The Prospect Podcast

American political commentator and Atlantic senior editor David Frum joins the Prospect Interview this week to discuss the presidency of Donald Trump, whose potential legacy he writes about in his new book, Trumpocalypse : Restoring American democracy . Frum talks to editor Tom Clark about his journey from George W. Bush speechwriter to one of the most high-profile conservative critics of the late...

CBD oils, meditation apps, and memory foam mattresses—our obsession with getting the perfect night’s sleep is stronger than ever. But is the drive to get more shut-eye actually making us more exhausted? Journalist Barbara Speed wrote an essay for Prospect going behind the global sleep industry, and unpacks the false science and misguided assumptions that are stopping us from getting the proper res...

Biographer and academic Ray Monk joins the Prospect Interview this week to discuss the life and work of GE Moore, a once-great Cambridge philosopher who has since disappeared from history. Why was it that Moore was so revered at his time, drawing admiration from the likes of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell? And why is it that since then, he’s been largely forgotten? You can read Ray Monk’...

Academic and author of This is Shakespeare Emma Smith joins the Prospect Interview this week to discuss the bard’s much gossiped about life under the plague. While many of us may have come across reminders that Shakespeare spun out King Lear while under lockdown centuries ago, Emma says that there’s another plague-era play of his that shows another side of historic London life—the comic, and unapo...

Dutch historian and commentator Rutger Bregman joins the Prospect Interview this week to discuss his new book, Humankind: A Hopeful History . It’s a book with an optimistic thesis at its heart: that people are—despite all the doom-mongering, disasters, and political conflicts that rage on in our headlines—at their core, decent and well-intentioned. Arts and Books editor Sameer Rahim talks to Rutge...

Philosopher Clare Carlisle joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the 19th century novelist George Eliot. Celebrated as the author of Middlemarch and Silas Marner , Eliot was also an enthusiastic philosopher who notably translated the first English translation of Baruch Spinoza’s Ethics . Clare talks to arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about George Eliot’s philosophy, the novelist’s fondness...

In this week’s special edition of the Prospect Interview, we share exclusive audio from our first ever webinar for subscribers, held last Friday. In it, our most recent contributors—Oxford historian Margaret MacMillan; professor of global economic governance Ngaire Woods, and Harvard economist Dani Rodrik share their thoughts on what a post-Covid world will look like. These distinguished academics...

As the world slows down, many of us are thinking—what comes next? Oxford geographer Danny Dorling joins the Prospect Interview to discuss what a world after growth might look like. His latest book, Slowdown: The end of the great acceleration–and why it’s good for the planet, the economy, and our lives was written long before Covid-19 forced much of the world to stop, but many of his reflections on...

Infectious disease expert Adam Kucharski didn’t know that the world was going to be overtaken by a virus when he wrote his new book, The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread – and Why They Stop . But today, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine professor has a schedule filled with meetings about the progression of Covid-19—and how best to curb it. Arts and books editor Sameer Rahim...

Human rights lawyer and award-winning author Philippe Sands joins the Prospect Interview to talk about his new book, The Ratline: Love, Lies, and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive . The author of bestselling history memoir East West Street discusses his new book, which traces the real-life disappearance of a Nazi leader and his wife. He talks to deputy editor Steve Bloomfield about what drew...

Writer Thomas Chatterton Williams joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about his curious approach to race in America. His new memoir, Self Portrait in Black and White , explores his own background as a mixed-race child of a black father and white mother growing up in New Jersey. He talks to our Arts and Books editor Sameer Rahim about why he sometimes calls himself “ex-Black”, how he fee...

Novelist Colum McCann joins the Prospect Interview this week to discuss his new bestseller, Apeirogon , a fictional story based on the real-life friendship between an Israeli and a Palestinian. He talks to our Arts and Books editor about how he went about researching the novel, learning from the Northern Ireland peace process, and why, in spite of everything, he still has hope. Colum McCann’s Apei...

Nobel prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman joins the Prospect podcast to talk about what he calls “zombie economics”: the right-wing free market economic orthodoxy that he believes persists past its sell-by date. He also reflects on America’s 2020 election, whether he misjudged Obama, and if he has faith in the future of economics. Paul Krugman’s Arguing with Zombies:...

Journalist Kim Ghattas joins the Prospect Interview to explain the political conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran—where did it come from, and how has it fundamentally transformed the region? She also gives her perspectives on lessons from the Arab Spring, and why her own background growing up in Lebanon means she’s able to tell stories that challenge popular Western narratives.  Kim’s book,...

Early modern historian and polyglot John Gallagher joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about language learning in Britain from the 16th century to today. What was it like when the English language was, in the words of one early modern writer, useless anywhere past Devon? And why do Brits today perform so poorly on language acquisition, especially against their continental peers? John’s...

His previous book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century , became a worldwide sensation. Now the French economist is back with another sweeping history of inequality and capitalism: Capital and Ideology . Thomas joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about what’s changed in the world—and his own life—since his tome on inequality topped the bestselling charts in 2014. He tells us his thoughts...

From the warriors who inspired the Amazons to Joan of Arc, women have served in the military for centuries—some in disguise. Historian and academic Julie Wheelwright joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the long history of women in the military forces and what drew them to take up arms—as well as a little-known fact about the historic significance of London’s Deptford region.  Julie’s n...

From Edward Heath to Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron to Tony Blair—what makes a good opposition leader? Broadcaster and journalist Steve Richards joins the Prospect interview to talk about what it takes for politicians to best their opponents across the dispatch box.  You can read Steve’s essay on the politics of the opposition leader here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/other/ill-tell-y...

Is artificial intelligence really that close to reaching “human-level intelligence”? Will hit television shows like Westworld and Humans feel quaint in the era of robot dominance?  Science writer Philip Ball joins the Prospect interview this week to discuss everything you need to know about artificial intelligence today—and why, despite all the brouhaha around super-intelligent robots, we’re...

Who will triumph in the battle for Britain's courts: Johnson or the judiciary? In the new issue of Prospect , our cover story goes behind the simmering politicisation of Britain’s judges in the era of Brexit, and we talk to senior judges and former Supreme Court justices on what they think will happen to the courts under Boris Johnson’s government. Judicial independence no more? Prospect has teame...

Brown sauce, like many things in the UK, came from the spoils of empire. Also, like many things in the UK, it’s become a lightning rod for endless debates about class, snobbery, and English identity. Where did brown sauce come from, and why does it occupy such a fraught space in Britain’s public imagination? Writer and novelist Caroline O’Donoghue has just joined Prospect as a life columnist,...

A WhatsApp group that got started on Twitter helped journalist Suchandrika Chakrabarti process personal grief that she had been carrying for decades. Adult orphans around the world have started a group chat in which members amongst themselves about loneliness, grief—and just about everything else. At a time when social media seems to be dominated by shouty voices, division and trolls, could this W...

Veganuary; fake cheese; lab-grown meat. "Plant-based" diets have become trendier and more mainstream over the past few years. It's often said that in the era of environmental disaster, we should all eating less meat. But can going vegan really help fend off climate change? Journalist Hephzibah Anderson joins the Prospect interview to talk about the curious history of veganism, the academic debates...

From Rebecca Long-Bailey to Jess Phillips, Lisa Nandy to Keir Starmer and beyond—who will win the top spot? Former political adviser and Labour Party insider Tom Hamilton joins the Prospect podcast this week to discuss everything you need to know about the Labour leadership contest. We run through the timetable for the vote, the procedures, and what this means for the broader direction for the par...

Brexit, Trump, international protests, the era of the “strongman”: Is liberalism really in crisis, or will it come out of this historical era changed, but essentially unscathed? Political theorist Katrina Forrester joins the Prospect podcast to talk about liberalism past and present, and the thought of icon of 20th century liberalism, John Rawls.  Katrina’s book, In the Shadow of Justice: Pos...