Harry Shukman - Undercover in the far right
- jeanne7629
- Jun 20
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 27
I have recently discovered this podcast and this particular episode caught my eye: not just because of its subject matter, but because of the method: going undercover to infiltrate a world you don’t understand… Harry Shukman, a journalist affiliated with Hope Not Hate (an anti-hate organisation), spent two years undercover in British far right groups. It’s a striking commitment. But the more I listened, the more I started to question both the ethics and the intent behind it.
Why go undercover at all? Was the goal to expose, or to understand? And to what end?
Shukman seems/is brave, no doubt. And there are moments in the episode where I gasped out loud when he tells us about how on a couple of occasions he nearly blew his cover! But I found myself wanting more from the conversation: more about what he learned, what surprised him, what he plans to do with this information. If these movements are as fringe as they sound, why give them so much attention? On the other hand, he notes that some of these ideas are becoming mainstream; potentially influencing policy makers, being picked up by politicians etc. That’s where it gets slippery and more ambiguous… A part of me (perhaps naively) wants to believe that people in those positions can (surely!) apply critical thinking. And this brought me to another thought: just because someone agrees with one part of an ideology doesn’t mean they endorse the whole, does it? But how often do we make that assumption? Is this the root cause for so much polarisation and lack of honest communication?
I haven’t read his book yet, and maybe some of these questions are answered there. But as someone wired to ask questions, I’m still wondering: was this about building a stronger case against the far right, or was there a genuine attempt to understand why people are drawn in? And more importantly: what do we do with what he found?
On more practical note, if you're pressed for time, know that the actual interview begins at 13:00 mins. You're welcome ;)
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