Apart from the fact that these times have rendered me impecunious, I detest them most because they leave none of us with enough spare moments to reflect and ponder how to stop our annihilation by neoliberalism.
I have included a podcast now on my Substack because I want to preserve in one place my dad's audio recordings I will also begin to tape new podcast episodes from my perspective. I believe it is essential that voices like my dad's and mine have a platform where subscribers can listen to opinions, memories and ideas which stem from intellectual and emotional zones- located far from our current status quo.
I named this podcast New Grub Street. The title is derived from a 19th-century novel by George Gissing, in 1890. He wrote about the desperate lives of people who lived on the margins during that other age of unfettered capitalism.
The first episode is from a podcast- my dad and I created in 2017. In this episode, my father talks about how- without public healthcare- the civilised society is for the happy few who can afford a doctor's care.
For me, rent day approaches like the headlights from a truck with an unsteady load on its trailer. It leaves me stuck in the middle of the road, transfixed by it, or perhaps I am too tired to react this time and jump out of its way.
A yearly subscriptions will cover much of next month’s rent because all I need is 8 to make June’s payment. But with 3 days to go, it is getting tight.
Your subscriptions are so important to my personal survival because like so many others who struggle to keep afloat, my survival is a precarious daily undertaking. The fight to keep going was made worse- thanks to getting cancer along with lung disease and other co- morbidities which makes life more difficult to combat in these cost of living crisis times. So if you can join with a paid subscription which is just 3.50 a month or a yearly subscription or a gift subscription. I promise the content is good, relevant and thoughtful. But if you can’t it all good too because I appreciate we are in the same boat. Take Care, John
New Grub Street Episode One: