Talking Politics

After another extraordinary week, we try to make sense of what Trump has been up to on his European travels. From Chequers to Brussels to Helsinki, what was he doing and why was he doing it? Is he really Putin's puppet? Has he helped or hurt May's chances of survival? Plus we catch up with the other side of the Trump presidency: the remaking of the US Supreme Court. How will the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh impact on some of the most contentious issues in American politics, above all the deep divisive question of abortion? With Helen Thompson and Gary Gerstle, Mellon Professor of American History at Cambridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With more Brexit chaos on us, we cut through some of the noise to talk about a new report on the future of referendums. How can we run them better in future? When is it appropriate to have a second referendum? What else can we do to reconnect democratic politics with the voters? With Gisela Stuart, former Labour MP and Chair of Vote Leave; Jenny Watson, former Chair of the Electoral Commission; and Alan Renwick of the Constitution Unit at UCL. Plus at the end some thoughts from David on where we are now. You can read the full report here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/electionsandreferendums/icreferendums Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the World Cup approaches its climax we talk politics and football, on the morning after England's dramatic penalty shootout win over Colombia. What happened to the warnings that this World Cup would be like the 1936 Berlin Olympics? Can we learn anything about German politics from the failure of the German football team? What does England's progress mean for Brexit? Plus much more, from Saudi Arabia to Croatia to West Ham. With Helen Thompson and Mike Kenny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a special live edition recorded at the Guardian's King's Place Politics Festival on Sunday 24th June - David, Helen and Chris Bickerton discuss whether the migration crisis has opened up a new dividing line in European politics. Is Viktor Orban right that Europe is now split between the countries that will accept immigrants and the countries that won't? What does that mean for Merkel's survival prospects? Where does Macron stand in this fight? Plus we take questions from the audience about what populism really means and what, if anything, we can do about the current state of politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David talks to Andrew O'Hagan about his epic essay in the LRB on the causes, consequences and fall-out of the terrible Grenfell Tower fire that happened a year ago. We discuss what the Grenfell community was like before the fire, what went wrong on the night, and how politics has intruded into everything that has happened since. Plus we talk about the angry push-back to Andrew's account. It can all be read here: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n11/andrew-ohagan/the-tower Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the G7 to the Singapore summit, it's Trump's world: we just live in it. This week we try to get some perspective on these spectacular events. Is Trump's behaviour really unprecedented for an American president? What is the point of the G7? Where is his relationship with Kim heading? Plus we compare with summits past: Nixon in China, Reagan & Gorbachev, or something new? With Helen Thompson and Andrew Preston, who gives a Canadian view. Next week: Grenfell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new Italian government spells a heap of trouble for Europe. We ask how we got to this point and what it means the future of the Euro. What really spooked the markets? Who blinked first? And why does Italian politics have such a soft spot for university professors? Plus we talk about the new government in Spain and we weigh up the state of democracy across the continent. Is this how democracy is meant to work or is this really how democracy ends? With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Lucia Rubinelli from the LSE. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After John McDonnell said he was still committed to the socialist transformation of Britain, we ask what that might mean. Does socialism really require the overthrow of capitalism? What's the difference between socialism and communism? And with successful Democratic candidates in the US starting to use the s-word in public, what does socialism have to offer in America? Plus we talk about whether social media and social networks offer the possibility of a new kind of socialism for the twenty-first century. With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Chris Brooke Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we try to make sense of what's happening to the international order, from the end of the Iran deal to the on-again-off-again US-North Korean summit to opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. Can Europe carve out a separate foreign policy from the Trump administration? Is regime change still the name of the game? And what has it all got to do with the price of oil? Plus we ask if anything is left of Obama's legacy and why it was so easy to undo. With Helen Thompson, Aaron Rapport and Chris Bickerton.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we discuss how and why mental health has become a growing political issue. What are the differences in the way the political parties approach this problem? Is it something that unites or divides people across generations and classes? And what can politicians do to help us cope? Plus we talk about whether politics itself has become a more stressful job than it used to be. With Helen Thompson and Chris Brooke. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the largest strike in the sector for a generation, we talk to Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, about the politics of higher education. How did the issue of pensions become so politically charged? What are the long-term consequences of treating students as consumers? How should universities respond to the challenge of Brexit? Plus we return to the question of why having a university degree is now one of the main dividing lines in contemporary politics. With Helen Thompson and Chris Brooke. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An extra episode this week to talk about David's new book How Democracy Ends, out next week. With a clip from the lecture we put out at the start of the year and a chat with Helen and Chris Bickerton. The book is available with a special discount for Talking Politics listeners at www.profilebooks.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk with economist Diane Coyle about what's wrong with our main measure of economic performance and how it impacts on politics. She tells us what we're missing in our measures of economic activity and she explains how we could do it better. Plus we discuss whether the unemployment figures still tell a true picture of the world of work and we ask whether the dollar's days as the global reserve currency may be coming to an end. Numbers and why they matter. With Helen Thompson and Chris Bickerton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We catch up with James Williams, winner of the Nine Dots Prize, ahead of the publication of his prize-winning book Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy. What is the relentless competition for our attention doing to our well-being? How can we fight back against the endless pull of the phone in our pocket? And what does it all mean for politics? The book will available free to download from Cambridge University Press on 31 May. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman, author of the definitive insider accounts of three years of turmoil in British politics: All Out War and Fall Out. He tells us about what drives the bloodletting in the Tory Party, how Theresa May survived the general election fiasco and the difference between Tory leakers and Labour leakers. Plus we talk Trump and Tim explains how Twitter has changed political journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conservative Party now has barely 70,000 members, most of them aged over 60. Meanwhile Labour has over half a million, many of them young. What does this mean for the future of British politics? Can a party survive without members? Can Labour negotiate the divisions within its ranks? And what room is there for a new party of the centre? With Helen Thompson and Chris Bickerton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David talks to journalist and novelist James Meek about his epic new study of the NHS in crisis. They discuss the ideas behind a generation of NHS reforms, the meaning of efficiency and the challenge of caring for an ageing population. What does the future hold - Japanese-style robotics or explosive politics and inter-generational strife? Read the essay in the current edition of the LRB - https://bit.ly/2IpapQv Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the help of John Naughton and Jennifer Cobbe we unpick the Cambridge Analytica story and get to the heart of the matter: what is Facebook doing to us and can anything make it stop? We talk about the business of surveillance capitalism and the difference between a scandal and a crisis. Plus how working in tech is like working on the Manhattan Project and how Cambridge Analytica is like the Australian cricket team. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the world wonders what Vladimir Putin is up to, we ask Bridget Kendall, former BBC correspondent in Moscow. We talk about what really happened in Salisbury, what the master-plan is and whether Putin is succeeding in his goal of splitting the West. Plus we catch up on the latest comings and goings in Washington and ask whether Corbyn's stance on Putin is doing the Labour Party lasting harm. With Aaron Rapport and Helen Thompson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to George about some of the biggest questions of all: how to make politics better, how to effect meaningful change, how to save the planet. Who is going to make the real difference? Plus we ask whether he's been discombobulated by having Michael Gove as Environment Secretary. Short answer: yes! Recorded as part of the Imagine 2027 project https://imagine2027.org.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.