The Prospect Podcast

What, if anything, could parliament do to stop a no-deal Brexit? Two legal experts join the Prospect Podcast this week to play out the options as they stand. EU law expert David Anderson and senior fellow at UCL’s UK in a Changing Europe programme Meg Russell join us to discuss where parliament stands today, and whether we should expect a vote of no confidence the grace Westminster soon.Plus: Alex Dean on what insiders in the World Trade Organisation make of Britain’s post-Brexit trade prospects Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#93: The battle over bread, with Dan Hancox“Bread is something that everyone has an opinion on, often quite a strident opinion.”It is an everyday staple—and the site of a curious political battle. Do you know your sourdough from your sourfaux? Writer Dan Hancox joins us on the Prospect podcast this week and takes us behind the “bread wars.” Who are the bakers and campaigners taking on the big chains to get "fake sourdough" off the streets? You can read Dan Hancox’s feature on the battle over bread here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-battle-over-breadThe story on the Aperol spritz discussed in the introduction is available here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/britain-italy-aperol-spritz-london-pricePlus: Stephanie Boland and Rebecca Liu on the misfortunes behind the Aperol spritz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does Tony Blair himself make of the Blair doctrine? When the former prime minister outlined his case for intervening in Kosovo in 1999 at the Chicago Economic Club, he unveiled a bold new internationalist doctrine—one that sought to meld liberal values with a strong interventionist arm.Twenty years on, deputy editor Steve Bloomfield met Tony Blair to discuss the contested legacy of the Blair doctrine. What, if anything, has the former prime minister learned from his adventures abroad, and should we expect Boris Johnson to dig liberal interventionism out from its grave?You can read Steve Bloomfield’s profile of Tony Blair and review of the Blair doctrine here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/tony-blair-second-thoughts-war-iraq-liberal-interventionism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has inequality gotten worse? And where have all the good jobs gone? In this special bumper edition of the Prospect podcast, we talk to economist David Blanchflower at our inequality crisis, and why tackling the unemployment rate may not be the best way to improve things.Plus, we present clips from Nobel prize winner Angus Deaton’s event with Prospect and the British Academy, where the ‘deaths of despair’ economist talks about the difference between inequality and unfairness, and which presidential candidate he thinks will measure up to Trump in 2020. Blanchflower’s new book, Not Working: Where Have All the Good Jobs Gone is now out with Princeton University Press: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/13485.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#90: Demystifying the food industry, with Marion NestleFrom miracle foods to fad diets, and nutritional studies backed by murky science and shadowy sponsors, it seems like we might never quite know the truth behind what we eat. We talk to Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition and public health at New York University, on demystifying our diets and the tricky politics of food studies. Nestle’s new book, Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat is available from Hachette.Plus: Tom Clark and Steve Bloomfield on children’s diets Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do we mean when we talk about schizophrenia—and how do we diagnose mental illness, anyway? Former nurse and now author Nathan Filer joins Prospect to talk about his new book, The Heartland: Finding and Losing Schizophrenia.Plus: Tom and Steph talk about the—sorry, "our"—NHS; and make their predictions for a Johnson cabinet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our headlines are full of stories about benighted millennials and over-pensioned baby boomers, but what’s behind this new generational divide? Sociologist Jennie Bristow joins us to talk about why the “generation war” obscures more than it clarifies.Plus: Tom Clark and Stephanie Boland on the fate of generation X Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From London’s many skyscrapers to the wars over brutalism, many of us know what it’s like to either complain about an unsightly building. But these conversations hardly ever go beyond an initial judgment to consider what such ‘ugliness’ can tell us about ourselves. We talk to MIT architectural historian Timothy Hyde about his new book, Ugliness and JudgmentOn Architecture in the Public Eye. Our strong reactions to ugly buildings, he notes, can indeed tell us a lot about our own social worlds. Plus: Tom Clark and Stephanie Boland on the ideology of the modern building Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Though we often talk about the impending climate crisis, the truth is that the effects of climate change are already here. Ed Miliband joins us to talk about his radical green programme, his past work as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and why he thinks our climate crisis is tied to our economic crisis.You can read Ed Miliband’s cover story, "How to Save the Planet" here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/ed-miliband-climate-change-economy-save-planetPlus: Steve Bloomfield and Tom Clark offer a short history of our current climate change crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ten Commandments is one of the most well-known pieces of scripture. It may also embody everything wrong with how we read these texts today.Karen Armstrong joins us to talk about her new book, The Art of Scripture, and why there should be more to read more creatively beyond literalism.You can read Reverend Lucy Winkett's review of The Art of Scripture here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/in-scripture-we-find-not-just-religious-thought-and-theory-but-a-challenge-to-how-we-readPlus: Sameer Rahim and Tom Clark on our modern-day scriptures, and the function of the shibboleth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.