Andrew Neil, a distinguished British journalist known for his incisive interviewing style, dives into a variety of compelling topics. He shares personal stories from growing up in working-class Glasgow and discusses the decline of Europe. Neil critiques populism in the U.S. and UK, analyzing the political landscape shaped by Trump and Johnson. He also reflects on the evolution of journalism, the art of political interviews, and the intricacies of trade policies. Expect sharp insights on the rise of autocracy and the challenges facing modern media.
58:28
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Paisley Roots
Andrew Neil was born in Paisley, Scotland, a working-class textile town near Glasgow.
His mother worked in the textile mills while his father served in WWII.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Wartime Family
Neil's father fought the Nazis in WWII for four years, rising from private to major.
During this time, his mother worked in the local textile mills to support the family.
insights INSIGHT
Grammar School Advantage
Neil attended Paisley Grammar, a merit-based school that provided a world-class education.
This strong foundation prepared him to compete with the elite when he moved to London.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Andrew Neil has long been one of the finest journalists in the UK. He has been chairman of The Spectator, chairman of Sky TV, editor of The Sunday Times, and a BBC anchor, where his grueling interviews of politicians became legendary. He’s currently a columnist for both the UK and US versions of The Daily Mail and an anchor for Times Radio. In the US he went viral after a car-crash interview with Ben Shapiro.
For two clips of our convo — on Europe’s steady decline, and Trump’s cluelessness on tariffs — pop over to our YouTube page.
Other topics: growing up near Glasgow as a working-class Tory; his mother working in the mills; his father fighting the Nazis; his merit-based grammar school (before Labour dissolved them); thriving on the debate team; studying US history at university; Adam Smith; reporting on The Troubles; covering the White House at The Economist in the early '80s; Reagan Dems and Trump Hispanics; covering labor and industry in the Thatcher era; her crackdown on unions; the print unions that spurred violence; Alastair Stewart; tough interviewing and how the US media falls short; Tim Russert; audio of Neil grilling Shapiro and Boris; the policy-lite race between Trump and Harris; populism in the US and UK; Greenland and the Panama Canal; the rise of autocracy in the 21st Century; recent elections in Europe; Starmer; US isolationism past and present; the Iraq War; the 2008 crash; Taiwan and semiconductors; China’s weakening economy; the overconfidence of the US after the Cold War; Brexit; Covid; mass migration; AI; and the challenge of Muslim assimilation in Europe.
Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: John Gray on the state of liberal democracy, Jon Rauch on “Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy,” Sebastian Junger on near-death experiences, Evan Wolfson on the history of marriage equality, Yoni Appelbaum on how America stopped building things, Nick Denton on the evolution of new media, and Ross Douthat on how everyone should be religious. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.
The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan