The Next Six Months is a series of short (around 10 minutes) video discussions between Mark E Thomas and literary agent Peter Cox. The first 25 videos came out daily, and we are now reducing the frequency to weekly.
Each one tackles a topical issue from an unusual angle.
You can follow them by subscribing to the 99% YouTube channel. But if you have missed any, here is a table of those we have done so far. And it also gives suggestions for further reading for those who want more detail.
Here are episodes 21-25:
| Episode | Contents | Link | Further reading |
| 25: Private Equity | What is Private Equity and why is it so often associated with business failures?
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https://youtu.be/GKn_-QTTxtE | How to Fix Capitalism – 99% (99-percent.org) |
| 24: Viewers’ Questions | We have received many questions and comments from viewers – here are some answers.
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https://youtu.be/qkNkF-MlDLk | |
| 23: Fixing the Deal | Millennials have smartphones and avocado toast… but Boomers had free college education, great pensions and steady employment… none of which today’s young people can look forward to. How do we fix that?
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https://youtu.be/0V4TClykmB8 | Part 3 of 99%
Fixing the Deal – 99% (99-percent.org)
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| 22: What is the Government’s COVID strategy? | There are only four basic strategies for handling the virus – and the government has never explained which one it was following. | https://youtu.be/jlElhzn6fZ4 | What Is the Government’s Coronavirus Strategy? – 99% (99-percent.org)
The Great Anglo-Saxon Health Experiment – 99% (99-percent.org) |
| 21: Climate Action and Inaction | There are many attitudes to climate change – but few will lead to a solution. | https://youtu.be/C9tcgnFCDQw | Staying in the Zone – 99% (99-percent.org)
Why Decoupling is Central to Tackling the Climate Emergency – 99% (99-percent.org) |
Here are episodes 11-20:
| Episode | Contents | Link | Further reading |
| 20: Why a Government Shouldn’t act like a Household | Politicians and the media keep comparing the government finances to a household’s borrowing. Is that valid? | https://youtu.be/tmCYyjkFF_g | Twaddle and Illiteracy – 99% (99-percent.org) |
| 19: The Brexit Leaks | A recent report in The Guardian and other papers described a leaked ‘reasonable worst case scenario.’ What does it say? | https://youtu.be/JlHH9yAThjI | Chapter 12 of 99%
Why Are They Even Thinking of a No-Deal Brexit? – 99% (99-percent.org) |
| 18: What is Sunak’s Spending Review Really about? | Sunak says he is protecting jobs and livelihoods, and that the state of government finances is scary. What’s the truth? | https://youtu.be/VuGpB_BaqRo | Why So Miserly? – 99% (99-percent.org) |
| 17: Shall We be Happy & Prosperous? | If we had a rational government acting in the interests of its population, where would we be heading? | https://youtu.be/ZjJSpPswQCw | Chapter 13 of 99%
Shall we be Happy and Prosperous? – 99% (99-percent.org)
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| 16: Why we shouldn’t wait | If we wait for government policy to change, things will get worse before they get better. What can a local area do without waiting? | https://youtu.be/lx7XQrNKi_8 | Herefordshire 2030 – 99% (99-percent.org) |
| 15: Saving Democracy | Our democracy works because of numerous checks and balances – all of which are under threat. | https://youtu.be/WzgtKmvHmhY | Chapter 15 of 99% |
| 14: A New Vision of the Economy | The conventional picture of the economy shows a self-regulating system that produces the best outcomes for everyone. It’s time for a new picture. | https://youtu.be/93h7QpJoH6w | Chapter 3 of 99%
Time for a New Picture of the Economy? – 99% (99-percent.org) |
| 13: Remaking the State | The lead article in last Friday’s Economist says that the Tory Party has a misguided plan to remake the state. Are they right? | https://youtu.be/lSpsQ9Kc3xE | https://99-percent.org/what-is-the-market-fundamentalist-agenda/ |
| 12: Cummings & Goings | What does the departure of arguably the most powerful man in Britain, Dominic Cummings, from Downing Street mean in practice? | https://youtu.be/tcbpLHFzqkQ | Is Market Fundamentalism Immune to COVD-19? – 99% (99-percent.org) |
| 11: COVID & Brexit | Overall, COVID and a no-deal Brexit are both disastrous. But Could they be profit opportunities… for some people? | https://youtu.be/_aeOelIlYTo | https://99-percent.org/money-for-nothing/
https://99-percent.org/why-are-they-even-thinking-of-a-no-deal-brexit/ |
And here are the first 10:
| Episode | Contents | Link | Further reading |
| 10: How is the UK Government Performing? | Boris Johnson says that his government’s performance is world-beating.
Mark has been looking at the numbers and reached a rather different conclusion. |
https://youtu.be/n3qpEO92BcY | https://99-percent.org/how-did-we-get-into-this-mess/ |
| 9: What’s wrong with Meritocracy | Meritocracy sounds great. But do we live in one? And if we did, would that be good? No, and not necessarily, says Mark. | https://youtu.be/3xwwUEpGCTM | https://99-percent.org/three-myths-of-meritocracy/ |
| 8: Wealth and Power – The Deadly Embrace | In a democracy, it is one man or woman, one vote. Right? In this episode we explore how true that really is, and the deadly embrace between wealth and power. | https://youtu.be/zjgtjzMEs4o | Chapter 6 of 99%
https://99-percent.org/why-we-cant-get-our-minds-around-wealth-inequality/ |
| 7: Going Post-Truth | Policies based on myths — such as Austerity — have been very damaging to the UK.
In this episode, we explore why we continue to fall for them. |
https://youtu.be/OiTzX16KfZU | Part 2 of 99%
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| 6: The Myth of Unaffordability
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We are constantly hearing that the government “can’t afford” to fund the NHS or feed starving children over Christmas. And yet money can easily be found for cronies of the Cabinet. What is going on? And why do we keep falling for the myth?
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https://youtu.be/0lmo3HFXjcA
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Chapter 12 of 99%
https://99-percent.org/austerity-why-we-shouldnt-watch-the-sequel/ |
| 5: Should We Balance The Books? | Politicians are constantly telling us that because of the state of public finances, we need to “balance the books.” In this episode we explore the extent to which this makes sense – or not. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gaz3i0bJdys | Chapter 12 of 99%
https://99-percent.org/debt-hysteria/
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| 4: Will America Explode? | It now looks virtually certain that Joe Biden will be the 46th President of the US. But using an analysis developed to understand the Arab Spring suggests that maintaining stability may not be easy. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a-fljcmTcg | https://99-percent.org/will-america-explode/ |
| 3: What Keeps You Up At Night? | In this episode we consider some of the scenarios which the UK faces – and some of them really will keep you up night! | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv-Bj0NTt7k | Chapter 7 of 99% |
| 2: How Did We Get Here? | For the first time in recent history, the children of today’s adults look set to be poorer than their parents. This is no accident: it’s the result of a specific political ideology. | https://youtu.be/yINHlVA62fY | Chapters 3 & 4 of 99%
https://99-percent.org/what-is-the-market-fundamentalist-agenda/ |
| 1: Where Are We? | In this first episode, we step back from the detail and look at where the UK and the US stand today. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvgPksfoSks | Chapter 2 of 99% |