What Gareth Southgate can teach Britain - ‘Dear England’ writer James Graham
About this episode
James Graham discusses the deeper social crisis in Britain and how Gareth Southgate may provide a model for rebuilding social bonds.
At a time when Britain feels increasingly fragmented, playwright and screenwriter James Graham believes the country faces a deeper crisis than politics alone can explain. From the collapse of community spaces and growing loneliness to the impact of AI, social media and declining trust in institutions, Graham argues that Britain is losing the social bonds that once held it together. But he also believes there's a way back. In this episode of Ways to Change the World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to the writer behind Sherwood, Dear England and Brexit: The Uncivil War about national identity, class, culture, storytelling and why Gareth Southgate may offer a model for rebuilding social cohesion. They discuss the future of the arts, the rise of populism, whether politics has lost the ability to tell a compelling story, and what happens when a society stops creating shared experiences.
People in this episode
Host: Krishnan Guru-Murthy
Guest: James Graham
Topics covered
- national identity
- social cohesion
- class
- culture
- storytelling
- impact of AI
- populism
Keywords
- Gareth Southgate
- social bonds
- community spaces
- loneliness
- AI
- social media
- trust in institutions
- shared experiences
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Dear England, Sherwood, Brexit: The Uncivil War
Places: Britain
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