The Prospect Podcast

Author and journalist Phil Tinline joins Ellen Halliday on the podcast to discuss the threat Trump poses to US democracy and the cross-partisan movement of lawyers, activists and politicians fighting to safeguard it.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our cover story this month, author, broadcaster and theologian Andrew Graystone explores media tycoon Paul Marshall’s God-driven mission to reshape Britain. He joins deputy editor Ellen Halliday to discuss Marshall’s life, faith and media empire—and why it matters for Britain.  Read Andrew Graystone's cover story here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, OCD sufferer Sarah Collins faces her phobia of sleeping alone, while Gen Z-er Alice Garnett reflects on a search for a new job. Former England cricket captain Mike Brearley celebrates the many apprenticeships he's completed both in sport and in life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rumours abound about the so-called “billionaire” city planned by a former banker and his backers in Solano County California. Is California Forever, as the project is known, a money-making scheme for those disillusioned with San Francisco’s rocketing prices and accumulating problems? Or is it just America’s answer to Milton Keynes? Author and broadcaster Deyan Sudjic joins the podcast to discuss t...

Handing cash to rough sleepers has always been a controversial act, but is it actually the solution to our homelessness crisis? It’s an idea that award-winning journalist and author Samira Shackle explored in a feature for the most recent issue of  Prospect . Shackle joins Ellen Halliday and Jonathan Tan, chief executive of non-profit Greater Change, on the podcast to discuss cash transf...

In this special episode of the podcast, 91-year-old actor Sheila Hancock and 24-year-old writer Alice Garnett discuss the age-old question: are things really harder for the young? Gen Z Alice and nonagenarian Sheila are joined by  Prospect’s  boomer editor Alan Rusbridger and millennial Sarah Collins to discuss everything from housing to climate change to mental health—and whether t...

Kim Darroch, who was the UK ambassador to the US from 2016-2019, joins Ellen Halliday to discuss how likely a second Trump presidency is and how the UK and Europe should prepare for it. In a wide-ranging conversation that covers Trump's domestic agenda and foreign policy regarding Nato, China, Ukraine and Gaza, Darroch argues that there are steps the UK can take to help Trump-proof our geo-politic...

Leading European historian Timothy Garton Ash joins Ellen Halliday to discuss the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, the challenges facing the Ukrainian armed forces and the west’s unpreparedness in dealing with Putin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Physical cash is dying—but should we be worried about the consequences, or leave that to conspiracists and cranks who are concerned about digital payments? Author and journalist Stuart Jeffries joins Ellen Halliday to discuss what the payments of the future might look like, from cryptocurrency to Amazon wishlists, as well as an unusual group of rebels who are burning cash to make a point. Read Stu...

This month, some of our writers are looking towards the future while others are reflecting on the past, reassessing their hopes and beliefs. Sex worker Tilly Lawless is in a new kind of relationship with new norms for communication while actor Sheila Hancock is renouncing republicanism, after developing an affection for the Royals in her older age. Meanwhile, Sarah Collins, who suffers with OCD, r...

So far, since 7th October, Hezbollah has held back from an all-out war with Israel. How long can that last? And, as tensions rise in the Red Sea, what motivates the Houthis, Iran and the “Axis of Resistance” in the Middle East? Simona Foltyn, an independent journalist, writer and videographer, joins the podcast to discuss what she’s seen and heard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

When Swifties spotted connections between their favourite singer and a new spy thriller, Argylle, a theory took hold: was the book, ostensibly by a debut writer Elly Conway, actually written by the reigning queen of pop? Why did Apple Studios pay £200 million to adapt a book that hadn't even been published yet? And what does the mystery of Argylle say about the publishing industry and online fando...

Economist Daron Acemoglu is officially Prospect's   Top Thinker of 2024. A professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Acemoglu is an expert in labour, technology, development and political economy. His work tackles a difficult problem: how can we ensure power and reward are shared fairly as technology remakes our world? Acemoglu joins  Prospect  contri...

Legendary pollster and political analyst Peter Kellner joins Ellen Halliday and assistant editor Emily Lawford to explain how political polling works and to assess how effective it is at predicting election results. He also trails his new Election countdown column, which will launch on the 29th of January and will give a weekly dose of analysis in the run-up to the UK general election. Hosted on A...

As the Safety of Rwanda Bill returns to Parliament, Helen Mountfield, Murray Hunt and Richard Hermer discuss the myriad ways it breaches international law and undermines the rule of law. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emeritus professor of international relations at the University of Oxford, Avi Shlaim joins Ellen Halliday to discuss his experience as an Arab Jew and how it has informed his perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Taiwan prepares to hold key elections on 13th January, China is escalating its campaign to influence the vote’s outcome. What will 2024 look like for Taiwan? And could the CCP’s “grey zone” tactics, which currently fall short of war, and include military drills and cyber operations, escalate into outright conflict? Elizabeth Green, a researcher on China, Taiwan and cross-strait relations joins&...

The team discuss the turbulent year that's passed and give predictions for the year ahead, as well as sharing their highlights from   Prospect  in 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This classic Richard Curtis film turned 20 this year but has been criticised for being elitist, misogynistic and farfetched. In a festive  Prospect  conversation, Books and Culture Editor Peter Hoskin and Assistant Editor Sarah Collins debate whether the film is the defining Christmas movie or a dated dud.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A decade ago, Eliot Higgins founded an organisation that would transform investigative journalism. During the past ten years, Bellingcat has used (mostly) open-source methods to unmask the Salisbury assassins and Navalny’s poisoners, and give Putin a bloody nose. But who is the unassuming man behind that tenacious outfit? And will his skilled, open-source sleuths be able to keep up with the ever-g...

What do the Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine wars demonstrate about US power in the world? For the cover story of our latest issue, out today, author and professor of law and history at Yale, Samuel Moyn argues that America's mission to lead humanity in a new world order is failing. Read Samuel's essay here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As COP28 kicks off in the UAE, former UK diplomat Simon Sharpe joins Ellen Halliday to discuss why the current approach to climate diplomacy—the kind that saw deals struck in Paris and Glasgow—doesn’t really work. Drawing on his book  Five Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change , Sharpe answers a pressing question: what could help us cut emissions at...

Prospect  contributing editor   Isabel Hilton draws on her experience reporting from Argentina as she joins the podcast to discuss the country’s new far-right, “anarcho-capitalist” president, Javier Milei, and what his election means for the world. Read Isabel's piece on the Argentinian economy here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The future of the humanities has become a new frontier in the culture wars. But are they really in crisis? Priyamvada Gopal, who is a professor of English at Cambridge and a scholar at Princeton, joins Ellen Halliday to discuss the assault on the humanities, and why we should defend them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Ricketts, former permanent representative to Nato and permanent under-secretary to the Foreign Office from 2006-2010, joins the podcast to discuss how ceasefires and humanitarian pauses work, and which conditions would need to be met to bring an end to the fighting between the IDF and Hamas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.