Episode 55 - Journey to the Heart of the Liberal Commentariat (ft. Juliet Jacques & Huw Lemmey)

In the first of a two-part conversation, Laura and Jack are joined by the writers Juliet Jacques (author of Trans: A Memoir, host of Suite (212) on Resonance FM, and contributor to the Guardian, the New Statesman & elsewhere) and Huw Lemmey (author of Chubz: the Demonisation of my Working Arse, and contributor to the London Review of Books, New Humanist, Huck & elsewhere) so Juliet can tell the story of her rise through the ranks of the mainstream liberal press in the 2000s and 2010s, and how she came to decide she wanted out of journalism. With assistance from her friend Huw, Juliet frames the narrative around the recent comeback of the serial plagiarist charlatan hack Johann Harri, a figure who continues to loom large in British comment journalism long after his broadsheet career came crashing to an ignominious halt in 2011. This is (the first part of) the story of a writer's attempt to smuggle both a better representation of transgender people, and leftist ideas in general, into an insular and elitist industry. Buy Trans: A Memoir here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2158-trans and listen to Juliet's radio show, Suite (212), on Soundcloud @Suite-212 Buy Chubz: The Demonisation of my Working Arse here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chubz-Demonization-My-Working-Arse/dp/3945247101