Tentacular Festival. Paul Mason

Few people in the world have witnessed the political, and economic convulsions of the last decade from a closer distance than Paul Mason. As one of the most respected journalists in Europe, he has narrated and analyzed the most important conflicts that have polarized societies all over the world after the 2008 financial crisis. But he has also been an important contributor to the key debates of our time in books like “Why it’s Kicking Off Everywhere”, about the new dynamics of street activism, And “Postcapitalism: Our Guide from Our Future”, one of the first books that have dared to explore the question of how will be live after the neoliberal regime is over. As the world faces a new cycle of global street protests from Hong Kong to Chile, and the looming threat of a new economic crisis, Mason’s is one of the essential voices helping us to join the dots and  see the broader picture. 

Paul Mason is a journalist, writer, film-maker and public speaker. His latest book Clear Bright Future: A radical defence of the human being explores the moral, political and economic challenges posed by the current crisis of democracy and the coming challenge of intelligent machines. He is the author of six books, including Postcapitalism, Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere and Rare Earth: A Novel. As economics editor at both BBC Newsnight (2001-13) and Channel 4 News (2013-16) he was on the front line of covering the global financial crisis from 2007 onwards – but his work as a reporter ranged beyond economics: he reported from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, from the 2007 ethnic conflict in Kenya, the Indignados protests in Greece and Spain, the Taksim Square protest in Turkey, the Gaza War of 2014 and from the floor of the Congress of the Communist Party of China. Three of Paul’s plays have been performed: Party Animals (JB Shorts 2016), Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere (Young Vic 2017) and Divine Chaos of Starry Things (White Bear 2017).