Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

In a 55-minute special, I joined Times Radio’s Henry Bonsu early Saturday to review the week — from music to asylum seekers in the UK to US politics to a coup in West Africa.

Listen from 2:06.41

Throughout the program, we mark the 50th anniversary of the first hip hop performance to discuss the cultural, social, and political importance of the genre in the US and the world.

In between, I analyze latest political developments, beginning with the hostile treatment of asylum seekers of a UK Government trying to escape its economic and electoral predicament.

I discuss how a political stunt — putting 500 asylum seekers on a barge — has gone wrong. I set it in the context of other Government announcements stigmatizing those seeking safety. And I out some facts about the contribution of asylum seekers — including some with whom I have worked — to British society.

See also Suella Braverman’s War on Migrants Is Damaging the UK

I also rely on facts to analyze the appointment of a Special Counsel for the tax-and-gun case of Hunter Biden, cutting through the waves of political spin, manipulation, and distortion ahead of the 2024 US Presidential election.

I explain why a military coup in Niger is so important for the country, the region, and the world, evaluating the response of other nations to the challenge.

I conclude with a knock-back of some chatter that those on the “Left” should adopt the same rhetorical tactics deployed by Donald Trump and other extremists.