The Prospect Podcast

The Times journalist Rachel Sylvester joins the Prospect Interview to get us up to date about the state of Brexit talks, and introduce the man behind Britain’s negotiating table, David Frost. Is a hard Brexit inevitable, and what can Frost’s little-known background reveal about where Britain stands with the EU?You can read Rachel’s profile of David Frost here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/profile-who-is-david-frost-brexit-negotiator-cliff-edge Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and broadcaster Eliane Glaser joins the Prospect Interview to make a defense of what she deems “progressive elitism.” In the era of populism, the trust in institutions and experts has plummeted within the left and right alike. Eliane makes the case for excellence in these divided times—and tells us why restoring standards may in fact restore popular democracy. Elitism: A Progressive Defense is published by Biteback  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer Robert Macfarlane joins the Prospect Interview to discuss writing the Earth’s underworld in his new book, Underland: A Deep Time Journey. MacFarlane talks to our arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about exploring the deepest recesses of the world, the mysteries of the anthropocene, and why he’s rejecting the term “nature writer.”  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avni Doshi’s Booker Prize-shortlisted debut novel, Burnt Sugar, follows an artist in Pune, India, whose mother suddenly gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The revelation unravels difficult family histories, uncovering the secrets binding mother and daughter. Avni joins the Prospect Interview to discuss writing the novel—and why it took seven years—and what it’s been like living through the Booker Prize media blitz.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Film director Sarah Gavron and writer Theresa Ikoko join this week’s Prospect Interview to discuss their new film, Rocks, a celebratory ode to teenage life in today’s London. Rocks follows the story of a teenage girl—nicknamed Rocks—and the fast friendships she develops at her school. The film was made under quite unusual circumstances: casting was done across schools in London, involving nearly 1500 students, before finding the film’s first-time actors, who then workshopped with the creative team for a year to finalise a script. Sarah and Theresa take us behind the making of Rocks, writing the lives of today’s teenagers, and what it’s like to release a film during a pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic has shattered economies all over the globe. What can be done about it? Historian Adam Tooze joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the Covid-19 economic crisis. He discusses how the impending recession compares to past crises, what policies ought to be taken, and whether we are really seeing the end of neoliberalism.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1990, when he was just nine years old, Prospect’s Sameer Rahim joined his parents and sister on a holiday to Iraq. What was first a family trip quickly turned into an international diplomatic fiasco. As Saddam Hussein was then facing international condemnation for the Kuwait War, Sameer and his family were taken as so-called “human-shield hostages”: Britons kept within Iraq as bargaining chips. In a personal essay for the current issue of Prospect, Sameer remembers his time cooped up in a Baghdad hotel—and reflects on what the experience has taught him about the many sides of national identity.You can read Sameer’s essay, I was Saddam’s prisoner, here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/i-was-saddams-prisoner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They’ve taken over our cinemas screens (when cinemas were still open)—but where did the superheroes who now dominate our screens come from? Writer and Spectator literary editor Sam Leith joins the Prospect Interview to discuss the history of Marvel Comics and its legendary creative leader, Stan Lee. Lee’s creations—which include Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the Black Panther—aren’t just crime-fighting men in tights, Leith says. They also speak to the social concerns of Lee’s time, and have made a remarkable American pantheon.  You can read Sam’s essay on Stan Lee and the Marvel Comics universe here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/stan-lee-marvel-dc-comic-books-american-pantheon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previously confined to the fringes, discussion of white identity has reached a fever pitch in the mainstream in the past few years. In the current issue of Prospect, out now on newsstands, Sarah Churchwell and Kenan Malik reflect on the history of white identity across both sides of the Atlantic. They join this week’s Prospect Interview to talk about Anglo-Saxonism, the rise of the “white working class,” and the presidency of Donald Trump.Sarah Churchwell’s “White Lies Matter”: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/white-lies-matter-history-blm-black-lives-matter-donald-trump-united-states-statues-colston-slaveryKenan Malik “The Rise of White Identity”: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/white-identity-politics-black-lives-matter-race-kenan-malik Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do some countries succeed in confronting their pasts, and others fail? Authors Ivan Krastev and Leonard Bernardo join the Prospect Interview this week to discuss a question on many people’s minds this summer: how do nations come to terms with the historical crimes they’ve committed? Ivan and Leonard write an essay on the (unsuccessful) Russian case in this month’s issue of Prospect, in which they trace the curious recent rehabilitation of Joseph Stalin in recent years. What does it take for a country to face up to its history—and what do they make about Britain’s ongoing debate on the statue of Winston Churchill? You can read Ivan and Leonard’s essay here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/how-can-nations-atone-for-their-sins-germany-russia-nazism-soviet-union Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.