Episodes

Keir - A Year to Forget
July 10, 2025x
162
42:5634.61 MB

Keir - A Year to Forget

How did it all go so wrong for the Labour government? A massive majority of MPs, and a country yearning for change, but now, a year on: rock-bottom poll numbers and a seeming inability to get bills through parliament. Can Labour learn and improve? Can they roll back the growing disenchantment w...

Ozempic Nation?
July 03, 2025x
161
34:1727.68 MB

Ozempic Nation?

Has the rise of new weight-loss drugs become a game-changer for the obesity crisis?Can we all now inject ourselves thin? Will restaurants and gyms go out of business as we don’t want to eat, and don’t need to exercise? The drugs are becoming available on the NHS and will soon be in pill form - and t...

UK Rail - On The Right Track?
June 26, 2025x
160
37:3530.32 MB

UK Rail - On The Right Track?

Why is it that we can't seem to run a railway project that's on time or affordable? Why do our trains also fail to turn up or charge reasonably? Is nationalisation going to make difference. Phil and Roger ask Paul Plummer, Professor in Rail Strategy, and Director of Universi...

World on the Edge
June 19, 2025x
159
39:0931.58 MB

World on the Edge

The conflict between Israel and Iran shows no sign of easing and the threat of US involvement has heightened concerns about a war that is rapidly getting out of control. How does this end? Can Iran be forced away from building a nuclear bomb? Can Israel be reassured about its security? Is there a wa...

Democracy On The Rocks?
June 12, 2025x
158
41:2533.39 MB

Democracy On The Rocks?

More than a quarter of UK voters back a party that’s only got 5 MPs. Labour won a stonking majority in parliament last year with just over a third of the vote. What’s happening to our democracy? Does the system still work? Or is the social media-fuelled clamour for instant policy-fixes not suited to...

Is Crypto Becoming Credible?
June 06, 2025x
157
37:3230.28 MB

Is Crypto Becoming Credible?

Is the Wild West of digital currency now becoming a respectable place to put your money? President Trump likes it, and his vice president, JD Vance, backs a US government digital reserve. Does that mean the crazy volatility of Bitcoin and the rest will calm down? Or is the essential ungovernability ...

Tanks, Troops or Drones? Spending the Defence Bonanza
May 29, 2025x
156
41:4533.65 MB

Tanks, Troops or Drones? Spending the Defence Bonanza

Billions in new spending for the UK’s defence, but how to spend it? Does Britain need more soldiers? More shells for artillery? More tanks? Or are drones the future of warfare? What has Ukraine’s war against Russia told us about what weapons we need to stand up to Putin? Dr Bence Nemeth, co-founder ...

Migrants - Not The Issue They Think It Is
May 22, 2025x
155
36:5229.75 MB

Migrants - Not The Issue They Think It Is

Keir Starmer has launched his bid to claim back migration policy from the right - talking about the UK becoming an “island of strangers” unless the number of incomers is slashed. But is he correct that this is at the top of voters’ list of concerns? Is tackling this what will win back the Red Wall? ...

India-Pakistan: Endless Enmity?
May 15, 2025x
154
30:5925.02 MB

India-Pakistan: Endless Enmity?

The confrontation between the two south Asian neighbours this month seems to have been resolved into a ceasefire. It is almost certainly only a pause of conflict, in a toxic relationship that has lasted since 1947. And the stakes have risen - both nations now have their finger on the nuclear trigger...