TALKING POLITICS
David Runciman and Catherine Carr
Coronavirus! 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 25, 2018 • 43min
How Bad Could it Get?
As crunch time approaches, we talk through some worst-case Brexit scenarios: for the government, for the economy, for Remainers, for Europe. Have the negotiations been a humiliation for Britain? Is the Tory Party facing an existential crisis? And what might go wrong if the marchers for a 'people's vote' got their way? Plus we speculate about what a no-deal Brexit would mean for Britain's service economy. With Diane Coyle, Helen Thompson and Chris Bickerton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 21, 2018 • 30min
Gandhi's Politics
David talks about the enduring influence of Gandhi with Ramachandra Guha, author of an epic new biography Gandhi 1914-194: The Years That Changed the World. A conversation about the politics of protest, the legacy of empire and the possibility of moral leadership. Plus, what was it like having Gandhi as your father? https://bit.ly/2OVe7VE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 18, 2018 • 46min
Francis Fukuyama
David talks to the author of The End of History about his new book, Identity. Can 'identity politics' really make sense of everything from populism to #MeToo? Why are liberal democracies struggling to meet their citizens' desire for recognition? And what happened to the end of history anyway? Plus we discuss the Kavanaugh hearings, 'getting to Denmark' and the challenge of an ageing population. NB: This weekend there's a special extra edition of Talking Politics looking at the enduring legacy of Gandhi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 11, 2018 • 44min
Democracy Hacked
We try to uncover the truth about fake news with Alan Rusbridger, former editor of the Guardian, and Martin Moore, director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power. Why have elections around the world been so easy to hack? Can newspapers survive the age of 'free'? And is anonymity a friend or an enemy to democracy? Big questions, big answers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 4, 2018 • 49min
Brexit Choices
Back to Brexit: as decision-day approaches we try to work out what might happen next. Did Labour patch up its differences? Can anyone really start the negotiations again? And what would it take to get the EU to deviate from its script? Plus we explore some of the ideological roots of Tory opposition to Chequers and we ask what happened to the good old British bye-election. With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Waseem Yaqoob. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 27, 2018 • 46min
Moneyland
We talk to Oliver Bullough about his acclaimed new book Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take it Back. Where is Moneyland? How did London become its capital? And will Brexit, or a Corbyn government, or another financial crash change how it operates? A conversation about tax havens, money-laundering, the politics of corruption and the corruption of politics. With Jason Sharman, author of The Despot's Guide to Wealth Management, and Helen Thompson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 20, 2018 • 43min
Dan Snow
We talk to the host of Dan Snow's History Hit, the no. 1 history podcast, about some of our favourite subjects. Does history help us understand the present state of politics, and which history? Are we closer to the 1890's, the 1930's, or the 1980's? How should we commemorate the aftermath of WWI? Plus we talk about whether Chinese politicians are really able to take the long view. With Helen Thompson. https://www.historyhit.com/podcasts/dan-snows-history-hit/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 13, 2018 • 37min
Taming Trump
We talk with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government and former Washington bureau chief of the Times, about the latest revelations from inside Trumpworld. With claims that the resistance has spread to the government, we ask whether it is ethical for administration officials to resist the elected president. Is this about Trump's personality or his policies? What precedent might be being set? And are Obama's interventions in the mid-term elections helping? Recorded at the Institute for Government with Helen Thompson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 6, 2018 • 45min
Labour's Fault Lines
Summer's over: politics is back! This week we return to the mystery inside the enigma that is Brexit to ask where Labour now stands. What is the big divide in the Labour movement: Is it MPs vs leader? Members vs voters? Young vs old? And what could a second referendum achieve anyway? Plus we try to make sense of the fraught fight over the definition of anti-Semitism. With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Waseem Yaqoob. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
9 snips
Aug 30, 2018 • 1h 6min
Crashed
Adam Tooze, historian and author of Crashed, provides sharp historical perspective on the 2008 financial crisis. He explores how the shock spread globally, why Europe was especially exposed, the politics behind bailouts and swap lines, and how these events shaped outcomes from Brexit to Trump. The conversation also considers counterfactuals around Lehman and where future crises might originate.
