The Rest Is Politics
by tgry
Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart break down current affairs in the UK and abroad. The Rest Is Politics analyses the latest international news, provides debate on global issues, and reveals secrets from Westminster, whilst bringing back the lost art of disagreeing agreeably. With insider perspectives and expert analysis, The Rest Is Politics is the go-to podcast for anyone seeking intelligent, engaging discussions on British and global politics. The Rest Is Politics Plus: Join with a FREE TRIAL at therestispolitics.com for exclusive bonus content including Rory and Alastair’s first ever miniseries, early access to episodes and live show tickets, ad free listening, our exclusive newsletter, discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, and our members chatroom. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Social Producer: Celine Charles Lead Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Bella Soames
Episodes
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Kim Leadbeater, MP: My Sister's Murder and Why I Never Wanted To Go Into Politics
This week, we bring you one of Alastair’s favourite interviews. He’s joined by Kim Leadbeater MP, whose sister Jo Cox was murdered in 2016, and his lifelong friend Lindsay Nicholson, who lost her husband John and nine-year-old daughter Ellie to the same rare cancer. They discuss grief…
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582. Netanyahu’s Fight for Survival and the Gaza Film That Shocked Rory and Alastair
What is at stake for Israelis and Palestinians in the upcoming parliamentary elections and, if Netanyahu loses, will anything actually change given the major parties reject a two state solution? Why does the IDF’s ‘bureaucracy of mass murder’ and its ‘NAZA’ collateral damage policy in Gaza…
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581. Trump and Putin vs. Zelensky: Is Europe Sleepwalking into Disaster?
After another devastating week for Ukraine, is Trump now firmly on Putin’s side, and how much leverage does Elon Musk have over Zelensky’s war effort through his ownership of Starlink? With more civil unrest in France, what does this mean for a protest movement increasingly overshadowed by…
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Addiction, Breakdown and Finding Persevilience: Rory Interviews Alastair
How has Alastair managed to come back from some of the darkest places in his life, overcoming a breakdown while in the public eye? Is his obsession with work unhealthy, or necessary to achieving great things and what does it cost his family and those around him? And, beyond the personal, could…
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580. How to Solve Britain’s Youth Unemployment Crisis
In Britain, we spend £25 on benefits for every £1 we spend helping young people find work. So why have successive governments failed to fix this – and what does Alan Milburn’s review, due this autumn, say needs to change? How have countries with the lowest youth unemployment rates tackled the...
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579. Trump’s Public Execution Order and Burnham’s Brexit Intervention
How does Marco Rubio’s Parthenon speech fit the Trump administration’s ideas on European “civilisational erasure” – and how does it depart from traditional Republican rhetoric? With Pete Hegseth’s announcement of America’s first public execution since 1936 sparking outrage, are Trump’s likely...
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578. Alastair and Michael Gove Disagree Agreeably on Brexit and Israel
Will there be another EU referendum, despite Andy Burnham promising not to re-run old Brexit arguments? Will Michael Gove ever criticise Israel's actions in Palestine, and if not, why not? What do the charges against Manchester City tell us about Manchester’s growth since 2008 – and why do...
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577. Is Badenoch Finally Stopping Farage and Why Are French Schools on Fire?
With Reform bogged down in scandal, and Kemi Badenoch setting out her political vision at Conservative Party conference, have the Tories finally wrestled momentum on the right of British politics away from Farage? As French schools burn, how are Le Pen and the French far right exploiting the...
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576. How Xi is Outplaying Trump and Tensions in Northern Ireland
As Trump becomes the first American president to personally welcome a visiting head of state off a plane since JFK greeted Harold Macmillan in 1962, did his summit with President Xi signal improving US-China relations, or does Xi have his counterpart in an economic chokehold? With the standoff...
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575. Alastair Reacts to Burnham’s Speech and Rory’s Viral Stare
Will scrapping the triple lock be electorally perilous for Burnham, or can his vision of a national care service convince the public and his party that it’s time for pension reform? Did being Mayor of Greater Manchester make him a better orator? And what is Rory’s explanation for his viral...
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Why Nuclear War Is More Likely Than You Think (with Carlo Rovelli)
Why have we stopped talking about the risk of nuclear war when the risk is greater than ever? What is a ‘nuclear winter’ and why are nuclear exchanges such extreme risks for the future of humanity? And should the UK be investing in nuclear weapons – or could this make the country more vulnerable?...
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574. Germany’s Political Disaster and Can the Lib Dems Fight Back?
As the far-right Alternative for Germany wins another regional election, wiping out the ruling Christian Democratic Union in former Chancellor Angela Merkel's own backyard, will Friedrich Merz face the same fate as Keir Starmer and lose his job? New polling shows that just 15% of people in rural...
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573. Burnham and Carney vs. Trump, and the Diana Dispute
As Burnham meets Trump face-to-face for the first time at the UN General Assembly, will he adopt Mark Carney’s or Keir Starmer’s approach to dealing with the US President? With Carney receiving a standing ovation in the European Parliament and championing “deep cooperation” between Europe and...
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The Greatest Threat Humans Just Can’t Stomach with Yuval Noah Harari
Episode 2 is available right now for TRIP Plus members. Sign up at therestispolitics.com What can the Aztec Empire's catastrophic failure to understand Cortés and the Spanish conquistadors teach us about the threat AI poses today? Why does Yuval Noah Harari believe our gut refuses to accept an...
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572. Trump’s Next Middle East Crisis and Reform’s £72m Megadonation
Is the Houthi’s seizure of one of the world's most critical waterways the clearest proof yet that Trump's Iran war has become a catastrophe? With the very people building AI now calling for a pause, is real regulation finally coming, or will tech billionaires keep writing the rules themselves?…
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571. Rory and Alastair Challenge Ed Miliband on Israel-Palestine
Why has Ed Miliband gone further than any previous foreign secretary in confirming the occupation of the Palestinian territories as illegal and placing sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank? Can these limited sanctions really achieve their stated aim of “salvaging” the two-state...
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"Our Generation Was Lied To": Two Gen Z MPs on Fixing Politics
To hear the full series “The Gen Z Story”, sign up at the restispolitics.com – use your student email for a discount How do you get older colleagues to take you seriously when you become an MP at 25? Has the social contract between the state and young people been irreparably broken? And how…
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570. Why Trump Acts Like a Russian Asset and Miliband’s West Bank Sanctions
After Trump’s latest betrayal of Ukraine, why does he act like a Russian asset? Has John Healy already missed his moment to be a radical Chancellor, and does Ed Miliband’s move to impose economic sanctions on Israeli settlements prove he would have been the bolder choice? Is the President of…
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569. Farage’s Foreign Funding Scandal and Germany’s Far-Right Breakthrough
As the Alternative for Germany party secured its best ever election result in Saxony-Anhalt, is the country about to get its first far-right state premier since the Nazi Party, and will Chancellor Friedrich Merz survive the fallout? What does an undercover documentary on Reform's fundraising…
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Becoming Burnham: The Manchester Arena Call, Westminster Plotting, and Keir vs Andy
To hear the full episode, and the whole series, sign up at therestispolitics.com How did Andy Burnham learn about the Manchester Arena bombing? Would he still have tried to become PM had Keir Starmer let him stand in the Gorton and Denton byelection? And when did tensions between Keir and Andy...
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568. MAGA's Plan to Make Britain Look Broken and Iceland's 'Brexit' Moment
Did Iceland's rejection of EU membership talks repeat the same mistakes as Britain's Remain campaign, and does it hand a dangerous propaganda win to Farage, Putin, and the wider anti-European right? As Russia warns of "consequences" over British missiles built in Ukraine, is the West sleepwalking...
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567. Who Really Benefits from AI and Will Data Centres Decide the Midterms?
Why is the backlash against data centres becoming one of the most combustible issues in US politics? What does an AI system's attempt to cheat, cover its tracks, and break into another company’s website reveal about our ability to keep these systems under control? After the catastrophic flash...
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Becoming Burnham: People Pleasing, The Shadow Years and Losing to Jeremy Corbyn
Who are the political figures that shaped Andy Burnham? How far will the new PM go to be liked? And what impact did losing to Jeremy Corbyn's popularity 'tsunami' have on his career - and confidence? Join Alastair Campbell and Steve Rotheram as they address all these questions and much more on...
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566. Carney vs. Trump and Alastair’s Advice for Burnham’s First PMQs
Why is Mark Carney choosing economic pain over a deal on tariffs with Trump? As Palestinians prepare to vote for the first time in 20 years, why has Mahmoud Abbas decided that now is finally the moment to hold elections, and will Israel block them? With Andy Burnham preparing for his first Prime...
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565. Zelenskyy’s Corruption Problem and Is History Repeating Itself in Germany?
Why did Andy Burnham choose Kyiv, not Washington or Brussels, for his first foreign trip as Prime Minister? Is the tide at home turning against President Zelenskyy, and do fresh corruption scandals pose an existential threat to Ukraine’s war effort? With the AfD on course to break through in…
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Becoming Burnham: Thatcher, Hillsborough, and the Anger that Shaped Him | Part 1
To hear the full episode and the series as it drops, sign up up at therestispolitics.com Alastair is joined by Andy Burnham’s closest confidant, friend and former colleague, Steve Rotheram – the Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region to discuss… Who really is Andy Burnham, and how is he going…
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564. Burnham’s Media Machine and West Bank Settler Impunity
Is Burnham’s Britain’s first ‘TikTok Prime Minister’ and what does that mean for accountability, old-fashioned journalism, and the Westminster lobby? Why are violent Israeli settlers able to act with impunity against Palestinians in the West Bank, and is Israel effectively annexing the territory?...
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563. Britain’s Afghanistan Shame and the Jason Arday Tragedy
Five years after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover, why has not a single Western government marked the anniversary of a war that cost thousands of lives and trillions of dollars? Why has Russia's last liberal anti-war party been banned ahead of next month's Duma…
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Will Climate Action Go Backwards Under Burnham?
Should Andy Burnham deliver a covid style national emergency briefing to inform the public about the climate emergency? How do we foster cross-party consensus on the climate emergency? And, can we balance the need to build data centres and protect the environment? Join Alastair Campbell, Rory...
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562. The Right’s War With Itself and Burnham’s Prisons Challenge
With Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe trading blows, is the British right tearing itself apart, and will Kemi Badenoch destroy the Conservative Party by chasing Reform and Restore voters rather than the centre ground? With prisons at breaking point and reoffending rates soaring, why aren’t…
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561. How Trump’s Chaos Keeps Splintering the World Order
As a new military alliance between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan the first sign that America's allies no longer trust its guarantees? Why are politicians refusing to admit how fast America is burning through its Patriot missiles in Iran? With suspected Russian drones probing Europe, is the...
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The Truth About Climate Migration – It's More Complicated Than You Think
To hear the whole episode and catch up on the rest of the series, which includes a deep dive into food security, water scarcity and the suppressed national security report, sign up at therestispolitics.com Are people really migrating because of changes in the climate? Who pays when a nation is...
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560. Trump's Hamas Disarmament 'Deal' and Europe's FIFA Boycott
As Trump's Board of Peace unveils a plan to disarm Hamas, will the group now give up its weapons and what would this mean for Gaza's future? Amid an escalation of violence on the West Bank and with settlements continuing to grow, why does the US President appear not to care? In the wake of the...
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559. Who Really Benefits from the Ceuta Migration Crisis?
Why did 50,000 people risk their lives in an attempt to cross the Morocco-Spain border? What do the pictures emerging from the enclave of Ceuta reveal about the bigger migration story? Why did right-wing figures across the world, from Donald Trump to Elon Musk and Giorgia Meloni, all weigh in?...
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Data Centres vs. Drinking Water: What Matters To Us Most?
To hear the full episode, which includes an interview with global water expert, Sandra Postel, sign up at the therestispolitics.com With the government quietly categorising data centres as ‘critical infrastructure’, could we ever be in a situation where data centre water supply is prioritised…
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558. The 'Cockroach' Uprising and Should We Stop Data Centres?
Is Modi's power finally cracking as the Cockroach Janta Party's mass protests force a minister to resign for the first time in over a decade? Does the new US-Saudi uranium deal risk triggering a fresh wave of nuclear proliferation across the Middle East and beyond? If AI data centres are the...
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557. Can Burnham Deliver Britain's Biggest Change in Generations?
Can Andy Burnham, in a single term or less, fix problems like social care that are generations in the making? Is his new push for vocational education a long-overdue fix for Britain's broken skills system, or a betrayal of the working-class kids who have the most to gain from a rigorous academic...
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Britain's Ticking Time Bomb: The Food Security Crisis
Could the UK be facing empty supermarket shelves by 2030? Are food distribution centres sitting ducks for drone warfare? And how has Britain got to a place where is has just 3 days to 3 weeks worth of food supplies? This week, Caroline Lucas sits down with food security expert, Professor Paul...
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556. The US-China AI Arms Race and Badenoch vs. Rory’s Centrism
Is China quietly outsmarting the US in the AI arms race, and is Trump laying the pitch to challenge the results of the US midterms with his repeated, unfounded claims of Chinese election meddling? Why has Zelenskyy sacked his popular defence minister just as Ukraine is winning on the battlefield?...
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555. Burnham’s Cabinet Purge and the Rough Sleeping Pledge
What does Andy Burnham’s purge of Starmer loyalists from the top of government tell us about how the new British prime minister will govern the UK? Why did Ed Miliband drop his ten-year Energy Security and Net Zero project to become Foreign Secretary? Can Burnham end rough sleeping nationally,...
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The Secret Security Threat The Government Don’t Want Us To Know
Why did the government suppress a report written by senior intelligence officials which named climate and nature collapse as a national security threat? How could ecosystem collapse lead to empty super market shelves, water scarcity and increased risk of conflict? And, ultimately, why has this…
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554. Burnham’s Worldview, Trump's Ceasefire Collapse, and Advising Count Binface
Can Andy Burnham's 'Makerfield test' survive contact with a world of Trump, China, and a raging Iran crisis? Why did every one of Netanyahu's promises to Trump about the war with Iran - from destroying the ballistic missile programme to fomenting revolution - turn out to be wrong? What advice…
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553. Farage in Meltdown and The Killing of Ann Widdecombe
Has Nigel Farage finally hit his tipping point, and could Count Binface deliver the ultimate humiliation in Clacton? Why are police warning against speculation over the killing of Ann Widdecombe, and is Reform trying to weaponise her death? Was Rory Stewart aware of any of this during his twelve...
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552. Trump's Red Card Saga and Germany's Far-Right Machine
What does Trump's shocking red card intervention reveal about how he wields power? Why doesn't his corruption seem to hurt him politically, despite adding $2.2 billion to his wealth in a single year in office, while so many Americans struggle to get by? Is Germany's firewall against the far right...
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551. Will Farage’s Trumpian Resignation Stunt Backfire?
Is Farage's shock by-election gamble a Trumpian trick to bury the scandal over his finances? Why has the Murdoch press finally turned on Britain's most protected politician? Can Andy Burnham beat the media machine that swallowed Keir Starmer? Join Alastair and Mehdi Hasan as they answer all these...
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550. Will Farage's Extreme Wealth Be His Downfall?
How has Farage become the highest earning MP, while still claiming to be “for the everyday Briton”? Has Farage become part of the establishment? And how much more is there to discover about Farage’s £5 million "gift"? Join Alastair and Cat Neilan, journalist at the Observer, as they answer all...
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549. Mamdani’s Wrecking Ball and the Rise of Anti-Migrant Vigilantes
Is Zohran Mamdani becoming much more than a mayor and effectively running a shadow presidential campaign through the candidates he's backing? How significant is Australia’s new centrist party and could something similar be done in the UK? Are the anti-migrant protests and vigilantes in South…
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548. Burnham vs. Westminster and Trump’s Next Target
Will Andy Burnham’s plan for a ‘Number 10 North’ actually work in practice? What does Rory make of Burnham’s growth strategy? Who is Donald Trump’s next target in Latin America? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more. __________ Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with...
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547. The Truth About Russian Oil, Net Zero, and North Sea Drilling
With the UK and Europe sweltering in yet another record-breaking heatwave, will we ever actually reach net zero? How close are we to a “lights out” scenario due to the Iran war, and how did we become so dependent on Russian oil? Is North Sea drilling for oil and gas a matter of national security,...
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546. Keir Starmer Resigns: What Happens Next?
What does Keir’s Starmer’s exit as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour party mean for the UK? After his thumping victory against Reform UK last week, will Andy Burnham face a contest or a coronation on his path to becoming the country’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit referendum? What...
About this show
Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart break down current affairs in the UK and abroad. The Rest Is Politics analyses the latest international news, provides debate on global issues, and reveals secrets from Westminster, whilst bringing back the lost art of disagreeing agreeably. With insider perspectives and expert analysis, The Rest Is Politics is the go-to podcast for anyone seeking intelligent, engaging discussions on British and global politics. The Rest Is Politics Plus: Join with a FREE TRIAL at therestispolitics.com for exclusive bonus content including Rory and Alastair’s first ever miniseries, early access to episodes and live show tickets, ad free listening, our exclusive newsletter, discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, and our members chatroom. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Social Producer: Celine Charles Lead Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Bella Soames
Hosted by
tgry
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