The Prospect Podcast

Are we seeing a return to normality? CNN journalist and political commentator Fareed Zakaria joins the Prospect Interview to talk about Joe Biden’s victory, what will happen to populism, and how Covid-19 has changed both America and the world. He walks us through what America feels like after the election, and also lessons from his new book, Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who will win? Author and commentator Diane Roberts joins the Prospect Interview and gives a quick summary of the race so far, including which states to look out for. Plus: what have four years of Trump done to public trust in institutions? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did America become the world’s predominant power? Historian Stephen Wertheim joins the Prospect podcast this week to discuss the short history of America as the world’s policeman, which he outlines in his new book, Tomorrow the World. He also talks about what might happen next—and what a foreign policy under Joe Biden might look like. Stephen is Deputy Director of Research and Policy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and is one of Prospect’s Top 50 Thinkers for 2020. Tomorrow the World is published by Harvard University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Think Jacques Derrida was an inscrutable fraud? Peter Salmon, biographer and recent author of An Event, Perhaps, implores you to think again. Peter joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the life and work of the controversial, and unavoidable, philosopher, and unpicks some of the myths surrounding his philosophy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist and author Owen Jones joins the Prospect Interview to talk about his new book, This Land. Editor Tom Clark talks to Owen about the highs and lows of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour, what he really thinks of the line between campaigning and journalism, and whether it’s just doom and gloom for Britain’s left going forward.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Times journalist Rachel Sylvester joins the Prospect Interview to get us up to date about the state of Brexit talks, and introduce the man behind Britain’s negotiating table, David Frost. Is a hard Brexit inevitable, and what can Frost’s little-known background reveal about where Britain stands with the EU?You can read Rachel’s profile of David Frost here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/profile-who-is-david-frost-brexit-negotiator-cliff-edge Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer and broadcaster Eliane Glaser joins the Prospect Interview to make a defense of what she deems “progressive elitism.” In the era of populism, the trust in institutions and experts has plummeted within the left and right alike. Eliane makes the case for excellence in these divided times—and tells us why restoring standards may in fact restore popular democracy. Elitism: A Progressive Defense is published by Biteback  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer Robert Macfarlane joins the Prospect Interview to discuss writing the Earth’s underworld in his new book, Underland: A Deep Time Journey. MacFarlane talks to our arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about exploring the deepest recesses of the world, the mysteries of the anthropocene, and why he’s rejecting the term “nature writer.”  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avni Doshi’s Booker Prize-shortlisted debut novel, Burnt Sugar, follows an artist in Pune, India, whose mother suddenly gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The revelation unravels difficult family histories, uncovering the secrets binding mother and daughter. Avni joins the Prospect Interview to discuss writing the novel—and why it took seven years—and what it’s been like living through the Booker Prize media blitz.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Film director Sarah Gavron and writer Theresa Ikoko join this week’s Prospect Interview to discuss their new film, Rocks, a celebratory ode to teenage life in today’s London. Rocks follows the story of a teenage girl—nicknamed Rocks—and the fast friendships she develops at her school. The film was made under quite unusual circumstances: casting was done across schools in London, involving nearly 1500 students, before finding the film’s first-time actors, who then workshopped with the creative team for a year to finalise a script. Sarah and Theresa take us behind the making of Rocks, writing the lives of today’s teenagers, and what it’s like to release a film during a pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.