The Political Dispatch

In the third and final part of their Brexit trilogy, Tom is joined by Associate Professor Dr. Monika Brusenbauch Meislová to ask ten years on from the EU referendum, where are we now? You can listen to How Brexit Happened Parts One and Two , wherever you get your podcasts from. Monika traces how Brexit changed the way British voters view the role of government in their daily lives, assesses where...

British politics used to be boring. Not any more. Over the course of a long weekend, Andy Burnham won a crucial by-election in Makerfield, forced Keir Starmer to resign as Prime Minister, and became the frontrunner to replace him. Tom and Sidd set out the key moments that brought down Keir Starmer, explore who Andy Burnham is, the policies he espouses, and the team he's expected to bring with him...

In part two of our three-part series marking ten years since the Brexit referendum, Tom and Sidd return to their old stomping ground, Cardiff's School of Journalism, Media and Culture, to interview their former lecturer Dr Mike Berry, Director of the MA in Political Communication. Mike traces why immigration became the issue that swallowed every other debate during the campaign, and how decades of...

In the first of a three-part series marking ten years since the Brexit referendum, Tom, Lily and Sidd sit down with Dr Nicholas Startin, Associate Professor of International Relations at John Cabot University in Rome, to trace the long history of British Euroscepticism. Nick takes the story back to Charles de Gaulle's two vetoes of British membership, the UK's eventual entry in 1973, and the refer...

To celebrate fifty years of All the President's Men, Tom sits down with Professor Jon Lewis, University Distinguished Professor of Film Studies at Oregon State University, who has been teaching and writing about Hollywood for over forty years. Jon traces Alan Pakula's Paranoia Trilogy from Klute through The Parallax View to All the President's Men, explaining what made that era of New Hollywood so...

Sidd and Tom analyse Parliamentary elections in Wales and Scotland, and local elections in England.  Plaid Cymru (The Party of Wales) have become the largest party in Wales, followed by Reform in second place and Welsh Labour a distant third.  The Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) have won a 5th straight parliamentary election but are well short of a majority.  Reform have made big gains in Scotlan...

Over a million children in England have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Councils are projected to hold £6 billion in SEND deficits by the end of this year. And a system designed to protect the most vulnerable children has become, for many families, an exhausting legal battle just to access basic support. In this episode, Tom sits down with Caitlin Webb, chief reporter at the Local Government C...

A war in the Middle East. A closed shipping lane. And a chain of consequences that stretches from Irish petrol stations to South Korean chip makers, and from British supermarket shelves to the price of your next laptop. In this episode, Tom, Sidd and Lily trace the true cost of the war with Iran — for the Iranian people, for the world economy, and your everday life. The episode starts with mass pr...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom, Sidd and Lily turn their attention to Wales, ahead of what many are calling the most consequential Senedd election since devolution began in 1999. For listeners joining from outside the UK, the team starts from the beginning — where Wales is, what shapes it, and why a country of three million people with a language older than most nations on earth ha...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom, Sidd and Lily dive into what may be the most significant moment in Iranian politics since 1979, the nationwide protests that erupted in late December 2025 and the brutal crackdown that followed. From the closure of Tehran's Grand Bazaar to coordinated demonstrations across all 31 provinces, the team traces how economic grievances over a collapsing cu...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom, Lily, and Sidd begin with two recent events from the world’s biggest stages and trace them to a much older story about music and politics. From Billie Eilish’s speech at the Grammys to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, the team explores how musicians are using their cultural influence to make political statements about identity, injustice, and po...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom and Sidd explore a pivotal moment in global politics: the unraveling of the post-Cold War international order.  Drawing on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s powerful speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he invoked Czech dissident Václav Havel’s essay “The Power of the Powerless”, they examine what happens when nations can no longer s...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom, Sidd, and Lily come together to reflect on the moments that defined 2025. The team looks back on a year marked by upheaval and uncertainty and discuss: The ongoing civil war in Sudan and its humanitarian toll The UK Supreme Court’s ruling on sex and its political implications The death of actor and activist Robert Redford Growing concerns over corrup...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom, Lily, and Sidd turn to two regions whose histories of division continue to shape global politics today: Ireland and the Indian subcontinent. From the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan to the Northern Ireland peace process that culminated in the Good Friday Agreement, the team explores how borders, identity, and political negotiation can fuel confl...

In today’s episode, Tom flies solo as he assesses the impact of Zohran Mamdani’s electoral victory for New York Mayor, as well as highlighting Democratic wins in New Jersey, Virginia and California.  Tom starts the show with a retrospective, to a year ago, on election night November 5th 2024, where Donald Trump is on the cusp of victory…  Please leave a rating, share a comment, and subscribe! To g...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom, Lily, and Sidd examine the past, present, and potential future of the Israel-Palestine conflict. From the origins of partition to the ongoing humanitarian and political crises in Gaza, the team explores the roots of division, the challenges of peace, and what the latest ceasefire and negotiations could mean for the future of the region. In the second...

In today's episode, Tom covers the French Prime Minister's resignation after losing a vote of confidence in Parliament, the far-right rally in London, and also previews an interview Lily has conducted with her Dad about a school shooting in their home town of Evergreen, Colorado. To help discuss the political trouble in France, Tom is joined by Dr Charles Devellennes, a senior lecturer at the Univ...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Sidd, Tom, and Lily take a look at the sudden appearance of St George flags popping up across England, Reform UK’s recent party conference in Birmingham, the recent resignation of Angela Rayner (followed by a cabinet reshuffle), and the sacking of the UK’s Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson. Please leave a rating, share a comment, and subscribe! To get...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom and Lily take a deep dive into one of the most significant democratic reforms in recent UK history: lowering the voting age to 16 years-old. From the role of education and political literacy to questions about maturity, motivation, and turnout, Tom and Lily examine the opportunities and concerns posed regarding the potential expansion of the franchise...

In this episode, Tom, Lily, and Sidd discuss the evolving and often contentious relationship between Donald Trump and the media. The Political Dispatch team explores recent shifts in the U.S. media landscape, from the cancellation of a top-rated late-night show to the defunding of public radio and changes to the White House press corps. This episode was recorded on 29th July 2025 You can also chec...

In this episode, Tom, Lily, and Sidd examine a year of unprecedented conflict across Asia. Join the hosts for a sweeping international news bulletin, from the nuclear standoff between India and Pakistan to the escalating war in Gaza, the renewed civil conflict in Myanmar, and a dangerous confrontation between Israel and Iran. With tensions rising in the South China Sea and new border clashes betwe...

In this episode, Tom, Lily, and Sidd reflect on the UK’s higher education system at a pivotal moment, as over 800,000 students, including the three of them, graduate from universities across the country. Join the hosts for a deep dive into the financial crisis facing UK universities, as well as a personal reflection on their experiences studying at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOME...

In this special anniversary episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom, Lily, and Sidd reflect on one year of podcasting, one year of international politics, and one year of conversations that tried to make sense of it all. From elections and education to Gaza, AI, Star Wars, and everything in between, the team revisits the moments, guests, and episodes that have shaped the show since it launched. We’...

In this episode of The Political Dispatch, Tom, Lily, and Sidd sit down with Chad Mott, a history and government teacher from Evergreen, Colorado, to talk about the state of public education in the US and what it’s like to teach the next generation of voters in 2025. From students' attitudes on America’s role in the world, to the impacts of the Trump administration on the education system, the con...

Over 2,000 miles from the UK, Gaza is starving, cut off by an Israeli blockade. In this episode of the Political Dispatch, Tom speaks to Zoe Daniels from the International Rescue Committee (IRC), to discuss the situation on the ground in Gaza. Everyone at the Political Dispatch echoes what the IRC and so many other organisations are calling for: an immediate ceasefire and the delivery of aid into...