Headspace

Why do we still have such difficulty in grappling with the social force that shapes us most? Rapper and Orwell Prize-winning writer Darren McGarvey joins the Tom Clark to discuss his new state-of-the-nation book The Social Distance Between Us. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is the government trying to stuff the ballot box? Is the recently passed Elections Act a threat to democracy? Senior Editor and award-winning journalist Alex Dean joins the podcast to argue that the independence of the electoral commission is in jeopardy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To subscribe to the new Prospect Lives channel, click here: https://podfollow.com/prospect-livesContent note: This episode contains strong language and sexual references Does the criminalisation or liberalisation of the sex industry best protect the women who work in it? And what are the consequences of sex work for women as a whole? Sex worker and writer Tilly Lawless and journalist and editor Jessica Abrahams join Alan Rusbridger to discuss the essays they wrote for the most recent issue of the magazine. Lawless argues in defence of her clients at the suburban brothel in Australia where she works, while Abrahams reports from Bristol where a proposal for a ban on strip clubs has divided opinion amongst feminist campaigners and dancers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is this the end for Roe v Wade? And what are the implications both for women's rights and for the role of the US Supreme Court? Helen Mountfield and Richard Hermer from Matrix Chambers are joined by Melissa Murray, a professor of constitutional law and one of the leading academics in the US on reproductive rights. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are we beginning to get a sense of the cost of Brexit? Former Prospect Editor Tom Clark joins Alan Rusbridger to discuss what we know so far about how leaving the EU has affected trade, services and business investment. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What happened in Guantanamo? Investigative journalist John Goetz tells the story of former Guantanamo prisoner Mohamedou Ould Slahi and the man who tortured him, Mr X. In a discussion with Alan Rusbridger, Goetz explains how he and his colleague Bastian Berbner tracked down Mr X seventeen years later, and what it taught them about the war on terror. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Was Winston Churchill racist? Should any historical figure be above criticism? And what does it really mean to judge someone by the standards of their time? Leading academic and author Priyamvada Gopal joins Alan Rusbridger to discuss a new book by Tariq Ali See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can Russia really disconnect from the rest of the digital world? What is China's Great Firewall? Leading academic, podcaster and all-round internet expert Ethan Zuckerman joins Alan Rusbridger to discuss how countries are creating, censoring and controlling their own digital spaces. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This month, psychiatrist Rebecca Lawrence celebrates the soothing power of pets, while former England cricket captain Mike Brearley enjoys a play by Shomit Dutta about Beckett, Pinter and cricket. Both actor Sheila Hancock and Anglican priest Alice Goodman confront their fears about death, while Jason Thomas-Fournillier, an expert by experience in the asylum system, questions the morality of the government's recent Rwanda policy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For a recent Prospect event, Vicky Pryce, former joint head of the UK Government Economic Service, Andrew Simms, political economist and co-author of the Green New Deal and Myles Allen, Professor of Geosystem science at the University of Oxford, discussed European energy security and climate change. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Does cricket have a class problem? What do divisions in England's national summer sport reveal about our society? Former Telegraph chief sportswriter Paul Hayward joins Alan Rusbridger on the podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this special episode, former director of YouGov and leading political analyst Peter Kellner discusses the results of the local elections with Sonia Sodha. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How did the women in Picasso's life suffer for his art? Should we rethink our canonisation of the painter's works? Writer and translator Miranda France joins deputy editor Sameer Rahim on the podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

NEW PODCAST: Leading barristers Richard Hermer, Murray Hunt, and Helen Mountfield from Matrix Chambers place the ethical issues of the day under their expert legal microscope. In this episode they are joined by international law expert professor Andrew Clapham to discuss Russia, Ukraine and the rules of war. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How did Putin transform from a seemingly rational man to the tyrant who invaded Ukraine? Former Nato chief and secretary of state for defence from 1997-1999, George Robertson, joins the podcast to discuss his experience negotiating with Putin, as well as the war in Ukraine and the implications for global security. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Putin's grotesque invasion of Ukraine should not lead us to rehabilitate old, failed ideas about the international order, argues Samuel Moyn in his provocative cover story for Prospect. He joins editor Alan Rusbridger on the podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This month, actor and writer Sheila Hancock recovers from “a fall”, while sports journalist Emma John grieves the loss of her mother. Jason Thomas-Fournillier, an expert experience in the asylum system, looks back on the highs and lows of life in Trinidad, while Anglican Priest Alice Goodman prepares her Easter Sermon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this special episode of the podcast recorded during our recent Prospect Talks event, we hear from Ukrainians affected by the war from both inside and outside the country. Guests include Olesya Khromeychuk, a writer and historian who is the director of the Ukrainian Institute in London; Sevgil Musaieva, a Ukrainian journalist from Crimea who is editor-in-chief of the independent online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda; and Andrii Zhupanyn, a Ukrainian MP who has been doing some remarkable work bringing much-needed aid into the country. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Many of us made rapid changes to our behaviour during the pandemic, so why—when facing a crisis as existential as climate change—are we dragging our heels? Economist, author and activist Andrew Simms joins Alan Rusbridger to discuss how fast transitions could save the planet. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruth Deyermond, senior lecturer at the Department of War Studies at King's College London and the military analyst on Prospect’s Ukraine panel joins Sameer Rahim to explain why she thinks Putin has already lost the war in Ukraine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.