The Prospect Podcast

Prospect's editors talk last night's election in this special edition of the podcast. What lessons were learned, what were the high and low points of the campaigns, and will the Union remain in tact? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sure it's a good idea in theory, but does meritocracy really work in real life? Yale law school professor Daniel Markovits joins the Prospect podcast and tells us why he's sceptical. Far from seeing a world where people can get ahead regardless of one's social background, Markovits instead argues that meritocracy has also emerged alongside a greater concentration of wealth and privilege, more so t...

Did the death of one man radically alter the course of modern English philosophy? Biographer and philosopher Ray Monk joins the Prospect Podcast to talk about the life and work of RG Collingwood, a 20th century intellectual whose premature death may have led to discipline to take a different—and according to Monk, less rich—direction today.  Ray Monk’s article on RG Collingwood can be read he...

What really was the East India Company, and how does its legacy affect Britain today? Historian William Dalrymple joins the Prospect podcast this week to talk about Britain’s imperial legacy and how the company grew from being a silks and spices trader to an engine of colonialism.  William’s book, The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company is out with Bloomsbury. Plus: Steve B...

The Windrush scandal was just the tip of the iceberg. It was a result of, and part of a long-ranging Home Office strategy to create a hostile environment for Britain’s immigrants. Writer and researcher Maya Goodfellow joins the Prospect podcast this week to discuss the UK’s current and historic immigration policies, and what she learned from talking to migrants and asylum seekers while writing her...

Donald Trump has a long history with the US courts – 3,500 cases, it has been estimated. Journalist and author James D. Zirin joins the Prospect podcast to discuss the president’s history with the law, and what that can tell us about how Trump views politics. Also—what can we expect from the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump? Plus: Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland on the 2020 race Host...

How will Brexit affect the vote this December? What about other burning issues, like the economy and the NHS? In this election special, Prospect’s editors debate whether this will truly be the “Brexit election,” and what seats to look out for.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years on from the New York Times ' publication of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor join Prospect's Steve Bloomfield to discuss what it was like to report on the story—and how their article helped ignite a global movement. Plus: Stephanie Boland on Britain's #metoo moment and what comes next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Germans have a word for it—can the rest of the world learn from them, too? Philosopher Susan Neiman joins the Prospect podcast to discuss her book Learning From the Germans . From her travels in the American South to the complex arguments over Vergangenheitsaufarbeitung , and from Hannah Arendt to the Enlightenment focus on happiness, Professor Neiman explores what it means to work with our hi...

Journalist Charles Moore has spent over 20 years mapping the life and work of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The final instalment of his trilogy of Thatcher’s life, Margaret Thatcher: Herself Alone is published this month. Editor Tom Clark talks to Moore about Thatcher’s contested legacy, her attitudes to the EU and referendums, and what he’s learned at the end of his long journey. Hoste...

American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt joins the Prospect podcast to discuss political anger on both sides of the Atlantic, from Boris Johnson’s discussion of Brexit to the American 2020 election.  Plus: how the internet is affecting today’s younger generations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In recent months, the climate change movement reach new heights with global strikes and large-scale marches. Journalist and author of The Uninhabitable Earth David Wallace-Wells joins the Prospect podcast and takes stock of where the global climate movement is today, and what change needs to happen to avoid the alarming futures we may face. Plus: Tom Clark and Steve Bloomfield on the climate chang...

At the end of an extraordinary week for the British constitution, we've brought you an extraordinary podcast. The Institute for Government's Catherine Haddon and barrister Adam Wagner join the Prospect podcast to talk about this week's Supreme Court ruling and what that means for Brexit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Critic and novelist Susan Sontag commanded postwar American intellectual life, capturing many minds with her sharp insights on photography, cinema, philosophy, literature, and more. A new biography by Benjamin Moser maps the life of the leading public intellectual. But does it focus on the right things? Prize-winning writer Lisa Appignanesi OBE joins the Prospect podcast’s 100th episode to talk ab...

Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller joins this week’s Prospect podcast to discuss what he calls “narrative economics”: the process of stories driving economic events. We often think our narratives – recessions, difficult jobs, bringing back jobs – come as a result of our economic realities. What if they also drove them? Robert Shiller’s Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and D...

What's happening with Brexit, and what should we make of Scotland's Court of Session ruling the prorogation of parliament unlawful? Jolyon Maugham QC joins for a special edition of the  Prospect  podcast to explain everything going on in the courts in relation to Brexit, what he expects will happen in a no-deal Brexit and whether Boris Johnson's prorogation was unlawful. Hosted on Acast....

Citizen journalist Waad al-Kateab was twenty-six years old when she picked up a camera to document the everyday violence of the Syrian war. She was also, at the time, juggling motherhood. Her work comes together in For Sama , an award-winning documentary that looks at the intimacy of familial love and the ravages of war. She joins the Prospect Podcast to talk about life in Aleppo, what the We...

In the new issue of Prospect , Europe editor for the Daily Telegraph Peter Foster writes a sprawling longread on the inside story behind what went wrong with Brexit, from Theresa May’s initial leadership speech to failed attempts to tackle the backstop head-on. Foster joins the Prospect podcast this week to talk about the short, failed history of Brexit thus far, and what might be expected under B...

Known as the philosopher who wrote The Second Sex , Simone de Beauvoir’s life has been the subject of much attention and intrigue. But her storied relationship with fellow existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre only scratches the surface of her vibrant and influential mind. King’s College philosopher Kate Kirkpatrick joins the Prospect Podcast to discuss Beauvoir’s philosophy and ethics, and her little-k...

David Cameron and Theresa May both came into power with ambitious visions for reforming Britain. Both, it is widely argued, failed to achieve their aims. Will Boris under Britain see the same fate? Conservative blogger and commentator Tim Montgomerie joins the Prospect Podcast this week to discuss the unfashionable, but important question of what the Conservative Party stands for beyond Brexit.&nb...

What, if anything, could parliament do to stop a no-deal Brexit? Two legal experts join the Prospect Podcast this week to play out the options as they stand. EU law expert David Anderson and senior fellow at UCL’s UK in a Changing Europe programme Meg Russell join us to discuss where parliament stands today, and whether we should expect a vote of no confidence the grace Westminster soon. Plus: Ale...

#93: The battle over bread, with Dan Hancox “Bread is something that everyone has an opinion on, often quite a strident opinion.” It is an everyday staple—and the site of a curious political battle. Do you know your sourdough from your sourfaux? Writer Dan Hancox joins us on the Prospect podcast this week and takes us behind the “bread wars.” Who are the bakers and campaigners taking on the big ch...

What does Tony Blair himself make of the Blair doctrine? When the former prime minister outlined his case for intervening in Kosovo in 1999 at the Chicago Economic Club, he unveiled a bold new internationalist doctrine—one that sought to meld liberal values with a strong interventionist arm. Twenty years on, deputy editor Steve Bloomfield met Tony Blair to discuss the contested legacy of the Blair...

Has inequality gotten worse? And where have all the good jobs gone? In this special bumper edition of the Prospect podcast, we talk to economist David Blanchflower at our inequality crisis, and why tackling the unemployment rate may not be the best way to improve things. Plus, we present clips from Nobel prize winner Angus Deaton’s event with Prospect and the British Academy, where the ‘deaths of...

#90: Demystifying the food industry, with Marion Nestle From miracle foods to fad diets, and nutritional studies backed by murky science and shadowy sponsors, it seems like we might never quite know the truth behind what we eat. We talk to Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition and public health at New York University, on demystifying our diets and the tricky politics of food studies. Nestle’s new...