Radio

Far-right ?? Melanie Phillips with her Londonistan book and France's Éric Zemmour who pushes this theory aren't far-right. Well not Aryan far-right.


The Great Replacement

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001n8kf

The Great Replacement is an idea which is gaining traction in the UK and beyond. Many far-right terrorists have quoted this theory as being the driving force behind their murderous actions. But what is it, where does it come from, and how seriously should we be taking it here in the UK? In this programme, terrorism expert Raffaello Pantucci looks at the Great Replacement and asks if this is just a far-right conspiracy theory or is there an uncomfortable kernel of truth that this is happening at a time when the UK is undergoing significant demographic change. If so, how are we managing this? Many find it difficult to talk about legitimate anxieties about the impact of immigration on their neighbourhoods for fear of being labelled racist. If we can’t even talk openly about this, do we risk handing the narrative to extremists?

New series of Gangster

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001rgxf

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001rybx

The rise of Donald Trump changed American politics, and his influence has lasted despite his defeat in 2020. Running as outsider he is tilting at a political and governmental Establishment in the language of battle, as if the future of America were at stake. And that is precisely what his opponents say, too: that another Trump term would be a disaster.

James Naughtie gets behind the rhetoric of the campaign to explore the arguments about a democracy - the great American experiment - that both sides say is now itself on the ballot.

Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, predicts disaster if he were to win again; but his agitator-in-chief Steve Bannon says that nothing less than a revolution from his 'populist nationalist' movement will save the country. These are arguments from both on the Right and among liberals that stir memories of the great American disruption of the 19th century, the Civil War. Although few would predict an outcome on that scale, there is a steep rise in violence across the political divide, and the programme hears of alarm about how violent rhetoric is having consequences in the streets.

Trump himself is facing four criminal trials, and the severe financial consequences of a fraud judgement in New York, yet seems on course to claim the Republican nomination for president for the third time. If he were convicted of any of the 91 charges he faces before the election, would he still run? And if he did, how would American voters react to the prospect they never faced before, of a president judged to be a criminal?

Election day is a year away on November 5th. The atmosphere is already hot and raw, and in this programme we hear how, on both sides, it's expected to become even more fevered before the first votes are cast. Already, it's a contest for the presidency like we've never seen before.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001t988

Marcel Marceau and the French Resistance

More Jim Morrison stuff

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000gvkv