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Helping you make sense of politics, culture and world affairs – every weekday.
Anoosh Chakelian, Andrew Marr and the New Statesman team bring you sharp reporting, clear analysis and thoughtful conversations to help you understand what’s really going on in Westminster and beyond.
The New Statesman is Britain’s leading source of news and commentary on politics and culture with a progressive perspective. On the podcast, our journalists and expert guests cut through the noise of the headlines to explain the forces shaping our world. From the battles inside the Labour Party to the future of the Conservatives, from the rise of Reform UK to the debates that dominate Parliament, we provide the clarity you need to follow UK politics.
But the story doesn’t stop at Westminster. Each week we take you around the globe, covering world news and international current affairs — from the war in Ukraine and the leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky, to Russia under Vladimir Putin, to the conflict in Israel and Gaza, and the impact of Donald Trump on American and international politics. Our interviews bring leading thinkers and cultural figures into the conversation, while our Saturday episodes explore books, literature, film and wider culture.
Whether you want to stay on top of UK news, understand the shifts in global politics, or dive into the ideas that drive our culture, the New Statesman podcast is your essential daily listen.
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START HERE:
▶︎ Kemi Badenoch isn't working | Cover Story with Tom McTague
▶︎ Do billionaires really benefit the UK?
▶︎ One year of Labour rule: can things still only get better?
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Host:
Anoosh Chakelian
Regular contributors and co-hosts:
Tom McTague, Editor-in-chief
Will Lloyd, Deputy editor
Andrew Marr, Political editor
George Eaton, Senior editor, politics
Hannah Barnes, Associate editor
Rachel Cunliffe, Associate political editor
Will Dunn, Business editor
Megan Gibson, Foreign editor
Katie Stallard, Global affairs editor
Tanjil Rashid, Culture editor
Kate Mossman, Senior writer
Production team:
Senior podcast producer: Catharine Hughes
Video producer: Rob Le Mare
Executive producer: Chris Stone
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1215 Episodes
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How your snatched iPhone feeds a global criminal supply chain.Britain’s exports have declined in many areas over the past few years, but there is one category in which trade is booming. The UK has become a leading exporter of stolen goods. From iPhones snatched by gangs on the streets of London to luxury cars stolen to order, criminal organisations are shipping vast amounts of items all around the world via Britain’s ports. And the authorities cannot keep up.Tom Sasse is public policy editor at The Economist, and has been investigating Britain’s stolen goods trade. He joins the New Statesman’s business editor, Will Dunn, to explain how these criminal exports work, why the police are powerless to stop them, and the impact this crime is having - on individuals, on businesses and on the entire British economy.Listen next: The Manosphere: Red pills, incels and a misogyny epidemicHost: Will DunnGuest: Tom SasseLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Who's in, who's out - and why?*Keir Starmer has reshuffled the treasury team and some key parliamentary staff, creating a new "Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister" role and restructuring the government's communication department.The changes indicate a renewed focus for the government, putting economic issues front-and-centre of operations ahead of the upcoming budget.The moves also suggest a change of direction in some areas, with leading proponents of the disastrous Winter Fuel Allowance repeal picking up their P45s.Rachel Cunliffe and Megan Kenyon join Anoosh Chakelian to discuss what can we learn from this reshuffle.LISTEN NEXT: What the Treasury reshuffle reveals about the budgetREAD: Will Keir Starmer's mini-reshuffle make a difference?Host: Anoosh ChakelianGuest: Megan KenyonGuest: Rachel Cunliffe*LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The experimental novelist on finding God, being "a misfit" and her return to writing.--Nicola Barker is "has broken the mould so many times it's almost beyond repair". She's a post-punk literary anarchist who writes from the peripheries of the UK.Her experiments with narrative form have won her many plaudits, including the Goldsmith's Prize for literary fiction, which the New Statesman partners with.Barker joins Tanjil Rashid on the New Statesman culture podcast to discuss her latest novel, Tony Interrupter: a comedy about art, virality, chaos, and the surprising impact of freak events in Kent.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“Do you think the English flag has been so easily co-opted by by the far right because there is no English government that is proudly flying the flag and building a better narrative around English national pride?” Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Harry Clarke-Ezzidio and George Eaton to answer listener quesitons.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It was foreseen for months, as Israel cut off all aid, but this month the UN declared that more than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine.By the end of September, more than 640 000 people will face Catastrophic levels of food insecurity. Leading to preventable deaths on a devastating scale.For Humza Yousaf, the former First Minister of Scotland and SNP leader, the horrors facing the people of Gaza for the past two years are deeply personal. His wife Nadia has relatives in Gaza - the family has described the experience as a “living nightmare”.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Last October, the government published the Employment Rights Bill, a slate of reforms set to change workers' rights in the UK - from banning “fire and rehire” tactics, to ending exploitative zero-hours contracts, to giving workers employment protection from day one.The bill has passed through the Commons and is currently on its third reading in the House of Lords - the first changes are expected to be enacted in 2026.But what does this bill really mean for workers, businesses, and the economy? And could there be unintended consequences that even its biggest supporters are worried about?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, one of the UK’s leading trade unions representing over 150,000 professionals across science, engineering, and technology.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ahead of this autumn’s budget there has been a reshuffle in Rachel Reeves’ treasury team. What’s at play? And what might it tell us about the trajectory of Britain’s finances?Will Dunn, the New Statesman's business editor, is joined by George Eaton.Read: Torsten Bell rises as Rachel Reeves reshuffles her team; Rachel Reeves will never get serious on taxDownload the appLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Students across the UK have reported a dramatic rise in misogyny in their schools. The government has described this as being on an "epidemic scale". This is often connected to social media content targeted at young men and boys, but is there more to it?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by journalist James Bloodworth, author of Lost Boys: A Personal Journey Through the Manosphere, to discuss.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Due to Britain’s falling birth rates and the government’s desire for lower immigration levels, does the government have any plan to financially encourage and support couples to have children?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Rachel Cunliffe and George Eaton to answer listener questions.Download the appLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1The Mayor of Manchester is the most popular choice to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.Keir Starmer is now less popular than Donald Trump.Despite the Labour Party's historic election win just over one year ago, popularity ratings for leading Labour figures have plummeted.Economic woes, crunching u-turns, unrest over Gaza and asylum hotel protests have left leading Labour figures looking to their next leadership battle.George Eaton reports that Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting have both been monitoring their popularity among party members. But there is one tantalising option who polling reveals as the public's preferred choice: Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Could he be Britain's next Prime Minister?George joins Anoosh Chakelian and Rachel Cunliffe on the New Statesman podcast.Download the appHost: Anoosh ChakelianGuests: George EatonRachel CunliffeProducer:Catharine HughesVideo Producer:Rob Le MareExecutive Producer:Chris StoneLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Following last year’s riots, in the wake of the Southport murders, Elon Musk predicted civil war in the UK was “inevitable”. So far, however, no civil war…Over the last century, people in British politics at times of turmoil have raised the prospect of civil war, repeatedly, in ways not unlike today. What did they fear, and why? And what might we learn from the fact that - each time - those fears remained unfounded?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by author and journalist Phil Tinline.Download the appHost: Anoosh ChakelianGuest: Phil TinlineProducer: Catharine HughesVideo producer: Rob Le MareExecutive Producer: Chris StoneLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Yesterday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington, flanked by seven European leaders, in order to meet with Donald Trump and push forward talks to end the war in Ukraine.This came just three days after Trump’s carefully choreographed meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.Could this be the beginning of the end for the drawn out conflict? And can Trump be trusted?Megan Gibson is joined by Katie Stallard.Download the appHost: Megan GibsonGuest: Katie StallardProducer: Catharine HughesVideo producer: Rob Le MareExecutive producer: Chris StoneLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 1978, the broadcaster and journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, and photojournalist Don McCullin, published The Palestinians - a book that sought to tell the human story behind one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.This year, in the wake of the ongoing and constantly escalating war, the book will be republished with a new foreword.In this episode Dimbleby joins Anoosh Chakelian to discuss the current phase of the conflict and its effect on UK politics.Read: Palestine’s cycle of despairHost: Anoosh ChakelianGuest: Jonathan DimblebyProducer: Catharine HughesVideo producer: Rob Le MareExecutive producer: Chris StoneLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There’s one thing you need this summer. A good book.Will Lloyd is joined by culture editor Tanjil Rashid, and staff writer Finn McRedmond to discuss the New Statesman's ultimate beach reads for 2025 and beyond.Download the appHost: Will LloydGuests: Tanjil Rashid, Finn McRedmondProducer: Catharine HughesVideo producer: Rob Le MareExecutive producer: Chris StoneLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Will Starmer face a vote of no confidence? What does Reform UK mean by scrap Net Zero? Should the Democrats distance themselves from the Clintons?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by George Eaton and Will Lloyd to answer listener questions.Download the appAsk a questionHost: Anoosh ChakelianGuest: George EatonGuest: Will LloydProducer: Catharine HughesVideo producer: Rob Le MareExecutive producer: Chris StoneLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On Thursday morning, data was released showing that UK economic growth has slowed to 0.3%.Also, JD Vance has been holidaying in the UK, recently meeting with a who’s who of right-wing populists - from Robert Jenrick, to Nigel Farage, to, somewhat bizarrely, enjoying a BBQ with ex-Apprentice contestant and social media star, Thomas Skinner.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by George Eaton and Will Lloyd.Read: The Cotswolds plot against JD Vance - Finn McRedmondLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On Saturday, in Westminster, police arrested more than 500 people under the Terrorism Act. That’s more in a single day than have ever been charged with terrorist-related activity in a whole year.Many of those arrested were pensioners. Their crime: holding cardboard signs which read “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”One of those 532 people arrested on Saturday was Sir Jonathon Porritt, a long-time activist and campaigner on green and social justice issues, former environmental adviser to King Charles and patron to over 20 charities. He joins Anoosh Chakelian to explain why he took part in the protest, what led to his arrest, and why he fears the Home Secretary - and the Labour party - are becoming more authoritarian.--👉 Listen ad-free on the New Statesman app. Download it here.📧 Get our daily politics email, Morning Call📖 Read Palestine Action and the radicalisation of GrandmaLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
US President Donald Trump will meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday for a high stakes summit to discuss the war in Ukraine.Trump has been upping the ante with his rhetoric around Putin in recent months. On July 14, the US president set Putin a 50 day deadline to agree a ceasefire with Ukraine. On July 28th, he reduced it to 10-12 days. As that deadline was reached last Friday, Trump announced plans for this summit. So, why is this happening now, and what will be on the agenda?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Katie Stallard.Read: What Putin wants from talks with TrumpDownload the appLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Youth membership for the Labour party has collapsed – from 100,000 to just 30,000 under Starmer’s leadership. The relationship between Labour HQ and its members on university campuses has soured over the past year, reaching boiling point following the prime minister’s decision to conditionally recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Hattie Simpson.Read: Inside Labour students’ revolt over GazaLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Whit Stillman is something of a cult film director. He rose to prominence in 1990 with his debut film Metropolitan, which became the first in the so-called “Doomed. Bourgeois. In love” trilogy: Barcelona came out in 1994 and The Last Days of Disco in 1998. Set among America’s so-called “Preppy” class, the films are comedies of manners in the tradition of Jane Austen, exploring the transitional phase of youth and a certain American identity.The films are now having something of a revival. Stillman joins the New Statesman's culture editor Tanjil Rashid.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every SaturdayJOIN US:⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hi NS team, Good news across in South Somerset. Many of the dire roads - and they were dire - were repaired earlier in the year. It felt like a mass program, prior to the local elections. Not that we had them here. i was under the impression this was occurring across the country. On another note, i absolutely agree with your consensus about this government not communicating and telling a story. I wonder if they would employ creative writers and journalists to help them communicate? Best wishes.
how can you spout such rubbish. Netenyahu and Trump are not autocrats, they don't have absolute power and trump has a massive mandate.
"Basket of people who are resentful & they're looking for an outlet..." Surely you're describing Reform? Or if it's true of both, it doesn't justify the imbalance in coverage.
This would be the only reason I would vote for Labour; however, I trust them as much as I trust my crooked freeholder.
keep going Andrew. Whilst this information is indeed, as the previous commenter stated, very scary. it needs to get out there. The public need to know that their news could be fake.
most honest podcast I've ever listened to. also very frightening.
thoroughly enjoyed this podcast how perfectly explained perhaps politicians should be made to listen to as part of their 'training'...
Katy Balls, Barwell. Basically, the only people New Statesman ever have on "representing the other side" are people who basically agree with them on everything bar how high should taxes be. Pathetic really. Is it any wonder they are clueless as to how to defeat the Tories. So inward looking, incurious and ignorant it's actually quite sad.
A brilliant episode, really helped make sense of the discussion and cut through some of the media coverage which doesn't always differentiate between what the report itself says, what the views of the people behind it have been, what the recommendations were, and then how it was presented to the media. Thank you.
Enjoy the podcast but... really wish Stephen could reduce his "like" verbal tick. It's very distracting.
As a local authority social worker: completely agree social care is under resourced, but in my experience, delays in hospital dx are often about poor coordination within the hospital or community health services not being in place- l would be interested in stats of how often it is actually social care holding things up- it's easy to blame the social worker! re increased demand for social care by working age adults: possible reasons are; social inequality and it's impact on mental health, increased recognition of autism, medical advances meaning more people with serious conditions surviving to adulthood. thanks for your podcast- always interesting! clare
https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/blog/antisemitism-no-justification-for-singling-out-labour/
I love that this serious episode goes into panto and then Strictly Come Dancing
Why is Stephen talking from inside a box? Please give him his own microphone.
l ppl
this is the only podcast I listen too religiously. great content, keep it up guys.