My year with radical movements

And why there is no return to ‘normal’

About ten years ago, I spent the strangest year of my life hanging out with as many fringe and radical groups as I could find: across California with Transhumanists on a bus designed like a coffin; all over Europe with Tommy Robinson; shutting down an open-face coal mine in Wales; taking magic mushrooms and going on a psychedelic retreat; living in an off-grid polyamorous commune in Portugal; trying to reach the world’s newest and freest country by boat with some libertarians.

Me, centre, in the pink t-shirt.

This became the basis of my book Radicals. I still think it was my best work, although no-one else seems to. (I'm not bitter - honest!)

It was obvious to me that, even back in 2015, a massive, system-wrecking realignment of political and social norms was coming. That the broad consensus about the best way to order social, economic and political life was being washed away. And I suspected that these radical and rebellious fringe groups would become increasingly popular and important.

It is a comforting thought that we are living through unusually turbulent times – but things will settle down. Things will go back to ‘normal’. That Trump is an anomaly, or once the Ukraine war is resolved, or when the weather reverts to type, or whatever.

But that is not going to happen. There is no longer a ‘normal’ to return to. I used to say to people: one day we’ll look back on 2016 as a relatively calm and normal year. And they laughed. But I wasn’t joking.

Every group I covered back in 2015 was propelled along by two major forces. No matter the movement, all felt there was a profound crisis at hand, and it had fallen to them to respond. And, more importantly, all believed – sometimes with good reason – that the system (and especially the mainstream press) were either ignoring or actively misrepresenting them.

Those twin forces of radicalism show no sign of abating. If anything, it’s the opposite. Which is why radical movements will probably continue to grow; and 'normal' won't be coming back.

So let me tell you a couple of stories from that crazy year, and you’ll see exactly what I mean.