Podcasts

The Berlin Wall Fell 30 Years Ago

It’s the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall – a crucial moment in the late 20th century that signalled the end of the Cold War and the retreat of Communism. So what has changed since then, and do people born after this moment have different sensibilities when it comes to who the...

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Does a General Election Mean we Finally Get Brexit?

We’re finally having a general election.  But will it really solve the parliamentary problems we are currently experiencing? Why are we in the situation we are in? Why are we having a General Election at all? In this edition, Andrew and Nic discuss the craziness of the last couple of weeks in UK politics and...

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Thought Experiment: Privatising the Public Sector

What if everything the government does was privatised? Not the law making, but all of the other functions and agencies and quangos. Could it be done quickly? What would be the consequences, and should we start with something small first… like the NHS. As we discuss going the whole hog, we realise we never started...

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Climate Change And Extinction Rebellion

Are we heading for the end of the human species as predicted by Extinction Rebellion? In the middle of the second week of London protests and blockades, we discuss some of the issues surrounding Anthropogenic Global Warming, and climate change in general. Does it play into their hands if we arrest the protesters, as George...

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Formal Language and Woke Culture

In a week dominated by reports in the media of parliament using inflammatory language, and the announcement that Sam Smith wants people to use new preferred pronouns, we discuss whether our natural language is becoming more like a formal one. What are the differences between a formal and natural language? What’s the importance of context...

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Dr Kristian Niemietz Interview: Socialism, Capitalism and Liberalism

We are joined by the Head of Political Economy at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Dr Kristian Niemietz, for a conversation on the phenomenon of modern support for socialism, whether apologists for capitalism help their cause, and whether we’ll see a new classical liberal revolution in our lifetimes. You can find Kristian on Twitter as...

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The Problems With The Centre Ground

Is centrism really the answer to any political question? Is the centre ground really the safe area furthest from the two dominant authoritarian ideologies of the 20th century, or merely a cherry picked, statist mix of the two; dressed up to sound reasonable and measured? From critiquing Rory Stewart’s centrist “bow” to whether or not...

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The Left Right Game 2

After Andrew surprised Nic a few episodes ago with The Left Right Game, Nic has been thinking and planning a way of getting his own back, and taking the game a step further. In this edition, we look at whether certain organisations and people are more “Left” or “Right” wing (or a bit of both),...

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Proroguing Parliament: What does it really mean for Brexit?

As predicted, Boris Johnson has decided to end the current parliamentary session (the longest in modern times), and trigger a new Queen’s Speech. Remainists are naturally going crazy, and talking of constitutional outrage. But what does it actually mean for Brexit on 31 October? Is there time for fast-tracked, Bercow-enabled law that would either revoke...

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Bit of a chat: driving whisky, ruining Monopoly and the Chuka Umunna Award

In this edition, we have a longer chat than usual, but try to get in all the smaller topics that we feel were too short to be podcasts in their own right, or that we just want to rant about. We discuss gaming culture, and whether the terminology is creeping into political life, how Andrew...

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