Politics Unpacked

Matt Chorley hosts a special episode ahead of International Women's Day Campaigner Caroline Criado Perez has already secured victory in getting a woman, Jane Austen, on banknotes and then another, Millicent Fawcett, among the statues in Parliament Square. Now she’s taken on a bigger challenge: rewiring the whole of society, especially the data which drives it, which is shall we say, quite male-dom...

Matt Chorley is joined by three London-based foreign reporters, including Dutch correspondent Tim de Wit, Cristina Marconi from Italy and Katrin Pribyl from Germany, to discuss how to make sense of Brexit for a foreign audience, who makes the news overseas and how Britain is now seen abroad. (It's not good.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley takes another stroll, this time with the former Labour MP on why he quit, looking his dad in the eye, and his fears for his old party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Outrageous, outspoken and out of the Tory party, Anna Soubry speaks to Matt Chorley about why she quit, who tried to persuade her to stay and what happens next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley speaks to two MPs who quit the party, plus Ayesha Hazarika on the threat to Labour and Ash Sarkar on how Corbyn should respond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marking three years of the Red Box politics podcast from The Times, Matt Chorley is joined by Times columnist David Aaronovitch who reveals he is close to quitting Labour over antisemitism; Red Box reporter Esther Webber worries about how one man is blocking backbench laws in the Commons; and YouGov's Anthony Wells explains the firms latest modelling which predicts another hung parliament if we ha...

PLUS: Is a general election insane, and how much did Times reporters drink in the 1980s? Matt Chorley is joined by Sam Coates, The Times deputy political editor, who says the prime minister is the root of all our problems. Times columnist Daniel Finkelstein warns a planned election is mad, but it is worth planning for an accidental one. And as Frances Gibb prepares to retire after four decades cov...

Who is really ahead in the polls? Is support building for a second referendum? Would Leave or Remain win? And is Labour really trailing the Tories? Matt Chorley is joined by polling guru Sir John Curtice and Deborah Mattinson, Gordon Brown's former pollster and founder of Britain Thinks.  PLUS:  Do you feel politically homeless? Jane Merrick describes quitting Labour and Nick Mazzei...

Nevermind Brexit, there are plenty of other crises to keep us awake at night. Matt Chorley is joined by a bumper panel of Times reporters and columnists to discuss the issues not being discussed enough. Columnist Rachel Sylvester is worried about poverty; Lucy Fisher, the defence correspondent, is worried about Nato; Graeme Paton, the transport correspondent, is worried about the railways; Chris S...

Matt Chorley is joined by The Times' Daniel Finkelstein, Iain Martin, Esther Webber, Hugo Rifkind and Henry Zeffman in the corridors of power, and asks MPs including Boris Johnson, Mary Creagh and James Cleverly what happens now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley is joined by award-winning playwright James Graham, who explains how and why he created Channel 4’s Brexit: The Uncivil War, and why he hopes drama can be a catharsis. Kieran Hodgson is a comedian and actor but also a self-confessed political history nerd and his latest show, '75 indulges his fascination for the lively world of 1970s politics, in particular the dramatic story of how t...

Matt Chorley asks Tim Shipman, political editor of The Sunday Times, Esther Webber, the Red Box reporter, and Katie Perrior, Theresa May's former director of communications to gaze into their crystal balls and predict what this year might hold in store in British politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley is joined by two of his favourite comedians who give their impressions of the last year. Look out for their Fawlty Towers sketch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley presides over more chaos in part two as the teams fight it out in the remaining rounds. On the MPs’ team, Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Labour’s Conor McGinn. On the columnists team Daniel Finkelstein and Hugo Rifkind.  And finally on the reporter’s team, the undefeated champion for the last two years: sketchwriter and diary editor Patrick Kidd, who this year is joined by Red B...

Matt Chorley is ringmaster of the annual circus, testing who has paid the most attention this year: MPs, columnists or reporters. On the MPs’ team, Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Labour’s Conor McGinn. On the columnists team Daniel Finkelstein and Hugo Rifkind.  And finally on the reporter’s team, the undefeated champion for the last two years: sketchwriter and diary editor Patrick Kidd, who...

On another day of drama, Matt Chorley presents from Westminster speaking to journalists and MPs about May's narrow victory, her promise to stand down before the next election, and whether all the theatrics help or hinder the path to a deal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley is joined by Times columnist Iain Martin who tries to explain what went wrong with the Brexit vote, Katie Perrior, May's former director of communications, says her old boss could be on the way, and Henry Zeffman, The Times political correspondent, examines what (might) happen next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, tells Matt Chorley about the risk of social unrest if Brexit is stopped, his fears over the decline of freedom around the world, and how he carries out diplomacy via WhatsApp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley is joined by Henry Zeffman, Times political correspondent, who explains what could happen if and when Theresa May's Brexit deal is voted down by MPs. Rachel Sylvester, Times columnist, argues Theresa May’s fixation on immigration is her fatal flaw. And Kenny Farquharson on interviewing John McDonnell on Labour working with the SNP, splits with Jeremy Corbyn, and learning to play...

Who would become a politician? Who can afford to? And why is there is disconnect between the electorate and the elected? Matt Chorley is joined by Isabel Hardman, author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians, Sam Alvis, a former parliamentary intern and researcher, and Rob Wilson, a former minister who lost his seat in 2017. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to bad leaders, trapped penguins or mental health, is there a right time to intervene? Matt Chorley is joined by Francis Elliott, The Times' political editor, who wonders how the Tory plotters got it so wrong. PLUS  Alice Thomson, Times columnist, on police appeals for the public to step in and Matthew Parris asks do we get bang for our buck on mental health? Hosted on Acast. Se...

On the most extraordinary day in Westminster since, well, yesterday Matt Chorley watches Jacob Rees-Mogg call for a leadership challenge with The Times' Sam Coates and Patrick Kidd; Kate Devlin explains why Dominic Raab quit; and Henry Zeffman, Esther Webber and Oliver Wright try to explain what is happening, before admitting nobody knows. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

This week Matt is joined by Times columnist Philip Collins, who wonders why more billionaires don’t do good, Nicola Woolcock, Times education correspondent, on the latest, expensive Tory plan to win back the youth vote, and columnist Daniel Finkelstein who deciphers Labours Brexit position so you don't have to.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley meets House of Cards creator Lord Michael Dobbs.  In a wide ranging conversation Dobbs explains his brutal firing by Margret Thatcher, how he came to write House of Cards when he should have been in therapy and the impact of the #metoo movement in Westminster and Hollywood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley is joined by Hugo Rifkind, who is worried about the vast power that vastly rich people today can have over our politics. In the week of the death of Jeremy Heywood, Rachel Sylvester wonders whether the civil service can withstand the huge pressure of Brexit. And Joe Jervis, co-author of Spirit of Britain, Purpose of Labour, says we are a nation divided between Communitarians...