The New Statesman Podcast, Subscriber Only Edition

Nigel Farage loses his cool as he's grilled on his £5 million "gift", the "anti-woke" Davos and the elephant seal that's terrorising Tasmania.  Will and Anoosh round up the stories of the week. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2026/07/is-nigel-farage-losing-momentum

Hot dogs, fireworks, old glory, it's the 4th July. This year marks the 250th anniversary of the USA's Declaration of Independence.   What led up to these crucial events in 1776? Was the revolution truly American? And what does this anniversary represent today?   Tanjil Rashid is joined by Sarah Pearsall, historian and author of Freedom Round the Globe: How the World Made the American Revolution.

Some had dubbed Starmer as "the Trump whisperer", so how has this change in leader come across in the US? Do they even care?   Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo, joins us on The Exchange to discuss the view from across the pond and how Britain became a punching bag for the American right.

Then social media came along. This is one of the reasons social psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes whole heartedly in the social media ban for under 16s, which has been rolled out in Australia, and will be brought into effect in the UK early next year.   But is the ban really working in Australia? Is banning a solution? And is there a way to let young people benefit from the opportunities of the internet safely?

This morning Andy Burnham delivered a speech criticising "Whitehall culture" and promising to rebalance resources between national and local governments.  On course to enter Downing Street in as little as three weeks, the former Greater Manchester Mayor laid out his vision for a "Number 10 North", promising "growth in every postcode". But how will that work in practice? And how different is it from what's been before? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by political editor Ailbhe Rea.  

Keir Starmer's turn at the resignation lectern, Peter Murrell's £400,000 shopping spree and Will Dunn's attempt at a "Man v Horse" race.  Will and Anoosh discuss the stories of the week. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/this-england/2026/06/one-small-step-for-man-much-further-for-a-horse

Tayari Jones is one of America's most celebrated novelists, twice chosen by Oprah, shortlisted for prizes on both sides of the Atlantic, and read by presidents.   Her newest book was meant to be a tale of gentrification in the American South, she found herself an entirely different story. Kin follows two motherless girls coming of age in 1950s Louisiana, the Jim Crow South.It's a novel about female friendship, class, race, and motherhood.   Jones discusses her latest book, about growing up "bourgeois and segregated" in Atlanta as the daughter of civil rights activists, and what it's like to watch America try to turn the clock back on progress as it approaches its 250th birthday.

From a by-election victory in Wigan, to the resignation of Keir Starmer, to an Avanti West Coast train bound for London, tracked by news helicopters - Andy Burnham's return to Westminster has been a remarkable spectacle.   Whilst Burnham's coup has overcome multiple challenges to get to this point, in many ways, the hard part is about to begin.   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Ailbhe Rea and Tom McTague to discuss.

Yesterday morning Keir Starmer resigned as prime minister. Today is the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum. Britain will soon welcome its seventh prime minister in a decade. Are the two events connected? Or is country's instability rooted further back in history? Editor-in-chief Tom McTague joins Oli Dugmore.

This morning, Keir Starmer stood outside No 10 Downing Street and announced his resignation as Prime Minister - the sixth to leave office since the EU referendum, which was ten years ago this week. He will remain in office until Labour selects a new leader.  The Prime Minister's likely successor Andy Burnham is sworn in as an MP today after his decisive victory in the Makerfield by-election last week. Burnham has already announced his intention to stand as a leadership contender. How did the Prime Minister come to this momentous decision, and what happens next? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by political editor Ailbhe Rea and editor-in-chief Tom McTague.  

The importance of branding in British politics, banning social media for under 16s and the Reform councillor who made "the biggest mistake" of his life.   Anoosh Chakelian and Will Dunn discuss the stories of the week.   READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/06/the-brand-is-back-in-british-politics

Andrew Marr and the New Statesman's art critic Michael Prodger join Tanjil Rashid to discuss the life and legacy of David Hockney who passed away last week.   A Bradford boy who became one of the most famous artists in the world. A gay man who made desire visible decades before it was safe to do so. A painter who took on the iPhone and the iPad and bent new technology to the oldest of artistic impulses. What do the pools, hedgerows and iPad drawings add up to?

Andy Burnham has won the historic Makerfield by-election, he's soon expected to speak to Starmer or trigger a leadership election.   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Ethan Croft in Wigan.

Tomorrow - the fate of the Labour government, and Keir Starmer's premiership, is in the balance as voters head to the polls in Makerfield for the most consequential by-election in a generation.   If Andy Burnham wins, what are his next steps? How will the following days and weeks play out?   Will Lloyd is joined by Ailbhe Rea to discuss.

Children's laureate, screenwriter, author of Millions, architect of the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, and father of seven, Frank Cottrell-Boyce joins Oli Dugmore to discuss what childhood means in Britain today.   Over two years visiting schools, prisons and asylum hotels, he found a country that has quietly stopped looking after its youngest citizens. He talks about the NEETs crisis, furniture poverty, what summer holidays now mean to children who dread them, and why the most radical thing you can do for a child is sit on a sofa and read to them.

On Thursday, Makerfield goes to the polls in the most consequential by-election in a generation.   Can Andy Burnham finally gain the parliamentary seat he needs to enter the Labour leadership race? Will Robert Kenyon and Reform stop Burnham's charge to Downing Street and further cement their status as Labour's inevitable successors?   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by senior data journalist Ben Walker to discuss.

The Makerfield by-election candidates battle it out to be the most "normal", the travails of journalists from the US to the NS and more crossover between the worlds of AI and politics.   Will Dunn and Anoosh Chakelian round up the stories of the week

"The traveller sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see."   Andrea Wulf joins us to discuss her new book The Traveller, about George Forster - the forgotten naturalist who sailed with Captain James Cook at seventeen and came back convinced of something radical: that all human beings are equal.   We ask why that idea was so scandalous in the Enlightenment, why Forster has been largely written out of history, and whether travel really does broaden the mind - or whether, as G.K. Chesterton suggested, it might do the opposite.

Mariana Mazzucato is one of the most influential economists of modern times. An avowed progressive, her ideas impact the lives of millions of people, from the United States to sub-Saharan Africa. She was directly consulted in the creation of Biden's CHIPS Act, which is worth $280 billion. The World Bank's Mission 300, is straight out of her book Mission Economy.   Oli Dugmore sits down with her to discuss the hope for progressive change in our political and economic systems.

Ahead of the by-election in Makerfield on June 18th, polling expert Scarlett Maguire spoke to voters in the constituency for the New Statesman. This episode is made up of clips from these Makerfield locals.   Scarlett spoke to two groups, some who said they would be voting Reform, some who said they would be voting Labour.   They shared their concerns about the current state of the UK and its politics, and their opinions on the two main parties and candidates battling it out in Makerfield.

Andy Burnham's tucked-in t-shirt, a bonkers "festival of AI optimism" and which MP would make the best James Bond. Will Dunn is joined by editor Tom McTague to discuss the stories of the week.

There is in Britain today a widespread mood of public despair, a deep premonition of imminent national decline. According to Ipsos, just over half of Britons feel worse off since Keir Starmer was elected. Going further back, 60% feel the country has gone backwards since 2022.   Are Britain's best days really behind it?   Pratinav Anil, Rachel Clarke, Tanjil Rashid, John Kampfner, Gary Stevenson, and Polly Toynbee debate the issue.   This debate was chaired by Anoosh Chakelian and recorded at the Cambridge Literary Festival.   Find out more here: cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

The spectre of the Makerfield by-election on June 18th is hanging over British politics.   If Andy Burnham wins, he's in prime position to challenge Keir Starmer's leadership. However, a Burnham victory in Makerfield is all but certain. Reform and their candidate Robert Kenyon are mounting a serious challenge.   Tom McTague is joined by polling expert Scarlett Maguire and our political editor Ailbhe Rea to discuss.

Are AI companies the new empires? Journalist Karen Hao says the parallels are striking. This disruptive sector  requires vast amounts of land, minerals and water – not to mention data and content from individuals.  Hao interviews subjects ranging from those close to Open AI CEO Sam Altman to workers in the Global South who've been traumatised by their jobs in AI content moderation. She joins Oli Dugmore on The Exchange. 

What is the relationship between politics and the built environment? between the spaces inhabited by the public and the policies that govern them?    From parliaments to monuments… from open squares to closed off palaces… there clearly is a connection, but how that manifests itself remains deeply contested.    Tanjil Rashid is joined by Jan Werner-Muller, a German philosopher and historian, whose latest book, Street, Palace, Square: The Architecture of Democratic Spaces investigates this relationship between place, people and politics.

This week there's only one subject to discuss – and that's Tony Blair – who has written a blistering 5,000 word essay criticising everyone from Keir Starmer to Andy Burnham, Ed Miliband and Wes Streeting. Tom McTague is joined by political editor Ailbhe Rea to discuss this "right wing" intervention.

Guy Standing is a British labour economist best known for coining the term "precariat" to describe the growing global class of people living with unstable employment, mounting debt, and chronic insecurity.   Standing's latest book, Human Capital, explores how the education system has been corrupted and privatised.   He joins Oli Dugmore to discuss this, as well as how his concept of the "precariat" differs from Marx's "proletariat", and how a bold, progressive politics must flourish to combat the rise of authoritarianism.

Nigel Farage's £5 million "reward" from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, the NHS "I feel lucky" syndrome and the Reform councillor who wants us to crack down on extra terrestrial activity.  Will Dunn and Anoosh Chakelian round up the stories of the week.  

Political instability, democratic decline, the rise of populist movements - politicians and headlines today are quick to diagnose things as modern day Weimar. But what was Weimar actually like, and how did a city associated with culture and intellectual life become bound up with the rise of Nazism?   Historian Katja Hoyer joins us to discuss her new book on Weimar, the process of fascism taking hold at a local level, her previous book Beyond the Wall, and what today's politics, including the rise of Alternative for Germany, may and may not have in common with the past.

The spotlight of British politics is shining on Andy Burnham - and his "long coup" is underway.   Meanwhile, Keir Starmer himself has to find a way to resume some semblance of government as usual.   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Ailbhe Rea and Tom McTague to discuss.

Charleston Festival is running until May 25. Find out more here.   Ten years on from the referendum that redirected the course of British politics, the New Statesman's editor Tom McTague is joined by Caroline Lucas, Anand Menon and Marina Wheeler to consider how we should think about our relationship with Europe.  

Andy Burnham is running in a by-election in Makerfield, which is likely to be held on 18 June, to return to Parliament as an MP. If he wins, he will be the frontrunner in a contest to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.   Burnham's personal brand of politics is often referred to as "Manchesterism". So, what is it?   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by The New Statesman's editor-in-chief Tom McTague, who profiled Andy Burnham back in September.

Keir Starmer's never ending cycle of political chaos, Reform's suspended local councillors and Anoosh's heckle of Boris Johnson. Will Dunn and Anoosh Chakelian round up the stories of the week. Read: https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2026/05/will-progressives-ever-forgive-labour https://www.newstatesman.com/business/economics/2026/05/the-bond-markets-will-not-save-keir-starmer

Donald Trump's political style has often been compared to reality TV - but what if the better comparison is professional wrestling?   Satirist Munya Chawawa joins Luke O'Reilly to discuss his new documentary, Wrestling With Trump, which explores the connections between WWE spectacle and modern American politics.   Wrestling with Trump is available to stream now on 4.

Wes Streeting resigned as Health Secretary on Thursday morning, but Ailbhe Rea says Keir Starmer is determined to fight on. After days of speculation – and a 16-minute meeting at Number 10 – Wes Streeting has finally resigned from cabinet. On the same day, Angela Rayner has announced she has been "cleared" of wrongdoing related to unpaid property tax, which would leave her free to run in a leadership contest if one is triggered. However, sources inside Number 10 have told Ailbhe Rea that Wes Streeting does not have the backing of enough MPs to trigger a leadership contest. So what is the former Health Secretary hoping to achieve? And if a leadership contest were triggered, who else would be likely to run? Ailbhe Rea and Anoosh Chakelian discuss the latest from Westminster in The Politics Show. READ: Wes Streeting resigns with an excoriating letter to Starmer

Eric Schlosser is one of America's foremost investigative journalists, writing about everything from the prison system to nuclear weapons, exploring the hidden systems underpinning modern life.   25 years ago, he set out to investigate the economic model behind one of America's most recognisable industries: a system built on low-paid workers, dangerous conditions and the exploitation of migrant labour.   He joins Oli Dugmore to discuss America's complicated relationship with McDonald's, the rise of fast food as both a cultural symbol and an economic system, and how Britain seeks to replicate this.  

Over 80 MPs are calling for Keir Starmer's resignation, reaching the threshold required for a contender to mount a leadership challenge, with ministers - including Jess Philips - resigning from government too.   After a high stakes meeting this morning, several cabinet members voiced their support for the Prime Minister, as he defiantly vowed to "get on with governing".   Will the Prime Minister survive the week?

Keir Starmer has pledged to "prove the doubters wrong" as he tries to head off a leadership challenge after the disastrous local election results last week.   Fighting for his political life, the PM announced plans for stronger ties with the EU, powers to nationalise British steel and a scheme to help young people find work. But will it be enough?   Many of his own party don't seem to think so, with his former Deputy PM Angela Rayner calling for Andy Burnham to come back to Parliament.   Backbench MP Catherine West even threatened to mount a leadership challenge against Starmer, but has now backed down and called on him to go by September.

Spies - and stories about spies - are one of Britain's greatest cultural exports. From Ian Fleming's James Bond, to the works of John le Carré and Graham Greene, it seems that in the world's eyes there is something quintessentially English about the double agent and his, or her, deadly deceptions.  Novelist and screenwriter William Boyd shares this fascination. He first explored the theme of espionage in his 2002 novel Any Human Heart and went on to pen a James Bond continuation novel called Solo. His latest trilogy explores what happens when a travel writer becomes entangled in Cold War Espionage. He joins culture editor Tanjil Rashid.  

Results from the local and devolved are coming in. It has been, as many expected, a disappointing result for the Labour Party. Meanwhile, the insurgent parties, the Green Party to an extent, but especially Reform, have delivered on their promise of snowballing momentum. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by senior data journalist Ben Walker, political editor Ailbhe Rea and editor-in-chief Tom McTague. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/may-2026/2026/05/live-results-map-wales-scotland-and-local-elections

The UK is gearing up for local and devolved elections on Thursday.   As Keir Starmer looks increasingly isolated as Prime Minister, much is being made of a potentially disastrous few days for the Labour Party. If results go as badly for Labour as some are predicting, this could be the end for the PM.   Meanwhile, the insurgent Reform and Green parties are looking to continue their surging momentum.

Rather than a relic of the past, Mary Beard sees the classical world as a powerful tool for understanding the present. It's an idea she has explored in over twenty books on ancient history and numerous documentaries on the BBC and elsewhere, all of which have made her Britain's best known classicist. She joins culture editor Tanjil Rashid in the studio.

Crowds of young people chant his name but the Green leader is "nervous", says Ailbhe Rea. -- A year ago, Zack Polanksi was relatively unknown. Now, he's leading an "eco-populist" movement that has revitalised the Green Party and looks likely to propel a left-wing surge in the May local elections. Ailbhe Rea profiled the Green leader for the New Statesman, meeting him shortly after he'd been addressing young activists. She found a "sweet, slightly nervous" man who admits he still has much to learn about running a political party. Here Ailbhe speaks to Anoosh Chakelian about Zack Polanski's political position, his unusual background, and the lessons he might learn from Jeremy Corbyn.   LISTEN NEXT: Attacks on Jews are an indictment of Keir Starmer's Britain   READ: Zack Polanski is still learning

Parliament boozers, Morgan McSweeney vs Emily Thornberry, and King Charles' stand-up routine.   Will and Anoosh discuss another big week.

For decades, James Baldwin has stood as one of the most piercing moral voices of the 20th century, But Baldwin himself has remained, in his own words, elusive.   A new biography by Nicholas Boggs - Baldwin: A Love Story - sets out to change that.   Drawing on newly uncovered archives and decades of research, Boggs reframes Baldwin's life through an intimate and sometimes unsettling lens: love.   Luke O'Reilly sits down with Nicholas Boggs to discuss Baldwin's loves and contradictions, the relationship between intimacy and politics, and why Baldwin's insistence that "love is the only reality" might matter more now than ever.

"It makes me furious," says New Statesman editor Tom McTague. An attack in Golders Green, London, yet again exposes the rise of antisemitism in Britain. Anoosh Chakelian has been reporting from the borough, where local Jews fear for their safety, volunteer security guards patrol the streets and Jewish children have to pass through heavy security cordons to get to school. She tells editor Tom McTague about what she found. Meanwhile, the rise of anti-Jewish hate is putting more pressure on a government still mired in the Peter Mandelson scandal. The Prime Minister has become deeply unpopular, the Iran War continues, and local elections loom. Westminster has concluded Keir Starmer has two options: fight or flight. The New Statesman's political editor, Ailbhe Rea, says the Prime Minister has made a decision and raised his fists.    READ: Terror in Golders Green, by Anoosh Chakelian https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/society/2026/04/terror-in-suburbia We are under attack, by Rachel Cunliffe https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/society/2026/04/we-are-under-attack  

In 2011, Ben Lerner stormed onto the scene with his debut novel, Leaving the Atocha Station, a winning blend of low comedy and high art. He has since firmly established himself as one of America's most acclaimed novelists and is a leading voice in so-called autofiction. Now he returns with his fourth novel, and it may be his most profound yet.    In Transcription, Lerner turns his mind to the nature of art, and of ageing. It's a novel about generations, of growing children, and dying forebears, and the way the secrets and gifts of life and art move from one era to the next.    It's also a novel about technology, and our increasing reliance on it, the way it shapes our speech, our thoughts, our memories and even our conceptions of ourselves.   In this episode, Tanjil Rashid sits down with Ben Lerner to talk about how we record our conversations, why novels may matter even more in the age of AI, and - in his words - the bankruptcy of political speech.

The inevitability of the Peter Mandelson scandal, Jacob Rees-Mogg's live show, and the rising cost of condoms… Will Dunn and Anoosh Chakelian round up the stories of the week. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/04/whos-afraid-of-olly-robbins https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/the-sketch/2026/04/jacob-rees-mogg-relishes-the-limelight  

The Resistible rise of Arturo Ui, Bertolt Brecht's darkly comic allegory of authoritarianism is a play that straddles past and present. Written in 1941, it was conceived as a warning; a grotesque gangster-inflected retelling of the rise of Adolf Hitler. It holds out the warning that such a rise is not, in fact, inevitable – it can be resisted.   In a new production, Mark Gatiss steps into the role of Arturo Ui, a character who is at once absurd, ridiculous, sinister, and terrifying. It's a part that delicately walks the tightrope between satire and menace.   So how does a play rooted in 20th century politics land in Britain today? What does it mean to stage breath in an era saturated with political performance and media spectacle? And can satire still function as a warning rather than just a mirror?   Tanjil Rashid speaks with Mark Gatiss in this fascinating and wide-ranging interview.

The Mandelson affair has become less about Peter Mandelson's alleged wrongdoing, and all about Keir Starmer's ability to run the country. This week Olly Robbins, former chief civil servant at the Foreign Office, insisted the Prime Minister pressured him into clearing Peter Mandelson for the US ambassador post. Yesterday, Starmer was forced to admit his former spin doctor Matthew Doyle, who was suspended from the Labour Party over campaigning for a convicted child sex offender, was also considered for a diplomatic role.  Labour MPs and even cabinet ministers no longer seem able to defend the Prime Minister. But the frontrunners to replace Starmer are also, according to reporting by our editor Tom McTague, biding their time. How long can they wait? How long can the country wait? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Tom McTague in the studio. READ: Keir Starmer is all alone https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour/2026/04/keir-starmer-is-all-alone