Category Archives: 2020 Visions

2020 Visions is a six part series presented by Rys Farthing and K. Biswas charting Britain’s future.

Episode 1: The Political Future.
Guests: Labour’s Jon Cruddas MP; human rights activist Peter Tatchell; ConservativeHome editor Jonathan Isaby, psephologist Professor John Curtice; Dr Madsen Pirie, Director of the free-market Adam Smith Institute; LibDem Voice editor Stephen Tall; David Babbs of campaign organisation 38 Degrees, and the New Statesman’s Laurie Penny.

Episode 2: Poverty, inequality and the welfare state.
Guests: the author of The Spirit Level, Professor Richard Wilkinson; Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston and former Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, Kate Green;Professor Danny Dorling of the University of Sheffield; Dr Madsen Pirie, founder of the Adam Smith Institute; author of Poverty,Professor Ruth Lister; Tom MacInnes of the New Policy Institute and Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

Episode 3: Work.
Guests: former Mayor of London, Labour’s Ken Livingstone; founder of the journal Soundings Professor Doreen Massey; the right-of-centre think-tanks Policy Exchange and the Centre for Social Justice; Deborah Littman from Unison; Head of the Living Wage campaign at London Citizens, Rhys Moore.

Episode 4: Identity.
Guests: leading feminist commentators Julie Bindel of the Guardian and Laurie Penny of the New Statesman, Editor of gay lifestyle magazine Attitude Matthew Todd, Sunny Hundal the founder of Liberal Conspiracy and Pickled Politics, the thinktank ippr’s Rick Muir, Labour leadership candidate Diane Abbott, and Julie Newman the acting chair of the UK Disabled People’s Council.

Episode 5: Media. Guests: Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow; Andy Capper Editor of Vice Magazine; BBC Radio 5Live’s Dotun Adebayo; Euan Ferguson of the Observer; Sunday Times columnist Minette Marrin; Rowenna Davis who contributes to the Economist, Guardian and Sky News; media author and academic Adrian Monck; and Labour leadership candidate Diane Abbott.

Episode 6: Culture. Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts, Matthew Taylor; Director of the British Film Institute, Amanda Nevill; cultural commentator and author of Lost Worlds, Michael Bywater; Ken Trodd who worked on the BBC’s groundbreaking Play for Today series; Jaimie Hodgson, the NME’s new music guru; XL Recordings‘ Caius Pawson; Dan Franklin from publisher Canongate; and curator and artist, Honor Harger.

2020 Visions: Episode 6 – Culture

In the final show of the series, K Biswas and James Knight explore the world of Culture looking at Film, Music, TV, Books and Visual Art. Their guest contributors include Chief Executive of theRoyal Society of Arts, Matthew Taylor; Director of the British Film Institute, Amanda Nevill; cultural commentator and author of Lost Worlds, Michael Bywater; Ken Trodd who worked on the BBC’s groundbreaking Play for Today series; Jaimie Hodgson, the NME‘s new music guru; XL Recordings‘ Caius Pawson; Dan Franklin from publisher Canongate; and curator and artist, Honor Harger.
Podcasts of the previous shows can be found here.

2020 Visions – Episode 5: Media

This week K Biswas and James Knight explore the changing nature of the Media and how the landscape will look in a decade’s time. Guest contributors include Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow; Andy Capper Editor of Vice Magazine; BBC Radio 5Live’s Dotun Adebayo; Euan Ferguson of the Observer; Sunday Times columnist Minette Marrin; Rowenna Davis who contributes to the Economist, Guardian and Sky News; media author and academic Adrian Monck; and Labour leadership candidate Diane Abbott.

Other shows in the series include Politics, Culture, Poverty, Work and Identity.

2020 Visions – Episode 4: Identity

This week, K Biswas and Rys Farthing look at Identity and how people may identify in 2020, with a focus on Gender, Disability, Sexuality and Ethnicity. Contributors include leading feminist commentators Julie Bindel of the Guardian and Laurie Penny of the New Statesman, Editor of gay lifestyle magazine Attitude Matthew Todd, Sunny Hundal the founder of Liberal Conspiracy and Pickled Politics, the thinktank ippr‘s Rick Muir, Labour leadership candidateDiane Abbott, and Julie Newman the acting chair of the UK Disabled People’s Council.
Other shows include Politics, Culture, Media, Work and Poverty.

2020 Visions – Episode 3: Work

This week, K Biswas and Rys Farthing look at the world of work, looking at wages, job creation and the future of employment in the UK. Contributors include former Mayor of London, Labour’s Ken Livingstone; founder of the journalSoundings Professor Doreen Massey; the right-of-centre think-tanks Policy Exchange and the Centre for Social Justice; Deborah Littman from Unison; Head of the Living Wage campaign at London Citizens, Rhys Moore; Resonance FM’s own anarchist agitator Ian Bone; and hedgefund director Stuart Macdonald.

2020 Visions – Episode 2: Poverty, inequality and the welfare state

This week, K Biswas and Rys Farthing explore poverty, inequality and the future of the British welfare state. Speaking to the leading figures in the poverty sector, we explore what may happen to incomes, public services and social justice for the poorest over the next decade. Guests include the author of The Spirit Level Professor Richard Wilkinson; Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston and former Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, Kate Green; Professor Danny Dorling of the University of Sheffield; Dr Madsen Pirie, founder of the Adam Smith Institute; author of Poverty,Professor Ruth Lister; Tom MacInnes of the New Policy Institute and Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

2020 Visions – Episode 1: The Political Future

The first of a 6 part series exploring future life in Britain, tonight we explore what the British political landscape might look like over the next decade. We examine the future for political parties, political ideologies and the way people will engage with politics.

Today’s guests include Labour’s Jon Cruddas MP; human rights activist Peter Tatchell; ConservativeHome editor Jonathan Isaby, psephologist Professor John Curtice; Dr Madsen Pirie, Director of the free-market Adam Smith Institute; LibDem Voice editor Stephen Tall; David Babbs of campaign organisation 38 Degrees, and the New Statesman’s Laurie Penny.

Other shows in the series explore inequality and welfare in the UK, work, culture, identity and the media.