• 540. The Untold Iran Crisis, Henry Nowak, and Farage’s Politics of Rage
    Jun 9 2026
    As Trump’s Iran disaster continues, are we facing a full-blown energy and economic crisis in the UK and beyond? Why are politicians refusing to be honest about the real cost of the Iran crisis? What does the far-right’s response to the Henry Nowak tragedy – from JD Vance to Rupert Lowe – tell us about post-truth populism? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more. __________ Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Odd Arne Westad by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube. Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. Father’s Day discounted gift memberships available here. Treat your dad to early access to Question Time, members-only miniseries, and much more. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ Sponsored by Lloyds. Learn how to avoid scams and protect yourself. See how Darkhorse Anti-Fraud technology helps keep you safe from fraud. Search Lloyds protect yourself from fraud. __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Josh Smith, Bruno Di Castri Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • 539. Embezzlement, the Mandelson Texts, and Hasan Piker's UK Ban
    Jun 3 2026
    What does the SNP embezzlement case reveal about how scandal-ridden British politics is? Is the banning of prominent left-wing American commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur a sensible decision or a serious threat to free speech? After Rory and Alastair discussed their most “evil” handshakes last week, who is the most “angelic” person they have each shaken hands with? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time. __________ Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Adam Thornton, Vasco Andrade Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    59 mins
  • 538. The Pope’s AI Warning and Alastair Reacts to Blair’s Attack
    Jun 2 2026
    Is Pope Leo’s encyclical the most important contribution to the AI debate so far, and is he doing more to hold Silicon Valley to account than any Western government? What did Alastair say to Tony Blair about his explosive essay attacking the direction of Starmer’s government, the Labour Party, and net zero? Why does Rory think Blair is now closer to JD Vance than to the values that defined New Labour? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more. __________ Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Josh Smith, James Clayden Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Who Funds Reform? The Missing Millions
    May 28 2026
    Who is the secretive billionaire bankrolling Reform — and what does he want? How did a brand new party raise and spend £17 million with no public explanation? As Farage inches toward power, who's really pulling the strings? This four part series, made in collaboration with The Observer’s Slow Newscast will explore the money, donors and power networks behind Reform UK. To hear all four episodes as they drop, sign up at therestispolitics.com Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter ⁠HERE⁠, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at ⁠fuseenergy.com/politics⁠ and get a free TRIP+ subscription. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ ⁠nordvpn.com/restispolitics⁠ It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ Reporter: Cat Neilan Series Reporter/Producer: Poppy Bullard Producer: Matt Russell Sound Design: Dominic Delargy Producer for Goalhanger: India Dunkley Executive Producer for Goalhanger: Tom Whiter Executive Producer for the Observer: Jasper Corbett Clips: Reform UK, BBC, The Times, House of Commons Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • 537. Indicting Trump, Israeli Prisons, and Rory vs. Ed Miliband
    May 27 2026
    What connects Trump’s Cuba blockade and Ben Gvir’s abuse of flotilla activists? As Richard Tice denies climate change science, will reality catch up with Reform UK – and what is Rory’s issue with Ed Miliband’s approach to net zero? Who is the most evil person Rory and Alastair have ever shaken hands with? Join Alastair and Rory as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time. __________ Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Vasco Andrade Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Emily Kent Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • 536. Is Trump’s Corruption Machine Reaching New Extremes?
    May 26 2026
    Has the scale of Donald J. Trump’s corruption become too big to prosecute? Is the US Constitution now a roadmap to tyranny instead of a protection against it? Why do 72% of Gen Z think things will only get worse, and can mainstream politics win them back? Join Alastair and Rory as they answer all these questions and more. __________ Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Josh Smith, Bruno Di Castri Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Emily Kent Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 hr
  • Struggling or Snowflakes? The Gen Z Mental Health Story
    May 21 2026
    What's behind the rise in young people being diagnosed with mental health problems? Are members of Gen Z less resilient than older generations? Or are they a product of a society that has failed them? Has therapy culture gone too far? Or not far enough? Why are so many young people out of work? Is it laziness? Is something deeper at play? This week in The Gen Z Story, Vicky Spratt is joined by three guests: psychologist and expert in adolescent mental health, Dr Lucy Foulkes, Shuab Gamote, researcher and co-author of “Inside the Mind of a 16-year-old” and "Inside the Mind of a Young NEET" and Freya India, the author behind the book “Girls, The Commodification of Everything”. To hear the whole Gen Z series, sign up at therestispolitics.com Get TRIP Plus for £20 for the year by using your student email address. Instagram: ⁠@restispolitics⁠ Twitter: ⁠@restispolitics⁠ Email: ⁠therestispolitics@goalhanger.com⁠ __________ Hosted by: Vicky Spratt Producer: India Dunkley Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Josh Smith Researcher: Olivia Taylor Hooper Exec Producer: Tom Whiter Editorial Director: Emily Kent Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • 535. The Ebola Outbreak and the British Far-Right’s Next Move
    May 20 2026
    Are Xi and Putin playing Trump? How serious is the new Ebola outbreak, especially after Trump's and Britain's severe cuts to international aid? With Tommy Robinson explicitly telling his supporters to support Reform UK, the Conservative Party, and other right-wing parties ahead of 2029, is this a deliberate strategy to infiltrate mainstream politics and normalise far-right extremism? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time. __________ The National Survey: To have your say on the country you want to see, just head to thenationalconversation.org.uk. Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Vasco Andrade Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins