This week, Alona and Imaan are joined by Stewart Home, novelist, filmmaker and art historian, whose new book Fascist Yoga traces the unsettling links between yoga, wellness culture and the far right. Stewart’s research uncovers yoga’s strange story: from its reinvention in the early 20th century by a Californian escapologist, to its appropriation by occultists, grifters and even Nazis. Today, as the wellness industry booms online, conspiracy theorists and alt-right influencers have seized on yog...
Jul 23, 2025•41 min
This week, writer and activist Laura Bates joins Ellen and Alona to discuss her latest book The New Age of Sexism. Best known for founding the Everyday Sexism project in 2012, Laura has spent more than a decade documenting the realities of gender-based discrimination. In her new book, she turns her attention to the digital world—where artificial intelligence is giving rise to disturbing new forms of misogyny. Laura explains how technologies like deepfakes and AI chatbots are being weaponised aga...
Jul 16, 2025•34 min
There’s been a buzz in Westminster about Blue Labour, the socially conservative group led by peer Maurice Glasman. But where did Blue Labour come from—and how much influence does it really have over government? This week on the Prospect Podcast , Ellen and Alona are joined by political theorist and director of the UCL policy lab Marc Stears, who was one of the founding members of Blue Labour 15 years ago but is now critical of its turn towards the populist right. Marc explains how and why he bel...
Jul 09, 2025•36 min
The world’s richest man has fallen out with Donald Trump, but his story isn’t over. This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Faiz Siddiqui, technology reporter at the Washington Post and author of Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk. He has closely followed Musk’s rapid rise and fall, from visionary entrepreneur to Washington exile, mired in political controversy, lawsuits and that public split with the US president. Faiz charts Musk’s transformation from liberal tech CEO to right-wing c...
Jul 02, 2025•41 min
Have you ever wondered where Andrew Tate came from? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by journalist James Bloodworth to discuss his new book Lost Boys: A personal journey through the manosphere . From attending a pick-up artist bootcamp himself in 2006, to reporting on the rise of red pill and incel ideologies, James traces how online misogyny has evolved—and why so many young men are drawn into it. He explores the role of social media in fuelling radicalisation and answers: is this a crisis...
Jun 25, 2025•43 min
This month, actor and writer Sheila Hancock reflects on what she has gained since losing her hearing, while journalist and second life writer Vitali Vitaliev reminisces on the best and worst meals of his life. Sex worker and author Tilly Lawless describes her complicated feelings about orgasming on the job, while Mindful life writer Sarah Collins has a public cry in the Byzantium Christian museum of Athens. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 20, 2025•38 min
Since 13th June, Israel has launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, assassinated scientists and commanders, and bombed infrastructure. Iran has responded with ballistic missiles and drones. The death toll is rising, and there’s no sign of a ceasefire. This week, Arash Azizi joins Alona to unpack the war now underway. Arash is the author of The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the U.S., and Iran's Global Ambitions (2020) and What Iranians Want (2024). Arash explains why Netanyahu might have c...
Jun 18, 2025•39 min
How do you resist the ‘enshittification’ of the internet? This week, Prospect tech columnist Ethan Zuckerman joins Ellen and Alona to talk about artificial intelligence, social media and the state of the online world. Ethan, who teaches at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, shares how AI has shaped his students—and how his teaching has had to adapt. Ethan discusses the dystopian visions of billionaire tech bros. Will AI achieve superintelligence? Is it transforming our world for the worse?...
Jun 11, 2025•42 min
The world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful man have had a very public fall out—but what does it mean for American government? In a short, bonus episode, Ellen and Alona speak with Jill Abramson, former executive editor of the New York Times , about the long predicted clash. Jill explains the implications for US space policy, and reviews how the US media has covered Musk since he first campaigned alongside Trump last October. For more on US politics from Prospect , visit our website . ...
Jun 06, 2025•15 min
Everyone wants to live a long and healthy life—so what’s the best way to do it? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at Edinburgh University and personal trainer, whose new book, How Not to Die (Too Soon) , is a guide to living longer and better, and challenges everything we think we know about personal health. Devi argues that air quality, access to healthcare, and innovations in public policy matter more than supplements or step counts. She a...
Jun 04, 2025•46 min
Can Labour afford to keep ignoring its left? This week on the Prospect Podcast , Alona and Imaan are joined by Carys Afoko, writer and podcast host of Over the Top, Under the Radar . Carys discusses whether Starmer’s rightward shift will pay off. She analyses why the last general election was a “breakaway election” away from the major parties—with the rise of progressive independents, Greens and Liberal Democrat MPs—and whether this is just a blip, or represents a lasting shift away from Labour....
May 28, 2025•47 min
This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by journalist Nicola Kelly, whose new book Anywhere But Here investigates the UK’s broken asylum system. Nicola used to work for the Home Office as a press officer on the immigration desk. But why did she leave? On the podcast, she unpacks Labour’s controversial new immigration white paper and why the party is embracing tough rhetoric. She exposes the relationship between the Home Office and client journalists, and shares some shocking findings from her repo...
May 21, 2025•42 min
This month, Vitali Vitaliev recalls love and magic in Kyiv, Sheila Hancock embraces the word “valour,” Alice Garnett celebrates deep friendships, and Alice Goodman wonders—what if the teenagers are actually alright? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 15, 2025•34 min
This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Canadian historian Quinn Slobodian. The rise of the populist right is often framed as a backlash against neoliberalism—a revolt by those “left behind” by globalisation. But in his new book Hayek’s Bastards , Quinn argues the opposite: that movements like Maga are not a reaction to neoliberalism, but its latest iteration. Tracing the intellectual lineage of today’s far right, he characterises it as a “new fusionism” between three ideological pillars: racia...
May 14, 2025•56 min
This week, poet and nature writer Robert Macfarlane joins Prospect’s Ellen Halliday and Imaan Irfan to explore the ideas in his new book Is a River Alive ? They each share what ‘their rivers are’ and the waterbodies they feel most connected to. Robert discusses his travels to Ecuador, India and the Canadian wilderness: places that rivers are being defended from threat, and where our relationship with the natural world is being reimagined. He talks about writing a song with a cloud forest (and th...
May 07, 2025•45 min
Has the United States become an autocracy? As Donald Trump marks his 100th day in office, Ellen and Alona are joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, scholar of authoritarianism and author of Strongmen: from Mussolini to the present (2020). She also writes a Substack called “Lucid” which focuses on autocracy. Ruth analyses the Trump administration’s rapid shift towards authoritarianism. She talks about Trump’s personality cult, how strongmen portray machismo and the potential for a female strongman figure. Sh...
Apr 30, 2025•45 min
Could a populist right-wing party take power in the UK? And if one did, what would it do? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Prospect’s contributing editor Philip Collins who analyses Reform UK’s strategy for the local elections taking place in parts of England next week. With Labour, the Tories and Reform neck-and-neck in the polls, will these be the most consequential local elections in decades? What will the biggest story be? As a former No. 10 speechwriter, Phil also analyses the curre...
Apr 23, 2025•45 min
This week on the Prospect Podcast, philosopher and public intellectual Slavoj Žižek joins Ellen and Alona. Slavoj discusses fatherhood and Netflix’s Adolescence , as awareness grows around young male radicalisation via the “manosphere”. He also talks about feminism and his criticisms of #MeToo. Plus, with the release of his latest book, in which he argues that the left has hit its “zero point”, is there any hope for its recovery? He draws a through line from the left-wingers of 1968 to the polit...
Apr 16, 2025•41 min
This month on Prospect Lives : Vitali Vitaliev hits 60 and gets slammed with funeral ads, while Sarah Collins finds unexpected wisdom at the nail salon. Alice Garnett wonders how to plan for the future on a burning planet, while Alice Goodman wrestles with whether you can—or should—pray for someone like Putin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 10, 2025•29 min
This week, writer and human rights lawyer Philippe Sands joins Ellen and Alona to discuss the ‘age of impunity'. Are international systems crumbling, or will they stand the test of time? Philippe reflects on the process of writing his most recent book 38 Londres Street , and the relationship between storytelling and the law. He also discusses representing Palestine at the ICJ and his thoughts on the utility of genocide as a legal term. And with the arrests and deportations in the US, Philippe di...
Apr 09, 2025•48 min
Historian and broadcaster David Olusoga joins Ellen and Alona to discuss political attacks on American history, the challenges facing academia in the UK—and how future generations will view England’s colonial history. Our newsfeeds are dominated by towering figures like Trump and Elon Musk—but does the “great man” theory still hold? Is history really made by millions of ordinary people? How will historians look back at this moment? And with UK universities under pressure, he discusses why the hu...
Apr 02, 2025•39 min
Asbestos might seem like a problem of the past, but it is still killing thousands every year. In the March issue of Prospect , Charlotte wrote about how her father’s death from mesothelioma—a cancer caused by asbestos—led her into years of research, uncovering a shocking history of corporate negligence and government inaction. This week, Charlotte joins the Prospect podcast to share her findings. How long have we known asbestos is deadly? How have companies actively covered up the dangers? And w...
Mar 26, 2025•40 min
This week, the Prospect podcast meets Kyoto , the new West End play dramatising the high-stakes negotiations behind the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, the play brings to life the power struggles, disruptors, and unexpected alliances that shaped the first major international climate treaty. Prospect ’s Isabel Hilton sits down with the playwrights and former UK negotiator Peter Unwin to discuss the real-life drama behind the diplomacy, whether multilateralism still w...
Mar 19, 2025•46 min
This month’s episode features journalist Kiran Sidhu on the power of communal dance, and actor and writer Sheila Hancock on the need for more women in global politics. Gen Z-er Alice Garnett imagines a world without TikTok, and journalist and host Sarah Collins grapples with the news that her therapist is retiring. Plus, Anglican priest Alice Goodman delves into doubt in the Church. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 13, 2025•37 min
Has the United States switched sides, acting in Russia’s interests and abandoning its European allies? Or is the transatlantic alliance still intact—albeit under strain? Prospect ’s contributing editor Isabel Hilton joins this week’s podcast to untangle increasingly urgent questions of European defence and security. From Trump cutting intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, to Russian espionage in the UK, Isabel explores the vulnerabilities Europe faces and what might come next. Can European nations ...
Mar 12, 2025•37 min
How do we measure racism? In such politically charged terrain, the need for objective data is clear. By some surveys, half of Brits don’t believe that racism exists. Keon West, social psychologist and visiting professor at LSE, joins the podcast to discuss this phenomenon. Keon explains what data can tell us, and delves into the surprising ways that the UK compares to the US. He unpacks the ingenious studies that reveal how racism really works, and why he thinks the Sewell report commissioned by...
Mar 05, 2025•40 min
In this episode of Prospect Lives , journalist Kiran Sidhu mourns her lost cat, while actor and writer Sheila Hancock grapples with ageism at 91. Gen Z-er Alice Garnett attains “regular status” at a London chicken shop, while host and journalist Sarah Collins discusses the end of her honeymoon phase with Athens. Plus, Tilly Lawless explores the two sides of Paris with two different clients. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 28, 2025•32 min
What is the biggest threat to the international human rights system today? And, in such an unstable world, what hope is there for the future of human rights? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Kenneth Roth, who served as the executive director of Human Rights Watch, the NGO, for almost 30 years. During his tenure, Human Rights Watch uncovered abuses across 100 countries and pressured offending governments to stop them. Ken’s new book, Righting Wrongs , tells this story. On the podcast, he ...
Feb 26, 2025•43 min
Australia is often referred to as “the lucky country”, a place where good fortune has delivered greater wealth, longer lives and better healthcare. But, as Andrew Low argues in We Should Be So Lucky , Australia’s achievements are not merely a matter of luck—they stem from a distinctive blend of political, social and economic institutions and values. Andrew sat down with Sir Clive Cowdery, Publisher of Prospect and Chairman of Resolution Life, to discuss the new book, which is published by Prospe...
Feb 22, 2025•48 min
Sudanese-born writer and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied joins Ellen and Alona on this week’s episode of the Prospect podcast. Sudan’s war has been called the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world”. And yet, media coverage is staggeringly low. But is the war really “forgotten”? Or is it being made invisible? Yassmin breaks down the situation for newcomers. She shares her family’s story, and talks about the last time she saw the country, when she travelled there for her wedding. She also discu...
Feb 19, 2025•46 min
