TALKING POLITICS
411 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 months ago - ★★★★★ - 619 ratingsCoronavirus! Climate! Brexit! Trump! Politics has never been more unpredictable, more alarming or more interesting: Talking Politics is the podcast that tries to make sense of it all. Every week David Runciman and Helen Thompson talk to the most interesting people around about the ideas and events that shape our world: from history to economics, from philosophy to fiction. What does the future hold?
Can democracy survive? How crazy will it get? This is the political conversation that matters.
Talking Politics is brought to you in partnership with the London Review of Books, Europe's leading magazine of books and ideas.
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Episodes
The Long-term Legacy of Brexit
January 14, 2021 01:00 - 50 minutes - 117 MBDavid and Helen are joined by Diane Coyle and Anand Menon to have another go at pinning down the long term consequences of Brexit. Now we have a deal, what are the prospects for rebalancing the UK economy? Do EU politicians want a post-Brexit UK to succeed or to fail? Can Labour really avoid re-opening the Brexit wars for the next four years? Plus, an update on the next series of History of Ideas. Talking Points: Because of Brexit there is more friction in trade with the EU. People will...
Jill Lepore on the Insurrection
January 11, 2021 22:42 - 27 minutes - 64.1 MBDavid talks to historian Jill Lepore about what took place at the Capitol on January 6th. What should we call it? What can we compare it to? And what should happen next? Plus we ask how Biden ought to address what happened in his inaugural next week. Are we past the time for talk about reconciliation? Talking Points: Is there a word for what happened in the US on 6 Jan? Many Republicans are still defending the insurrection. The likes of Limbaugh and Gingrich are calling it a ‘march.’ Th...
New Year, New World?
January 07, 2021 01:00 - 52 minutes - 122 MBDavid and Helen look at what's changed - and what hasn't - since we last spoke, from Brexit to Biden to Covid. Has the Brexit deal really given the UK a chance to do things differently? Do Democrat wins in the Georgia Senate races open up new possibilities for Biden? What is at stake in the politics of vaccination? Plus, we talk about where things now stand for the future of the Union. *Recorded before the events in Washington on Wednesday * Talking Points: What can the UK do that it coul...
How to Fix British Democracy?
January 03, 2021 01:00 - 28 minutes - 66.3 MBAnother recent talk by David on democracy: does it make sense to talk about fixing British democracy, and if so, how? David discusses electoral reform, institutional change and he returns to the question of votes for children.
Did Covid Kill the Climate?
December 31, 2020 01:00 - 40 minutes - 92 MBA recording of a recent talk by David on what we've learned in 2020 about the resilience of democratic societies in the face of disaster. Has the experience of Covid shown us how we can deal with climate change, or has it shown us what we are missing? An argument about optimism, pessimism and everything in between.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
December 24, 2020 01:00 - 45 minutes - 106 MBThis week David, Helen and our producer Catherine Carr look back at five years of podcasting and five years of crazy politics, to pick our favourite moments and to discuss what we've learned. From the 2015 general election to the current crisis, via the Corn Laws and Crashed, the politics of abortion and super forecasting, Corbyn and nuclear weapons. Plus, we'll let you know about some of our plans for 2021. Episodes Mentioned in this Episode: Crashed with Adam Tooze Adam Tooze on post-C...
Looking Back, Looking Forward
December 24, 2020 01:00 - 46 minutes - 106 MBThis week David, Helen and our producer Catherine Carr look back at five years of podcasting and five years of crazy politics, to pick our favourite moments and to discuss what we've learned. From the 2015 general election to the current crisis, via the Corn Laws and Crashed, the politics of abortion and super forecasting, Corbyn and nuclear weapons. Plus, we'll let you know about some of our plans for 2021. Episodes Mentioned in this Episode: Crashed with Adam Tooze Adam Tooze on post-C...
Where is the Opposition?
December 17, 2020 01:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MBWe look past Covid and Brexit to ask where the long-term opposition to Johnson's government is going to come from. Can Corbynism remain a force in British politics, even without Corbyn? Is there room for a challenge to the Conservatives from the right? Will climate politics drive street protest politics or can it help the Greens? Plus we consider whether Nicola Sturgeon is really the leader of the opposition. With Helen Thompson and Chris Brooke. Talking Points: Corbynist energy levels are...
What's Next for France and Italy?
December 10, 2020 01:00 - 39 minutes - 90.2 MBAs we wait for a Brexit deal or no deal, we discuss what the next year might hold for French and Italian politics. What are Macron's prospects as he heads towards the next presidential election? Has Giorgia Meloni replaced Matteo Salvini as the leader of the Italian far right? And what chance of a return to political normalcy in either country? With Lucia Rubinelli and Chris Bickerton. Talking Points: The Italian public is fed up with Brexit—there isn’t much public debate about it. Salvi...
From Brexit to Scottish Independence
December 03, 2020 01:00 - 43 minutes - 101 MBWe try to join the dots from the final days of the Brexit negotiations to the looming prospect of another referendum on Scottish independence. Can the government really risk a no-deal outcome? Will the SNP still hold a referendum if the courts say no? What will Labour do? Plus we ask how COVID politics intersects with the fate of the Union. With Helen Thompson, Anand Menon and Kenneth Armstrong. Talking Points: Will there be a Brexit deal? We know the concessions both sides would have to ...
Young People vs Joe Biden
November 26, 2020 01:00 - 52 minutes - 121 MBThis week we talk about race and representation with Cathy Cohen of the GenForward Survey project based in Chicago. What do young Americans want from democratic politics? How do their priorities vary according to race and ethnicity? And can a Biden presidency deliver on the desire for real change? Plus we catch up with Jeevun Sandher and Michael Bankole of the Politics Jam podcast to explore a UK perspective on why young and minority voices find it so hard to be heard. Talking Points: We a...
James O'Brien
November 22, 2020 01:00 - 59 minutes - 138 MBDavid talks to author and radio host James O'Brien about everything from therapy to Brexit and from educational privilege to Keir Starmer's leadership of the Labour Party. Recorded as part of the Cambridge Literary Festival https://cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/. James's new book is How Not to be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind.
Post-Covid Economics
November 19, 2020 06:24 - 45 minutes - 104 MBThis week a special edition from the Bristol Festival of Economics with Helen Thompson and Adam Tooze talking about what might follow the pandemic. From vaccines to changing patterns of employment, from action on climate to new tensions with China, we explore what the long-term effects of 2020 might be. Plus we discuss what options are open to a Biden administration: with the Georgia run-offs to come and the disease still spreading, how much wriggle room has he got? Talking Points: Headli...
Post-Covid Economics
November 19, 2020 06:24 - 45 minutes - 104 MBThis week a special edition from the Bristol Festival of Economics with Helen Thompson and Adam Tooze talking about what might follow the pandemic. From vaccines to changing patterns of employment, from action on climate to new tensions with China, we explore what the long-term effects of 2020 might be. Plus we discuss what options are open to a Biden administration: with the Georgia run-offs to come and the disease still spreading, how much wriggle room has he got? Talking Points: Headli...
War: What Is it Good For?
November 11, 2020 23:59 - 38 minutes - 87.4 MBWe talk to the historian Margaret MacMillan about the changing character of war, from the ancient world to the twenty-first century. Do we still understand the risks? Where are the conflicts of the future likely to break out? And how can we reconcile the terrible destructiveness of war with its capacity to bring about positive change? Plus we talk about why war produces so much great art. Talking Points: Is the way we commemorate war distancing us from the reality of it? Those who have s...
President Biden
November 09, 2020 20:53 - 30 minutes - 70.6 MBNow that we have a result, David and Helen reflect on what the next four years might hold. What issues could define a Biden presidency? Has this election indicated a possible realignment of American politics? And is it enough to restore faith in democratic politics? If Trump is not how democracy ends, where does the real danger lie? Talking Points: Biden faces three big issues: China, climate, and COVID. It’s probably not possible to go back to US-China relations pre-Trump. However, China...
What Just Happened?
November 04, 2020 21:38 - 52 minutes - 120 MBDavid, Helen and Gary convene on very little sleep to try to make sense of another extraordinary election. Though we still don't know who won, we do know that some things are going to get even harder for American democracy. What's the nightmare scenario: the loser refusing to lose, or the winner being unable to govern? Why did the pollsters get it wrong again? And what's likely to happen when the contest reaches the courts? Plus we ask if the American Constitution can cope with close electio...
Are Young People Losing Faith in Democracy?
November 02, 2020 16:43 - 27 minutes - 64.2 MBDavid talks to Roberto Foa about his recent report into young people's attitude to democracy around the world. Why are millennials so much less satisfied with democratic politics than older generations? Can populist politics do anything to alter that? And what does the generation divide tell us about changing attitudes to Trump? Plus we discuss the generational politics of climate change, education and wealth inequality. The report in full: https://www.cam.ac.uk/system/files/youth_and_sati...
China, Climate, Covid: The New Energy Map
November 01, 2020 20:30 - 31 minutes - 72.6 MBA conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Yergin about the new energy map of the world. What impact has the shale revolution had on global politics? Is China winning or losing the energy wars? And will the energy transition happen fast enough for climate change? Daniel's book: www.waterstones.com/book/the-new-map/daniel-yergin/9780241472347 Helen on oil: play.acast.com/s/talkingpolitics/oil-
What Trump Means to Us
October 29, 2020 01:00 - 41 minutes - 95.4 MBHelen and David talk about what four years of Trump - and of talking (and talking) about Trump - have meant for their thinking about America and about democratic politics. Is it possible to give a balanced picture of Trump's presidency? Have the last four years followed a pattern or has it just been chaos? What is the likely legacy of Trump's extraordinary level of global fame? Plus we discuss whether 2020 marks the beginning of the 'short' twenty-first century and what that means for Trump'...
Democracy for Sale
October 22, 2020 00:00 - 45 minutes - 105 MBWe talk to Peter Geoghegan of openDemocracy and Jennifer Cobbe of the Trust and Technology Initiative about Cambridge Analytica, money, power and what is and isn't corrupting our democracy. How easy is it to buy influence in British politics? Did Cambridge Analytica break the rules or show just how little difference the rules make anyway? Who has the power to take on Facebook? Plus we discuss why the British government's failure to handle the pandemic tells us a lot about the corrosive effec...
Trump Stress Test
October 15, 2020 00:00 - 47 minutes - 109 MBDavid talks to the historian Sarah Churchwell about how well America's political institutions have withstood the stress of the last four years. Have we seen the limits of presidential power or have we discovered how easy it is to trash those limits? Are constitutional checks and balances still intact? Is it really Mitch McConnell who is putting American democracy under stress? Plus we talk about what will be needed to restore the social contract and the perils of political humility. Talking...
Can Boris Survive Brexit?
October 08, 2020 00:00 - 53 minutes - 123 MBThis week we come back to Brexit and ask whether Boris Johnson has a good way out of the current negotiations with the EU over a trade deal. First we talk with Kenneth Armstrong, Professor of European Law, about the thinking and the reality behind the government's Internal Market Bill. Then David, Helen and Chris Brooke explore the politics of success and failure in the negotiations. Can the Union survive? Does the government have a coherent strategy? And how much trouble is Johnson really i...
One-Term Presidents
October 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 138 MBDavid talks to Helen Thompson and Gary Gerstle about the historical precedents for US presidents losing office after a singleterm. It doesn't happen very often, but it could be about to happen again! Can Trump use the powers of incumbency to prevent it? Can Biden use Trump's growing chaos to seal his fate? Plus we talk about the fall-out from the first presidential debate and we ask how the politics of the Supreme Court might intersect with a contested election result. Talking Points: One-...
Michael Sandel on the Case Against Meritocracy
September 24, 2020 00:00 - 52 minutes - 121 MBDavid and Helen talk to the philosopher Michael Sandel about the damage that the idea of rewarding people on merit has done to education, democracy and public life. Why is it wrong to try to match the best students to the best universities? What is credentialism and how has it warped the way work is rewarded? Whatever happened to the idea of the common good? Plus we discuss America's sense of itself as God's chosen nation in the age of Obama and Trump. Talking Points: Places like Stanford ...
Robert Harris and V2
September 20, 2020 00:00 - 30 minutes - 70.7 MBA Sunday extra with the novelist Robert Harris to talk about the V2 campaign of terror against London during WWII and the parallels with today. Plus we discuss the big questions of counterfactual history - could Hitler really have won the war? - and we ask whether Boris Johnson is anything like his political heroes, Cicero and Churchill.
Jill Lepore on the Destructive Power of Tech
September 17, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 97.1 MBDavid talks to the American historian Jill Lepore about the damage new technology can do to democracy, from the 1960s to the present. Who first tried to manipulate the minds of the electorate? Where did the money come from? What happened when the same technology was applied to fighting the Vietnam War? Plus we discuss US presidential elections from 1960 to 2020: do the machines really decide who is going to win, and if he does win this time, what might Joe Biden be able to do about it? Talk...
The Incompetence of Boris Johnson
September 10, 2020 00:00 - 46 minutes - 106 MBThis week we talk about the politics of incompetence: when does it matter and when can politicians get away with it. Have repeated u-turns during the pandemic damaged the government? Has Nicola Sturgeon had a better crisis than Boris Johnson or is it just competence theatre? Is the government's incompetence going to be enough to get Keir Starmer into Downing Street? With Helen Thompson, Chris Brooke and Chris Bickerton. Talking Points: Competence: does it matter? What kinds of incompeten...
The Politics of Loneliness
September 03, 2020 00:00 - 44 minutes - 103 MBDavid talks to economist and author Noreena Hertz about loneliness and its impact on all our lives. How does the experience of loneliness shape contemporary democracy? What kind of politics could make us feel more connected? Can technology bring us together or is it driving us further apart? Plus we discuss the consequences of the pandemic for the future of work and the possibility of building a better world. Loneliness has been rising among young people over recent years: 3 in 5 18-34 year...
Thomas Piketty: Three Years On
August 27, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 96.6 MBWe revisit our interview with the economist Thomas Piketty recorded the week Emmanuel Macron won the French presidency and David and Helen ask what we have learned since. Where does Macron fit on the left/right political spectrum? What has his cult of personality done to French politics? And are we anywhere nearer knowing how to tackle the problem of inequality? The last in our series of updates from the Talking Politics archive. Show Notes: Why isn’t inequality having a more primary effec...
Has Covid Rescued Europe?
August 20, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 97.7 MBThis week we look at the big changes in European politics during the crisis and ask who has managed to turn it around. Is Italy now a model for crisis management? Has there been a reorientation in German politics under Merkel? Can the EU rescue fund really rescue the European project? Plus we discuss the long-term implications of big state politics for the future of Europe. With Helen Thompson, Lucia Rubinelli and Hans Kundnani. Talking Points: Over the summer, life—including political lif...
Judith Butler: Then and Now
August 13, 2020 00:00 - 59 minutes - 136 MBThis week two conversations with the feminist theorist and writer Judith Butler: one recorded the week Trump won the presidency in 2016 and one recorded a few days ago, as his presidency (just maybe) approaches its end. We reflect on what has changed over the last four years, what has stayed the same, and whether our worst fears were realised. Plus Judith tells us what she sees when she sees Biden and what she hopes might come next. Two linked conversations about misogyny, racism, representa...
Brexit, Trump and Aldershot FC
August 06, 2020 00:00 - 43 minutes - 101 MBThis week David and Helen talk with the historian David Kynaston about his diary of the 2016-17 season in football and in politics, when a lot happened both to the world and to his beloved Aldershot FC. It's a conversation about loyalty, identity and belonging, and about what sorts of change we can tolerate and what we can't. Plus Helen reflects on her life as a West Ham fan. Talking Points: For David Kynaston, football is about identity. We all have our personal myths. Continuity of spa...
Whose Work is it Anyway?
July 30, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 98.3 MBDavid and Helen talk with Diane Coyle about what the pandemic has revealed about the changing nature of work. Who is doing more of it? Who is still getting paid for it? Which jobs are not coming back? Plus we explore the impact of the digital revolution on how we get rewarded for what we do and we ask whether the big tech firms can continue to hoover up so many of the rewards. Is Jeff Bezos really worth it? Talking Points: Since the post-war era, unpaid work in the home doesn’t get measur...
Revisiting Yuval Harari
July 23, 2020 00:00 - 45 minutes - 105 MBThis week we go back to the first ever interview we recorded for Talking Politics, when David talked to Yuval Noah Harari in 2016 about his book Homo Deus. That conversation touched on many of the themes that we've kept coming back to in the four years since: the power of the big technology companies; the vulnerability of democracy; the deep uncertainty we all feel about the future. David reflects on what difference those four years have made to how we think about these questions now. Talki...
Twilight of Democracy
July 16, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 97.5 MBDavid talks to the writer Anne Applebaum about her highly personal new book, which charts the last twenty years of broken friendships and democratic failure. We start in Poland with the story of what happened to the high hopes for Polish democracy, including what we've learned from this week's presidential election. But we also take in Trump and Brexit, Hungary and Spain. What explains the prevalence of conspiracy theories in contemporary politics? Why are so many conservatives drawn to the...
Helen's History of Ideas
July 09, 2020 00:00 - 48 minutes - 111 MBDavid talks with Helen to get her take on the history of ideas - both what's there and what's missing. Why start with Hobbes? What can we learn from the Federalist Papers? Where's Nietzsche? Plus we talk about whether understanding where political ideas come from is liberating or limiting and we ask how many of them were just rationalisations for power. Talking Points: Should we start the story of modern politics with Hobbes? Hobbes poses a stark question: what is the worst thing that c...
James Meek on Healthcare: from WHO to NHS
July 05, 2020 00:00 - 37 minutes - 85.7 MBDavid talks to the writer James Meek about what the Covid crisis has revealed about how we understand healthcare and how we think about the organisations tasked with delivering it. A conversation about hospitals and community care, about Trump's America and Johnson's Britain, and about WHO and NHS. James's writing on these themes is available on the LRB website https://www.lrb.co.uk/ Amy Maxmen on Ebola, Covid and the WHO https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2020/243-ebola-covid-an...
Brexit in the Age of Covid
July 02, 2020 00:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MBWe have passed the deadline for any extension to the Brexit trade negotiations - now it's 31 December or bust. We catch up with three of our resident experts to explore what this means, what the chances are of getting a deal and where the sticking points might be. Plus we asses the impact of the Covid crisis on the fate of Brexit and its implications for what might happen later this year. With Anand Menon, Catherine Barnard and Helen Thompson. Talking Points: The formal legal position is...
Burma's Hidden History
June 28, 2020 00:00 - 47 minutes - 109 MBIn this extra episode David talks to Thant Myint-U about the fraught recent history of Burma (Myanmar) and asks what it can teach us about twenty-first century politics. Why did the West have so many illusions about Aung San Suu Kyi? Can democracy really rescue the country? What model of development might work in the age of Covid and climate change? A wide-ranging conversation about the forces shaping our world. Thant's website: https://www.thantmyintu.com/ Thant's book: https://www.waters...
Britain Wrestles with its Past
June 25, 2020 00:00 - 47 minutes - 109 MBWe talk with the writer and political commentator Fintan O'Toole about how British politics can and should deal with its imperial past in the age of Brexit. From battles over statues to fights over nationalism we explore whether history has become the new democratic divide. Why does Churchill loom so large over our politics? Can Labour reclaim the mantle of patriotism? Will the Union survive the history wars? Plus we ask whether there has been a generational shift in attitudes to race and id...
American Fascism: Then and Now
June 18, 2020 00:00 - 47 minutes - 109 MBDavid and Helen talk with historian Sarah Churchwell about the origins, uses and abuses of the idea of American fascism. Where does American fascism come from? Does it follow a European model or is it something exceptional? What role do white supremacy and anti-Semitism play in its development? How close has it got to power? Plus we ask the big question for now: Does it make sense to call Trump a fascist? Talking Points: Trump’s decision to hold a rally in Tulsa on 19 June is an act of cl...
Police State USA
June 11, 2020 00:00 - 53 minutes - 123 MBWe talk to Adom Getachew, Jasson Perez and Gary Gerstle about the politics of protest and the politics of policing in America. What does 'Defund the Police' mean in practice? Is the current crisis likely to empower or curtail the surveillance state? How are the current protests different from ones we've seen in the past? And where Minneapolis leads, will the world follow? Plus we talk about the implications of the protests for the November elections. Talking Points: The ‘defund the police’...
What Just Happened at the New York Times?
June 08, 2020 19:48 - 29 minutes - 68.6 MBIn an extra episode, we're back with last week's guest Jonathan Shainin, Head of Opinion at the Guardian, so he can talk us through the big blow-up at the NYT. What has it taught us about about the new battlegrounds in newspaper opinion? Where does power now lie in newspaper offices? And where does Jonathan draw the line between what can and can't be published? In our next episode, voices on the ground in the US. Further Reading: The Tom Cotton Op-Ed from the New York Times https://www.n...
Matt Forde
June 07, 2020 00:00 - 45 minutes - 105 MBDavid talks to comedian and host of the Political Party podcast Matt Forde about his lockdown experiences and about his life with the Labour party: before, during and after the Corbyn years. Plus we discuss the ways in which political allegiances are (and aren't) like supporting a football team. https://www.mattforde.com/ https://planetradio.co.uk/absolute-radio/presenters/matt-forde/
Facts vs Opinions
June 04, 2020 00:00 - 45 minutes - 105 MBDavid and Helen talk with Jonathan Shainin, Head of Opinion at the Guardian newspaper, about the challenges of political journalism in a deeply polarised age. Is it possible to hold the line between news and comment? Are the arguments about Covid a rerun of Brexit? What can scientists and historians add to political analysis? Plus we discuss how American journalism has changed the way it talks about race and violence and what that means for the current moment. Talking Points: The heighten...
Facts vs Opinions
June 04, 2020 00:00 - 45 minutes - 105 MBDavid and Helen talk with Jonathan Shainin, Head of Opinion at the Guardian newspaper, about the challenges of political journalism in a deeply polarised age. Is it possible to hold the line between news and comment? Are the arguments about Covid a rerun of Brexit? What can scientists and historians add to political analysis? Plus we discuss how American journalism has changed the way it talks about race and violence and what that means for the current moment. Talking Points: The heighten...
Dan Snow on Covid History (and Cummings)
May 28, 2020 00:00 - 47 minutes - 109 MBDavid and Helen talk to the historian Dan Snow about the parallels for the current crisis. Is it like past pandemics or is it more like a war? What has it exposed about the weak spots in our societies? And what have we learned about the role of political leadership? Plus we explore the value of Churchill comparisons on the 80th anniversary of his great WWII speeches and we dip our toes into the Cummings affair. Talking Points: Lockdown, quarantine, social distancing have been borrowed fro...
Bread, Cement, Cactus
May 24, 2020 00:00 - 54 minutes - 124 MBDavid talks to the writer Annie Zaidi, winner of the Nine Dots Prize, about her remarkable memoir of life in India and the search for identity. It's s story of conflict, migration, belonging and the idea of home. We also discuss what home means for Indians now the country is under lockdown and Annie tells us how life is in Mumbai. *The sound is not great, we are sorry. It is nicer to listen through speakers than on headphones* Further Reading and listening: Annie Zaidi's book https://www...
Europe Blows Up
May 21, 2020 00:00 - 55 minutes - 128 MBHow does a judgement of the German constitutional court threaten to explode the European project? David talk to Helen Thompson, Adam Tooze and Shahin Vallee about what the court's decision might mean for the Euro, for the response to the pandemic, for Franco-German relations and for the future of central banks. Can the great European fudge continue? And what happens if it can't? Plus a bonus chat with Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd from the ‘Reasons to be Cheerful Podcast’ https://www.cheerful...