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Make no mistake, I thought Gordon Brown’s speech today at the Labour Party Conference was his best for a decade. With all the pressure on him from the economic downturn, flatlining opinion polls and the machinations of rebel Labour MPs, he did a great job of balancing the essential elements of a good Leader’s speech: the personal story, a couple of mildly self-deprecating jokes, ‘fessing up to past mistakes and shortcomings, relating a single big theme (fairness) to real life situations, giving the opposition a good thrashing and generally helping the party feel good about itself. But one phrase that struck a strange note with me: ‘new age’ - a concept so central to the overall message that it even features in the speech’s notional title: “A Fair Britain for the New Age”. I thought I’d investigate. (more…)

Credit crunch, sub-prime mortgage, collateralised debt obligations… Obscure terms that now feature in everyday pub chatter, even more so after this week’s spectacular events involving the collapse of investment banks, unprecedented interventions by governments and a looming global economic downturn. But can you, hand on heart, say that you understand what the credit crunch really is, and where it came from and who’s to blame?

Fear not, for the brilliant radio series This American Life aired a superb hour-long documentary that tells the story of the US sub-prime mortgage bubble and bust as I’ve never heard it told before. From the people who were there, from the Wall Street bankers at the very top to the no income no asset borrowers at the very bottom. And all the middle-men in between. It’s a very human story of hope, greed, hubris and self-delusion.

The Giant Pool of Money show is highly recommended, not just as an explanation of the core cause of the seismic events of this week, but as an example of public service documentary radio at its very best. And it’s not just me that thinks so, according to the programme-makers it’s been listened to online by more than half a million people. It’s still available to listen again online. If you need any convincing, check out the first five mintes, on the link below:

Update: The success of The Giant Pool of Money has apparently led to National Public Radio launching a new podcast and blog about the global economy, called Planet Money. It’s presented by Adam Davidson from NPR (who worked with TAL’s Alex Blumberg on The Giant Pool of Money). Both men rank up there with Evan Davis of the BBC in terms of talent at explaining what the hell is going on out there in the miasma of global financial markets and relating it to real day-to-day economics. In just its first week the show has already featured some excellent guests and if they keep up this level of quality, Planet Money will find a regular spot on my weekly diet of podcasts.

The confirmation of Barack Obama as the presumptive Democratic Party candidate for the 2008 presidential election is a historic moment in the history of black America. Previously I’ve posted audio recordings of Bobby Kennedy’s campaign in 1968 and Spiro Agnew’s vice-presidency. Now seems like a good time to turn to the record collection to remember the first black man to have run a major US city or to have been seriously considered for a presidential ticket: Carl B. Stokes. (more…)

Is this what he’s thinking?

Reminds me of a song I know…

Last year I posted a recording of an interview with Senator Robert ‘Bobby’ Kennedy, conducted by David Frost, just a short while before Kennedy was assassinated. There is every chance that had he not been slain, he would have secured the Democratic Party nomination for the 1968 presidential election and beaten Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate, just as Kennedy’s older brother did back in 1960. (more…)

Either you’ll get it or you won’t.

I want Ken Livingstone to be re-elected as Mayor of London. I believe that as a politician he is a cut above any of the other candidates and has the experience and record of achievement that entitle him to a third term of office. I have even made a small donation of £50 to his campaign. But I have today cast my (postal) vote for the Green candidate. Why? (more…)

Is America ready for an oven-ready President? It’s all good!

I spent Saturday at “barcampUKgovweb” and met a very interesting group of people who care about how government behaves online. Among the 60 or so participants, there was a roughly even split between people working for government, people working for companies and people who are - for want of a better term - civic hackers. (more…)

With Barack Obama neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, it’s worth recalling a virtuoso performance by comedian Chris Rock back in 1996 when Colin Powell was rumoured to be considering a presidential bid. Have things changed much since then? Could Rock’s cynicism about white people saying they’ll vote for a black candidate explain the inaccuracy of opinion polling in the New Hampshire primary?

Enjoy a master at work (caution: strong language).