Headspace

Who was Richard Rorty and did he believe that truth exists? Writer, historian and philosopher Jonathan Rée joins Sameer Rahim to discuss the American philosopher who—although he died in 2007— still exerts a powerful influence on modern debates about politics and the nature of truth-telling today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Award winning journalist and former Guardian Health editor Sarah Boseley joins Alan Rusbridger to tackle a pressing question: why won’t Big Pharma share the patents for the coronavirus vaccines? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is cancel culture the crisis of our times, or just the unsubstantiated grumble of professional provocateurs? How do we balance supporting freedom of speech with protecting people from hate and harm? Orwell Prize winning journalist and author Fintan O’Toole explores the agonising balancing act required to protect public discourse from both censorship and toxicity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The team discusses the good, the bad and the ugly in the year that's passed and gives tentative predictions for the year ahead, as well as celebrating the best of Prospect journalism from 2021. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Who is Geordie Greig and why has he been toppled as editor of Britain's most influential newspaper? What does this reshuffle mean for Boris Johnson? Why should we care about the Kremlinesque machinations at the top of the Daily Mail? Former FT Correspondent and Majorie Deane professor of financial journalism, Jane Martinson discusses her in depth reportage, with Prospect editor, Alan Rusbridger. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does life look like for an 89-year old actor or a psychiatrist who suffers with bipolar? What does it feel like to be asylum seeker, or an Anglican Priest, or a farmer? Prospect Lives is a brand new bonus podcast chronicling seven disparate experiences of life in modern Britain. Music credit Jumbo · Tot Taylor · Mick Bass See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is leadership all that matters in modern politics? Andrew Adonis thinks so. With his new collection of profiles of leaders from Gladstone to Modi, Lincoln to Blair and Churchill to Biden, Adonis draws on his own three decades of political experience to advance his controversial argument. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When most people are decent, why do we get so many bad leaders, politicians and CEOs? Are despots made or born? After travelling the world and interviewing "the noblest to the dirtiest" leaders, renowned political scientist and podcaster Brian Klaas discusses his new book, Corruptible, with Tom Clark. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Self-described futurist and bestselling author Martin Ford joins Tom Clark to talk about his new book Rule of the Robots and the good, the bad and the ugly about the artificial intelligence which will soon be deeply embedded in our lives. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A year on from the dark winter of 2020, do we have Covid-19 under control? And what will the virus means for politics, economics and global health, for decades to come? Tom Clark is joined by leading science writer Philip Ball to tackle that most prescient question: how will the pandemic shape the future? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leading human rights barrister, author and Labour member of the House of Lords, Helena Kennedy joins Tom Clark and Alex Dean to discuss a rather terrifying question — does the government respect the rule of law? In a wide-ranging conversation, the trio discuss judicial review, human rights and the perils of populism. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week managing editor Sameer Rahim is joined by war correspondent and author Janine di Giovanni to discuss the plight of Christianty in the Middle East. Christians have lived in the region for 2,000 years—but Giovanni thinks that modern war, religious persecution and economic uncertainty put their future under threat. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Was King George III really such a bad king? Leading historian Andrew Roberts doesn't think so. He joins Andrew Adonis and Tom Clark to discuss his new book George III, the Life and Reign of Britain's Most Misunderstood Monarch, to argue that King George was in fact a competent leader, despite his struggle with mental illness. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Will robots rule the world? Will fully autonomous weapons destroy the planet? Will artificial intelligence take my job? Silicon valley entrepreneur and self-described futurist Martin Ford joins Tom Clark to answer the big questions about the technology that shapes not only our smartphones, but our politics, economies and lives. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ahead of COP26 in Glasgow next month, we speak to environmental correspondent Fiona Harvey on what it will take to reach a crucial deal in the next step towards tackling the climate crisis. Having covered 14 of the last 16 COP summits, Fiona shares some of her key insights into climate diplomacy and how often success falls on the work of the host nation’s leadership. Which of course begs the question: is our current leader, Boris Johnson, up to the task? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Leading legal-aid lawyer David Renton joins the Prospect Interview to talk about the view from the frontline of the housing crisis. As a barrister in courtrooms both physical and virtual during the pandemic, while we hunkered down in our homes, David was fighting stop a panoply of clients from losing theirs. Arguing that our children need housing justice now, not money for a deposit, Renton has big and sometimes radical ideas about reforming housing policy in the UK and on ensuring that everyone has access to justice. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seasoned political broadcaster Steve Richards joins Tom Clark to talk about the prime minsters that never were. From Roy Jenkins to Michael Heseltine, Richards charts the journeys of the pretenders that never made it to the top spot, arguing that for all the feverish speculation in the press, rivals to prime ministers rarely prevail. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gillian Tett, editor at large at the Financial Times and author of a new book Anthro-Vision, joins Tom Clark to explain how undercover anthropology helped her to predict the financial crash. Applying an anthropological lens to life has enabled Tett to spot the patterns that others miss, like the unexpected similarities shared by wedding rituals in Tajikistan and banking conferences in the US. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Charlotte Higgins, prize-winning author and the Guardian's chief culture writer, joins Sameer Rahim talk about her book, Greek Myths: A New Retelling. Their conversation tackles the big questions. Did the Greeks believe in their Gods? Does classics have a class problem? And did Medea really kill her children? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Who is Ben Houchen and how did he help the Tories topple the red wall? Sebastian Payne, Whitehall Editor at the Financial Times joins the podcast to discuss the Tees Valley mayor that Boris Johnson is reportedly "obsessed" with, as well as the wider themes in his new book Broken Heartlands. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.