Extended 40min version of Alex Andreou and Salma Shah (filling in for Naomi) talking to Emmy-award-winning journalist specialising on NATO, Luke McGee, discussion on whether the USA is still our ally and what the future of NATO is. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“There is a logical inconsistency to America demanding that Europe commit more to the NATO project, at the moment it also says: we’re not particularly committed to it.” “I don’t think it’s one man, behind a desk in the White House that will control the fate of NATO. We have to have some confidence in our institutions and the many thousands of people that contribute to them.”“Along with support for Ukraine, ‘the special relationship’ seems to be breaking apart with it. Because Russia is a much more pertinent threat to us than it is to America. And it feels like they just want it off their desks.” “The late Christopher Meyer, former UK ambassador to the US, used to say ‘the special relationship’ never existed. I think that’s probably true. American interest in Europe has always been somewhat overstated.”“For the last 20 years, whenever the idea of a European army was floated, the main objector was NATO and countries who saw it as foundational, like the UK or the US, because they saw it as a threat to NATO centrality as a defence force. Now they turn around and say ‘why don’t you have your own European army?’ after blocking it for decades.”“Are we now in a situation where America is Russia’s bitch? I don’t think that is the case. But it’s clear there are people around Trump who have absolutely swallowed Kremlin talking points and get their information from weird accounts on X. That’s very dangerous.”CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: You can find out more about the PAME Arctic Cleanup Project here. You can find out more about Ukraine Medical Aid here.You can find out more about the Ukraine Freedom Fund here.Our bookshop featuring many of the books we have featured can be found at uk.bookshop.org/shop/quietriot. Kick your X habit, finally, by using one of three Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Packs. With one click, it will hook you up with, among many good accounts, Alex, Naomi, and Kenny.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global.Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Andreou and Salma Shah (filling in for Naomi) welcome guest Emmy-award-winning journalist specialising in NATO, Luke McGee, to discuss whether - and I cannot believe I am about to type this - the USA is still our ally or "Putin's Bitch". Plus - Who is out to get Rachel Reeves? We sort truth from gossip and explore why there is already dysfunction in such a young administration with such a secure majority. And of course 'Wokey Dokey' and 'Grin And Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“Along with support for Ukraine, ‘the special relationship’ seems to be breaking apart with it. Because Russia is a much more pertinent threat to us than it is to America. And it feels like they just want it off their desks.” “The late Christopher Meyer, former UK ambassador to the US, used to say ‘the special relationship’ never existed. I think that’s probably true. American interest in Europe has always been somewhat overstated.”“For the last 20 years, whenever the idea of a European army was floated, the main objector was NATO and countries who saw it as foundational, like the UK or the US, because they saw it as a threat to NATO centrality as a defence force. Now they turn around and say ‘why don’t you have your own European army?’ after blocking it for decades.”“Are we now in a situation where America is Russia’s bitch? I don’t think that is the case. But it’s clear there are people around Trump who have absolutely swallowed Kremlin talking points and get their information from weird accounts on X. That’s very dangerous.”“I think the talk of the reshuffle is just talk at the moment… But perhaps one of the questions Rachel Reeves should be asking herself is whether she needs a reshuffle in her own team. Does she have the right skills in her advisors?“CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: You can find out more about the PAME Arctic Cleanup Project here. You can find out more about Ukraine Medical Aid here.You can find out more about the Ukraine Freedom Fund here.Our bookshop featuring many of the books we have featured can be found at uk.bookshop.org/shop/quietriot. Kick your X habit, finally, by using one of three Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Packs. With one click, it will hook you up with, among many good accounts, Alex, Naomi, and Kenny.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global.Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith talk through the week's news, with a focus on Trump and Musk's assault on federal government - and how it might just turn against them. A detailed report by Frontier Economics AND a megapoll by YouGov, commissioned by Best for Britain, outline stunning growth opportunities - if Starmer goes for the right UK-EU reset. The public is fully behind the idea.Plus, as Reform UK continues to gaslight the country about Brexit and ride high in the polls, there may be a giant chink in their armour. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***"Pete Hegseth sat down at the poker table with his cards facing his opponents. The damage is done. You can't walk that back. You can't ask the other poker players to unsee the cards you just showed them."“The latest Trump tariff package accumulates his grievances with the rest of the world, whether they are real or imagined. It could mean anything, or othing. It's impossible to process until we understand what he means - and nobody can do that, because Trump doesn't understand it.”“The Trump tariffs executive order is a nothing. It is an invitation to leaders from around the world to come and kiss his ass. This is the Fisher-Price version of a Presidency. They give him buttons to push and levers to pull that are attached to nothing.” “Reform UK hasn't got any experience of actual government or much on-the-ground resources. The Conservatives can offer decades of experience and local associations, but need Reform's popularity. The sweet spot is there. That's where a deal might be done.”LINKS: Byline piece with background on Together and its links to other campaigns is here. Christina Pagel's substack on the signs of authoritarianism and how the Trump WH tracks.Our bookshop including many of the books we have featured can be found at uk.bookshop.org/shop/quietriot ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global.Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this conversation, Michael Peel, FT science editor and author, shares his insights on Britain’s identity crisis post-Brexit. He argues that nostalgia fuels the UK's dysfunctional politics and emphasizes the need for political clarity. Peel critiques the empty promises of the Brexit campaign and discusses how Britain's past has overshadowed its present potential. He also highlights the missed opportunities in managing natural resources like North Sea oil, drawing a stark contrast with Norway's wealth fund success.

Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith welcome special guest founder of Scientists for EU and chair of European Movement UK, Mike Galsworthy to discuss whether it is better to unite pro-European forces behind one mission or let them be a lively, symbiotic ecosystem. Plus a deepdive into the UK's science and technology strategy. Join the US in deregulating? Or join Europe and actively drain science capacity from it?And of course 'Wokey Dokey' and 'Grin And Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“As a campaigning organisation, you have to go to where people are - the spaces that they occupy, the informational areas that they’re in, and in person. You have to meet them where they are both physically and in terms of opinion, whether ministers or voters.”“What we are talking about is not a political party winning, but rather how do you move all of UK society in the same direction. At each and every level [rejoining the EU] has to be made relevant to each and every community - personally, regionally, demographically.”“The gov’t knows where the public is. The polling has been very clear for some time. The single most influential group that needs to step up right now is business - every size, every industry, every location. They need to step and push gov’t towards EU alignment during this critical period in the run up to the [Starmer - von der Leyen] summit.” “There is a real opportunity right now, given the way Trump is behaving, for a ‘brain drain’ from the States and diversion of talent that would usually flow to the States, especially from Global South countries worried about the racism and the barriers to funding. The UK and Europe should get together to move on this.”“With the falling apart of USAID, the soft power opportunity there, through science and health security, is huge. This is where both the UK and the EU are strong and trusted.”“Population decline is an existential threat to mature Western economies and soon they will find that they are actually in competition for immigration. The first such country to realise this, will reap huge benefits.”CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Click here to ask your MP to read Best for Britain's Growth Report.Sign up for European Movement here. Support the Open Rights Group here. Grin and Share It about funding underprivileged musicians by selling a stradivarius here.Ida Haendel playing Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major, Op.77 on a rare stradivarius.Full interview with Sir John Curtice on Rejoin prospects for the i here.Mike's Byline Networks is here.Our bookshop featuring many of the books we have featured can be found at uk.bookshop.org/shop/quietriot. Kick your X habit, finally, by using one of three Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Packs. With one click, it will hook you up with, among many good accounts, Alex, Naomi, and Kenny.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global.Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith talk through the week's news, with a focus on Trump and Musk's assault on federal government - and how it might just turn against them. A detailed report by Frontier Economics AND a megapoll by YouGov, commissioned by Best for Britain, outline stunning growth opportunities - if Starmer goes for the right UK-EU reset. The public is fully behind the idea.Plus, as Reform UK continues to gaslight the country about Brexit and ride high in the polls, there may be a giant chink in their armour. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“What we’re seeing is an overall strategy of moving so fast and doing so much that the judicial system, the Democratic Party, any media still inclined to scrutinise the Presidency, they simply don’t have time to react to all of it.”“USAID has a tiny budget. $40bn in the context of a $7 Trillion annual federal budget is nothing. It gets Trump and Musk nowhere near the trillions they said they would save. It is performative, chosen precisely because of the ripple effect in so many sensitive areas.”“If the UK pursues deep alignment on goods with the EU, you're looking at between 1-1.5% GDP growth. So clawing back about a third of what the OBR says we've lost as a result of Brexit. If you do deep alignment on goods and services, it's between 1.7 to 2.2%. Clawing back more than half of what we will have lost. The cost of inaction is that we continue to atrophy and we recover none of that loss growth.” “When you do UK-EU deep alignment, on goods in particular, you get the greatest spread of growth outside of London. It disproportionately impacts non-South-East. West Midlands and the North get the biggest boost. Why? Well, that's where what industry we do still have tends to be located and they have been the most negatively impacted [by Brexit].”“All this ‘shock and awe’ from Trump and Musk can feel overwhelming. But forced to defend all of this will stretch them thin. We have to be considered and strategic. Once the challenges start coming, it is them who will have to prioritise what to defend and what to junk. So take a breath and hold the line.”CALLS TO ACTION AND LINKS: You can see the full BfB/Frontier report on UK-EU growth here.David Frum's article for the Atlantic is here. Our bookshop featuring many of the books we have featured can be found at uk.bookshop.org/shop/quietriot ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global.Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith (fresh from Brussels) welcome special guest Rachel Shabi to discuss her new book on antisemitism, Trump's proposed cash + ethnic cleansing deal, Starmer trying to make himself invisible, while negotiating with Europe, and the general fever dream we seem to be living through. Plus a stunning audio letter from Arthur Snell in Israel. And of course 'Wokey Dokey' and 'Grin And Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“The only way to stand up to Trump is collectively and the UK finds itself outside that large European collective bloc. It is particularly unfortunate and how the Labour gov’t can square that, I don’t know, but they have to find a way.”“Trump is looking for people to punish, but also for a country to reward, to show the others what happens. And his rhetoric about Starmer is different than any other European leader. So, maybe the UK is weirdly manoeuvring itself into a sweet Goldilocks deal.”“When you’re talking to Europe, while showing this much ankle to the US in general and in particular Trump, I think your ability to progress negotiations with the EU will be highly constrained.” “I don’t think there’s any point in second-guessing a chaos-merchant, who likes to throw chaotic statements into the public space, precisely for the purpose of sowing chaos. And I don’t think there’s any point in treating [Trump’s Gaza comments] as some strategic move.”“The realities of antisemitism are messy. The conversations we need to have are messy. It takes time and the building of trust that means not automatically assuming bad faith. The problem is we are trying to have those conversations in the midst of a political and media environment that is obnoxious and divisive.”CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: You can buy Rachel Shabi's 'Off White' here. You can buy Chris McGreal's 'American Overdose' here.Our bookshop featuring many of the books we have featured can be found at uk.bookshop.org/shop/quietriot You can see the full results of the BfB polling on prioritising Europe here.You can find the Medical Aid for Palestinians charity here.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global.Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell discuss Trump's vile comments on the Washington air disaster and his economically illiterate view of tariffs. Also, the atmosphere in Germany, with three weeks to the election, could not be more febrile. Plus 'Grin And Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“Is there any evidence that people with, to quote Trump, ‘severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities’ can become air-traffic controllers? Or is it more likely that they just end President of the US?”“The right-leaning Tax Foundation in the US found tariffs levied by Trump during his first term, were paid by US businesses and their customers. Goldman Sachs projects there will be a 0.1% effect on inflation for every additional 1% of tariffs.”“Merz was cruising to victory, but he got greedy. He broke convention, riled up Angela Merkel, and split the CDU. And what did he achieve? He’s basically given people an argument to vote AfD.” CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Join Best for Britain's list to get the big news coming in the next couple of weeks.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global.Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith with special guest migration, policy one-woman army, Zoe Gardner ask what happened to the sunlit uplands, the magical cake, the oven ready pie - and all the other things we were promised in 2016. Also, a frank discussion about Britain's true immigration problem: that numbers are dropping off a cliff. Plus 'Wokey Dokey' and a Dramatic Reading of Daniel Hannan. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“The arguments for Brexit were masking something much more sinister and deeper in the ideology of those who were advocating for it.”“The same people are now saying let’s leave the ECHR. It will never be enough. There will always be another thing, another right that we as citizens can give up, to pursue this agenda of wiping out the diversity of our country.”“PEM is the right direction but it’s not a game-changer. We have a rare opportunity for a limited conversation about what we need from the EU and we need to prioritise full beneficial alignment.” “People who are secure about their identity don't tend to worry about foreigners. Brexit triggered an identity crisis. English nationalists had to redefine theirs, to cohere. For decades, being against the EU had acted as a proxy. The moment that was removed, their identity fell apart.”“There is a massive performative element [to Trump’s deportations]. So much of our politics is done in the media that image is everything. Those deportations were taking place under the Biden administration, but it is Trump who has released the imagery.”“There is no reasonable Right, any more. It doesn’t exist. Don’t kid yourselves. We should not be compromising. We have repeatedly thought we can compromise with these people who hate us and split the difference and we can’t.”CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Sign the petition to provide better routes for undocumented migrants to regularise their status.Join Best for Britain's list to get the big news coming in the next couple of weeks.Subscribe to Zoe Gardner's YouTube channel.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global.Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex welcomes special guest, former diplomat Arthur Snell to discuss the future of NATO, Ukraine, Gaza, Syria - and whether The West, capitalised as one entity, may be coming to the end of the unity of purpose which has sustained it since the 40s. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***Arthur's Behind the Lines is here. Conclusive video evidence that Trump is definitely the same height and weight as Gavin Newsom can be found here.______________________“Trump picks these crazy appointments, partly to rile sensible mainstream people, but it’s partly because then they’re totally loyal to him, since they have no standing of their own, to be at these jobs.”“NATO and European security are in a fundamental crisis now. Because the whole idea was that North America took a view that European security is integral to their own. That idea is collapsing at the moment.”“Putin is in a rather advantageous position. He can carry on fighting - let’s say for another thirty days - grab a few more towns and strategic ground, then announce that he is ready to come to the negotiating table. What Trump is doing, is to say: you carry on as long as you need to and when you’re done, there’s a deal here for you.” “I’ve noticed people in the West, generally, and here in the UK starting to blame Ukraine and suggest that really the problem is they didn’t mobilise enough troops. If we look at the casualties they’ve suffered, I think that is a cynical and, frankly, cowardly position.”“The ceasefire [in Gaza] needed two things to happen in America. It needed the tireless work of the Biden administration to negotiate, but it also needed the threat of someone like Trump willing to do crazy things.”_______________________Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global._______________________This is a paid advertisement by BetterHelp: Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/QUIETRIOT and get on your way to being your best self._______________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices