Getting Emotional

Qualunquismo- with Femi Oluwole

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Episode notes

Step aside, Paxman! There's a new political interviewer in town! Well, kind of. Because today I'm delving into 'qualunquismo', a word that has befuddled my autocorrect and my own tongue, as I learn to both spell and pronounce it.

This feeling comes from Italy, and was coined in the post-war period to describe a political movement that tried to rally against party politics. It's influenced by apathy bordering on contempt, for politics and the politicians within- a mistrust of the whole political spectrum. This 'meh-ism' may explain why voting turnout is down, people feel less engaged, and the electorate sometimes...doesn't care.

To discuss this emotion, I spoke to Femi Oluwole, a fantastically astute, outspoken and intelligent political campaigner. You may know him as a commentator on various TV or Radio shows, or for his fantastic presence on twitter. (Or you may not know him at all- that's ok too!) Femi talks me through what motivated him to get engaged in politics, how he does it, and why he thinks it's hard to motivate some of the public to think that their voice can make a change too. Also, full warning: there is a little (but not too much) Brexit chat.

If you want to find Femi on twitter, he's @femi_sorry, and I'm there too, @getemotionalpod. Come say hi! It would be lovely to say hello to a listener or two!

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