Naomi and Alex talk through a very busy week (as much of it as they can). They reflect on the assisted dying debate and vote, discuss Louise Haigh's resignation and Heidi Alexander's promotion, Zelensky's offer (and challenge) to NATO, and the likely outcome of the general election in the Republic of Ireland. With a special and very familiar guest. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***Naomi: “Attendance was stellar - unheard of, for a Friday. And the vast majority of arguments in both directions were made in an incredibly respectful way. And it’s just made me feel that I want more of this. Why aren't more issues decided on a free vote?”Alex: “A lot of the anxiety [around assisted dying] has to do with cultural, rather than legislative failings: how we treat older people, how we treat illness, how we treat incapacity, how we treat disability, how we value or devalue life. Those things require a cultural shift.”Naomi: “Going for politicians over very minor indiscretions, is going to put people off wanting to become parliamentarians. There is a case to be made for high standards. But if you are a left-leaning, progressive person, thinking of going into politics, the standard expected of you is so much higher.” Hugo Rifkind: My mother’s MS has shaped my view on assisted dyingClick 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex welcome author, columnist, and the ARD's London correspondent, Annette Dittert, to discuss the petition demanding another election, Kemi Badenoch's - now, weekly - strategic mistake, and Musk's obsession with the UK government. After which we take a dive into Angela Merkel's book, the upcoming German elections, and what the likely result might mean for Ukraine. Plus a very Wicked Wokey Dokey and Grin and Share It.***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***Annette: “I think Musk wants to bring down the EU and, more generally, the rule of law of liberal democracy, because it stands in the way of his tech-bro thinking. He’s particularly focussed on Britain at the moment, because they have Farage as their way in.”Alex: “Part of the strategic mistake of Badenoch calling for an election now is that it hands the advantage to Farage. In five years MAYBE people will have forgotten some of the stuff that went on under the Conservatives. In five months, they haven’t. If you put the choice back in front of them, they’ll try Option C. It is infuriatingly obvious.”Annette: “Angela Merkel, who just published her book in Germany, was giving numerous interviews and was asked: What happened with this coalition? And she just looked at the interviewer and said: ‘Well. Men.’”Naomi: “What do thousands of people in Ongar, Clacton, Richmond, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan, Chad, Venezuela, and even nine people in the Antarctic and five in Vatican City share with the world’s richest man? That’s right - none of them understand how elections work.” Annette: “There is a huge anxiety in Germany already [about Russia]. It feels completely different when you’re in Berlin or Warsaw to when you’re in London. It’s irrational, of course, but when I am in London, I feel a little further away.”  GRIN AND SHARE ITA video of the new Renfrew Bridge! CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Sign the petition to hold a referendum on Proportional Representation. Latest news from the European Network Against Racism. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the July election, a victorious Labour saw its red wall support slump to the lowest level in at least 40 years. Polling guru Peter Kellner joins Naomi Smith to discuss why, and to dive into his critique of Labour's 'red wall Brexit fallacy'.He also explains why Labour desperately needs to get on the front foot when it comes to relations with Europe, and poses the question: does Rachel Reeves have the courage to do something popular?As if that's not enough, there's insight on the farming row, Trump and immigration. Buckle up!Show notesRead Peter's superb Substack hereGet your Bluesky Quiet Riot starter pack here and, if you prefer the olden ways, email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Our website lurks over at www.quietriotpod.comOh, please consider sponsoring us at KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD ... thank you, it means a lot.With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell, in cahoots with SandStone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex talk through developments in Ukraine and Gaza, and what they might mean for our security. And they also discuss the continuing fallout from the farmland inheritance tax changes - and the Liberal Democrats' revealing position on the issue. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***Naomi: "There is a vacuum. Scholz and Macron are in peril. The Democrats are licking their wounds in the States. And there is an opportunity for a leader who believes in the rule of law and liberal democracy, to strengthen international institutions and to show boldness and courage."Alex: "The arguments against inheritance tax are all 'blue skies, and rolling hills, and stewards of the land'. I feel emotionally manipulated. And I think this shtick may wear very, very thin, very, very quickly. Eventually, you have to find a better argument than singing 'Jerusalem' over and over again."Jonathan Freedland: Benjamin Netanyahu is a wanted man – and he has only himself to blame Naomi Smith: Opportunity in misery: how Starmer can respond to Trump’s US victory Clive Lewis's Bsky thread on missing Labour narrative 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex welcome former UK Ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, whose dismissal Trump demanded in 2020, to the studio to talk through what's in store from a Trump second term. We also take a look at the farming protests and try a novel approach: to reach a balanced view based on the evidence. Plus regular features Grin And Share it and Troll With It. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***Kim: “Gary Cohn, who was Trump’s economic adviser in the White House [in 2017], tells the story of how, when crazy ideas came up from some of the real ideologue Trump supporters, on tariffs and things like that, he would get tipped off by a friend in the outer office, go in and steal them and bury them in the deepest cupboard.”Kim: “If agencies receive instructions which they believe are mad or damaging to US security, they will resist. Trump had huge rows with the CIA and FBI in his first term. I think that pattern will continue, especially with Tulsi Gabbard in charge.”Kim: “[The new UK-US Ambassador] will need to be ready for the 5AM twitter-storm. He will wake up reach for his phone and post anything that has caught his eye and there is no filter. It’s pure Trump. There’s nobody sitting there at five in the morning saying, Mr President you shouldn’t do that.”Naomi: “Farmers have many reasons to feel angry and let down. Brexit has hurt them: lost EU subsidies, difficulty in hiring seasonal workers, the extra cost of importing goods or importing seed, chemicals, and other things they need, but also trade deals which put them at a competitive disadvantage.” Alex: “We have become addicted to very cheap, low quality food. Good food costs money to produce. So, there is truth to the farmers’ core complaint which is that, on the whole, as a country, we don’t appreciate their work and the thing they produce sufficiently.”  Alex: “Farage has cost farmers more money through Brexit than any inheritance tax. Now he’s cosplaying in tweed from head to toe, marching alongside them. Tractors came to Whitehall in March, to protest the trade deals Badenoch signed. Now she’s making speeches and being applauded. How can I take them seriously? Where are their principles?”GRIN AND SHARE ITReporting on the wider effects of Sadiq Khan's free school meals policy in the Mirror.LINKS: Tortoise Media's Peer Review.The Poke's collection of responses to the 'woke sandwiches' story.Dan Neidle's view of the inheritance tax changes for farms.Richard Murphy's view of the inheritance tax changes for farms.An archived version of the Together website (so you don't have to part with your data).Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex talks to special guest trade epxert David Henig about Trump's threatened tariff war - how likely is it, what would it mean for the world economy, and in which direction the UK should move to be best protected. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“Most trade is not in finished products, but in components. This is really important in thinking about the effect of possible tariffs. At least 50% of US imports are things that will in turn form part of a finished American product or help to make it.”“Trump’s plan for tariffs is good news if you’re a lobbyist working in DC, because everyone is going to be seeking exemptions for their inputs or tariffs on their rivals. This will become quite a bonanza in that way.”“Look at the figures. 50% of our trade, broadly, is with the EU. The UK cannot afford to ignore that. But then again 15-20% of our trade is with the US. Again, we cannot ignore that. So, we have to duck and weave, but we have to do so within a very straightforward principle: Geography matters. That makes Europe more important than the US.”  “The UK needs a little bit of honesty, to say: If you put up barriers with your neighbours, you will suffer a little economically. Similarly, that we’re not going to have an all-singing-all-dancing trade deal with the US. Also, that the actions we are taking at the moment to improve the deal with the EU will not transform the UK economy. Then we can have an honest discussion.”“Global Britain has failed. If the project of the last few Conservative administrations was to replace trade lost from the EU with trade around the world, that hasn’t happened. In fact trade is down both with the EU and with the rest of the world.”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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex, wth special guest Arthur Snell, assess what Trump's picks reveal about his intentions for the next four years and how they might affect global security challenges, including in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan.Oh, and it seems it's okay for the media to talk about the Brexit damage now. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***Find Arthur's "Behind The Lines" here.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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Accident stats are terrifying: UK accidental deaths exceed 20,000 a year and accidents (mostly at home) are the most common cause of preventable death among under-40s. And, since 2013, accidental deaths in the UK have risen by 50 per cent. You read that right. What on earth is going on? Wasn't 'Elf 'n' Safety madness' supposed to put a stop to this? Naomi Smith talks to someone who knows more than most about the topic. Dr James Broun is Research Manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), where Naomi is a non-exec director.RoSPA is calling for a national accident prevention strategy from the Government, and says joined-up thinking across Govt departments (and a minister for accidents) could save the country a fortune, as well as saving lives.*** YOU CAN SUPPORT US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD ... THANK YOU! ***Show notesSafer Lives, Stronger Nation: Read Rospa's new report, calling for a national accident prevention strategy, here.Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luke Tryl, a regular guest from More in Common, dives into pressing issues like Lords reform and the public's appetite for climate action. He reveals surprising polling data showing that 82% of people want the UK to pursue net-zero at an accelerated pace. The discussion moves to the need for genuine reform in the House of Lords, tackling the problem of hereditary peers. The hosts also explore the evolution of political discourse in the age of social media, highlighting how entertainment is reshaping political communication.

Naomi and Alex, dig into the data underlying the US result, what a Trump term means for Ukraine, the discuss Kemi Badenoch's front bench choices, and the coming elections in Ireland and Germany. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD***“There was something in a YouGov poll that really rang alarm bells. Young men aged 18 to 29, sixty-per-cent of them are thrilled or happy with Trump’s win. That really concerned me. What is it that these young men are seeing and why does it make them feel so happy?”"The coming fight is reason against unreason. The dividing line is not your preference of economic policy or whether you want a big or small state. It is the line that separates easy solutions that appeal to people's ugliest side and reason, science, expertise, and facts."“The West is supporting Ukraine because it is fighting. Ukraine is not fighting because the West is supporting it.”"Mark Francois has been appointed Miniature of Defensiveness- no sorry, I misread that. Minister of Defence."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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices