There are any number of political podcasts and blogs out there – and many of dubious merit – but there are some of relevance to Fabians that are worthwhile following. Locating them can sometimes be difficult as they don’t necessarily appear in lists of popular ones.
Here are some that you may find interesting. There’s also some help to get you started if you are not familiar with them.
If you have not listened to any podcasts before here are some episodes that you might try *:
Support Guaranteed: The roadmap to a National Care Service . (June, 2023). . Emma Burnell speaks to Fabian Society General Secretary Andrew Harrop and Senior Researcher Ben Cooper about a major new Fabian report ‘Support Guaranteed: The roadmap to a National Care Service’.
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Who’s afraid of the kleptocrats?: cleaning up corruption . (2 April, 2023). . Interview with Oliver Bullough (author of “Butler to the World”) and Margaret Hodge on how Britain has enabled the dodgy dealings of the world’s criminals, tax dodgers and kleptocrats. Estimates suggest that the equivalent of three times the NHS budget is being lost through corruption every year. (Skipping to 11.00 min takes you beyond the chit-chat)
Skipping over ads, etc. Podcasts often have adverts, but podcast apps give ways in which one can skip over them (or other things which may be a distraction). Podtail allows you to skip forwards and backwards by short amounts, but you can also move the slider to the time you require.
AI: Can the Machines Really Think? . (25 May, 2023) .. Gary Marcus and John Lanchester join David Runciman to discuss all things AI, from ChatGPT to the Turing test. What are ‘intelligent’ machines actually doing? What are we doing giving them so much power to shape our lives? They discuss self-driving cars, the coming jobs apocalypse, how children learn, and what it is that makes us truly human. (Skip to 0.29 min for start)
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The GB News Propaganda Machine . (28 March, 2024) .. Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber are joined by Gavin Esler and Michael Crick to discuss GB News, broadcaster bias—and what it’s like to watch and appear on the channel.
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Danny Dorling and Deborah Hargreaves: Have we reached peak inequality? . (28 April 2023). . Has Britain reached peak inequality and is it becoming more equal for the first time in a century? Danny Dorling advances this argument in discussion with Deborah Hargreaves, former CEO of the High Pay Centre. See Danny Dorling’s book “Shattered Nation: Inequality and the geography of a failing state”. (Skip to 1.00 min for start)
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3 Years of Starmer with Rachel Shabi and Rafael Behr . (25 April, 2023). . A discussion about what Keir Starmer’s leadership means for the future. (Skip to 1.45 min for start)
Inside Tony Blair Inc. . (9 August, 2023). Tom McTague is interviewed by Freddie Sayers to explore Tom’s report into the inner workings of the Tony Blair Institute. (Skip to 1.02 min for start)
The Rest is Politics with Alistair Campbell & Rory Stuart.
Discussions about current affairs. .Tom McTague is in
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* The links allow you to listen with your browser using “podtail” but you may wish to use an app with your smartphone or tablet. If members would like to suggest others then they can click here to submit them.
Podcasts
Fabian Thinking ..Listen to with your browser
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It’s Bloody Complicated ..Podcasts from the campaigning group Compass ..Listen to with your browser
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Media Confidential . Dylan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber examine the world of media ..Listen to with your browser
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Past Present Future . David Runciman explores the history of ideas from politics to philosophy, culture to technology ..Listen to with your browser
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Politics Weekly America with Guardian columnist, Johnathan Freedland and others ..Listen to with your browser
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Politics Weekly UK with Guardian columnist, John Harris ..Listen to with your browser
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Reasons to be Cheerful with Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd ..Past interviews with experts on a particular topic, with some chit-chat beforehand. The podcast in now just chit-chat. .. Listen to with your browser
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Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ..Broadcaster and author Steve Richards’ take on UK politics ..Listen to with your browser
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The Long Read ..A selection of The Guardian’s long reads ..Listen to with your browser
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The News Agents ..Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall host a daily news podcast ..Listen to with your browser
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The NS Podcast .. Analyses and commentary from the New Statesman ..Listen to with your browser
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The Prospect Podcast .. Analysis and commentary from the Prospect Magazine .. Listen to with your browser
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The Rest is Politics with Alistair Campbell & Rory Stuart . (very popular) ..Listen to with your browser
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The Rest is Politics – Leading ..Alistair Campbell & Rory Stuart interviews ..Listen to with your browser
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The Young Fabians Podcast ..Listen to with your browser
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These Times .. Tom McTague and professor Helen Thompson investigate the history of today’s politics .. Listen to with your browser
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Today in Focus ..Stories behind the headlines from The Guardian .. Listen to with your browser
Understanding podcasts
These links should give some help with getting started:
Although you can listen to them on a desktop or laptop, it’s more usual to use an app on your smartphone or tablet (Podcasts on your iphone, or maybe Podcast Addict on your android) and listen to them with BlueTooth earphones, headphones or speakers.
Blogs
Brexit & Beyond . by Chris Grey, Professor of Organization Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London .
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Brexit Impact Checker
. by Gerhard Schnyder, Professor of International Management & Political Economy at Loughborough University London
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Independent SAGE –An independent group of scientists providing transparent advice during the COVID crisis
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mainly macro . by Simon Wren-Lewis, Professor of Economics at University of Oxford ..
Understanding blogs
These links explain what a blog is and one way to subcribe to it (using a blog reader):
However, you may find it easier to use something called follow.it. If you give follow.it the URL of the blog website you are interested in, it will email you each new blog article. . . . . . . . . . .
Peterborough Fabian Society 