Navigating Political Choices and Social Stigma

This week: what does justice look like for the victims of the grooming gangs?

In the cover piece for the magazine, Douglas Murray writes about the conspiracy of silence on the grooming gangs and offers his view on what justice should look like for the perpetrators. He also encourages the government to take a step back and consider its own failings. He writes: ‘If any government or political party wants to do something about the scandal, they will need to stop reviewing and start acting. Where to begin? One good starting point would be to work out why Pakistani rapists in Britain seem to have more rights than their victims.’ To unpack his piece in a little more detail, we were joined by journalist Julie Bindel, who has been reporting on the grooming gangs for almost 20 years. (03:20)

Next: ‘Why I’m voting for the AfD’

In the magazine, Elisabeth Dampier explains why she will be voting for Germany’s AfD party – Alternative for Deutschland. Support for the hard-right AfD party grew dramatically in 2024 and is often used as an example of a broader trend of support for right-wing politics in the West. But is the key to their success as simple as an unpopular incumbent government and the salience of immigration? And how do they deal with constant comparisons to National Socialism? To discuss, we were joined by Elisabeth and German historian and journalist Katja Hoyer. (17:09)

And finally: Help! I’m addicted to videos of plane crashes

Damian Thompson writes an excellent guest Life column this week on his latest obsession: binge-watching aeroplane crash videos on YouTube. Now, this does sound a little bit morbid but – as he explains – it’s actually very educational, especially when you are being talked through the intricacies of air accidents by Petter Hörnfeldt, who runs the Mentour Pilot YouTube channel. We thought it would be fun to get Damian in conversation with his new hero, Petter. (29:46)

Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.