The Prospect Podcast

As Taiwan prepares to hold key elections on 13th January, China is escalating its campaign to influence the vote’s outcome. What will 2024 look like for Taiwan? And could the CCP’s “grey zone” tactics, which currently fall short of war, and include military drills and cyber operations, escalate into outright conflict? Elizabeth Green, a researcher on China, Taiwan and cross-strait relations joins Prospect contributing editor Isabel Hilton to discuss. Elizabeth has used a pseudonym to protect her identity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The team discuss the turbulent year that's passed and give predictions for the year ahead, as well as sharing their highlights from Prospect in 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This classic Richard Curtis film turned 20 this year but has been criticised for being elitist, misogynistic and farfetched. In a festive Prospect conversation, Books and Culture Editor Peter Hoskin and Assistant Editor Sarah Collins debate whether the film is the defining Christmas movie or a dated dud.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A decade ago, Eliot Higgins founded an organisation that would transform investigative journalism. During the past ten years, Bellingcat has used (mostly) open-source methods to unmask the Salisbury assassins and Navalny’s poisoners, and give Putin a bloody nose. But who is the unassuming man behind that tenacious outfit? And will his skilled, open-source sleuths be able to keep up with the ever-growing mass of mis- and disinformation? Freelance writer Tom Lamont joins deputy editor Ellen Halliday to discuss.Read Tom’s profile here. Subscribe to Prospect here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do the Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine wars demonstrate about US power in the world? For the cover story of our latest issue, out today, author and professor of law and history at Yale, Samuel Moyn argues that America's mission to lead humanity in a new world order is failing.Read Samuel's essay here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As COP28 kicks off in the UAE, former UK diplomat Simon Sharpe joins Ellen Halliday to discuss why the current approach to climate diplomacy—the kind that saw deals struck in Paris and Glasgow—doesn’t really work. Drawing on his book Five Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change, Sharpe answers a pressing question: what could help us cut emissions at the pace the planet needs? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prospect contributing editor Isabel Hilton draws on her experience reporting from Argentina as she joins the podcast to discuss the country’s new far-right, “anarcho-capitalist” president, Javier Milei, and what his election means for the world.Read Isabel's piece on the Argentinian economy here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The future of the humanities has become a new frontier in the culture wars. But are they really in crisis? Priyamvada Gopal, who is a professor of English at Cambridge and a scholar at Princeton, joins Ellen Halliday to discuss the assault on the humanities, and why we should defend them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Ricketts, former permanent representative to Nato and permanent under-secretary to the Foreign Office from 2006-2010, joins the podcast to discuss how ceasefires and humanitarian pauses work, and which conditions would need to be met to bring an end to the fighting between the IDF and Hamas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jordan-based writer Khaled Mansour—who spent thirteen years working for the United Nations—joins the podcast to discuss the geopolitical implications of the Israel-Gaza war. He discusses how states in the Middle East have responded to the conflict and what it would take to bring peace to the region. Prospect brings rigorously fact-checked analysis, ideas and perspectives to the big topics the world is grappling with. Special offer: buy a digital subscription for only £3 for three months access (then £49 annually). Click here to subscribe.Click here to listen to our Prospect Lives podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.