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VIDEO: Russell Brand And His Call For Revolution

A BBC interview with comedian/actor Russell Brand is getting attention today because, it's said, he speaks for many younger adults who are fed up with politics and politicians.

Brand, who seems almost proud to say he's never voted, makes the case that "the lies, treachery and deceit of the political class that has been going on for generations" make casting a ballot pointless.

Brand is convinced that at some point there will be "a revolution." Exactly what that means wasn't quite clear from the interview. Still, The Telegraph's Tom Chivers writes that:

"If this is how 'young people' are thinking (Brand is five years older than me, chronologically, but I suspect he is a much better barometer of youth opinions than I am), then maybe he's right and we actually are all heading for a revolution."

The other part of the conversation that's getting attention is interviewer Jeremy Paxman's performance. "Brand made him look uncomfortable and faintly ridiculous," says The Independent's Simon Kelner.

Watch and see if you agree.

If you're interested in more about Brand's thinking, he guest-edited the New Statesman this week.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.