188 | Supreme Court

in

In the middle of the epic prorogation battle at the Supreme Court, we ask what's at stake: for the government, for Brexit, for the constitution and for democracy. Is this a case of legal precedent, common law practice or higher constitutional principle? Is the UK constitution becoming more European in the act of leaving the EU? And what are the things lawyers on neither side can say? Plus we ask how Jo Swinson's case for revoking article 50 is going and we discuss whether we could really have a 2nd referendum without another general election. A packed episode! With Catherine Barnard, Helen Thompson and Chris Bickerton.

114 | Labour's Fault Lines

in

Summer's over: politics is back!  This week we return to the mystery inside the enigma that is Brexit to ask where Labour now stands.  What is the big divide in the Labour movement: Is it MPs vs leader? Members vs voters?  Young vs old?  And what could a second referendum achieve anyway?  Plus we try to make sense of the fraught fight over the definition of anti-Semitism.  With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Waseem Yaqoob.

96 | Iran, Israel, Korea, the World

in

This week we try to make sense of what's happening to the international order, from the end of the Iran deal to the on-again-off-again US-North Korean summit to opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.  Can Europe carve out a separate foreign policy from the Trump administration?  Is regime change still the name of the game?  And what has it all got to do with the price of oil?  Plus we ask if anything is left of Obama's legacy and why it was so easy to undo.  With Helen Thompson, Aaron Rapport and Chris Bickerton.

94 | Strike

in

After the largest strike in the sector for a generation, we talk to Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, about the politics of higher education.  How did the issue of pensions become so politically charged?  What are the long-term consequences of treating students as consumers?  How should universities respond to the challenge of Brexit?  Plus we return to the question of why having a university degree is now one of the main dividing lines in contemporary politics.  With Helen Thompson and Chris Brooke.

92 | What's wrong with GDP?

in

We talk with economist Diane Coyle about what's wrong with our main measure of economic performance and how it impacts on politics. She tells us what we're missing in our measures of economic activity and she explains how we could do it better.  Plus we discuss whether the unemployment figures still tell a true picture of the world of work and we ask whether the dollar's days as the global reserve currency may be coming to an end.  Numbers and why they matter.  With Helen Thompson and Chris Bickerton.
 

85 | George Monbiot

We talk to George about some of the biggest questions of all: how to make politics better, how to effect meaningful change, how to save the planet.  Who is going to make the real difference?  Plus we ask whether he's been discombobulated by having Michael Gove as Environment Secretary.  Short answer: yes!  Recorded as part of the Imagine 2027 project https://imagine2027.org.uk