The show will be the first of its kind.
Mean Green Radio, run by activist and TV/Radio worker Happy Brewer, will be the first of its kind.

The first ever Green Party radio show will launch next week, after a lifetime non-voter was inspired by Green activists at the recent Occupy Democracy protests.

Happy Brewer, who has worked in radio and TV for most of his life, will kick off his ‘Mean Green Radio’ next Wednesday afternoon, and will be produced by his radio partner Max Graef.

I got a chance to ‘interview the interviewer’ yesterday. Brewer told me how he has been ‘completely disillusioned with mainstream politics’ for years, although he has always been active in progressive causes.

Then, last month, the strong Green presence at Occupy Democracy – unlike the other parties – gave him the idea to use his skills as a community radio presenter to get the Green message out to a wider audience, despite not being a member himself. Deputy Leader Amelia Womack met him at Occupy and will feature on the show next week.

He said that he had always avoided becoming involved with the Greens in the past, due to a perceived focus on environmental issues, but that the recent shift to the left had inspired him and others seeking ‘systemic political change’.

The media blackout of the party angered Brewer – but his access to a radio studio gives him the option of getting Green voices heard – especially young ones.

Despite only launching on Twitter a few days ago, the ability to ask upcoming participants has proved popular already, with questions flooding in.

‘People are looking for an alternative’, Brewer said. ‘So the Greens need a proper forum to get their views across’.

The show’s format will be a live phone-in, with questions from Twitter too.

Hosted in a condemned building, the show will be an exciting new twist in the #GreenSurge.

Pressed as to whether it will be a regular feature, Brewer said ‘I’d happily do it weekly – from small seeds grow great oaks!’

On the Greens’ rise, he commented: ‘Someone has lit a touch paper – it’s kicking off.’ The show will therefore be a great tool in the Green Party armoury – as well as a chance for discussion and debate.

After the interview, Brewer got back to me to say one more thing: why ‘Mean Green Radio’?

  1. You’ve got to get mean to change things
  2. You’ve got to mean it!

Hard to argue with that…

 Bright Green is pleased to exclusively announce that the show will be hosted on k2kradio.com on Wednesday 26th from 4-6pm.

Listen to it directly via the live link here. You can ask questions for the show via Twitter.

Correction: an earlier version of this article stated the show would run from 2-4pm – the scheduled time is now 4-6pm