The Prospect Podcast

Twenty years ago, Tharik Hussain moved from the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia with a sense that he and other Muslims didn’t belong in Europe. But, as he explains today on the podcast, he has since been on a journey to uncover some 1,400 years of rich Muslim history and culture on the continent. Tharik joins Imaan and Ellen to discuss how Europeans forgot the contributions of Muslims in Europe—and...

After the explosive revelation that Peter Mandelson had “failed” his vetting before being waved through as US ambassador, Alona and Imaan are joined by contributing editor Tom Clark to discuss the root cause of this political disaster. It wasn’t the vetting process, argues Tom, but the power struggles at the heart of the Labour party. Why weren’t Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein and Russian ol...

This month, actor and writer Sheila Hancock is grateful to be reunited once more with daffodils, while Anglican priest Alice Goodman laments the lack of Church wardens in her parish. Meanwhile, Vitali Vitaliev explains why he thinks AI is rubbish at writing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The term “far right” is frequently invoked in British political discourse. But who really fits the bill? This week, journalist and author Daniel Trilling joins Ellen and Alona to discuss how previously fringe positions have gained traction and entered mainstream politics. Daniel defines the far right and explores its increasingly influential place in British politics, drawing from his upcoming boo...

Facial recognition technology is being rolled out by police forces across the country—and there are no clear limits on how it can be used. This week, Ellen is joined by Mark Wilding, investigative journalist at Liberty Investigates, who discusses how artificial intelligence is being used to tackle crime in the UK. He shares the startling story of a young man arrested for a crime he didn’t commit,...

The UK has chosen not to follow Trump into the war on Iran. Has Starmer damaged the “special relationship”—or was it the right call? This week Philip and Ellen are joined by Kim Darroch, former national security adviser and UK ambassador to the United States. He analyses the US-Israel war with Iran, the reactions of foreign governments and why Europe has chosen not to respond to Trump’s calls for...

Is capitalism inevitable? This week,  Prospect  contributing editor Tom Clark is joined by Sven Beckert, Harvard professor and author of  Capitalism: A Global History . Sven discusses the evolution of capitalism, from its development by Arab, African and Chinese traders, to its place in the modern western nation states of today. He argues that the economic system that rules our live...

The Gorton and Denton byelection was a sensation for the Greens—and it hurt Labour’s pride. With the May elections approaching, the UK’s governing party looks set for a beating. But what about Reform? Peter Kellner, former director of polling company YouGov, joins Ellen and Alona on the podcast to discuss how Labour and its competition are faring. After coming second in Gorton and Denton, Reform m...

This month, Gen Z-er Alice Garnett commands her peers to get down to the pub, while Rural life writer Kiran Sidhu recounts the mystery disappearance of a statue from her neighbouring village. Actor and writer Sheila Hancock celebrates television adverts, while Vitali Vitaliev cherishes the small things in life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump said the Iran war was “very complete”—but is it?  Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the Chatham House thinktank, joins Ellen and Alona to make sense of the latest from Iran. As US-Israeli strikes continue, Mansour explains that Washington might not have control over the conflict’s end and Iran is prepared for the long haul.&n...

This week, Ellen is joined by journalist David Aaronovitch, who warns about the extreme wealth and unaccountable power of America’s new elite. From John D Rockefeller to Jeff Bezos, David explores the parallels between the “robber barons” of the late 19th century and today’s tech titans. He argues that the US is experiencing a second Gilded Age, in which the elite enjoy lavish lifestyles—as well a...

This week, Alona is joined by contributing editor Tom Clark and political columnist Ben Ansell to discuss what’s at stake in the upcoming Manchester byelection. With the polls showing a three-way-race between the Greens, Labour and Reform, the area has become a microcosm for wider political trends, with the position of the establishment parties more uncertain than ever. Tom shares the mood in the...

Ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ellen and Alona are joined by researcher Maksimas Milta. Maksimas is the Ukraine Country Director at The Reckoning Project, which trains journalists to document war crimes and human rights violations. He talks about the mood in Ukraine as the civilian casualty rate surges—as well as the difficult process of seeking justice...

This week, Ellen and Alona are joined again by Prospect editor and former Labour speechwriter Philip Collins to unpack the government’s ongoing crisis. With Peter Mandelson currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, Starmer’s premiership came close to collapse. He appears to have clung on for now—but how long can he survive as prime minister? And why, in his moment of peril, did no...

This month, Anglican priest Alice Goodman observes that Jesus would not be considered manly enough by today's far-right, while actor and writer Sheila Hancock ditches The Traitors in favour of a programme about Irish dancing. Sarah Collins, who lives with OCD, faces a collapse in her emotional geography after a year of travel, while Kiran Sidhu swaps The News at Ten for Postman Pat. Hosted on Acas...

More of the Epstein files have been released—but why now, and what do they really tell us? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan, editor of the Democracy for Sale newsletter, to unpack what the documents reveal about power, money and impunity. Peter discusses the ways powerful figures protect themselves, and the latest political fallout in Britain—from r...

Britain needs new infrastructure and housing—and devolution could be a help or a hindrance. Will giving a greater say to local communities through devolution increase the legitimacy of infrastructure and housing plans and accelerate their delivery? Or does it add complexity and aid the ‘blockers’ not the builders? This podcast explores the issues, explains how to address the risks and charts an op...

Politics in Britain was once dominated by two big parties with predictable voter bases. But times have changed—and for the first time, new parties are on the rise. This week, Ellen and Imaan are joined by  Prospect ’s new editor Philip Collins, to discuss the breakdown of British politics as we know it. Philip argues that we have entered a new political era—one where the traditional giants of...

A crackdown by the Iranian government has quietened protests that swept across the country in recent weeks, but tensions remain high. This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, a Middle East analyst at Control Risks, who dials in from Abu Dhabi to explain how these protests differ from previous rounds of unrest in the country—from the scale of grievances to new geopolitical c...

This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Isabel Hilton—former Latin America editor, expert in Arctic security and  Prospect  contributing editor—to discuss how American foreign policy has evolved under the Trump administration, particularly after the US abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. How different was this from the US’s history of coups and previous military interventi...

What hope is there for the future? Global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and right-wing populists rage against net zero. But, according to the UK’s climate minister and a leading American environmentalist, though, the economics of electrification will make the future brighter than it first appears. Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy security and net zero, and Bill McKibben, an e...

Anglican priest Alice Goodman explains how clerics manage their Christmas “turnaround time’, while Gen Z-er Alice Garnett takes us behind the scenes on a comedy panel show. Vitali Vitaliev is reminded of his first life in Soviet Russia by a museum of banned books in Tallinn, while Sarah Collins cautions against the use of AI therapy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final podcast of the year, Ellen and Alona look back at their favourite episodes from 2025. During a dark year, Prospect has been collecting glimmers of hope. They asked some of the most interesting thinkers today—from politics, to environment to tech—for their perspectives on hope and optimism. What keeps them fighting for a more just world? Philosopher Slavoj Zizek and broadcaster Mehdi H...

Swooning audiences, demon-hunting popstars, and Sydney Sweeney’s jeans—it’s been quite a year for arts and culture. In this week’s special episode, three of  Prospect ’ s  critics join books and culture editor Pete Hoskin to chat over eggnog and mince pies. Kate Maltby, Lucy Scholes and Laura Barton encounter the  Prospect  wheel of fortune and share their recommendations, as w...

Seven MPs were suspended for rebelling on the two-child benefit limit last year. Now that the government has announced it will lift the policy, what will change? And why was this such a major focus for anti-poverty campaigners? Ellen and Alona are joined by two experts on the subject: journalist and campaigner Terri White and Ruth Patrick, professor in social and public policy at the University of...