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The Prospect Podcast

Prospect Magazinewww.prospectmagazine.co.uk

Join our deputy editor Ellen Halliday and senior editor Alona Ferber as they interview some of the brightest minds to discuss the ideas that matter most in politics, society and culture.


The Prospect Podcast is produced by Prospect Magazine.


Subscribe to Prospect and enjoy our rigorously fact-checked, truly independent analysis and perspectives. Get one free issue of Prospect when you sign up today: https://subscription.prospectmagazine.co.uk/OCT1MFBG/prospect-magazine/OCT1MFG

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Episodes

Peter Kellner and Naomi Smith: Britain on strike

As the winter of discontent continues, with a building public service crisis and escalating industrial action, the government has responded by trying to pass legislation to control the unions and clamp down on protests. But what are the political consequences of this approach? What does the public think? And what will happen next? Veteran political journalist and pollster Peter Kellner and Naomi Smith, chief executive of campaigning organisation Best for Britain join Alan Rusbridger to discuss. ...

Jan 18, 202333 min

Rafael Behr and Francesca Ebel: Are Russians fighting or fleeing?

More than 320 days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Rafael Behr and Francesca Ebel join Alan Rusbridger to discuss how Russians themselves have responded to the war. Are they fighting, fleeing or resisting? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 11, 202329 min

Prospect Team: What will surprise us in 2023?

The team discuss the turbulent year that's passed and give predictions for the year ahead, as well as sharing their highlights from Prospect in 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 28, 202253 min

Sheila Hancock, Alice Goodman and Tom Martin: Columnist catch-up

What do a farmer, an actor and an Anglican priest have in common? How will Sheila Hancock celebrate her 90th birthday and what will Tom Martin's sheep do on Christmas Day? Three of Prospect's seven Lives columnists—who write a monthly reflection on their experiences of modern Britain—join Alan Rusbridger for a festive catch-up. Subscribe to our monthly Prospect Lives podcast to hear more from Sheila, Alice, Tom and the rest of the Lives family here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

Dec 22, 202229 min

Rana Mitter and Isabel Hilton: Is China's growth engine stalling?

For decades, China has been the engine of the global economy, but what if it is stalling? Journalist and founder of China Dialogue, Isabel Hilton and historian and author Rana Mitter join Alan Rusbridger to discuss Xi Jinping's change of direction and the consequences for the rest of the world. If you enjoyed this podcast, subscribe to our Prospect Lives channel here: https://podfollow.com/prospect-lives Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Dec 14, 202224 min

Would the German model fix the NHS?

This winter—perhaps more than any other—we’re aware that there are millions of people languishing on waiting lists for treatment, and ambulance response times are getting longer and longer. Is it time to replace the NHS wholesale? Alexander Menden, a journalist for the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and author of the cover story of Prospect's winter special, How not to fix the NHS, joins Sally Warren, director of policy at the King's Fund and Melanie Phillips, journalist for The Times to d...

Dec 08, 202236 min

Bryony Worthington and Simon Evans: Is nuclear power the answer?

The climate crisis and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have reinvigorated debate about the role of nuclear energy in decarbonising our grid. Bryony Worthington, a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, who has spent a career on conservation, energy and climate change issues and Simon Evans, deputy editor at Carbon Brief join Ellen Halliday to discuss why the answer is more complicated than you might think. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Nov 30, 202232 min

Peter Apps: Will justice for Grenfell ever happen ?

Five and half years on from the fire that killed 72 people in a high-rise block in North Kensington, 400 days of testimony to a public enquiry have ended. But will anyone be held accountable for the mistakes that led to the disaster? And are the survivors any closer to getting justice? Peter Apps, deputy editor of Inside Housing and author of new book "Show Me the Bodies: How we let Grenfell Happen" joins Sarah Collins on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Nov 23, 202232 min

Peter Kellner and Alfie Stirling: The Autumn Statement

Leading political journalist and pollster Peter Kellner and Alfie Stirling, chief economist at the New Economics Foundation, unpack today's Autumn Statement with deputy editor Ellen Halliday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 17, 202229 min

Paul Maynard MP and Helen Barnard: What is the modern welfare state for?

It’s 80 years since William Beveridge identified the five giant problems holding back post-war Britain, laying the groundwork for the welfare state. Today, that welfare state appears in crisis—but has it failed, or has it simply not evolved after completing its original tasks? Paul Maynard, Conservative MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, and Helen Barnard, associate director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, join Ellen Halliday to discuss what the welfare state must fix next. Hosted on Acast...

Nov 09, 202234 min

The Rule of Law: Caroline Elkins

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and professor at Harvard University, Caroline Elkins joins Richard Hermer, Murray Hunt and Helen Mountfield to discuss her new book Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 03, 202239 min

Dino Sofos and Tom Clark: Can Sheffield level up?

Does Sheffield have a productivity problem? Or is it a city on the verge of "levelling up"? Contributing editor Tom Clark and Sheffield born podcasting maestro Dino Sofos join Alan Rusbridger to discuss Sheffields post-industrial revolution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 02, 202229 minSeason 1Ep. 356

Helen King and Emily Lawford: Are the police institutionally sexist?

Is it too difficult to dismiss officers who commit misconduct from the police? Are there a few rotten apples or a culture of sexism? Helen King, former assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan Police and principal of St Anne's College Oxford, and Emily Lawford, assistant editor at Prospect join Sarah Collins on the podcast to discuss Baroness Casey's recent review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 26, 202225 min

Emergency episode: The lettuce won

Resigning as prime minister this afternoon, Liz Truss has been outlived by the Daily Star's lettuce. Peter Kellner and Naomi Smith return to the podcast to discuss how Truss was toppled and which of the leadership hopefuls might follow her. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 20, 202226 min

Naomi Smith and Peter Kellner: Can Truss cling on?

After another chaotic week in Westminster—in which Penny Mordaunt had to reassure the House of Commons that prime minister Truss was not "hiding under a desk"—chief executive of Best for Britain Naomi Smith and seasoned political journalist Peter Kellner join Alan Rusbridger to discuss whether Truss can cling on. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 18, 202239 minSeason 1Ep. 252

Is CEO pay too high?

Despite being overall a wealthy country, the UK has the second highest income inequality in the G7—a point best exemplified by the huge disparity in wealth between the top executives and the lowest paid in some of the country’s biggest countries. In this week’s podcast, deputy editor Ellen Halliday is joined by Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, and Sandy Pepper, emeritus professor of the London School of Economics, to discuss how CEO pay packets got so out of control—and whether or...

Oct 12, 202234 min

Sonia Sodha and Rachel Sylvester: Conference chaos

Observer writer Sonia Sodha and political columnist at The Times, Rachel Sylvester join Alan Rusbridger on the podcast to discuss an eventful week at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 05, 202230 min

Fiscal unfairness: will workers revolt?

The announcement of the chancellor's mini-budget—including tax breaks for the highest earners and cuts to stamp duty—threatens to ignite an already raging public anger, argue journalist John Lloyd, political economist Will Hutton, and Taj Ali, member of the Enough is Enough Campaign. They join Prospect deputy editor Ellen Halliday on the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 27, 202235 minSeason 1Ep. 251

Books in brief

David McAllister hosts a quick-fire roundup of some of the most interesting books of the month with the writers who reviewed them in Prospect . Sarah Collins discusses Elizabeth's Strout's pandemic novel, Lucy by the Sea while Lucy Thynne tells us about Shehan Karunatilaka’s latest book, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Peter Forbes reviews Prospect science writer Philip Ball's The Book of Minds, while David reviews Murray Pittock's new history Scotland . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...

Sep 20, 202217 minSeason 1Ep. 248

How the housing crisis harmed a generation

What are the emotional consequences of precarious housing? How do we reframe the housing crisis from a "knotty policy problem" to a "fundamental issue of justice"? Planning barrister and author of a new book A Home Of One's Own, Hashi Mohamed joins Sarah Collins on the podcast, along with Ben Reeve-Lewis, co-founder of housing charity Safer Renting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 13, 202235 minSeason 1Ep. 247

Prime minister Truss

Political journalists Ailbhe Rea, Peter Kellner and Lara Spirit join Alan Rusbridger to discuss about our new prime minister, Liz Truss—and what we can expect from her early days in government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 06, 202233 minSeason 1Ep. 246

Sameer Rahim: Demonising Salman Rushdie

In light of the horrific attack on Salman Rushdie on the 12th August, Sameer Rahim joins the podcast to discuss The Satanic Verses and the debates contained within book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 30, 202232 minSeason 1Ep. 246

Helen Barnard and Stu Hennigan: The deep poverty crisis

Last week inflation hit double figures for the first time in 40 years, while real wages saw their largest drop since records began. So, what does this bleak picture mean for people on the lowest-incomes? Helen Barnard, Associate Director at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Stu Hennigan, author of the book G host Signs, Poverty and the Pandemic join Ellen Halliday to talk about the millions of Britons facing deep poverty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Aug 23, 202223 minSeason 1Ep. 245

Why do we anthropomorphise AI?

Why do we talk about sentience and artificial intelligence? And why do we constantly compare the robots we build to human beings? Science writer Philip Ball and philosopher Julian Baggini join Sameer Rahim to discuss the new frontiers in artificial intelligence—including a project from DeepMind predicting the shape of every protein known to science—and what they mean for us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 16, 202231 minSeason 1Ep. 244

Hot cultural summer

"Summer is a sentimental education. A portal to feelings that, once experienced, are impossible to subdue," writes Sukhdev Sandhu in his recent piece for Prospect. On the podcast, Sameer Rahim and Emily Lawford join Sarah Collins to discuss the highbrow and lowbrow cultural highlights of the season, from Wagner's The Ring Cycle to Call Me by Your Name , from Romeo and Juliet to Love Island . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Aug 09, 202227 minSeason 1Ep. 243

Stewart Wood and Tom Clark: How Labour could win

What progressive policies could Keir Starmer adopt that would actually win him an election? For the latest issue of Prospect, contributing editor Tom Clark went on the hunt for twelve tried-and-tested ideas from around the world that could help the Labour Party win. He joins deputy editor Ellen Halliday and Labour peer and former No.10 advisor Stewart Wood to discuss whether these ideas—which include a wealth tax, an independent regulator for public probity and an earlier retirement age for manu...

Aug 02, 202238 minSeason 1Ep. 242

The World's Top Thinkers 2022

From politicians to scientists, from rappers to tech entrepreneurs, the Prospect team has selected its 50 Top Thinkers for a turbulent world. Alex Dean and Sarah Collins join deputy editor Ellen Halliday to discuss the thinkers and their ideas, the nomination process and the purpose of the exercise in 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 26, 202220 minSeason 1Ep. 241

The Rule of Law: Adam Wagner

Leading human rights barrister Adam Wagner joins Richard Hermer, Murray Hunt and Helen Mountfield to dissect the rule of law under Boris Johnson. How has the law fared, what have been the points of concern and what should the new leader do to restore any damage done? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 21, 202245 min

Dominic Grieve and Sam Freedman: The Tory leadership contest

Former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve and political writer Sam Freedman join the podcast to discuss the hopefuls vying for the position of conservative leader—and the implications of the contest for the party and the country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 19, 202235 minSeason 1Ep. 240

Peter Kellner and Alice Lily: Has the constitution survived Boris?

What does an eventful week in Westminster mean for our democracy? And will Johnson survive until September? Political journalist and pollster Peter Kellner joins Dr Alice Lily, senior researcher at the Institute for Government to discuss the end of Johnson's premiership, the Tory leadership contest and what the government will do next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 12, 202234 minSeason 1Ep. 239
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