Episode 88: Jolyon Maugham KC - Good Law, better world
Jolyon Maugham has been called 'Public Enemy No. 1" by terrible right wing newspapers, attacked by Rishi Sunak and belittled with smears by the BBC.
And if that wasn't enough to make you love him, he also heads up an organisation that works for justice in our laws and legal system, challenging powerful elites and holding wealthy corporations and careless governments to account on behalf of ordinary people. Come to think of it, the smears on his name may have something to do with that.
Jolyon joined us to talk about the most pernicious of the slurs he's faced and the story behind it, as well as his work with the Good Law Project, a not for profit campaign organisation that uses the law for a better world.
Here’s just some of what Good Law project does:
You can find more of Good Law Project’s cases here.
In episode 88, in between calling us out for not drinking beer on a podcast called Beer Christianity, Jolyon discusses the unhealthy closeness between the executive and the police, whether newspapers and government officials really care about free speech and how the law can be used to make the world a better place in areas ranging from gender based violence to tax law.
It’s a fun episode. You should listen. And you should support Good Law Project.
You can listen to Episode 88 anywhere: in a river running with shit that water companies are allowed to dump at will; in the shareholder meeting of a company getting business from buddies in government; on JK Rowling’s ever-growing and increasingly bizarre shitlist; or right here…
This interview was made possible by the lovely people at Greenbelt festival and you can hear Jolyon's talk at Greenbelt 2023 here for just three British pounds.
You can buy Jolyon Maugham's book, Bringing Down Goliath here and follow him on Twitter here.
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Beer Christianity is an anti-capitalist, pro-BLM, pro-LGBTQ+, post-post-post-evangelical podcast where we drink a bit and talk a lot. Our aim is to be real, helpful and entertaining.
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Other things…
Malky’s design work has graced many good magazines and music videos. You can find his stuff and even commission him if he’s not too busy, here. Jonty's novel, Incredulous Moshoeshoe and the Lightning Bird, is not literature but it’s quite fun if you like Supernatural, Africa or the Goth scene. Jonty’s other Op Ed writing is all over the internet and old print publications, but the most recent stuff ranges from churchy puff pieces to political commentary for Premier Christianity. Some of his older stuff is still up here at HuffPo UK (RIP). Laura doesn’t need your business or attention, but you should follow her on Twitter.
We don't really want to preach at you, but some people like to know what we believe. It's this: Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to teach us a better way to be, while reconciling us to God and each other in a way we could never do without Him. He also changed water into wine. Nice.