Quiet Riot

Naomi Smith is joined by award-winning journalist - and QR regular - Will Hayward for a timely stock-take of political life in a part of the country that we Quiet Rioters love, and a look at the Welsh budget (you will never believe how it got through), how farming complaints are different to the rest of the UK, a very inventive youth mobility scheme, and how Reform UK are using Wales - with Lee Anderson saying the quiet bit out loud. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***ALEX ANDREOU'S PODYSSEY can be found here:APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alex-andreous-podyssey/id1798575126SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/2x7cD3HjkOyOKTF4YT5Goy?si=e7a86b762431451fAMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/8c996062-ef8d-42e4-9d80-5b407cb6e2e2/alex-andreou's-podysseyOVERCAST: https://overcast.fm/+ABN4Gd7AP9QPOCKET CASTS: https://pca.st/podcast/9e98d690-d812-013d-ea22-0affdfd67dbdYouTube Music: Coming Soon Or you can add it to any app, using the RSS feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/podysseySUBSCRIBE OR FOLLOW NOWLINKS: Find Will Hayward's substack here, his podcast here, and his YouTube channel here. 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

Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith with a short debrief at the end of a historic day, on which Starmer has brought Europe (and friends) together, to make a stand for Ukraine.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***ALEX ANDREOU'S PODYSSEY can be found here:APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alex-andreous-podyssey/id1798575126SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/2x7cD3HjkOyOKTF4YT5Goy?si=e7a86b762431451fAMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/8c996062-ef8d-42e4-9d80-5b407cb6e2e2/alex-andreou's-podysseyOVERCAST: https://overcast.fm/+ABN4Gd7AP9QPOCKET CASTS: Coming Soon YouTube Music: Coming Soon Or you can add it to any app, using the RSS feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/podysseySUBSCRIBE OR FOLLOW NOW“This sort of strength avoids conflict. And I think that Europe, through its peace-dividend and end-of-history years, maybe this is a lesson that it had began to un-learn.”“We mustn't burn bridges with the USA. Because we have so many eggs in the American basket. But what the UK and Europe has to start to do, is to start moving our eggs out of that f***ing basket - and quickly.”CALL TO ACTION: Here is how to find out more about 1 Team 1 Fight and donate to them. 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

This week, the hosts tackle the rise of gangsters in politics, with a spotlight on Brexit and its aftermath. They discuss the implications of foreign interference in democratic processes and the shifting dynamics between the UK and Ukraine. There's also a critical look at the complexities of war and peace in geopolitics, alongside the urgent need for financial support for Ukraine. Additionally, the conversation turns to protests in Greece, driven by public outrage over government negligence following a tragic train disaster.

Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith welcome special guest LBC host James O'Brien to discuss Starmer's trip to Washington. What is the best he could come back with? And was raising defence at the expense of aid worth it? And of course 'Wokey Dokey' and 'Grin And Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“The idea that history was over, because the Cold War was over, the Berlin Wall had come down, and liberal democracy had prevailed over the extremes of fascism or communism, was irresistible in 1989. So, this isn’t just about Ukraine. It’s about recognising we’re returning to an unsafe world.” “This defence spending announcement is a signal, an in-principle decision, that we are entering an era where hard power matters more than soft power. It is difficult to disagree with that assessment of the world right now.”“The bottom line is: the world changed last week in ways that nobody could have foreseen. And Starmer has done the thing that Starmer is quite good at - when the facts have changed he’s changed his mind.”“Badenoch channels the worst of Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss. It’s 50% Mordaunt shouting ‘stand and fight and stand and stand and fight and stand’ and 50% Truss going ‘we’ve got 10 and 1/2 minutes to save Western civilisation.”“The problem is many of the benefits of soft power are intangible - you can’t easily put a dollar value on a population not being displaced or someone not becoming radicalised. But it feels instinctively like it must be cheaper than hard power.”“Yes, using a logical train, in light of everything Trump has said and done, NATO is over. But using logical trains, when it comes to Trump is pointless. So until someone makes a compelling case of why it is in Trump’s personal interest, even NATO is subject to his caprice.”“It’s so hard to look at everything not through a lens of normality bias. I’ve caught myself so often, lately, thinking: this can’t be as bad as it looks, because I am biased towards believing that the danger cannot be as great as it appears.”CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Click to find out more about Help for Heroes. An old - but still extremely useful - Charity Commission guide on choosing the right charity to support.Grin and Share It on the CBI report about Britain's Green Economy. James's encounter with Charlie, the farmer. 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 special guest, London bureau chief for the ARD, the multi-award winning journalist, Annette Dittert with an analysis of Sunday's German federal election results.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“NATO may have died - in the sense that, if the Article 5 commitment is not longer believable, if it is not something you can bank on, we may already be at a point when we need to start looking at something else, which looks a bit like NATO but doesn’t involve the US.”“Of all the weapons Ukraine uses, 55% are produced in Ukraine, 25% come from Europe and 20% from the US. The difficulty arises because a lot of that 20% from the US is made up of high-end air defence that is hard to replace. But it’s not impossible.” "The German election is proof of concept for what Musk's interference can achieve. European leaders need to get their s**t together and decide what they're going to do about his influence, because otherwise he's just going to pick them off one by one.""Any other records held by any other company would be accessible given the right court order. Even for confidential or privileged stuff, there are exceptions in cases of national security. So why should electronic data get a free pass where no other held records would?" LINKS: 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*** 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.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 special guest, former diplomat and security analyst, Arthur Snell talk about the end of NATO as we know it, today's German federal election, and Apple's tussle with UK gov't over encryption. A packed episode!***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“NATO may have died - in the sense that, if the Article 5 commitment is not longer believable, if it is not something you can bank on, we may already be at a point when we need to start looking at something else, which looks a bit like NATO but doesn’t involve the US.”“Of all the weapons Ukraine uses, 55% are produced in Ukraine, 25% come from Europe and 20% from the US. The difficulty arises because a lot of that 20% from the US is made up of high-end air defence that is hard to replace. But it’s not impossible.” "The German election is proof of concept for what Musk's interference can achieve. European leaders need to get their s**t together and decide what they're going to do about his influence, because otherwise he's just going to pick them off one by one.""Any other records held by any other company would be accessible given the right court order. Even for confidential or privileged stuff, there are exceptions in cases of national security. So why should electronic data get a free pass where no other held records would?" LINKS: Arthur Snell's Behind The Lines episode with Mike Martin.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

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.