The Prospect Podcast

How do powerful figures use “lawfare” to silence allegations? In today’s episode, Alona and Imaan are joined by Prospect contributing editor Isabel Hilton to discuss the sentencing of Russell Brand on one charge of rape and three of sexual assault, as well as the allegations against David Walliams. Isabel breaks down the role of court injunctions and “SLAPPs”. The three also discuss the cult of ce...

In the last 10 days, far-right parties have failed at the ballot box in Brazil, Serbia, Israel, and now the United States. Is the fight for democracy on? This week, Alona and Imaan are joined in the studio by Prospect ’s Preeti Jha. Preeti argues that democracy is more than just a single election and discusses her experience covering daily activism in Asia. The team also analyse the role of social...

Sales of tinned food and wind-up radios have rocketed since the government announced that UK families should prepare for potential crises. But preparedness advocates—or “preppers”—have been saying this for years. In this episode, Imaan and Alona are joined by Prospect editor Philip Collins. They discuss the “Cassandra effect”, how government should communicate in a crisis and whether our supply ch...

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of sexual violence The Cornell story has shocked many. But how surprised are we really? This week, Alona and Imaan are joined by Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley and former minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, who argues that not only could this kind of sexual violence happen in the UK—but it already is. Th...

Would you care if AI wrote your favourite novel? In the second episode of Tell Me Why , tech journalist and Londoner editor Alys Key joins Prospect ’s Alona Ferber and Imaan Irfan. They explore how artificial intelligence is shaping literature, after recent awards became mired in scandal over entries allegedly written by AI. They discuss cognitive debt, the “dearth” of the author, and the risks of...

Religious zealots, tech accelerationists and ethnonationalists are trying to fast-track the apocalypse. But why? In the first ever episode of Tell Me Why , Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join Imaan Irfan and Alona Ferber in the Prospect studio to discuss the ideas behind their new book End Times Fascism . The four discuss the new face of fascism, why its disciples have an “Armageddon complex” and wh...

As tech insiders warn about an impending apocalypse, Ellen and Imaan are joined by Ethan Zuckerman, Prospect contributor and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to examine those claims. He discusses AI agents going rogue in the Hugging Face incident, as well as recent calls from tech leaders to slow down AI development. With Trump dismissing safety concerns, Ethan also d...

This month, Rural life writer Kiran Sidhu shares her love for her late father, who was an imperfect but brilliant parent. Meanwhile, Second life writer Vitali Vitaliev is reminded of his former, Soviet life when he reads about the hounding of Cambridge academic Jason Arday. Mindful life writer Sarah Collins extolls the benefits of embracing a beginner's mindset when approaching new hobbies. Hosted...

Have scientists found the secret to eternal power? Engineers, inventors and sci-fi writers have long dreamed of harvesting the constant power of the sun. Now, plans to build solar panels in space are tantalisingly close to fruition. This week, Ellen is joined by Prospect contributing editor Isabel Hilton to explains why it could just work. From rocket launches to robots assembling solar farms in s...

Who really runs the United Kingdom? Power is badly misallocated, argues journalist and author Phil Tinline, and Andy Burnham understands that better than most of his recent predecessors. But there is still a major gap in the prime minister’s analysis. This week, he joins Ellen and Alona in a wide-ranging conversation that covers the shift away from centralised state power in the 1980s and the weak...

According to Nobel prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, liberal democracy made three promises: that prosperity would be shared equitably, that capable government would deliver public services and that citizens would have voice to express their opinions and participate in governance. But in recent decades, these promises have been broken across the world. This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by...

What can a taxi ride tell us about the state of the UK? Driving home is an immersive documentary staged inside a real black cab where audiences hear from taxi drivers across the UK about migration, belonging, politics, and community. Today on the podcast, Daphna Attias and Terry O’Donohue, the co-founders and artistic directors of Dante or Die, the theatre company behind the documentary, join Pros...

Billionaires, millionaires and biohackers are plying themselves with supplements and consulting AI to extend their lives indefinitely. But would you want to live forever? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by journalist and author Katherine Stewart, who investigates the politics of the longevity movement. Katherine shares her experiences undercover at exclusive longevity conferences, trying sup...

As Andy Burnham marks his first two weeks in Downing Street, the polls are registering a bump in support for Labour. This week, Ellen and Imaan are joined by Prospect ’s contributing editor Tom Clark to assess the prime minister’s first steps in office. Tom discusses surprising policy pledges, “sugar-rush politics” and how Burnham’s thinking has changed, from devolution to drastic social care refo...

This month Rural life writer Kiran Sidhu decides to embrace materialism, while Anglican priest Alice Goodman recounts the ballad of the Tithe pig. Actor and writer Sheila Hancock is taken to hospital after a fall and is very impressed by the attractive doctors treating her. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Citizenship has been described as “the right to have rights”. But, in recent years, the UK government has increasingly stripped people of their citizenship— effectively leaving many stateless.     This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by journalist and author Samira Shackle, who tracks the rapid expansion of citizenship deprivation laws in Britain.     She explains ho...

The UK’s young adults are ready to be taken seriously—so why aren’t they? This week, Alona and Imaan are joined by journalist and author Marie Le Conte to discuss why a whole generation seems stuck in an extended adolescence, priced out of housing and routinely ignored by politicians. In an intergenerational conversation, they discuss whether the social mobility experiment has failed, the reality...

As Nigel Farage continues to face scrutiny over his finances and undeclared donations, is big money hurting our democracy? This week, Alona and Imaan are joined by Peter Geoghegan, investigative journalist and founder of Democracy for Sale. Peter unpacks the scandal and introduces a cast of Reform backers, from “Posh George” to Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne. He also discusses the...

Humans have collected data for thousands of years—but now we’re doing it on a whole new level. This week, Ellen and Alona and joined by Roopika Risam, professor of Digital Humanities and Social Engagement at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, whose new book Data Empire explores the ancient roots of data-gathering and the rise of the “data state”. Drawing on examples from the East India Company to...

Lying, lobbying, and luxury donor gifts—has UK politics gone crooked? This week, Ellen and Imaan are joined by Robert Barrington, professor of anti-corruption practice at Sussex University’s Centre for the Study of Corruption. He argues that corruption is more widespread than assumed in Britain, from politicians to prisons, the monarchy to the Met. Robert discusses the Boris Johnson era misconduct...

This month, our Mindful life writer Sarah Collins explains how her OCD had her singing her thoughts, while Second life writer Vitali Vitaliev asks: what’s in a nose? A trip to the Museum of Brands takes actor Sheila Hancock down memory lane, while Alice Garnett asks her parents for advice on uncertainty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a heatwave sweeps across Europe, Ellen and Imaan are joined by sociologist Jens Beckert, the author of 'How We Sold Our Future: The Failure to Fight Climate Change'.  He argues that the cultural, political and economic structures of capitalist modernity are themselves barriers to fighting the climate crisis. From profit maximisation to short term limits for politicians, is capitalist democ...

The UK has a maternal mental health support crisis. The leading cause of maternal deaths in the UK is mental health issues, including suicide, with maternal deaths from suicide having risen by seventy-four per cent in the last seven years alone. How can we address this urgent need for improved support? Speaking to Prospect's Alona Ferber, Biogen's medical lead Teresa Shering, consultant adult and...

What does the World Cup mean to you? This year’s tournament has been highly political so far: as it began, one of the host nations was at war with one of the competitors and referees and staff have been banned from the United States. This week, Philip and Ellen are joined by sports writer and sociologist David Goldblatt, the author of Injury Time: Football in a State of Emergency to discuss the st...

The country feels stuck. But can Britain prosper again? On the Prospect podcast this week, Prospect e ditor Philip Collins is joined by Ravi Gurumurthy to discuss this question.  Ravi is CEO of Nesta, which is a research foundation and “innovation agency”. He is a lead non-executive of the Department for Energy and Net Zero and sits on the board of NHS England. Writing in a personal capacity,...