In This Episode
We sit down with Zoe, a local climate activist who has been arrested multiple times for taking part in protests. We explore what first motivated her to become an activist, what keeps her going despite the personal risks, and how she is trying to raise attention to the climate crisis.
Zoe speaks about the philosophy behind her actions - from moral responsibility and urgency to the belief that ordinary people can challenge powerful institutions. She also reflects on the consequences of protest and the experience of arrest.
What Else Have We Been Doing?
Henry North
Since covering the Gorton & Denton by-election, we’ve continued to cover union events and industrial action across the city alongside spinning several plates journalism related and not.
We’ve covered what looks like a case of Union busting at the iconic Refuge bar in Manchester (more about this in the future), the Together Alliance march in London last Saturday and a strike over the last minute pull out of pay rise and back pay by NHS management. The behaviour is unprecedented and it’s hard to believe that the pay rise stopped was from Band 2 to Band 3 which is a difference of £2,204 from £25,272 to £27,476 for 11 employees.
Kevin Corran, the Unison representative at the picket line told us that managers had spent more on a review of the pay agreement than they would have spent on the agreement itself - a frustrating situation.
It’s a lot to keep up with and to get videos as we publish them, we’d appreciate it if you could subscribe to our YouTube channel and if you like a video… please give it a like. It helps push us in the algorithm and reach new audiences.
Adam’s also been busy speaking at conferences. A couple of weeks ago he was in Dublin where he won an award for the best overall paper and - at the time of writing - is in Oxford for another conference where he’s given a speech.
What’s Coming Up?
We’re going to need the help in the algorithm too because we recorded a podcast episode last week about the many problems of social media and how they can censor the news that we consume. Adam talks about how he’s been at the Sky Sports campus in Brentford with a team of academics collecting data on the harms of social media - it’s an interesting chat but unlikely to be amplified by the platforms we publish on.
This Easter weekend we’ll be publishing an feature on the 30th anniversary of the restoration project at the Manchester Monastery - dubbed Manchester’s Taj Mahal. It’s a great story, one of coincidence and luck but underpinned by hard work and dedication.
Excitingly we’ve also set up The Northern Rose shop. I’m currently in the process of putting it all together but soon you’ll be able to find bucket hats, beanies, hoodies and mugs on there.
Once again, thank you for your continued to support. As we close in on 500 subscribers on YouTube I’m very proud of the following we have achieved and the news we have provided.
