The Searchers w/ Andy Beckett

Andy Beckett joins PTO to talk about his new book, The Searchers:
Five Rebels, Their Dream of a Different Britain, and Their Many
Enemies. The five rebels in question being Tony Benn, Jeremy
Corbyn, Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, and Ken Livingstone. We
talked about the role of the global tumult of 1968 in the
development of the politics of the five, the extraordinary racism
that Diane Abbott has faced since entering parliament, and whether
the current Labour leadership think there are votes to be gained in
joining in in attacks on Britain's most important black politician.
We also talked about the importance of  Salvador Allende's
Popular unity government in Chile to the five and how their
admiration for Allende contrasted with their view of the eastern
bloc during the Cold War. Finally, we touched on the current
conjuncture and what the future might hold for the remaining four
rebels.