Alexei Sayle has spent a lifetime mixing comedy with politics, protest and an instinctive suspicion of authority.
Raised in a communist household in Liverpool, he became one of the defining figures of alternative comedy before building a career as a writer, actor and political activist. His latest book, How I’ve Tried to Change the World by Walking Down the Middle of the Street Shouting, looks back at decades of marches, political battles, defeats and moments of hope.
In this episode of Ways to Change the World, Alexei talks to Krishnan Guru-Murthy about Gaza and Israel, and his feelings on the “genocide” of Palestinians (which Israel denies), his Jewish identity, whether protest actually works, why he remains a Marxist, growing up surrounded by communism and how politics shaped his comedy.
He also reflects on falling out of fashion in the 1990s, his unlikely success on TikTok, why comedy should never become a political lecture and why, after decades of campaigning, he still hasn’t entirely given up on changing the world.
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