The Prospect Podcast

Rush Limbaugh and his Fox News descendants softened up America for Donald Trump. Could the British shock jock do the same for political life in the UK? Journalist Zoe Williams joins Tom Clark to discuss why the media-savvy renegade took off in early 2000s America, what the “war on woke” really misses, and why we should all be concerned about the future of the BBC. You can read Zoe’s essay here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/uk-shock-jock-rush-limbaugh-radio-lbc-farage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sameer Rahim joins professor David Herman for a discussion on the life and work of the public intellectual Edward Said, who is the subject of a new biography, Places of Mind, by Timothy Brennan. Sameer, who wrote about the limitations of the thinker in our most recent issue of Prospect, joins David, a former student of Said’s, to discuss what Said got right, and wrong, about orientalism, his friendship with Salman Rushdie, and what Said would have made of the Israel – Palestine conflict today. You can read Sameer’s essay here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/disorientated-the-confusions-of-edward-said Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Britain slowly opens up—and cinemas, galleries, and concert halls finally return—arts and books editor Sameer Rahim talks to Nicholas Kenyon, managing director at the Barbican, about the struggles faced by Britain’s artists over the past year, and why he’s looking forward to opening the Barbican’s doors. Nicholas, who was previously director of the BBC Proms and music critic for the New Yorker and the Observer, also talks about the changing face of classical music, how the music world will be affected by Brexit, and writing his new book The Life of Music: New Adventures in the Western Classical Tradition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode of the Prospect Interview, listen to audio from the magazine’s latest Editor’s Club call with Andrew Adonis on writing political biography, and what makes a good leader. Andrew Adonis joins editor Tom Clark to discuss his upcoming book on Tony Blair, the difference between campaigning and governing, and why extroverts make for good political leaders.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it possible to govern well in the age of populism? That was the question our three guests took on when entering this year’s Bennett Prospect Public Policy essay contest—and they impressed the judges with their novel ideas. Winner Callum Watts and runners-up Nina Foster and Oliver Large join the Prospect Interview this week to discuss just what we mean when we talk about populism, how to make citizen’s assemblies work, and whether children should be given the right to vote. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

India’s Covid-19 crisis has seriously shaken national confidence in prime minister Narendra Modi—but will it unseat him? Prospect contributor Andrew Adonis and Cambridge historian Shruti Kapila join the Prospect Interview to talk about the swift rise of Modi, what differentiates him from other populist leaders, and what enabled India’s Covid-19 disaster.You can read Andrew Adonis’s profile of Narendra Modi here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/narendra-modi-is-everything-apart-from-what-he-seems Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geopolitics professor Klaus Dodds and journalist Rachel Halliburton join the Prospect Interview to give the inside view on the new geopolitical battle of the decade: the race for the Arctic. As temperatures rise, new shipping routes are opening up in the ice—and the big nations are waiting. Klaus and Rachel wrote an essay on the new very Cold War in this month’s issue of Prospect and what that means for the future of our planet Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The celebrated author Philip Roth was obsessed with chasing the exceptional in both his life and work. Author and critic Jon Day joins the Prospect Interview to discuss new biographies of the author of American Pastoral and Portnoy’s Complaint. He talks to arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about why Roth marks the end of the grand literary celebrity, and how his novels precipitated the rise of “cancel culture.”You can read Jon Day’s essay on Philip Roth here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/philip-roths-ruthless-intimacy-biography-review Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new biography of Stephen Hawking argues that the celebrated scientist was shamelessly self-promoting and his reputation overrated. Philip Ball joins the Prospect Interview to discuss Charles Seife’s Hawking Hawking: The Making of a Scientific Celebrity and talks to arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about humanising a scientific deity, and why it was that Hawking, out of all of his other similarly accomplished peers, became a household name. You can read Philip Ball’s review of Hawking Hawking here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/stephen-hawking-celebrity-physicist-flaws Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his cover story for the new issue of Prospect, human rights lawyer Adam Wagner writes about the troubling ways in which laws have been passed over the last year, and how they pose a threat to Britain’s freedom. Lockdown has, of course, helped bring the Covid-19 under control—but what about cases such as the government’s crackdown on the Sarah Everard vigils and its detention of children? Adam talks to Tom Clark about the troubling attack on Britain’s human rights, the changing role of the police, and what the courts should do next.You can read Adam Wagner’s piece, “Taking liberties”, here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/essays/adam-wagner-covid-lockdown-law-democracy-essay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.