The Prospect Podcast

The pandemic has shattered economies all over the globe. What can be done about it? Historian Adam Tooze joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the Covid-19 economic crisis. He discusses how the impending recession compares to past crises, what policies ought to be taken, and whether we are really seeing the end of neoliberalism.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1990, when he was just nine years old, Prospect’s Sameer Rahim joined his parents and sister on a holiday to Iraq. What was first a family trip quickly turned into an international diplomatic fiasco. As Saddam Hussein was then facing international condemnation for the Kuwait War, Sameer and his family were taken as so-called “human-shield hostages”: Britons kept within Iraq as bargaining chips. In a personal essay for the current issue of Prospect, Sameer remembers his time cooped up in a Baghdad hotel—and reflects on what the experience has taught him about the many sides of national identity.You can read Sameer’s essay, I was Saddam’s prisoner, here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/i-was-saddams-prisoner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They’ve taken over our cinemas screens (when cinemas were still open)—but where did the superheroes who now dominate our screens come from? Writer and Spectator literary editor Sam Leith joins the Prospect Interview to discuss the history of Marvel Comics and its legendary creative leader, Stan Lee. Lee’s creations—which include Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the Black Panther—aren’t just crime-fighting men in tights, Leith says. They also speak to the social concerns of Lee’s time, and have made a remarkable American pantheon.  You can read Sam’s essay on Stan Lee and the Marvel Comics universe here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/stan-lee-marvel-dc-comic-books-american-pantheon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previously confined to the fringes, discussion of white identity has reached a fever pitch in the mainstream in the past few years. In the current issue of Prospect, out now on newsstands, Sarah Churchwell and Kenan Malik reflect on the history of white identity across both sides of the Atlantic. They join this week’s Prospect Interview to talk about Anglo-Saxonism, the rise of the “white working class,” and the presidency of Donald Trump.Sarah Churchwell’s “White Lies Matter”: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/white-lies-matter-history-blm-black-lives-matter-donald-trump-united-states-statues-colston-slaveryKenan Malik “The Rise of White Identity”: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/white-identity-politics-black-lives-matter-race-kenan-malik Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do some countries succeed in confronting their pasts, and others fail? Authors Ivan Krastev and Leonard Bernardo join the Prospect Interview this week to discuss a question on many people’s minds this summer: how do nations come to terms with the historical crimes they’ve committed? Ivan and Leonard write an essay on the (unsuccessful) Russian case in this month’s issue of Prospect, in which they trace the curious recent rehabilitation of Joseph Stalin in recent years. What does it take for a country to face up to its history—and what do they make about Britain’s ongoing debate on the statue of Winston Churchill? You can read Ivan and Leonard’s essay here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/how-can-nations-atone-for-their-sins-germany-russia-nazism-soviet-union Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the most influential statesmen of the 20th century has since been forgotten by history. Why is that? Andrew Adonis joins the Prospect Interview to discuss the life and work of Ernest Bevin, 20th century trade union leader and former Minister of Labour and Foreign Secretary. Bevin, who Adonis calls “Labour’s Churchill” has much to teach the Labour Party about where it goes today. You can read Prospect’s review of Ernest Bevin: Labour’s Churchill here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/ernest-bevin-working-class-hero-andrew-adonis-book-review Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frances Cha had been a journalist based in Seoul for several years, reporting on the culture and trends in South Korea’s megacity for CNN. Then, she decided to explore all she learned in fiction, writing her novel If I Had Your Face. Her debut explores the lives of four women living in Seoul, and takes a forensic look at the many challenges faced by millennials living in the ever-changing city today. She joins the Prospect Interview to talk about making the leap from reporting to fiction, uncovering a hidden side of South Korea, and why she hopes readers might take from her novel.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s that time of year again. Today, Prospect releases its annual list of top 50 thinkers for our times. The editorial team talks through what it was like making the list, and how they went about finding the intellectuals, artists, scientists and writers who have come to define our time. You can read the list of top 50 thinkers, and vote for your own favourite (plus tell us who we missed) here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-worlds-top-50-thinkers-2020 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s behind the disproportionate number of Covid-19 ethnic minority deaths? Science writer Angela Saini—most recently author of Superior: The Return of Race Science—joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the intersection between medicine and race, and why she’s surprised that even the respectable scientific community has fallen so easily into pseudo-science.You can read Angela’s essay on the racial politics of Covid-19 here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-covid-race-riddle-defies-skin-deep-simplicities-angela-saini-racism-virus-spread Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feminism may be becoming increasingly mainstream, but it’s undeniable that women continue to do the lion’s share of housework and child-rearing at home. Historian Emma Lundin joins the Prospect Interview to talk about modern motherhood today, and reflects on the obstacles preventing gender equality, now enshrined in law in theory, from becoming the norm in reality.You can read Emma’s essay on working motherhood here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/mind-the-gender-gap-why-its-time-for-an-equality-revolution-in-parenting Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.