The Prospect Podcast

Writer Thomas Chatterton Williams joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about his curious approach to race in America. His new memoir, Self Portrait in Black and White, explores his own background as a mixed-race child of a black father and white mother growing up in New Jersey. He talks to our Arts and Books editor Sameer Rahim about why he sometimes calls himself “ex-Black”, how he feels about calls for race reparations, and whether he really thinks, in divided political times, one might really transcend race.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novelist Colum McCann joins the Prospect Interview this week to discuss his new bestseller, Apeirogon, a fictional story based on the real-life friendship between an Israeli and a Palestinian. He talks to our Arts and Books editor about how he went about researching the novel, learning from the Northern Ireland peace process, and why, in spite of everything, he still has hope.Colum McCann’s Apeirogon is published by Bloomsbury: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/apeirogon-9781526607874/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nobel prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman joins the Prospect podcast to talk about what he calls “zombie economics”: the right-wing free market economic orthodoxy that he believes persists past its sell-by date. He also reflects on America’s 2020 election, whether he misjudged Obama, and if he has faith in the future of economics.Paul Krugman’s Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future, is published by W. W. Norton: https://www.wwnorton.co.uk/books/9781324005018-arguing-with-zombiesArticles discussed in the introduction:Paul Krugman on the coronavirus and climate change: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/opinion/coronavirus-trump-response.htmlDavid Runciman on Keynesians and the lockdown: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n07/david-runciman/too-early-or-too-lateTom Clark on coronavirus’s market aftershocks: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/locking-down-leaders-damned-whatever-they-do-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-quarantine-social-distancing-economy-recession Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Kim Ghattas joins the Prospect Interview to explain the political conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran—where did it come from, and how has it fundamentally transformed the region? She also gives her perspectives on lessons from the Arab Spring, and why her own background growing up in Lebanon means she’s able to tell stories that challenge popular Western narratives. Kim’s book, Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Rivalry that Unravelled the Middle East, is published with Wildfire: https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/kim-ghattas/black-wave/9781472271112/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Early modern historian and polyglot John Gallagher joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about language learning in Britain from the 16th century to today. What was it like when the English language was, in the words of one early modern writer, useless anywhere past Devon? And why do Brits today perform so poorly on language acquisition, especially against their continental peers?John’s book, Learning Languages in Early Modern England, is published by Oxford University Press.Plus: Stephanie Boland and Steve Bloomfield on language learning in the time of coronavirus lockdown Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

His previous book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, became a worldwide sensation. Now the French economist is back with another sweeping history of inequality and capitalism: Capital and Ideology. Thomas joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about what’s changed in the world—and his own life—since his tome on inequality topped the bestselling charts in 2014. He tells us his thoughts on Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and what he thinks will happen with Brexit, and re-evaluates Labour’s 2017 and 2019 elections and the future of Macron’s revolution. And why, despite everything, he has a shred of optimism about the future of the fight against inequality.You can read Tom’s essay on Thomas Piketty’s capital ideas, past and present, here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/thomas-pikettys-capital-idea-economics-history-inequality-krugman-interview-review Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the warriors who inspired the Amazons to Joan of Arc, women have served in the military for centuries—some in disguise. Historian and academic Julie Wheelwright joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the long history of women in the military forces and what drew them to take up arms—as well as a little-known fact about the historic significance of London’s Deptford region. Julie’s new book, Sisters in Arms: Female Warriors from the Antiquity to the Millennium, is published by Osprey Press: https://ospreypublishing.com/sisters-in-arms Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Edward Heath to Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron to Tony Blair—what makes a good opposition leader? Broadcaster and journalist Steve Richards joins the Prospect interview to talk about what it takes for politicians to best their opponents across the dispatch box. You can read Steve’s essay on the politics of the opposition leader here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/other/ill-tell-you-and-youll-listen-the-one-thing-successful-opposition-leaders-all-have-in-commonPlus Stephanie Boland and Steve Bloomfield on the Labour leadership contest Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is artificial intelligence really that close to reaching “human-level intelligence”? Will hit television shows like Westworld and Humans feel quaint in the era of robot dominance? Science writer Philip Ball joins the Prospect interview this week to discuss everything you need to know about artificial intelligence today—and why, despite all the brouhaha around super-intelligent robots, we’re far from being replaced. You can read Phil’s essay on “The AI delusion” here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-ai-delusion-why-humans-trump-machines-robots-artificial-intelligence-alpha-go-deepmind-marcus-davis-koch-mitchell-review Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who will triumph in the battle for Britain's courts: Johnson or the judiciary? In the new issue of Prospect, our cover story goes behind the simmering politicisation of Britain’s judges in the era of Brexit, and we talk to senior judges and former Supreme Court justices on what they think will happen to the courts under Boris Johnson’s government. Judicial independence no more?Prospect has teamed up with the Better Human podcast, a show by human rights barrister Adam Wagner, to discuss the fate of judicial review in Britain. Prospect editor Tom Clark is joined by Adam, along with Martha Spurrier, director of Liberty, Tessa Gregory, Partner at Leigh Day, and Charlie Falconer, Labour peer and barrister who helped drive through the constitutional reform act under Tony Blair’s government. If you want to listen to the second half of the podcast – on the future of the Human Rights Act – you can visit the Better Human podcast here: https://anchor.fm/better-human Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.