With Reform being a right-wing populist movement, and splitting Tory voters. Why is there a lack of a strong left-wing populist party?, one listener asks. And another listener, Damon, writes in to ask, Why are fishing rights on the agenda with regards to this latest EU deal? Do you agree that France has a disproportionate influence on the EU? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by George Eaton and Rachel Cunliffe. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question fo...
May 30, 2025•16 min
Winter fuel cuts? Two child benefit gap? Rachel Reeves' fiscal rules? Angela Rayner? The team discuss what will stay and what will have to go for Labour in the coming weeks and months, and where Nigel Farage is lurking to capitalise on Labour and Tory struggles. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by George Eaton and Rachel Cunliffe. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...
May 29, 2025•18 min
Last week, the Israeli military launched a major new ground assault on Gaza. The aim, according to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is to force the surrender of Hamas, free the remaining Israeli hostages, and bring the entire territory under Israel’s control. The UK, France and Canada have demanded Israel halt "its military operations" and "immediately allow aid" in. While Trump spoke about his support for Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu during his campaign, in recent weeks his patience see...
May 26, 2025•38 min
The former Labour prime minister speaks to the New Statesman Podcast about how the government can reduce levels of child poverty. Read: Gordon Brown: the moral economist Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 23, 2025•24 min
Starmer has sealed the deal with the EU, U-turned on winter fuel, and made a marked departure on the UK's stance on Israel. This has been a big week for Labour, but how will it wash with the public? Anoosh Chakelian is drawn by the New Statesman's political editor Andrew Marr, senior editor George Eaton, and senior data journalist Ben Walker. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...
May 22, 2025•26 min
Seven per cent of British children attend private school – a tiny minority – and yet they retain a grip on our elite institutions. The latest figures show that 65% of judges, 44% of newspaper columnists and 23% of MPs were independently educated. Fee-paying schools, however, do not merely cater for the privileged few, but hard-working aspirational parents who want the best for their children. They also allow for a quality that is essential in all aspects of raising children: choice. Is this two-...
May 21, 2025•48 min
In our teenage years, music can be everything. But as we age, our relationship with music changes. Alice Vincent was a music journalist for many years, and in this frank conversation tells Kate Mossman how childbirth, PTSD and depression turned her love of music into something darker. In her new book, Hark: How women listen , Alice recounts her quest to rediscover the power of music as an adult, a mother and after mental health battles. In this conversation, Alice and Kate discuss how her quest ...
May 19, 2025•31 min
“Having moved on from Blue Labour, which other policies will Turquoise Labour adopt from the far right?"; “Given that they are a break on everything, should the Treasury department be abolished?”; “What would happen if Labour and the Conservatives got completely wiped out at the general election and the Lib Dems and Greens also had bad polling results and the Reform party suddenly lost its mojo? Could a government function or would King Charles have to step in?” Anoosh Chakelian is joined by And...
May 16, 2025•17 min
This week saw potentially the boldest moment of Keir Starmer’s leadership, as the Government announced its white paper - Restoring Control over the Immigration System. According to the Prime Minister, it marks a a significant overhaul of UK immigration policy. The headlines, however, have been less kind - focussing on the wording of his speech announcing the plans, specifically on the phrase ‘island of strangers’... Some were quick to compare this to Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ spe...
May 15, 2025•32 min
For the first time, the Conclave of cardinals at the Vatican have elected an American pope. Pope Leo XIV has ascended to the papacy following the death of his modernising predecessor, Pope Francis. Katie Stallard is joined by writer Madoc Cairns and the New Statesman’s Finn McRedmond to discuss Francis’s legacy and Leo’s future. Read: Pope Francis's illusions Read: Pope Leo XIV's centrist papacy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 14, 2025•32 min
2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner, widely celebrated as Britain's greatest landscape painter. -- YOUR NEXT EPISODE: The untold story of Picasso's muses -- Yet, beyond the familiar image of the "painter of light", Turner was a complex figure whose radical art often baffled his contemporaries. Tom Gatti meets the New Statesman’s art critic, Michael Prodger, to explore why Turner still matters – and how themes in his work like the power of nature, the im...
May 12, 2025•38 min
The team answer questions on the Green party's charisma issue, how Reform's power in local council could hurt their overall polling, and whether too many Lib Dems are vegan. Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Ben Walker, Megan Kenyon, and George Eaton. Listen to our episode on constitutional issues Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 09, 2025•23 min
Tom McTague, the incoming editor of the New Statesman, joins Andrew Marr to discuss Labour's rocky week following Reform's dramatic wins, the India and US trade deals, and also his vision for the future of the publication. Read more: New Statesman International Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 08, 2025•33 min
The far right now makes up a third of terrorism convictions and a majority of referrals to the governments Prevent counter-radicalisation scheme But what fuels the far-right and how influential are they becoming? Harry Shukman, journalist and researcher at HOPE not hate, an anti-fascist organisation, went undercover with the British far right to find out how these groups operate, their plans for changing Britain, and the conversations that go on behind closed doors, far away from voters’ doorste...
May 07, 2025•29 min
Tom Gatti meets authors Sarah Churchwell and Erica Wagner to discuss why The Great Gatsby is still relevant a century after it was published. Considered by many to be the great American novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic tale of ambition, class and the American dream continues to resonate today. Sarah Churchwell and Erica Wagner joined Tom Gatti at the Cambridge Literary Festival to offer fresh perspectives on a timeless classic. Watch more from the Cambridge Literary Festival at https://www.ca...
May 05, 2025•50 min
Yesterday elections took place up and down the country, for councils, six mayoral contests, and a by-election. What we’re looking at today is a big win for Nigel Farage’s Reform - and a seismic shift in British politics. Hannah Barnes is joined by senior data journalist Ben Walker and senior editor George Eaton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 02, 2025•24 min
Overnight, Ukraine and the United States have signed a long-awaited minerals deal. Hannah Barnes is joined by political editor Andrew Marr and international editor Megan Gibson to discuss what this means for Ukraine's security and the future of the conflict with Russia, and later in the episode the team look at Mark Carney's anti-Trump win in Canada and what this means for democracies around the world. Read more: New Statesman International Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Host...
May 01, 2025•23 min
In the short period which has elapsed since Donald Trump took office (again) in January, he has slashed public health funding, gone after education, attacked media freedom, and challenged the authority of the legal system of the courts. Some of this seems outright reckless, but some of the actions taken by this Trump administration mirror the political trajectories of countries like Hungary, el Salvador, Turkey, and Russia. Countries where democracy has crumbled and autocracy has taken hold. Kat...
Apr 30, 2025•35 min
The politics team answers listener questions on council tax, the voters ignored by Labour and the Tories, and the true value of billionaires. Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr and Rachel Cunliffe. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 25, 2025•17 min
After the purported 'Easter truce' fighting has resumed in Ukraine and Russia, meanwhile peace talks in the West have broken down with the US speaking to Russia separately. Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr to discuss this week in UK politics, and later in the episode by Rachel Cunliffe and George Eaton to look at Reform UK's surging popularity ahead of the local elections. Read: Can Reform grow up? , Steve Reed: “Reform is a symptom of broken trust” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...
Apr 24, 2025•24 min
China's modern history is also a story about trade. So how will the echoes of the past 200 years shape the trade war that Donald Trump has waged on the world's second largest economy? Katie Stallard is joined by Rana Mitter and Kevin Xu. Read: What will China look like in 20 years Read: Interconnected Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 23, 2025•32 min
Former senior civil servant Jill Rutter joins the podcast to answer listener questions on the inner workings of government. This episode is hosted by the New Statesman's associate political editor, Rachel Cunliffe. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 18, 2025•32 min
How did a joke gone awry in 1967 forever changed the nation’s relationship with the truth? Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Phil Tinline, a regular writer for the New Statesman and author of the new book Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax that Duped America and its Sinister Legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 17, 2025•24 min
Major pharmaceutical companies - or Big Pharma - research, develop and distribute medicines and treatments that we rely upon. However, their pursuit of commercial interests has often led to accusations of prioritising profits over the healthcare of patients both in the UK and beyond. Katie Stallard is joined by doctor and medical commentator Dr Phil Whitaker, and author/campaigner Nick Dearden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 16, 2025•26 min
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new 50-point AI Opportunities Action Plan aims to drive national growth and transform public services. In this episode host Jon Bernstein talks to AWS Director of Technology for the UK Public Sector Holly Ellis, and Director of Government Innovation Policy at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change Alexander losad about the plan and what it could mean for businesses, policymakers and the wider economy. The conversation covers AI’s role in reshaping gove...
Apr 14, 2025•20 min
The first of May is set to be a big day for local government with council elections, mayoral races, and even a by-election taking place. Rachel Cunliffe is joined by senior data journalist Ben Walker to discuss what's being contested and where the polls stand at the moment. Read more from Ben here Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 11, 2025•27 min
Thanks to Donald Trump and his dodgy formula, last week tariffs were applied to countries all over the world. Consequently, the stock markets had their worst downturn since the pandemic. And economists warned of a weakened dollar, trade wars, and global recession. The White House denied for days that the US would back down on the tariffs. Until yesterday, when Trump pressed pause on higher tariff rates, with a few notable exceptions. To unpack what on earth is going on in Washington and aro...
Apr 10, 2025•22 min
Rodrigo Duterte led a bloody war on drugs — now he faces The Hague. As the former Philippine president is brought closer to justice, what could his fall could mean for other powerful figures with ICC warrants, including Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu? Katie Stallard is joined by photojournalist Basilio Sepe and political scientist Kelebogile Zvobgo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 09, 2025•25 min
The women who loved Picasso shaped his art in surprising ways. -- YOUR NEXT EPISODE: Why we can't let go of Never Let Me Go -- "We look at paintings to imagine other worlds, other times. They are doors into an alternative, creative way of life." So writes Sue Roe in her latest book, Hidden Portraits: the Untold Story of Six Women Who loved Picasso. And if there was ever an artist who opened the door to an alternative view of the world, surely Picasso qualifies: unorthodox, exhilarating, an...
Apr 07, 2025•31 min
As Putin wages a shadow war across the European continent—and the US commitment to NATO grows uncertain—we ask: would the West really defend the Baltic states if Russia advanced? Andrew Marr is joined by Oliver Moody, Berlin bureau chief for The Times and author of Baltic: The Future of Europe. Drawing on deep history, extensive reporting, and sobering military realities, Moody argues that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are not just small nations on the edge of Europe—they are a test of whether ...
Apr 04, 2025•23 min
