Politics Unpacked

This week Matt is joined by Times columnist Philip Collins, who wonders why more billionaires don’t do good, Nicola Woolcock, Times education correspondent, on the latest, expensive Tory plan to win back the youth vote, and columnist Daniel Finkelstein who deciphers Labours Brexit position so you don't have to.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley meets House of Cards creator Lord Michael Dobbs. In a wide ranging conversation Dobbs explains his brutal firing by Margret Thatcher, how he came to write House of Cards when he should have been in therapy and the impact of the #metoo movement in Westminster and Hollywood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley is joined by Hugo Rifkind, who is worried about the vast power that vastly rich people today can have over our politics.In the week of the death of Jeremy Heywood, Rachel Sylvester wonders whether the civil service can withstand the huge pressure of Brexit.And Joe Jervis, co-author of Spirit of Britain, Purpose of Labour, says we are a nation divided between Communitarians and Cosmopolitans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Hammond heralded the beginning of the end of austerity, blowing a multi-billion pound windfall on tax cuts and extra spending. But what was hidden in the small print, does it make an election more likely, and who will actually have more money in their pocket?Matt Chorley is joined by Anne Ashworth, The Times money and property editor, Oliver Wright, The Times policy editor, and Richard Fletcher, The Times business editor, to answer these questions, and others sent in by Red Box newsletter readers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley speaks to the leader of Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson about life beyond politics, including her upbringing, struggles with mental health, and impending motherhood. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Edinburgh's Signet library. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you solve a problem like Brexit, the Budget or Bercow?Matt Chorley is joined by Times columnist Rachel Sylvester, who warns Theresa May has no room to compromise.Carl Emmerson, from the Institute for Fisxal Studies, on why the chancellor can’t end austerity and the balance the books.And Henry Zeffman, Times political correspondent, on whether John Bercow can survive the latest calls to quit.Read more at thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Matt Chorley hosts a special episode as Iain Martin, Lucy Fisher, Jenni Russell and Bruno Waterfield, argue over the big (and not so big) political issues of the day. Including: the Brussels view of brexit, the USA's abdication as "world police", how should the west fight back against Russia? And what is a Kayne West? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley meets health minister Matt Hancock in the last of the party conference podcasts. They talk about his dyslexia, why he accepted a demotion to remain in a minister in 2016, what he plans to do with the billions allocated for the NHS and what Ronnie Wood handed him to get through the Brit awards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Chorley is joined by Times columnists, Alice Thomson, Patrick Kidd and Hugo Rifkind and former number 10 adviser, Will Tanner.The panel debates if a party torn apart by Brexit, promising tax rises not cuts and buffeted by domestic crises can reinvent itself and who is the right person for the job?Recorded live at the electric cinema in Birmingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded shortly before her speech to the Labour party conference in Liverpool, Matt Chorley sits down with shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry. In a wide ranging interview they discuss her childhood, brexit, anti-semitism and why she expects Labour's demands for a general election to succeed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.