PODCAST · news
Backchat
by Backbench
Backbench editors and writers offer their thoughts on the most interesting political stories from the UK and abroad.
Episodes
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Campaigner Khady Gueye on Fighting for Racial Justice, Continuing Conservations About Race, and Racism in Rural Areas
In this enlightening episode campaigner Khady Gueye opens up about her experiences of racism growing up as mixed-race in a rural area. Khady talks about organising the BLM protest in Bathhurst Park in June 2020, the backlash she received and how this affected her within the local community. Khady...
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Dr Sally Adams - Does Alcohol Make You Better in Bed?
This week we chat to Dr Sally Adams from the University of Bath whose research centres on alcohol and tobacco use and its cognitive effects. Sally answers two huge questions - does alcohol make you better in bed? And is there a hangover cure? Read more about Sally's research:...
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Tom Dunn on Pressure, Sacrifices, Life After Rugby, and Playing for England
Bath and England rugby player Tom Dunn opens up about making it as a professional rugby player, the pressure involved and how he felt making his first England appearance behind closed doors. Tom also discusses the 'sacrifices' he had to make growing up and his root into rugby through club rugby,...
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Andy Burnham on Kier Starmer, Homelessness, the North-South Divide and Devolution
In the last episode of this series, Ed chats to the Mayor of Manchester about his well-publicised negotiations with the Government, the North-South Divide, the assignment of Covid Tiers in the North, devolution and why he got into politics all those years ago. Andy also reflects on entering...
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UK Implosion, Brexit, and an Ageing Historian
Ed and Will chat to Dr Martin Farr from Newcastle University about lecturing during Covid-19, Brexit, the Special Relationship and the breakup of the United Kingdom. Listen to hear Martin chat about why he went into academia and to hear his honest views on Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon, the Special...
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Daisy Cooper on School Uniform, Swords in Parliament, Civil Liberties, and Becoming Lib Dem Deputy Leader
In this episode Ed chats to Daisy Cooper, Deputy Leader and Education Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats. Daisy chats about her early experience of campaigning at a CND march and on issues such as school uniform and acid rain. Daisy also talks about some of the archaic rituals in Parliament...
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US Election Response: What is Happening in America?
Podcast Editor Ed Sawyer chats to George Evans-Jones and frequent guest Will Pascall about the ongoing US Election result. This episode tries to explain what is going on in America, looks at the strengths of both campaigns, whether Trumpism is dead and how Trump retained support with different...
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Ann Widdecombe on Brexit, Prisons, Climate Change and 'Wokeness'
In this episode, Ed Sawyer talks to Ann Widdecombe, former Conservative Party MP and prominent Brexiteer. Never afraid to say what she thinks, Ann proves a very interesting, if somewhat controversial, guest for Ed. Ann shares her views on everything from climate change to 'wokeness'. Though these...
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Caroline Voaden on Nationalism, the British Press, Europe and the Future of the Lib Dems
In the second episode of the new series, Ed Sawyer interviews ex Lib Dem MEP Caroline Voaden. Listen to hear Caroline talk about accidentally becoming an enemy of the Croatian state in the 1990s, working in the European Parliament, her views on the British Press, and why she got into politics.
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Monty Panesar on Cricket, Trump, Biden and Race
Backchat is relaunching! Our new podcast editor Ed Sawyer and guest Will Pascall interview ex-England cricketer and current TV personality Monty Panesar in this first podcast. Give it a listen to hear Monty's thoughts on sport, politics and everything in between
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Dissent
Dissent within minority communities is often not only badly reported in the media but is actually actively silenced under the guise of political correctness. On the final episode of this season of Backchat, Podcast Editor Mihir Joshi talks to Maryam Namazie from the One Law for All campaign…
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Back to the Future: Looking Back at Political Predictions
Join Podcast Editor Mihir Joshi and Backbench General Editor Tom Westgarth for a look back at how their predictions they made in October have fared in what has been a tumultuous year. To help you navigate this mammoth podcast here are some timestamps: Tory engineering for the election : 2.40, the...
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What is Left?
Keir Starmer is the new leader of the Labour Party but the ideology it represents if over 100 years old. In this episode of Backchat we discuss what the left means, what the left represents and what the future of the left might bring in the United Kingdom and Europe.
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Pandemic.
Even a fortnight ago a total lockdown of the United Kingdom seemed implausible and unprecedented, but here we are in the 5th day of a lockdown with no real end in sight. In today's episode Mihir chats to Sindhu Ram an LSE Masters student who is currently self-isolating about the government, the...
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Culture War
Culture has taken a whole new political dimension in the past decade with Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and many other political events have unleashed a revolution in the way campaigns, governance and the media are conducted. Today on Backchat we have Mihir Joshi and Eleanor Longman-Rood…
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Where is journalism heading?
It's all change at Backbench! What better way to say hello to our new Editor-in-Chief Maheen Behrana than to have her on another exciting episode of Backchat! On today's episode, we discuss the future of British journalism, the future of Backbench and how the journalistic community can help…
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Voice of Tibet
The Tibet issue has been around for decades with no sign of a resolution. On Backchat this week, Mihir, speaks to Campaigns Manager John Jones from the Free Tibet movement. He provides a fascinating insight into this very secretive part of the world. Amongst the issues discussed are the political...
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Our Beautiful Game
Football is the world's most popular sport but is there something going wrong with the beautiful game? Allegations of corruption, tournaments in places with questionable human rights records and spiralling ticket prices have hampered the game for the past few years. Listen to Mihir Joshi and…
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Are Labour doomed?
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Keir Starmer, Jess Philips and the rest of the contenders have been jostling for what many would call the poisoned chalise of the Labour Leadership. Listen to Editor Mihir Joshi and General Editor Tom Westgarth dissect what they have seen in the campaign and whether any one…
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GENERAL ELECTION SPECIAL !
And so there we have it. No longer will we have to hear 'Get Brexit Done', 'For The Many Not The Few' and all the other cheesy election slogans. Boris Johnson has emerged from the General Election victorious and the Backbench Team are here to guide you through the election with (what were) live...
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Conversations with a wavering voter
To continue our Conversations With series, this week we have John Abiona former Features Editor for The Boar and reporter at The Sun to talk about who he is considering voting for and why. We also discuss the state of the election campaigns and why the increasing tribal nature of our politics is...
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Conversations with a Liberal Democrat voter
Why do we vote for who we vote for? It's a question that's struck people as disparate as Dominic Cummings to Aristotle! At Backchat, over the next few weeks, we're going to try answer this question! Today we have Backbench Editor Tom Mitchell on the podcast to explain why he will be voting…
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Have we left yet?
And it's Groundhog Day again! Brexit has been delayed for another three months and we have Professor Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe to talk about Brexit (obviously!), the nature of our democratic politics and the future of the Union.
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Where did we come from, where did we go?: An introduction to Series 3
We have had a crazy summer of politics. New Prime Minister, a new dog at Downing Street, prorogation, de-prorogation, lying to the Queen, it really does seem like we have fallen into a parallel universe where the normal rules have been flipped. Mihir Joshi, the new Backchat Editor, sat down with...
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Cautiously Optimistic: End of Series Two
To end the series, Natasha Livingstone sat down with Backbench's Editor-in-Chief Daniel Clark and Editor Tom Mitchell to chat about how politics has evolved since the podcast began last September. They discussed Trump’s unshakable resilience, the resurgence of the Lib Dems and asked if they're...
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Arrested for the Environment
Sam Knights is 22 years old. Since joining Extinction Rebellion, he has attended meetings with Michael Gove and Sadiq Khan- and been arrested for gluing himself to a London hotel. Natasha Livingstone chatted to the young activist about his experiences and discussed criticisms of the movement.
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An Epic Election
The Indian elections are the largest democratic exercise in history, with 900 million eligible voters. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History at the University of Oxford.
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What does Israel’s election mean for Palestine?
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is often accused of having no interest in resolving the conflict with Palestine. Following his re-election earlier this month, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Dr. Yaser Alashqar, to discuss how the election result will impact the Israel/Palestine...
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Why is homelessness getting worse?
Official figures reveal that there has been a 165% increase in homelessness since 2010, but charities claim the number is much higher. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Ruth Ehrlich, a policy officer for Shelter. Useful contacts mentioned in the episode: - www.streetlink.org.uk -...
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Ditch the Diet
From the high-protein diet to the juice cleanse, diet makers are profiting from the global obesity crisis. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Dr Giles Yeo, a geneticist at Cambridge University and author of the best-selling book ‘Gene Eating’, who argues that genes are to blame when...
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A Brexit Breakthrough?
With Parliament not making any headway on Brexit, we experimented to see if Ellie Varley (Vice Chair for Brexit4Students and Conservative voter), Christopher Vince (Labour Councillor in Harlow) and Alisha Lewis (Community Activist for the Liverpool Liberal Democrats) could do a better job and…
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Why is Spain having a snap election?
With the never-ending Brexit saga dragging on, you might not have noticed that Spain is having a snap election on the 28th April. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone chatted to Backbench writers Dom Griffiths and Sammy Russell.
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Problematic Prisons
As Brexit consumes all political and media attention, important domestic issues are being overlooked. One of these topics is Prison reform. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Graham Atkins, a researcher at the Institute for Government.
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A United Kingdom?
Brexit has been making all the headlines again this week as Parliament rejected Theresa May’s deal for the *second* time and voted for an extension. But how does all this affect the Scots? To find out, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Backbench writers Sam Payne (from Hampshire) and Scott Blair (from...
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Britain's Private School Problem
Natasha Livingstone sat down with Francis Green, co-author of the new book 'Engines of Privilege: Britain's Private School Problem', to discuss educational inequality and how Brexit could make abolishing the private system a little easier.
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Gilets Jaunes: Unstoppable?
With the ‘yellow vests’ protests entering their fourth month, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Anelise Borges, Paris correspondent for Euronews, to discover what the future holds for the 'gilets jeunes'.
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TIG- Terrific or Tragic?
Backbench editors Calum Henderson and Abby King chat to Natasha Livingstone about The Independent Group and debate whether they represent a fresh start.
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The Cliffhanger Summit
On the 27th February, Trump and Kim Jong-un will meet to discuss North Korean denuclearisation - but what will happen? To find out, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Dr Victor Cha, a former US government official and senior advisor at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
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Generation Burnout
We often hear about the struggles facing millennials, but what about generation Z? Backbench editor Lilian Fawcett and writer Alisa Anwar chat to Natasha Livingstone about burnout and ask whether it is a generational issue.
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Why be a young Tory?
Conservative voters under 25 are a minority in Britain, so what makes them different? To find out, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Tom Harwood, a 22-year-old journalist for the right-wing news site Guido Fawkes.
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Who's in charge?
In the first episode of series two, Backbench editors Maheen Behrana and Lauren White chat to Natasha Livingstone about the establishment, Owen Jones' twitter spats and Larry the Cat.
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BONUS EPISODE: Brave New World
Natasha Livingstone chats to Carl Miller, author of The Death of the Gods – a book which explores new forms of power in today’s digital world.
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Best of Series One
Natasha Livingstone sits down with Backbench director Sam Bright and editor-in-chief Daniel Clark to moan about Brexit and reflect on their favourite moments of series one.
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Truth: The First Casualty
Natasha Livingstone chats with Peter Greste, an award-winning foreign correspondent who was imprisoned in Egypt for 400 days in 2013, about the war on journalism and truth.
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Brexit: What’s Happening?!
To bring clarity to this week’s madness, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Dr Simon Usherwood from ‘The UK in a Changing Europe’ about immigration, Chihuahuas and Theresa May’s next steps.
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Bad Education
Following this week's Brexit bedlam, Natasha Livingstone chats to Backbench writer Alisa Anwar about how the lack of political education prevents young people from engaging in public affairs.
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Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe?
Natasha Livingstone gives context to the Khashoggi murder and Backbench editor Ali Goldman debates whether the UK is diplomatic or cowardly with writer Maheen Behrana.
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Crushing the midterms
On 6th November, American voters will go to the polls two years after Trump's election. In conversation with Marisa Kabas, a New York-based writer and activist, Natasha Livingstone unpacks the US midterms.
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WTF?
Natasha Livingstone chats with Kishan Koria, producer of ITV’s Peston and researcher for Robert Peston’s book, WTF?. A former Backbench editor, Kishan shares his political insights and offers tips for breaking into the media.
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Social media's hidden mental health dilemma
Natasha Livingstone chats to Jess Insall and Lauren White about Backbench's investigation into social media and mental health, which found kindness in unexpected places.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Backbench editors and writers offer their thoughts on the most interesting political stories from the UK and abroad.
HOSTED BY
Backbench
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Backchat have?
Backchat currently has 56 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Backchat about?
Backbench editors and writers offer their thoughts on the most interesting political stories from the UK and abroad.
How often does Backchat release new episodes?
Backchat has 56 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Backchat?
You can listen to Backchat on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Backchat?
Backchat is created and hosted by Backbench.
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