Politix and Chill

Ben Weisz has a sit down on the sea front and looks back at the highlights of the last three months of walking with MPs. Huw Merriman on bees, Lloyd Russell Moyle on being ginger and Jeremy Hunt on switching off. Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

Pack your thermals and your second (and third) jumper for this chilly walk round Tilgate lake with Crawley's MP Henry Smith. Interrupted by most of England's native wildfowl along the way, Henry tells us how his first brush with Parliament came as the winner of a back-of-the-cereal-packet competition, and how his heart sinks with every new Covid travel restriction – such is the importance of air travel to his town's economy. Henry also opens up about the lasting impact his mum has on his politics – both inspiring his passion for animal welfare, and spurring him to campaign on beating blood cancer. Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

Ambling along the Adur river this week with East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton. We discuss his burgeoning acting career, which noises to make in Parliament, and pick out our favourite houseboats. But in a month where MPs' second jobs have come under intense scrutiny, Tim defends his work outside Parliament – explaining why he feels it adds value to his constituents, his work and the children his employers help. And after a stressful few years in Westminster – is Parliament's mindfulness champion still finding time to cogitate in the bath? Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

In the grounds of a mansion built for George II's mistress, Lib Dem MP for Twickenham Munira Wilson begins our walk along the Thames. West London's parks were a haven for her family as the new MP became her party's health spokesperson in the middle of a pandemic. Munira opens up about the how her faith gives her strength – and the frustrations of opposition when the Government has a huge majority. And we relive her best student nights out in Europe – and start the playlist for a Parliamentary night out. Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

Into the woods with Sarah Jones MP this week – as we discover the wild parkland in the heart of her Croydon constituency, not far from where she grew up. Labour's shadow policing and fire minister tells us how a Tory speech got her into politics, what it was like to work on the London Olympics, and why she's hopeful her community can tackle knife crime. Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

In the town of Polegate, dragons and witches are mustering under a tree full of baying birds...well, it is the annual children's Halloween do. We're not invited, so instead, Lewes MP Maria Caulfield takes us for a walk down the nearby Cuckoo Trail. She tells us about MP's safety, the tricky work-life balance when your spouse is also a politician - and where to get the best ice cream with a view in her constituency. Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

Employment minister Mims Davies takes us on a dander through Haywards Heath's hidden parkland gems. She talks about having done every job under the sun - from cooking at Little Chef to doing local radio traffic and travel. She discusses whether politics is welcoming enough for real people with messy lives. And through it all, she is upstaged at every turn by her cockapoo, TJ. Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

He's known as the leftwing firebrand who grabbed the mace from the House of Commons - but where does it come from? In this walk, Labour's Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP explains that being ginger has something to do with that. So too the Woodcraft Folk and growing up in Lewes. And as we meander down from the hills near Woodingdean to the beach at Rottingdean, we discuss whether Sussex needs its own Parliament, what to sing on a political hike, and what to wear for a dip. Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

Huw Merriman may be a Conservative MP now – but as a teenager, he had to come out to his staunchly socialist parents. Maybe that's why he doesn't have time for what he calls the ‘pie throwing' of Parliamentary politics. In this hilly ramble down from Burwash to Batemans in his Bexhill and Battle constituency, Huw talks about why transport gets him out of bed in the morning, where he wants to put bees in the Houses of Parliament, and whether he's planning a supergroup with his celebrity constituents. Producer/Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

The Sussex coast has been with Peter Kyle all his life. Growing up in Bognor, where Anita Roddick gave him the impetus to go back to school and on to university – to life as the MP for Hove, and shadow schools minister. In this ramble along his constituency's seafront, Peter reflects on how Alan Rickman bounced him into doing a doctorate, his ability to identify a naval ship on the horizon, and even shares a few gym tips. Producer/Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

You're running for the biggest political job in the country - and you realise you're not seeing enough of your family. In this latest walk, former Health and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt explains how getting out into the Surrey Hills helped him deal with the pressures of the job, and how he's learning to be more present at home. Revisiting the farmland track where he took a tumble - he explains that broken bones won't stop him running. He's even got some Netflix recommendations for you. Producer/Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

A quiet park in Brighton hosts our latest ramble with Green MP Caroline Lucas. It's where she brought her dog to take stock during lockdown. She tells Ben how she's come to appreciate nature much more mindfully than before - and why she thinks we need to look beyond individual choices to tackle the climate change crisis. Plus - we'll reveal the (small) role Caroline played in giving Little Mix their name. Producer/Editor: Richard Culver Presenter: Ben Weisz

During lockdown, Arundel and South Downs' new MP Andrew Griffith walked the West Sussex hills near Pulborough to help process the extraordinary pressures of the job. In this week's walk, he takes Ben back up those wooded paths – opening up about losing his father at the height of lockdown, and how difficult it is to switch off as an MP. He also explains why he thinks environmentalism isn't just for left-wingers, how to persuade business to go carbon neutral, and what it was like to have his spare room taken over by Boris Johnson's leadership campaign.

Come and discover the hilltops, woodland and seaside paths that help our MPs escape the political bubble, and made them the people they are today. Each week, an MP takes Ben Weisz for a walk and talk – rambling, in every sense of the word. This week, Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, takes Ben for a stroll through the Ashdown Forest. Leave Westminster with us for a very different kind of political conversation.

Ben Weisz is joined by Kathryn Stanczyszyn and Ellis Palmer to look over the recent government announcements around cycling. Also, Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey chats road rage, former Copenhagen city architect Tina Saaby talks bike snakes and reporter Sam Gruet goes for a ride. Got a story for us? politix@bbc.co.uk

Ben Weisz looks back over the first week of extended lockdown in Leicester through audio diaries of its residents and in conversation with BBC Radio Leicester's Tim Parker. Got a story for us? politix@bbc.co.uk

In the first Emergency Politix & Chill since the pandemic, Ben Weisz chats to BBC WM Political Reporter Kathryn Stanczyszyn and BBC Radio Oxford's Bethan Nimmo abouit the announcements that the government has made to help look after homless people who have been house in hotels during the pandemic. email: politix@bbc.co.uk

This week Ben is joined by BBC Radio London's Susana Mendonça and BBC Radio Shropshire's Joanne Gallacher with only really one topic to talk about; the Coronavirus pandemic. Rachel Schraer from BBC Reality Check goes through some of the misinformation that has been circulating around the virus whilst Sam Gruet presents a millenials guide to COVID19.

Ben is joined by BBC Radio Oxford's Bethan Nimmo and BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire's Simon Gilbert to discuss the latest Coronavirus announcements, their new local MPs who are starting on their parliamentary journeys and a visit to the eco town in Bicester. As environmental campaigners launch a sex strike against councillors in Sussex, reporter Ben Gruet tries to find out what a sex strike is and what it might entail... Got a story for us? politix@bbc.co.uk

Labour Party members are picking their next leader - we follow the candidates to Brighton, and talk buses, towns and Britney Spears with candidate Lisa Nandy. BBC Radio Tees's David Macmillan explores what went wrong for the Party in the North East. Meanwhile, the BBC's Bex Bailey, Shelley Phelps and Amanda Akass ask what the real differences are between the contenders, and try to sort the campaign slogans from the Cher lyrics.

Ben is joined by BBC Norfolk's Robby West and BBC WM's Kath Stanczyszyn to chat parish council meeting protests, floods and bullying. Claire Hamilton from BBC Radio Merseyside shares some 'scouse' with Ian Byrne MP ahead of Global Scouse Day. Pete Simson from Radio Bristol meets an artist who has drawn inspiration from the city's history of riots. There's a whistlestop tour round the country for updates on council budgets and a cameo from Frank Turner. Got a story for us? politix@bbc.co.uk

Ben is joined by BBC WM's Rob Mayor and BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Freya Lee to chat flooding, mayoral elections and Uber. We hear about a Lego training session for councillors in Walsall. And after a row about roundabouts in Kent - we set the local politicians' beef to grime.

Ben is joined by BBC Radio Somerset's James Craig and BBC Radio Leeds' Kevin Larkin to chat HS2 and Coronavirus. Sam Ferguson talks about cookies on council websites. And as a cabinet reshuffle coincides with Valentines Day, a stellar cast of reality stars and relationship experts offer advice to Boris Johnson on how to dump someone.

A sideways glance at politics across England with Ben Weisz.

As Brexit approaches, Ben is joined by BBC Radio Kent's Yetunde Yusuf and BBC Radio Merseyside's Claire Hamilton to chat about how the different areas are preparing for entering the transition phase, whilst also championing their local ports. BBC Radio Oxford's Bethan Nimmo visits Oxford's first twin town in 23 years,Wroclaw in Poland. BBC Radio Shropshire's Joanne Gallacher asked the agriculture students how they're feeling about the prospect of leaving the EU and BBC Radio Lincolnshire's Alex Rhode locks a leaver and a remainer in an escape room to see if they could cooperate and leave in one piece? If there's something happening that you think we should be looking at email politix@bbc.co.uk

Ben Weisz is joined by Aisha Iqbal, Bradford political reporter for BBC Radio Leeds and Tamsin Melville BBC Radio Cornwall's political reporter as they talk thorugh they Climate change might be a global problem - but local government is under growing pressure to step up and help tackle it. We travel around the country with BBC Radio Nottingham's Hugh Casswell, BBC WM's Kath Stanczyszyn and BBC Radio York's Gemma Dillon to find out what councils are doing, a year after And after a certain online media streaming service which inspired our podcast's name launched their own flavour of ice cream, we thought it was only fitting that we had one too. Bibi Lynch joins Ben at Sussex's famous ice cream parlour Marrocco's to concoct a new flavour. If there's something happening that you think we should be looking at email politix@bbc.co.uk

Ben Weisz is joined by BBC Radio Solent's Emily Hudson and BBC Radio Leicester's Tim Parker to chat council budget meetings, Rutland's first McDonalds and they'll all try to #SeduceSomeoneInFourWords. Sam Gruet educates newly elected MP Dehenna Davison on Love Island and *that* walk. BBC Radio Merseyside's Claire Hamilton looks into housing and there's the latest Dominic Cummings Book Club. If there's something happening that you think we should be looking at email politix@bbc.co.uk

Ben Weisz sees in the new year with BBC Radio Nottingham's Hugh Casswell and BBC Radio York's Gemma Dillon to chat about council run energy companies and train problems. There's also a masked singer inspired politcal quiz. Its the first Politix & Chill Dominic Cummings Book Club where construction students from East Sussex College in Eastbourne consider one of the articles suggested by Dominic Cummings in his blog post. There's also Playground politics from Ruishton in Somerset.

Ben gets in the festive mood with BBC London's political reporter Susana Mendonça and BBC Radio Manchester's Kevin Fitzpatrick to discuss fallout to the election and present the inaugural Ben awards. Sam Gruet explores how to avoid awkward inter-generational political conversations at Christmas. BBC Radio Lancashire's Mike Stevens meets Sir Lindsay Hoyle's pet collection. And to mark the Queen's speech, we're bringing you our very own drag queen speeches.

In this bonus podcast, Ben Weisz is joined by BBC Radio York's Gemma Dillon and BBC Radio Sheffield's Aisha Iqbal as they get ready for a Question Time special. Rachel Shraer from BBC Reality Check gets posed questions from Love Island's Hayley Hughes whilst we go speed dating withHereford & Worcester's James Pearson. All that and some I'm A Celeb themed political poetry.

Ben Weisz is joined by BBC Lancashire's Lydia Flavell and BBC Suffolk's Ben Parker to chat about their recent visits to local universities to see how some first time voters are finding the election campaign. Charlie King from TOWIE checks some election facts with BBC Reality Check's Rachel Shraer and the long awaited return of Fire In The Polling Booth; Politix & Chill brings you rapping parliamentary candidates.

This week Ben Wesz is joined by BBC WM's Kathryn Stanczyszyn and BBC Newcastle's Fergus Hewison to catch up on the campaign in their areas where they have been testing candidate's wrapping skills and tracing the roots of euroscepticism. Another reality TV star poses questions to BBC Reality Check's Rachel Schraer We visit a school in Kensington and also explore how health and the NHS is the political football that politicians can't help but kick right up and down the country.

Ben is joined by Sharon Edwards from BBC Radio Lincolnshire and Charlotte Rose from BBC Essex discuss election manifesto numberwang and play a drinking game with a difference. Ben explores different forms of democracy with help from the unknowable Chris Mason. Caire Hamilton from BBC Radio Merseyside and Bob Cooper from BBC Radio Cumbria look at the futility that some people feel when deciding whether their vote will make a difference.

Ben is joined by Bethan Nimmo from BBC Oxford and Simon Gilbert from BBC Coventry and Warwickshire to get the latest from the election in their areas and unveils portraits drawn the Panini Cheapskates. Reporter Sam Gruet helps candidates in one constituency build dating app profiles before showing them off to local young voters.Chris Doidge in Derby and Pete Simson in Bristol let us in on how the environment is playing a part in the election where they are.

Ben Weisz introduces a podcast featuring a sideways glance at the General Election.