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Letter to My Son

In Letter to my Son, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes of acts of violence against black people: “The destroyers will rarely be held accountable. Mostly they will receive pensions. There is nothing uniquely evil in these destroyers or even in this moment. The destroyers are merely men enforcing the whims of our country, correctly interpreting its heritage and legacy. This legacy aspires to the shackling of black bodies.”

Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race

Reni Eddo-Lodge writes in this piece on race and prejudice: “Not seeing race does little to dismantle racist structures or improve the lives of people of colour. In order to do so, we must see race. We must see who benefits from their race, who is affected by negative stereotyping of theirs, and on whom power and privilege is bestowed – not just because of their race, but also their class and gender. Seeing race is essential to changing the system.”

The peak

A powerful account of a night at London’s University College Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, on the peak night to date for deaths in hospitals from covid-19 in the UK, from the perspective of one of the leading consultants working there.

Talking Politics

This new(ish) podcast from the makers of Talking Politics covers one big idea in each episode. Topics so far include Tocqueville on Democracy, Marx and Engels on Revolution, Gandhi on Self-Rule, and Weber on Leadership. The website also contains links to further reading on the topics discussed in the podcast.

Global Change Data Lab

An initiative set up to source, present, and analyse data that tells the story of global progress. Over 3,000 charts about a range of aspects of global development along with a trove of analysis, make this this site a valuable resource for any looking to understand the world better.