The New Statesman Podcast, Subscriber Only Edition

Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of Homer's epic poem is one of the most anticipated films in recent cinema history.   But what is it about this story, first told maybe 3000 years ago, that so fascinates us?   Who really wrote it and why does it represent, with Homer's other great work The Iliad , the foundation of western literature?   Tanjil Rashid is joined by The Odyssey's latest translator...

Nigel Farage, pollings' current front runner to win the next general election, has resigned as an MP.   However, he plans to stand as a candidate in the by-election this move will trigger. Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories have labelled this a "stunt" and won't stand in the contest.   Meanwhile, Andy Burnham is continuing to prepare for power…   Tom McTague is joined by Ailbhe Rea and Ethan Crof...

Over 1000 of Epstein's victims of sexual abuse and trafficking have now been identified; some have chosen to come forward publicly, and among them there was one voice which was the loudest. Virginia Roberts Giuffre.   In 2021, she decided she wanted to tell her own story, in its entirety. Joining forces with the ghostwriter Amy Wallace, she began working on Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abu...

Nigel Farage loses his cool as he's grilled on his £5 million "gift", the "anti-woke" Davos and the elephant seal that's terrorising Tasmania.  Will and Anoosh round up the stories of the week. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2026/07/is-nigel-farage-losing-momentum

Hot dogs, fireworks, old glory, it's the 4th July. This year marks the 250th anniversary of the USA's Declaration of Independence.   What led up to these crucial events in 1776? Was the revolution truly American? And what does this anniversary represent today?   Tanjil Rashid is joined by Sarah Pearsall, historian and author of Freedom Round the Globe: How the World Made the American Revolution.

Some had dubbed Starmer as "the Trump whisperer", so how has this change in leader come across in the US? Do they even care?   Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo, joins us on The Exchange to discuss the view from across the pond and how Britain became a punching bag for the American right.

Then social media came along. This is one of the reasons social psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes whole heartedly in the social media ban for under 16s, which has been rolled out in Australia, and will be brought into effect in the UK early next year.   But is the ban really working in Australia? Is banning a solution? And is there a way to let young people benefit from the opportunities of the...

This morning Andy Burnham delivered a speech criticising "Whitehall culture" and promising to rebalance resources between national and local governments.  On course to enter Downing Street in as little as three weeks, the former Greater Manchester Mayor laid out his vision for a "Number 10 North", promising "growth in every postcode". But how will that work in practice? And how different is it fro...

Keir Starmer's turn at the resignation lectern, Peter Murrell's £400,000 shopping spree and Will Dunn's attempt at a "Man v Horse" race.  Will and Anoosh discuss the stories of the week. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/this-england/2026/06/one-small-step-for-man-much-further-for-a-horse

Tayari Jones is one of America's most celebrated novelists, twice chosen by Oprah, shortlisted for prizes on both sides of the Atlantic, and read by presidents.   Her newest book was meant to be a tale of gentrification in the American South, she found herself an entirely different story. Kin follows two motherless girls coming of age in 1950s Louisiana, the Jim Crow South. It's a novel about fema...

From a by-election victory in Wigan, to the resignation of Keir Starmer, to an Avanti West Coast train bound for London, tracked by news helicopters - Andy Burnham's return to Westminster has been a remarkable spectacle.   Whilst Burnham's coup has overcome multiple challenges to get to this point, in many ways, the hard part is about to begin.   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Ailbhe Rea and Tom Mc...

Yesterday morning Keir Starmer resigned as prime minister. Today is the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum. Britain will soon welcome its seventh prime minister in a decade. Are the two events connected? Or is country's instability rooted further back in history? Editor-in-chief Tom McTague joins Oli Dugmore.

This morning, Keir Starmer stood outside No 10 Downing Street and announced his resignation as Prime Minister - the sixth to leave office since the EU referendum, which was ten years ago this week. He will remain in office until Labour selects a new leader.  The Prime Minister's likely successor Andy Burnham is sworn in as an MP today after his decisive victory in the Makerfield by-election last w...

The importance of branding in British politics, banning social media for under 16s and the Reform councillor who made "the biggest mistake" of his life.   Anoosh Chakelian and Will Dunn discuss the stories of the week.   READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/06/the-brand-is-back-in-british-politics

Andrew Marr and the New Statesman's art critic Michael Prodger join Tanjil Rashid to discuss the life and legacy of David Hockney who passed away last week.   A Bradford boy who became one of the most famous artists in the world. A gay man who made desire visible decades before it was safe to do so. A painter who took on the iPhone and the iPad and bent new technology to the oldest of artistic imp...

Andy Burnham has won the historic Makerfield by-election, he's soon expected to speak to Starmer or trigger a leadership election.   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Ethan Croft in Wigan.

Tomorrow - the fate of the Labour government, and Keir Starmer's premiership, is in the balance as voters head to the polls in Makerfield for the most consequential by-election in a generation.   If Andy Burnham wins, what are his next steps? How will the following days and weeks play out?   Will Lloyd is joined by Ailbhe Rea to discuss.

Children's laureate, screenwriter, author of Millions , architect of the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, and father of seven, Frank Cottrell-Boyce joins Oli Dugmore to discuss what childhood means in Britain today.   Over two years visiting schools, prisons and asylum hotels, he found a country that has quietly stopped looking after its youngest citizens. He talks about the NEETs crisis, furniture...

On Thursday, Makerfield goes to the polls in the most consequential by-election in a generation.   Can Andy Burnham finally gain the parliamentary seat he needs to enter the Labour leadership race? Will Robert Kenyon and Reform stop Burnham's charge to Downing Street and further cement their status as Labour's inevitable successors?   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by senior data journalist Ben Walker...

The Makerfield by-election candidates battle it out to be the most "normal", the travails of journalists from the US to the NS and more crossover between the worlds of AI and politics.   Will Dunn and Anoosh Chakelian round up the stories of the week

"The traveller sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see."   Andrea Wulf joins us to discuss her new book The Traveller , about George Forster - the forgotten naturalist who sailed with Captain James Cook at seventeen and came back convinced of something radical: that all human beings are equal.   We ask why that idea was so scandalous in the Enlightenment, why Forster has been l...

Mariana Mazzucato is one of the most influential economists of modern times. An avowed progressive, her ideas impact the lives of millions of people, from the United States to sub-Saharan Africa. She was directly consulted in the creation of Biden's CHIPS Act, which is worth $280 billion. The World Bank's Mission 300, is straight out of her book Mission Economy.   Oli Dugmore sits down with her to...

Ahead of the by-election in Makerfield on June 18th, polling expert Scarlett Maguire spoke to voters in the constituency for the New Statesman. This episode is made up of clips from these Makerfield locals.   Scarlett spoke to two groups, some who said they would be voting Reform, some who said they would be voting Labour.   They shared their concerns about the current state of the UK and its poli...

Andy Burnham's tucked-in t-shirt, a bonkers "festival of AI optimism" and which MP would make the best James Bond. Will Dunn is joined by editor Tom McTague to discuss the stories of the week.

There is in Britain today a widespread mood of public despair, a deep premonition of imminent national decline. According to Ipsos, just over half of Britons feel worse off since Keir Starmer was elected. Going further back, 60% feel the country has gone backwards since 2022.   Are Britain's best days really behind it?   Pratinav Anil, Rachel Clarke, Tanjil Rashid, John Kampfner, Gary Stevenson, a...