In this excerpt from Studio B, Unscripted, French best-selling writer, Edouard Louis, tells the audience about his love for the work of US author James Baldwin, whose work connecting class, race and gender in the post-WWII United States had a huge impact in cultural life and the civil rights movement.

Louis describes how Baldwin influenced his writing, reflecting on the links between his father's poverty and masculine identity in his latest autobiographical novel, Who Killed my Father.



Also in this excerpt, famed British social-realist film director Ken Loach talks about the relation between the decline of the trade unions in the UK since the 1970s and the rise of the far right, stressing the need for unions to be democratic and properly represent their members' interests.

One of the most successful directors in the history of Cannes Film Festival, Loach, 83, has dozens of credits to his name in a career focusing on social issues such as poverty, class, homelessness, and labour rights. His latest film, Sorry We Missed You, released in November 2019, explores the devastating effects of the so-called gig-economy on a working-class family in the UK.

Louis, 27, has risen to fame over the last few years thanks to the success of his first novel, the autobiographical The End of Eddy. Born into a small town working-class French family, Louis' experienced first-hand many of the issues that Loach addresses in his films.

You can watch the full show here.

The views expressed in this programme are the guests' own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.

Studio B, Unscripted is a free-flow conversation between two guests and a small audience, with no mediation, no MC, no TV presenter - focusing on what brings us all together and how we can tackle and discuss some of the big issues of our time.

Source: Al Jazeera