Culture and media
Taking our cue from Raymond Williams’ ‘culture is ordinary’, we explore how politics works through old and new media, books, film, stage and screen, music and sport.
We cover a breadth of themes, from representations of class, race and gender in the arts, to progressive and reactionary uses of nostalgia, to the grassroots voices democratising the channels of communication.
Taking our cue from Raymond Williams’ ‘culture is ordinary’, we explore how politics works through old and new media, books, film, stage and screen, music and sport.
We cover a breadth of themes, from representations of class, race and gender in the arts, to progressive and reactionary uses of nostalgia, to the grassroots voices democratising the channels of communication.
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The lies we tell about men who kill
Mental health crisis is often used to explain mass murder. The framing only detracts attention from tackling misogyny and male violence, argues Alex Birch
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Women of colour climbers are scaling new heights
Competitive climbing made its Olympic debut in 2021. Hannah Zia reflects on her love of the sport – and considers barriers to participation facing other women of colour
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Drawing a line in Afghanistan
The legacy of colonialism is still very real along borders arbitrarily drawn by the British and brutally contested to this day, writes Suchitra Vijayan
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The fierce kindness of Dawn Foster
Kimon Daltas pays tribute to our friend and comrade Dawn Foster
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The Socialist Olympics of 1936
Radical workers’ sporting organisations and the 1936 People’s Olympiad illustrate the role of sport in fighting oppression, writes Uma Arruga i López.
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Lying through their legacy-speak
Olympic ‘legacy’ has greased the path for enormous, upward transfer of wealth to the global propertied classes, writes Jules Boykoff
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The uses and limits of celebrity solidarity with Palestine
Famous voices can shape public opinion on Palestine, argues Raoul Walawalker, but walking back solidarity statements does more harm than good
Community Consultation 2025
Help shape the future of Red Pepper
