Reporting and analysis to help you understand the forces shaping the world - with Andrew Marr and Anoosh Chakelian, plus New Statesman writers and expert contributors.
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Reporting and analysis to help you understand the forces shaping the world - with Andrew Marr and Anoosh Chakelian, plus New Statesman writers and expert contributors.
--
New Statesman subscribers can listen ad-free on the New Statesman app.
Get your first two months' subscription for just £2 at https://www.newstatesman.com/save
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 1978, the broadcaster and journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, and photojournalist Don McCullin, published The Palestinians - a book that sought to tell the human story behind one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
This year, in the wake of the ongoing and constantly escalating war, the book will be republished with a new foreword.
In this episode Dimbleby joins Anoosh Chakelian to discuss the current phase of the conflict and its effect on UK politics.
Read: Palestine’s cycle of despair
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There’s one thing you need this summer. A good book.
Will Lloyd is joined by culture editor Tanjil Rashid, and staff writer Finn McRedmond to discuss the New Statesman's ultimate beach reads for 2025 and beyond.
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Will Starmer face a vote of no confidence? What does Reform UK mean by scrap Net Zero? Should the Democrats distance themselves from the Clintons?
Anoosh Chakelian is joined by George Eaton and Will Lloyd to answer listener questions.
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The UK economy is slowing... but not as much as expected. So that's good - isn't it?
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Thursday morning, data was released showing that UK gross domestic product (or GDP) has slowed to 0.3% growth in the second quarter of the year - not as much as predicted.
Also, JD Vance has been holidaying in the UK, recently meeting with a who’s who of right-wing populists - from Robert Jenrick, to Nigel Farage, to, somewhat bizarrely, enjoying a BBQ with ex-Apprentice contestant and social media star, Thomas Skinner.
Anoosh Chakelian is joined by George Eaton and Will Dunn.
Read: The Cotswolds plot against JD Vance - Finn McRedmond
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On Saturday, in Westminster, police arrested more than 500 people under the Terrorism Act.
That’s more in a single day than have ever been charged with terrorist-related activity in a whole year.
Many of those arrested were pensioners. Their crime: holding cardboard signs which read “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
One of those 532 people arrested on Saturday was Sir Jonathon Porritt, a long-time activist and campaigner on green and social justice issues, former environmental adviser to King Charles and patron to over 20 charities.
He joins Anoosh Chakelian to explain why he took part in the protest, what led to his arrest, and why he fears the Home Secretary - and the Labour party - are becoming more authoritarian.
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📖 Read Palestine Action and the radicalisation of Grandma
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US President Donald Trump will meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday for a high stakes summit to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Trump has been upping the ante with his rhetoric around Putin in recent months. On July 14, the US president set Putin a 50 day deadline to agree a ceasefire with Ukraine. On July 28th, he reduced it to 10-12 days. As that deadline was reached last Friday, Trump announced plans for this summit. So, why is this happening now, and what will be on the agenda?
Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Katie Stallard.
Read: What Putin wants from talks with Trump
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Youth membership for the Labour party has collapsed – from 100,000 to just 30,000 under Starmer’s leadership. The relationship between Labour HQ and its members on university campuses has soured over the past year, reaching boiling point following the prime minister’s decision to conditionally recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire.
Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Hattie Simpson.
Read: Inside Labour students’ revolt over Gaza
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Whit Stillman is something of a cult film director. He rose to prominence in 1990 with his debut film Metropolitan, which became the first in the so-called “Doomed. Bourgeois. In love” trilogy: Barcelona came out in 1994 and The Last Days of Disco in 1998. Set among America’s so-called “Preppy” class, the films are comedies of manners in the tradition of Jane Austen, exploring the transitional phase of youth and a certain American identity.
The films are now having something of a revival. Stillman joins the New Statesman's culture editor Tanjil Rashid.
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Is Keir Starmer sucking up to Donald Trump, and what do politicians get up to during parliamentary recess?
Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Rachel Cunliffe and George Eaton to answer listener questions.
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New polling has found that Keir Starmer is now less popular amongst British voters than Donald Trump.
Today, we’re talking about Keir Starmer’s first year in government and the rapid decline in his personal popularity. From a triumphant election victory to sliding approval ratings, where has it gone wrong for the Labour leader?
Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman's senior data journalist, Ben Walker.
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Nine years after the Brexit referendum, the dream of 'Singapore-on-Thames' has quietly evaporated. Instead, we’ve got a Labour government embracing high taxes, stronger workers’ rights, even state ownership.
What’s behind Labour’s European turn and is Starmer quietly reversing Thatcher’s legacy?
Rachel Cunliffe is joined by George Eaton.
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The dormant Democrat party must find a way to revive itself if it is to have any hope of challenging the Maga movement, Donald Trump, and his eventual successor. The party is split on whether Trump is simply an aberration to endure, or whether he represents the death of democracy, justifying a dirtier form of opposition politics.
Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman's US correspondent Freddie Hayward.
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Parliament is in recess for the next four weeks, a time when Westminster usually goes quiet, but this year there’s one man who’s determined to keep working. Nigel Farage.
Today the Reform UK delivered his third weekly conference as part of his campaign on “Lawless Britain”, broadening out (slightly) from the party's usual single-issue politics. Of course, much of the emphasis is still heavily on migration.
But do these conferences tell us about the current contradictions in British politics and have Reform peaked too soon?
Read: One year on, tensions still circle Britain’s asylum-seeker hotels
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Britain is in the grip of a housing crisis and politicians from all sides claim to have the solutions. But as prices rise, renters struggle and investors profit - are we seeing housing policy serve the public good?
Will Dunn, the New Statesman's business editor, is joined by Susan J. Smith, the new president of the British Academy and honorary professor of social and economic geography at the University of Cambridge.
Read: Britain’s new-build nightmare
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The team answer listener questions on the practicalities of the online safety act, a Labour-Lib Dem coalition, and the revival of the commonwealth.
Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us
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Asylum protests. NHS strikes. A faltering economy. Is the Labour government facing a summer of discontent?
Last year, riots sparked by the brutal murder of three young girls at a dance class in Southport rocked the UK. Rioters targeted hotels housing asylum seekers, wrongly connecting the murders to Muslim immigration. Now, asylum protests persist.
At the same time, the government faces strike action from NHS doctors, a struggling economy and political threats from both left and right.
Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Anoosh Chakelian and George Eaton.
Read: One year on, tensions still circle Britain’s asylum-seeker hotels; Labour’s summer of discontent
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The UK will recognise Palestinian statehood in September unless Israel abides by a ceasefire, commits to a two-state solution and agrees not to annex the West Bank.Yesterday, Keir Starmer marked a clear shift on the UK’s position on the Israel Gaza war. However, this has prompted backlash from all sides. So what is there to gain?
Megan Gibson is joined by George Eaton and Megan Kenyon.
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Once upon a time Donald Trump loved to talk about conspiracy theories. Now, well, not so much.
Why can’t Trump shake the Epstein story - and what could it mean for his presidency?
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Last week, Katie Stallard and Freddie Hayward talked about how Donald Trump wanted his supporters to move on and stop talking about Jefrey Epstein, and how that seemed to be driving a wedge between him and the MAGA faithful.
Since then, the US president has continued his attempts to distance himself from the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But it’s not working.
Freddie and Katie pick up the story and discuss what the Trump's Epstein connection could mean for his presidency.
READ: The Epstein conspiracy has exposed Trump as a faux-populist
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As Donald Trump visits Scotland, world leaders - including Keir Starmer - flock to pay tribute at the emperor's feet.
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The US President is on a 4-day trip to his golf courses in Scotland. He has met with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Wielding the "bully-boy" threat of trade tariffs, the President is enjoying unprecedented influence. But should European leaders learn from the more combative approaches taken by Canada and France?
Megan Gibson joins Tom McTague on the New Statesman podcast.
📚 READ: Can Starmer and Trump come to an agreement on Gaza? - Megan Kenyon
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/morning-call/2025/07/can-starmer-and-trump-come-to-an-agreement-on-gaza
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Director, writer and producer Peter Kosminsky, who directed of the BBC's adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, has worked in the television industry for 45 years. The BAFTA and Golden Globe winner is one of the most respected voices in the industry.
Kosminsky spoke to the New Statesman's Hannah Barnes in a wide ranging discussion about the state of British television, and why he is calling upon the government to stand up for public service broadcasting against the might of the streaming giants.
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