The Owen Jones Podcast

98. Michael Lewis on how the USA turned COVID into calamity

Michael Lewis is the acclaimed author of books such as The Big Short, Moneyball and The Fifth Risk. In his brilliant new book The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, he exposes how factors such as US privatised health helped turn COVID-19 into a national catastrophe which claimed the lives of well over 600,000 Americans. Help us take on the right wing media here: https://patreon.com/owenjones84Support this show <a href="http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast" rel="payment" target="_blank">http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Owen Jones, journalist, author of Chavs and The Establishment, or "that left-wing idiot off the telly", is fed up with the establishment media. After all, it punches down, not up, blames minorities for all the problems in society, and, let's face it, often just parrots the government line. So this podcast is offering something different: speaking truth to power, giving the marginalised a voice, offering hope - and having a laugh along the way. From Michael Sheen to Judith Butler, Prof. Devi Sridhar to Noam Chomsky, Peter Hitchens to Chelsea Manning and Gary Younge to Stewart Lee, the interviewees couldn't be more eclectic. Expect documentaries, too, exposing injustice and going to enemy territory - and discussions with experts on everything from COVID dreams about the pandemic to the history of US-backed coups. We'll learn a lot - but above all else, have our optimism in a better world rebooted. Support this show <a href="http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast" rel="payment" target="_blank">http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast</a>. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.