The Critic Show

In this podcast,  The Critic 's political editor, Graham Stewart, talks to the author of  The Elephant in the Room , the entrepreneur John Mills, chairman of the consumer goods company JML and the Labour Party's largest individual donor, about how the UK's manufacturing base could be revived through policies designed to sustain a more competitive exchange rate. -- Don’t forget to subscribe to the...

The second–and final–US presidential debate of the 2020 election campaign ended as many viewers and commentators say they hoped it would begin: with something approaching an actual debate. But who won? With 47 million Americans already having voted, and the vast majority of those who haven't saying that they have already made their decision, will this last debate have changed anything? To discuss...

Azerbaijan has attacked Armenian-backed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia has guaranteed Armenia's territory whilst Turkey, a NATO member, is backing Azerbaijan. How much worse can this conflict in the Caucasus get and will neighbouring countries, Europe and the United States be drawn in? In this podcast, Kapil Komireddi assesses the messages from his interview with Armenia's president , Armen Sa...

With Azerbaijan attacking Armenian-backed positions in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh, the president of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, spoke to Kapil Komireddi for  The Critic  on the conflict in the Caucuses, the role of Turkey and what he expects from Russia and western countries. __ Photo: Armenia's president, Armen Sarkissian, 2018. (Photographer: Nazik Armenakyan/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Music:...

In this week's podcast, David Scullion speaks to Ben Woodfinden, a political theorist at McGill University, Montreal about whether conservatives are fighting a "war on woke", how they're responding to the charge that our statues need pulling down, and whether Donald Trump can truly be called a conservative. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on  Spotify  and  iTunes  to ensure you never you...

It has been an extraordinary few weeks in US presidential politics – not least with President Trump's illness. Meanwhile, it was the understudies who were in the hot seat for the vice presidential debate. To discuss the vice presidential debate and what it means for the presidential race,  The Critic 's political editor, Graham Stewart, joins US editor Oliver Wiseman and editor of the journal  Ame...

As conference season went online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the experience proved vastly different for those who usually attend the annual party conferences. In this week's podcast,  The Critic 's David Scullion, Politeia Director Jonathan Isaby and former Conservative Party councillor Caroline ffiske discuss whether it's still worth political parties meeting in person, and if for...

Last night, Donald Trump and Joe Biden faced off in the first of three presidential debates. It was a bad-tempered affair, with a lot of squabbling and not much substantive policy discussion. But who came out of the messy encounter on top? And are there any undecided voters who would have changed their minds by the end of the 90 minutes? In this podcast,  The Critic's  US editor, Oliver Wiseman, s...

Tuesday night is debate night - the first of three US presidential debates between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. In this podcast, The Critic's political editor, Graham Stewart, and US editor, Oliver Wiseman, talk about what to expect from the debates in a time of Covid-19. __ Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on  Spotify  and  iTunes  to ensure you never you never miss an episode. Right now w...

With the opinion polls suggesting the SNP is heading for a clear majority in next May's Scottish parliamentary elections, fuelling their demands for a second referendum on independence - is it beyond the ability of Scotland's Conservative, LibDem and Labour parties to save the union? Former Labour and Respect MP, George Galloway, has founded the Alliance for Unity as a bipartisan party seeking to...

Why is the UK a world leader in tech sector R&D, yet has not a single high growth software business listed on the FTSE 100? Does leaving the EU threaten the UK’s tech sector or does Brexit provide Britain with opportunities? And if so, how and where? Dr Mike Lynch OBE has been variously described as: Britain’s answer to Bill Gates; Britain’s most successful technology entrepreneur; and, in the...

As Beijing has become more bellicose since the Coronavirus pandemic and British attitudes have hardened, how should Britain react? In a recent paper,  Dr Radomir Tylecote the Director of the Good Governance Project and Research Director of the Free Speech Union, argues that Britain is still being naive in its dealings with China and suggests ways to be more resilient to China's "Long March through...

In this week's podcast,  The Critic 's Deputy Political Editor, David Scullion, spoke to Harry Miller, an ex-police officer who last year was visited at work by police officers who wanted to "check his thinking" on trans issues after they read some of his tweets. Last year the High Court found that the police probe was unlawful, but in a new report into the politicised nature of policing, Fair Cop...

From fake news and propaganda to covert funding, bribery and everyday espionage, allegations of foreign interference in British politics and society is as old as the belief that Britain equally seeks to interfere in the internal affairs of its overseas competitors. In this podcast,  The Critic 's political editor, Graham Stewart, talks to Professor Jeremy Black, author of  A History of Diplomacy,...

When Richard Leonard became leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2017, he inherited Scotland's third largest party. It still is. And with opinion polls suggesting that popular support for the once dominant power in Scotland is now down to around 15 to 17 percent, the prospects for Labour in the Scottish Parliament election in May next year look dire. In this podcast,  The Critic 's political edi...

What might Meghan and Harry have learnt from Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson? In this podcast,  The   Critic ’s political editor, Graham Stewart, talks to Alexander Larman, author of  The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication , about how Edward VIII was manoeuvred off the throne, whether Wallis really was as bad as she has been painted, and how the House of Windsor adapts and endures. -- Rig...

From consumerism and urban growth to becoming the first industrialising nation and permitting a level of free speech and press that would be envied elsewhere in Europe, Hanoverian Britain set trends that others would later follow. Why so? In this podcast,  The Critic 's political editor, Graham Stewart talks about what made Georgian Britain a trendsetter with Professor Jeremy Black, whose books on...

In the twenty years after the end of the Second World War, the Holocaust was recalled as part of the horror of Hitler's Reich but in the popular commemoration rarely singled out as the single greatest manifestation of its moral depravity. How and when did this begin to change and with what shifting emphasis do different countries remember the crime? In this podcast, Professor Jeremy Black, author...

In this podcast, The Critic 's political editor, Graham Stewart, talks to the investor and statistician, Alistair Haimes, about whether the data really stacks-up for a resurgence of Covid-19 -- Right now we’re offering 3 months for just £5. Go to thecritic.imbmsubscriptions.com/ for details. — Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod ( incompetech.com ) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribut...

A country on the Atlantic coast of Europe that looks outwards and establishes a global empire stretching from the Americas to Africa and Asia - Portugal has much in common with its oldest ally, Britain. In this podcast, Professor Jeremy Black, author of  A Brief History of Portugal  talks to  The Critic 's political editor, Graham Stewart, about how the country managed its place in the world. — Ri...

Does Spain wrestle with its imperial legacies in a similar way to Britain? How important has monarchy been to Spanish unity and is the narrative of a long decline a myth? In this podcast, Professor Jeremy Black, author of A Brief History of Spain, talks to The Critic's political editor, Graham Stewart, about the grandeur, instability, and endurance of the Spanish nation. -- Right now we're offerin...

The Scottish Government is planning to criminalise the 'stirring up of hatred', a proposal which has been criticised by police officers, lawyers, the Roman Catholic Church and now Blackadder Actor Rowan Atkinson.  But what are the proposals and why are they so controversial? In this podcast David Scullion, The Critic 's Deputy Political Editor discusses the new legislation with long-time political...

The wait is over: Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden has chosen Kamala Harris as his running mate. It has been described as the safe choice, but is it the wise choice? Do vice-presidential running choices even make much difference to who Americans want to elect to the White House? In this podcast,  The Critic 's Political Editor, Graham Stewart, talks to  The Critic ’s US Editor, Ol...

What is the Dolan case and should the government be worried? -- To combat the spread of Covid-19, the British government has restricted personal, social and economic behaviour on a scale unheard of in peacetime conditions. But has the basis upon which it has done so been legal? To discuss the entrepreneur Simon Dolan's legal challenge to the government's actions, John Joliffe, a barrister speciali...

Why did it take 1,400 years after the end of the Roman Empire for Italy to unite as one country? And how strong is Italian national unity now? In this podcast, Professor Jeremy Black, author of A Brief History of Italy, talks to The Critic's political editor, Graham Stewart, about Italian identity, regionalism and state-building. -- Right now we're offering 3 months for just £5. Go to thecritic.im...