What exactly are universities for? A slew of recent news stories has revealed no clear agreement on where exactly the likes of Oxford, Cambridge, the rest of the Russell Group, and the other higher education facilities fit into British life.
The ongoing squabbles over who should pay university tuition fees; trigger warnings on university courses; and the poshness of Oxbridge show that there are divided interests – including disagreements on what outcomes we are striving for.
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Revelations that Oxbridge is full of posh twats, accusations of Russian skulduggery in the Brexit vote, and trigger warnings for university snowflakes/hard nuts studying Shakespeare are the three topics this week.
I must admit upfront a sneaking sympathy for George ‘Gideon’ Osborne, the former British chancellor, Robin to prime minister David Cameron’s Batman, and latterly editor of the London Evening Standard.
If Boy George sought popularity when deciding to vie for public office, he has not achieved it. When you ask progs about him he reliably draws sneers of disgust, much like Cameron or – another member of their cohort – education secretary Michael Gove. Or indeed any leading Tory.
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Continual strife in Catalonia over independence, Theresa May’s disastrous Tory conference, and our latest argument over tuition fees (following the actual Conservative policy to freeze them) are the three topics this week.
Joining us is the comforting knowledge that this podcast is more competent than Britain’s ruling party.
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The shock decision by Transport for London not to renew Uber’s licence to prowl the city’s streets (surely offer affordable, convenient taxi services? – Ed) and Spain’s stifling of an extralegal referendum on Catalan independence from Madrid are the two topics our heroes chew over this week.
In the final segment journalist Felix Simon speaks to us about the recent German elections, which saw Angela Merkel win a deflated victory amid a rise in support for Alternative für Deutschland, a party which contains legit Nazis.