Phil Dobbie

Phil Dobbie

Host - Loudmouth Communications

Host of The Morning Call, The Why? Curve & Debunking Economics. Mildly amusing. Shares birthday with Trump, Boy George & Che Guevara, few days older than Boris.


Related Episodes
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? ...

How To Handle The Donald
February 27, 2025x
143
42:2739.07 MB

How To Handle The Donald

Taking over Greenland, turning Gaza into a US resort, switching sides over Ukraine - the world has faced a whirlwind of Trump initiatives in the opening weeks of his presidency, some madcap, some sinister. How are foreign leaders and diplomats supposed to deal with this? Is he serious? Or is he...

Central Banks - Power Without Reponsibility?
August 29, 2024x
117
35:5549.51 MB

Central Banks - Power Without Reponsibility?

Interest rates, inflation, monetary control. What is it that central bankers actually do - and are they the right people to be doing it? The last decades have seen huge turbulence in the global economy - the Great Recession, then post-Covid inflation, so is the system working? Is it right that a pol...

Kamala’s Coronation
August 22, 2024x
116
39:2054.21 MB

Kamala’s Coronation

Happy days are here again for the Democrats, as their new candidates gear up for the US presidential election. But does the razzmatazz conceal a weakness on the ticket that will be exposed once Harris and Walz have to face hostile interviewers? Dr Thomas Gift, Associate Professor of Political Scienc...

Harris v Trump - What To Expect
July 25, 2024x
112
35:5049.4 MB

Harris v Trump - What To Expect

The US presidential election has been upended by the replacement of one candidate, and the attempted assassination of the other. Can Karmala Harris unite the Democrats and compete effectively with Donald Trump? Has a near-death experience changed The Donald, or just made more of his supporters sure ...

Election Day - But Does Your Vote Count?
July 04, 2024x
109
40:4856.23 MB

Election Day - But Does Your Vote Count?

What's the point in voting? The answer, if you're not in a seat where there's a chance your candidate will come first or second, is not much. The first-past-the-post system means many, or even most of us, are effectively disenfranchised at each general election. So is there a better, faire...

The Final Furlong
June 27, 2024x
108
38:3653.21 MB

The Final Furlong

Just a week to go before a voting day that’s likely to lead to a radical change in the UK’s political landscape. But what have we learnt about the parties and the personalities that will dominate the new politics, after a parliamentary clean-out of the old team? Will Labour have to cut back even its...

Not Ready For Government - Should We Train Politicians?
June 20, 2024x
107
37:2151.49 MB

Not Ready For Government - Should We Train Politicians?

With Labour almost certain to take the reins of power on July 5th, almost none of the incoming ministers have ever run anything bigger than a church fete. Right away they will have to take over billion-pound budgets and huge departments. Is it ridiculous to put gifted but untrained amateurs in charg...

Getting Through - Connecting with voters in 2024
June 13, 2024x
106
38:4253.33 MB

Getting Through - Connecting with voters in 2024

TV debates, TikTok stunts, falling off a paddleboard - does any of it influence how people vote? What works in an election campaign? Does ANYONE read a manifesto? How can politicians connect effectively with the public? Or has everyone already made up their minds? Dr Matt Walsh, head of the School o...

Prisons In Crisis
March 21, 2024x
94
42:4658.9 MB

Prisons In Crisis

Our prisons are at breaking point - too many inmates and not enough cells. How did we get to the point of having more a higher proportion of the population behind bars than any other country in Western Europe? Why do politicians promise “tough on crime” sentences, without providing the means to deli...