms, they ask what real party democracy actually looks like? Readings: The Alternative - Zarah Sultana Born for life, Marked for death - Max Shanley Models of Organisational Democracy - Jante's Umarell Party as Articulators - Salar Mohandesi Credits: Design: Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music: Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN CREDITS Hosted by Shanice McBean, Jonas Marvin and Joe Todd. Edited by Marcus Berdaut. Design by Rachel Carr / rachelcarr.co.uk Music by Benjamin Tissot / 9INTLNTLWTYTDKVN After Hours Music by Marcus P / MADSQ4HJPOYFTZ1T Become a supporter: patreon.com/LifeoftheParty Follow us on Instagram This is an Ampersounds production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||