Quiet Riot

Alex Andreou talks to former diplomat and host of the Behind The Lines podcast, Arthur Snell, to try and construct some order out of the recent chaos in Syria. Who are the good guys? What does this mean for Israel? How exposed is Iran? Is it an opportunity for the Kurds to carve out a state? What is Türkiye's agenda? How does this impact Russia and Putin in both practical and reputational terms? What is next for Assad? ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “Who can rebuild a country, after a devastating civil war, while also rebuilding its society? That expertise might not exist. But it seems that, if people feel that they have ownership and that they’re not being manipulated by outside forces, there’s a higher chance of this thing going better.” “If you look at how HTS ruled in Idlib - which became a considerable mini-state, because a lot of Syrians were displaced there, so it ended up with 4.5m people living there - it was a dictatorship, but not in the business of chemical weapons or cleansing, and more recently they have allowed other minorities to practice their faith and have a measure of rights.” “I think we have to accept that the different bits of Syria that are under different groups’ control, are very unlikely to want now suddenly to be under the control of Damascus again - particularly the Kurds who have a pretty organised setup in the Northeast. So, one would hope that the pragmatism we’ve seen so far from HTS and Julani, that has seen him go on this journey from full-blooded islamist to something a bit more open-minded, might extend to saying: Syria doesn’t work very well as a centralised state and actually you need a measure of federalism and particularism.” “What happens when people go back home and someone else is living in their house? What happens to teenagers of fourteen and fifteen years of age who have never been to Syria? They were born in refugee camps and that is all they know. How do all those returning integrate back ‘home’?” "It is a reminder that Russia doesn't always win. It's an important psychological point for all those who, rightly, fear Russian encroachment, that Russia doesn't always get its way and can be overextended, like everyone else." BEHIND THE LINES PODCAST The latest episode of Arthur's podcast is here. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith and special guest investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan discuss the huge amounts of money that is currently flowing into our politics, the ways in which it is corrupting our democracy, and what we can do about it. And in Part II, the very narrow path left to the Labour government, because of a lack of money. Plus 'Wokey Dokey' and 'Grin and Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** "In 2023 two-thirds of all the money raised in British politics came from 19 people, who all gave over a million… Reform are continuing this trend and going even further. Candy is talking about raising £40m in total. These are huge sums in the context of British politics.” “They get incredible bang for their buck these [Tufton Street] think tanks. According to the IEA’s accounts last year, they got over 4,500 media hits the previous year. Which is unbelievable - they’re on radio, TV, or print something like twelve times a day.” “People don’t like the influence money has on our politics. And this is, I think, something that Labour haven’t fully grasped. People don’t think of ‘Tory Sleaze’. They just think of sleaze.” GRIN AND SHARE IT Piece on teaching a very old dog new tricks, is here. CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Peter's substack Democracy for Sale. Answer the short survey on donations here. Best for Britain's donation tree drive. Government consultation on Right to Buy. This is the cynical BBC article about folders. You can complain about the BBC's coverage here. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex disseminate Starmer's big "this is not a reset" speech. Naomi talks about the importance of a better EU deal and a new initiative for getting there, with Labour MP Andrew Lewin. Finally, Melania is flogging $90 ornaments and Donald has a new fragrance out for Christmas - which really gives new meaning to eau de toilet. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “I wonder whether the civil service got into the habit of resisting ideas from gov’t, because of the extraordinary churn. If you’re in the housing bit, and you’ve had 18 ministers, you learn to play for time, because you think ‘meh, they’ll be a different guy with a different plan in six weeks’. Maybe what we’re seeing is that muscle memory of those last 14 years.” “I desperately want Labour to turn things around. They have to. The stakes are too high. I want to see the xenophobic, toxic, English nationalism of Farage and his cabal defeated and roundly. I don’t want Trumpism in Britain.” Lewin: “This parliament will be defined by our success, or not, in growing the economy and raising living standards. It is very clear to me that we, as a Labour gov’t, have to look at every lever we can pull, to deliver on that mission of growing the economy, including significantly improving our relationship with the EU.” Lewin: “I don’t think many people consider themselves ‘leavers’ or ‘remainers’ any more. They look at an economy that’s been flatlining for a decade and want to look at every practical step to get things growing and moving again.” CALL TO ACTION Write to your MP, to ask them to prioritise a closer relationship to the EU, using this tool. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex talks to our resident France expert, Olivier Morel, about the political deadlock in France, how and why we got here and whether Macron can survive it. An informative and completely accessible conversation. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “Macron has become a lighting rod. He seems to trigger extreme reactions and opprobrium from all sorts of quarters. The loathing he attracts is quite extraordinary.” “With both Berlin and Paris being so self-involved and consumed with domestic politics, and lacking the authority to make their voices heard, the European Commission may be sensing an opportunity to take over the governing of Europe.” “Marine Le Pen is facing a court case which could result in her being barred from running… There is also speculation that she is concerned about her young protégé, Bardella, being rather too popular for her liking, plus her Dad is reportedly not well. All this creates an environment where she is trying to force the tempo.” Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex welcome comedian and author Henry Morris, to discuss the common threads behind the chaos that seems to be bursting through, pretty much everywhere in the world right now. And we also get a view from rural Wales of the resignation of the Welsh Tory leader and how Labour's farming tax reforms have gone down. Plus Wokey Dokey and Grin and Share It. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Alex: "Is there a case FOR a Trump White House? Might having a mercurial psychotic in charge of the world’s largest military make some lower-rank psychotics with regional ambitions wind their neck in?" Henry: “Labour have been in charge for a very long time in Wales. It is a ripe environment to throw your vote at a party who promises to change everything. Someone I was talking to the other day said: ‘Farage will f**k things up Henry. As in, that’s what we need.”   Naomi: "With just 18 months to go until the next Senedd elections, Reform UK are sniffing around for gains, and latest polling by YouGov predicts an unprecedented and genuine three-way tie in current vote intention between Plaid Cymru, Labour and Reform UK." Henry: “As someone who went to Wales not knowing any farmers, but knowing a lot about biodiversity collapse and climate change, I was less sympathetic to them than I am now, when I’m surrounded by them and they’r my friends and they’re all really nice. In the inheritance debate, I saw lots of people in London suddenly become experts on farming and not really getting what the protests were about, which was not just the tax but all these other things putting pressure on farmers.” GRIN AND SHARE IT Piece on bumble bee conservation success in the Scotsman here. CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: For Henry's immense Tories; A Tragedy click here. For International Rescue's Gaza appeal click here. To download Mal Pope and Carolyn Harris's single click here; to vote for it click here. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex talks to TIME Magazine's correspondent and QR regular Yasmeen Serhan, about Biden pardoning his son, Trump's latest picks, their impact on geopolitics - especially Gaza, and what went wrong with the election. A gorgeous free-roaming chat. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “It’s our election, but it’s everyone’s spectacle. I get the privilege of voting in it, but we are all affected - just in different ways.” “Democrats would do well to have a bit of introspection, and say: ‘we clearly didn’t reach these swathes of people that, a couple of elections ago, we thought were our demographic destiny to carry.’ They didn’t. Maybe they should start figuring out why.” “Fundamentally, you have to earn people’s votes. You can’t just explain to them how they don’t really have a choice. That’s just going to turn people away. The more likely outcome isn’t that they concede the point. It’s that they stay at home.”  Yasmeen Serhan's substack newsletter (mainly for her mum): Foreign Correspondence. FT round-up of Trump's pick for FBI boss: Kash Patel faces rocky path to US Senate approval Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex talk through a very busy week (as much of it as they can). They reflect on the assisted dying debate and vote, discuss Louise Haigh's resignation and Heidi Alexander's promotion, Zelensky's offer (and challenge) to NATO, and the likely outcome of the general election in the Republic of Ireland. With a special and very familiar guest. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Naomi: “Attendance was stellar - unheard of, for a Friday. And the vast majority of arguments in both directions were made in an incredibly respectful way. And it’s just made me feel that I want more of this. Why aren't more issues decided on a free vote?” Alex: “A lot of the anxiety [around assisted dying] has to do with cultural, rather than legislative failings: how we treat older people, how we treat illness, how we treat incapacity, how we treat disability, how we value or devalue life. Those things require a cultural shift.” Naomi: “Going for politicians over very minor indiscretions, is going to put people off wanting to become parliamentarians. There is a case to be made for high standards. But if you are a left-leaning, progressive person, thinking of going into politics, the standard expected of you is so much higher.”  Hugo Rifkind: My mother’s MS has shaped my view on assisted dying Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex welcome author, columnist, and the ARD's London correspondent, Annette Dittert, to discuss the petition demanding another election, Kemi Badenoch's - now, weekly - strategic mistake, and Musk's obsession with the UK government. After which we take a dive into Angela Merkel's book, the upcoming German elections, and what the likely result might mean for Ukraine. Plus a very Wicked Wokey Dokey and Grin and Share It. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Annette: “I think Musk wants to bring down the EU and, more generally, the rule of law of liberal democracy, because it stands in the way of his tech-bro thinking. He’s particularly focussed on Britain at the moment, because they have Farage as their way in.” Alex: “Part of the strategic mistake of Badenoch calling for an election now is that it hands the advantage to Farage. In five years MAYBE people will have forgotten some of the stuff that went on under the Conservatives. In five months, they haven’t. If you put the choice back in front of them, they’ll try Option C. It is infuriatingly obvious.” Annette: “Angela Merkel, who just published her book in Germany, was giving numerous interviews and was asked: What happened with this coalition? And she just looked at the interviewer and said: ‘Well. Men.’” Naomi: “What do thousands of people in Ongar, Clacton, Richmond, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan, Chad, Venezuela, and even nine people in the Antarctic and five in Vatican City share with the world’s richest man? That’s right - none of them understand how elections work.”  Annette: “There is a huge anxiety in Germany already [about Russia]. It feels completely different when you’re in Berlin or Warsaw to when you’re in London. It’s irrational, of course, but when I am in London, I feel a little further away.”   GRIN AND SHARE IT A video of the new Renfrew Bridge! CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Sign the petition to hold a referendum on Proportional Representation.  Latest news from the European Network Against Racism. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the July election, a victorious Labour saw its red wall support slump to the lowest level in at least 40 years. Polling guru Peter Kellner joins Naomi Smith to discuss why, and to dive into his critique of Labour's 'red wall Brexit fallacy'. He also explains why Labour desperately needs to get on the front foot when it comes to relations with Europe, and poses the question: does Rachel Reeves have the courage to do something popular? As if that's not enough, there's insight on the farming row, Trump and immigration. Buckle up! Show notes Read Peter's superb Substack here Get your Bluesky Quiet Riot starter pack here and, if you prefer the olden ways, email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Our website lurks over at www.quietriotpod.com Oh, please consider sponsoring us at KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD ... thank you, it means a lot. With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell, in cahoots with SandStone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex talk through developments in Ukraine and Gaza, and what they might mean for our security. And they also discuss the continuing fallout from the farmland inheritance tax changes - and the Liberal Democrats' revealing position on the issue. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Naomi: "There is a vacuum. Scholz and Macron are in peril. The Democrats are licking their wounds in the States. And there is an opportunity for a leader who believes in the rule of law and liberal democracy, to strengthen international institutions and to show boldness and courage." Alex: "The arguments against inheritance tax are all 'blue skies, and rolling hills, and stewards of the land'. I feel emotionally manipulated. And I think this shtick may wear very, very thin, very, very quickly. Eventually, you have to find a better argument than singing 'Jerusalem' over and over again." Jonathan Freedland: Benjamin Netanyahu is a wanted man – and he has only himself to blame Naomi Smith: Opportunity in misery: how Starmer can respond to Trump’s US victory Clive Lewis's Bsky thread on missing Labour narrative Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex welcome former UK Ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, whose dismissal Trump demanded in 2020, to the studio to talk through what's in store from a Trump second term. We also take a look at the farming protests and try a novel approach: to reach a balanced view based on the evidence. Plus regular features Grin And Share it and Troll With It. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Kim: “Gary Cohn, who was Trump’s economic adviser in the White House [in 2017], tells the story of how, when crazy ideas came up from some of the real ideologue Trump supporters, on tariffs and things like that, he would get tipped off by a friend in the outer office, go in and steal them and bury them in the deepest cupboard.” Kim: “If agencies receive instructions which they believe are mad or damaging to US security, they will resist. Trump had huge rows with the CIA and FBI in his first term. I think that pattern will continue, especially with Tulsi Gabbard in charge.” Kim: “[The new UK-US Ambassador] will need to be ready for the 5AM twitter-storm. He will wake up reach for his phone and post anything that has caught his eye and there is no filter. It’s pure Trump. There’s nobody sitting there at five in the morning saying, Mr President you shouldn’t do that.” Naomi: “Farmers have many reasons to feel angry and let down. Brexit has hurt them: lost EU subsidies, difficulty in hiring seasonal workers, the extra cost of importing goods or importing seed, chemicals, and other things they need, but also trade deals which put them at a competitive disadvantage.”  Alex: “We have become addicted to very cheap, low quality food. Good food costs money to produce. So, there is truth to the farmers’ core complaint which is that, on the whole, as a country, we don’t appreciate their work and the thing they produce sufficiently.”   Alex: “Farage has cost farmers more money through Brexit than any inheritance tax. Now he’s cosplaying in tweed from head to toe, marching alongside them. Tractors came to Whitehall in March, to protest the trade deals Badenoch signed. Now she’s making speeches and being applauded. How can I take them seriously? Where are their principles?” GRIN AND SHARE IT Reporting on the wider effects of Sadiq Khan's free school meals policy in the Mirror. LINKS: Tortoise Media's Peer Review. The Poke's collection of responses to the 'woke sandwiches' story. Dan Neidle's view of the inheritance tax changes for farms. Richard Murphy's view of the inheritance tax changes for farms. An archived version of the Together website (so you don't have to part with your data). Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex talks to special guest trade epxert David Henig about Trump's threatened tariff war - how likely is it, what would it mean for the world economy, and in which direction the UK should move to be best protected. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “Most trade is not in finished products, but in components. This is really important in thinking about the effect of possible tariffs. At least 50% of US imports are things that will in turn form part of a finished American product or help to make it.” “Trump’s plan for tariffs is good news if you’re a lobbyist working in DC, because everyone is going to be seeking exemptions for their inputs or tariffs on their rivals. This will become quite a bonanza in that way.” “Look at the figures. 50% of our trade, broadly, is with the EU. The UK cannot afford to ignore that. But then again 15-20% of our trade is with the US. Again, we cannot ignore that. So, we have to duck and weave, but we have to do so within a very straightforward principle: Geography matters. That makes Europe more important than the US.”   “The UK needs a little bit of honesty, to say: If you put up barriers with your neighbours, you will suffer a little economically. Similarly, that we’re not going to have an all-singing-all-dancing trade deal with the US. Also, that the actions we are taking at the moment to improve the deal with the EU will not transform the UK economy. Then we can have an honest discussion.” “Global Britain has failed. If the project of the last few Conservative administrations was to replace trade lost from the EU with trade around the world, that hasn’t happened. In fact trade is down both with the EU and with the rest of the world.” Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex, wth special guest Arthur Snell, assess what Trump's picks reveal about his intentions for the next four years and how they might affect global security challenges, including in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan. Oh, and it seems it's okay for the media to talk about the Brexit damage now. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Find Arthur's "Behind The Lines" here. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Accident stats are terrifying: UK accidental deaths exceed 20,000 a year and accidents (mostly at home) are the most common cause of preventable death among under-40s. And, since 2013, accidental deaths in the UK have risen by 50 per cent. You read that right. What on earth is going on? Wasn't 'Elf 'n' Safety madness' supposed to put a stop to this? Naomi Smith talks to someone who knows more than most about the topic. Dr James Broun is Research Manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), where Naomi is a non-exec director. RoSPA is calling for a national accident prevention strategy from the Government, and says joined-up thinking across Govt departments (and a minister for accidents) could save the country a fortune, as well as saving lives. *** YOU CAN SUPPORT US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD ... THANK YOU! *** Show notes Safer Lives, Stronger Nation: Read Rospa's new report, calling for a national accident prevention strategy, here. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naomi and Alex, with regular guest More in Common's Luke Tryl, discuss Lords reform, Kemi Badenoch's start, COP26, and the rise of the (very) long form bro-cast. Plus the return of regular features POLL THE OTHER ONE, WOKEY DOKEY, and GRIN AND SHARE IT. A packed show. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Luke: “When it comes to climate change, Britain is not the US. When we asked recently: Would you like to see the UK move to net zero at the current pace, faster, or slower, 41% said at the current pace, 41% said faster, and only 18% said slower. There’s a real appetite to do this and the public are ahead of politicians in lots of ways.” Naomi: “Political power is never something that should be inherited. We’d never accept a hereditary nurse or a hereditary lawyer. Why would we accept a hereditary legislator?” Naomi: “I am genuinely embarrassed by our second chamber. They are too old, they are too rich, too bloated in number, too male, too white, and they are there far too much through patronage and far too over-representative of the Southeast of England - and, thanks to the bishops, representative of only one sect of one religion which should have no place in policy making.”   Alex: “Donald Trump is kind of the grandfather of those manosphere long form shows. If you look at his rallies, that's the format: that unscripted, three-hour, ‘I love the sound of my own voice’, part nonsense, part tangents, but always coming back to the talking points youtube show or podcast.” GRIN AND SHARE IT The Economist: Mega-polluter China believes it is a climate saviour Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices