Between the 12th March and the 16th March, the government advice to the public about Coronavirus changed swiftly and dramatically. What happened during those 4 days to prompt that change? This week, Tom speaks to Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of war studies at Kings College London, who has been looking at the minutes of the government advisory groups during those crucial days. You can read his article in the New Statesman here https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/0...
May 07, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 22
The divide in responses to and the extent of the damage wrought by covid 19 is becoming much starker. As we know, direct country to country comparisons do not take into account demography, geography or the original scale of the outbreak. One thing though that is clear is that it is the nation state, not many global multilateral fora that are deciding responses. Arguably, coronavirus hastens the challenge already posed to those institutions, like the UN. Challenges of democratic consent and of ef...
Apr 30, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Can the UK find solutions by looking abroad? Was Britain too slow compared to how others responded to the developing Coronavirus crisis? Much of the world is now looking at one small island, Taiwan, with a population of 24 million, they have only had 427 cases so far, and 6 deaths due to Covid-19. They acted very early to the developing crisis. This week, Tom speaks to Taiwan's representative in the UK, David Yung-Lo Lin.
Apr 23, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 20
If the facts around coronavirus and the way it’s affecting all of us were bad enough... wait to you hear the conspiracy theory nonsense. Over the past few weeks, misinformation and conspiracy has gained traction in the mainstream, with real-world consequences. This week, Tom speaks to Professor Karen Douglas, Professor of social psychology at the university of Kent who studies the psychology of conspiracy theories, and Josh Rogin, columnist for the Washington Post who has investigated the truth ...
Apr 16, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Polling shows attitudes towards China are hardening, the Japanese are shifting production out of China, and the US are flirting with cutting funding to the World Health Organisation. Equipment sent from China for testing has been sent back as faulty. Is the relationship between nations breaking down? Was Britain prepared? Were we prepared in the right way? How do we make ourselves more resilient in the future? This week, Tom speaks to Elizabeth Braw, Head of modern deterrence at the Royal United...
Apr 09, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 18
The Foreign Office launches the biggest repatriation of Brits in peacetime. 3/4s of a million stranded and told to get home. What’s it like trying to coordinate an effort like that inside Govenrment and is the foreign office, the longest arm of the British state, up to the job? Joining Tom this week is Alistair Burt, former foreign office minister responsible for the Middle East when the Arab spring broke out. Rule Britannia discovers Britains place in a fast changing world. Listen and subscribe...
Apr 03, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 17
We are living through a generation-defining event - a moment of national emergency. How Britain responds to the coronavirus is critical to its future: economic, political, social, well-being. But this outbreak isn’t the first pandemic, and won’t be the last. What seems clear from the history of pandemics, is that nowhere is the same again after one of these. Economies, societies, reel from the shock and then change forever afterwards. What can the history of pandemics tell us about how Britain s...
Mar 25, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick as he interviews leading experts, politicians and industry influencers to gather a weekly round up of the most important world news and hidden topics that you won't have heard about. Find out just what goes on behind closed doors and how today's decisions will affect Britain's future. Subscribe on Global player or wherever you get your podcasts, now!
Mar 12, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 15
As tens of thousands of displaced people make their way to the Greek border, is Europe experiencing the beginnings of the “Migrant Crisis” 2.0? Erdogan and Putin meet in an attempt to resolve the seemingly intractable problems in Syria which have resulted in the mass movement of at least a million people from Idlib Province. Tom also discusses the Afghanistan Peace deal which looks like it’s over before it started and the British troop deployment in Mali. This week, Tom is joined by the chief fo...
Mar 06, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 14
As the Coronavirus outbreak spreads throughout the world and causes stock market panic, Tom discusses the implications for the country at the epicentre of it, China. The rise of China presents opportunities and threats to the existing world order and asks huge questions of the U.K. about our strategic aims. In the week that the terms of the Government’s foreign policy and defence review are set, Tom speaks to the author of the seminal book “The Silk Roads: a New History Of The World”, Peter Fran...
Feb 28, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 13
This week Tom has an exclusive interview with one of the founders of the Gilets Jaunes protest movement, Priscillia Ludosky. The story of the “Yellow Vests” is one of violence and protest, police brutality and a restlessness, among some, with democratic processes. Priscillia tells Tom about how the movement started, whether she takes responsibility for the violence, injuries and death and how the “Giles Jaunes” inspire other groups around the world. We talk about Brexit, Frexit and the future of...
Feb 21, 2020•54 min•Season 1Ep. 12
As the Prime Minister reshuffles his Cabinet team, what effect will this have on the UK's foreign and defence aims? The billions-strong swarms of locusts now threatening a humanitarian catastrophe in Africa. And as leaders gather for the Munich Security Conference, Tom discusses an emerging threat to Europe - the reliance on Russia for much of the continent's supply of gas. Why Should the UK be opposing Germany in forming this alliance? Tom is joined by the Defence Editor of the Times, Lucy Fish...
Feb 14, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Another terror attack on the streets of London. Another knife-wielding terrorist, recently released from prison, shot dead in broad daylight by armed police. The Government making changes to the law to stop the automatic early release of terror convicts from prison. But that is only half the story. How to change the views of those motivated to carry out these terrorist atrocities? Is it a hopeless task? This week, Tom speaks to an imam who believed so much in the Islamist ideology, that he fough...
Feb 07, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 10
This week: As the U.K. leaves the European Union, Tom interviews Jeremy Hunt who could have been the Prime Minister to have taken the U.K. out and, as Foreign Secretary and Health Secretary, spent many years around the Cabinet table debating the best way forward for Britain. What will post-Brexit Britain do on the world stage? Will Britain’s ability to influence others diminish once outside of the EU? And what was Donald Trump really like in private? Tom also speaks to CNN anchor Bianca Nobilo w...
Jan 30, 2020•50 min•Season 1Ep. 9
This week: - With the world's countries poised to defend themselves against a threatening pandemic, what can be done to control the coronavirus, and what is China's role in controlling the situation. - In a bizarre turn, the Saudi Arabian crown prince is accused of being behind the recent hack of billionaire Jeff Bezo's iPhone. - And spies and spin, how a failed attempt to kill two former Russian spies let to the death of an innocent women and a campaign of misinformation. Join LBC's Tom Swarbri...
Jan 24, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This week: - In a historic moment, president Trump swears in America's first Chief of Space Operations, what will be the worldwide response to policing space? - With Prime Minister Boris Johnson in support of Trump's Iran deal, will a lasting peace be possible from the current tensions in the Middle East? - And with space becoming a fearcly disputed territory, will Britain need a Space-Force? Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick for this episode of Rule Britannia, an in depth exploration of week's events an...
Jan 17, 2020•45 min•Ep. 7
This week: - Iran and the US, daggers drawn over the killing of the head of the Quds force in Baghdad, what happens next? - What will 2020 bring, and what can we expect from the new decade? The crystal ball comes out! - And with space becoming a fearcly disputed territory, will Britain need a Space-Force? Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick for this episode of Rule Britannia, an in depth exploration of week's events and the news that didn't make the headlines. Tom interviews The Daily Mail's defence and se...
Jan 10, 2020•40 min•Ep. 6
This week: - Why the US blocked a move by Britain at the UN to debate North Koreas Human Rights record. - Nobel peace prize winner and State Counsellor of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, faces allegations of genocide while she was in office. - In American politics, can president trump survive the impeachment process? - When the drugs don't work; what will be the worldwide impact of microbial resistance to modern medicine? Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick for this episode of Rule Britannia, an in depth explor...
Dec 13, 2019•46 min•Ep. 5
This week: - Can Nato's deep divisions be healed? What does the future hold for world peace if the alliance was to dissolve? - With less than a week until the general election, which party holds the most influence, and where will the balance of power lie when the voted have been counted? Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick for this episode of Rule Britannia, an in depth exploration of week's events and the news that didn't make the headlines. Tom interviews Tim Marshal (former diplomatic editor and foreign...
Dec 06, 2019•51 min•Ep. 4
This week: - The row about Nato and its future sees Merkel throw diplomatic shade at Macron, day’s ahead of the summit in London. - China’s dark secret...the persecution of more than a million ethnic minority’s in detention camps... - And the growing row about cuts to the U.K. armed forces...is Britain leaving itself exposed? Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick for this episode of Rule Britannia, an in depth exploration of week's events and the news that didn't make the headlines. Tom interviews Lucy Fishe...
Nov 29, 2019•54 min•Ep. 3
What exploded over Russia, caused a spike in radiation and left many dead or injured? And what is Britain's role in Hong Kong's violent chaos? Why has Iran turned off the internet? And what is the future of Saudi Arabia's oil? Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick for this episode of Rule Britannia, an in depth exploration of week's events and the news that didn't make the headlines. Tom interviews foreign affairs editor of Sky News, Deborah Haynes to find out answers to these questions and more. Plus former...
Nov 22, 2019•39 min•Ep. 2
What is upsetting France and Britain but not Germany? Violent protests around the world - what is it that ties these together What's the biggest decision you've made in your life? Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick for this episode of Rule Britannia, an in depth exploration of week's events and the news that didn't make the headlines. Tom interviews former defence and foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind to find out what makes an effective foreign policy and how we can maintain relations with countries v...
Nov 15, 2019•47 min•Ep. 1
Join LBC's Tom Swarbrick as he interviews leading experts, politicians and industry influencers to gather a weekly round up of the most important world news and hidden topics that you won't have heard about. Find out just what goes on behind closed doors and how today's decisions will affect Britains future. Coming soon. Subscribe on Global player or wherever you get your podcasts, now!
Nov 11, 2019•2 min
