Headspace

Leading human rights barrister, author and Labour member of the House of Lords, Helena Kennedy joins Tom Clark and Alex Dean to discuss a rather terrifying question — does the government respect the rule of law? In a wide-ranging conversation, the trio discuss judicial review, human rights and the perils of populism. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week managing editor Sameer Rahim is joined by war correspondent and author Janine di Giovanni to discuss the plight of Christianty in the Middle East. Christians have lived in the region for 2,000 years—but Giovanni thinks that modern war, religious persecution and economic uncertainty put their future under threat. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Was King George III really such a bad king? Leading historian Andrew Roberts doesn't think so. He joins Andrew Adonis and Tom Clark to discuss his new book George III, the Life and Reign of Britain's Most Misunderstood Monarch, to argue that King George was in fact a competent leader, despite his struggle with mental illness. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Will robots rule the world? Will fully autonomous weapons destroy the planet? Will artificial intelligence take my job? Silicon valley entrepreneur and self-described futurist Martin Ford joins Tom Clark to answer the big questions about the technology that shapes not only our smartphones, but our politics, economies and lives. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ahead of COP26 in Glasgow next month, we speak to environmental correspondent Fiona Harvey on what it will take to reach a crucial deal in the next step towards tackling the climate crisis. Having covered 14 of the last 16 COP summits, Fiona shares some of her key insights into climate diplomacy and how often success falls on the work of the host nation’s leadership. Which of course begs the question: is our current leader, Boris Johnson, up to the task? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leading legal-aid lawyer David Renton joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the view from the frontline of the housing crisis. As a barrister in courtrooms both physical and virtual during the pandemic, while we hunkered down in our homes, David was fighting stop a panoply of clients from losing theirs. Arguing that our children need housing justice now, not money for a deposit, Renton has big and sometimes radical ideas about reforming housing policy in the UK and on ensuring that everyone has access to justice. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seasoned political broadcaster Steve Richards joins Tom Clark to talk about the prime minsters that never were. From Roy Jenkins to Michael Heseltine, Richards charts the journeys of the pretenders that never made it to the top spot, arguing that for all the feverish speculation in the press, rivals to prime ministers rarely prevail. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gillian Tett, editor at large at the Financial Times and author of a new book Anthro-Vision, joins Tom Clark to explain how undercover anthropology helped her to predict the financial crash. Applying an anthropological lens to life has enabled Tett to spot the patterns that others miss, like the unexpected similarities shared by wedding rituals in Tajikistan and banking conferences in the US. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Charlotte Higgins, prize-winning author and the Guardian's chief culture writer, joins Sameer Rahim talk about her book, Greek Myths: A New Retelling. Their conversation tackles the big questions. Did the Greeks believe in their Gods? Does classics have a class problem? And did Medea really kill her children? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Who is Ben Houchen and how did he help the Tories topple the red wall? Sebastian Payne, Whitehall Editor at the Financial Times joins the podcast to discuss the Tees Valley mayor that Boris Johnson is reportedly "obsessed" with, as well as the wider themes in his new book Broken Heartlands. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does it mean to be a public intellectual in 2021? In this episode Tom Clark, Sameer Rahim and Philip Ball discuss the work of Prospect’s Top Thinker of 2021, Palestinian embryologist Jacob Hanna, as well other notable names including Priyamvada Gopal, Mahmood Mandani and Carlo Rovelli. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bestselling author and renegade economist Richard H Thaler joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the book that made him famous, Nudge. So influential that the UK Cabinet office even created a dedicated Nudge Unit, the groundbreaking book–first published in 2008–is back in a final, revised edition. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week’s podcast we’re joined by Prospect’s own contributing editor, Andrew Adonis, who discusses the class clown who became one of our most dominant prime ministers, Boris Johnson. How did he get to where he is today? In explaining the “Johnson phenomenon,” Andrew argues that we have to look back at the school that made him as well as many other prime ministers: Eton College. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week’s episode we speak to archaeologist and author of Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, Rebecca Wragg Sykes. She joins managing editor Sameer Rahim to discuss the fascinating story of our closest cousins, the Neanderthals: how they might have lived, whether they had imagination—and just how much of our perceptions of them has changed in the 150 years since we first discovered their fossils. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week’s episode, writer, philosopher and Oxford don Amia Srinivasan joins us to talk about the ideas explored in her latest essay collection, The Right to Sex. From male entitlement to the politics of desire, Amia tells us why sex is a topic in need of a more philosophical interrogation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ed Miliband joins the Prospect Interview to discuss how to fix some of our most pressing policy issues, which he explores in his new book Go Big: How to Fix Our World. He joins editor Tom Clark to discuss Vienna’s social housing revolution, why the UK needs to embrace decentralisation, and why we shouldn’t count out the Labour Party for the next general election.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen joins the Prospect Interview to discuss economics, globalisation and identity in his new memoir Home in the World. Editor Tom Clark talks to Amartya about watching famous historians Hugh Trevor-Roper and Eric Hobsbawm go head to head at Cambridge, the turmoil in Narendra Modi’s India, and the future of neoliberalism.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Throughout its history, England was regularly falling to foreign takeovers and perennially divided—it was a nation that never was. Author of The Shortest History of England James Hawes joins the Prospect Interview to discuss the chaotic, mixed history of England and the thorny question of English identity. James discusses English nationalism in the wake of the 2020 Euros, the enduring power of southern elites, and the great construct that is Great Britain. You can read James's essay here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-england-delusion-scotland-united-kingdom-history See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

American historian Carol Anderson joins the Prospect Interview to discuss the secret history of America’s much-debated Second Amendment. The amendment, enshrined in the country’s bill of rights, asserts the right of “well-regulated militias” to “keep and bear arms.” Carol, whose previous book White Rage was deemed essential reading during Donald Trump’s America, illuminates the history and impact of the Second Amendment, and the many ways it has been designed to keep African Americans powerless and vulnerable.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this month’s issue of Prospect, we have two essays approaching the thorny yet increasingly unignorable question of referendums: are they really democratic? Author and former Labour MP Chris Mullin, in his cover story on the rise of nationalism under Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, warns that we may soon begin to have referendums on everything—including the return of the death penalty. Meanwhile political economist Helen Thompson argues that our whole constitution has, and always did, rest on popular consent—and referendums are inevitably needed when party politics fail. Chris and Helen join editor Tom Clark to talk about the history and future of referendums in Britain, whether Brexit could have been avoided entirely, and whether we will soon see an independent Scotland.Chris Mullin's essay here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/essays/hartlepool-hangman-conservative-party-nationalism-death-penaltyHelen Thompson's essay here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/essays/consent-british-constitution