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On the agenda this week is Starmer vs Burnham in Labour's latest civil war, Suella Braverman's defection to Reform, and working out how to save The Great British pub. To get to the bottom of all this, Andy is joined by Daliso Chaponda, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Hugo Rifkind and Holly Walsh.Written by Andy Zaltzman.With additional material by: Christina Riggs, Cameron Loxdale and Sarah Mills Producer: Georgia Keating Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman Sound Editor: Marc WillcoxA BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The sun is setting on Keir Starmer's worst week in No. 10 – but potentially Kemi's best. We go into the weekend with MPs publicly calling for his most senior aide, Morgan McSweeney, to step down because of his role in the botched vetting of Peter Mandelson, and with huge questions remaining about how much the Prime Minister knew about Mandelson's association with Epstein. All of this means that the upcoming by-election on the Labour party's patch in Gorton and Denton is poised very precariously.Meanwhile, Kemi has seized the opportunity to capitalise on Labour's woes – but are she cutting through enough? And with her position looking more assured, and fiscal responsibility as their rallying cry, could it nearly be over for her shadow chancellor, Mel Stride?Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Michael Simmons.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Is Britain ready for Artificial Intelligence? Well, bluntly, 'no'; that's the verdict if you read several pieces in this week's Spectator – from Tim Shipman, Ross Clark and Palantir UK boss Louis Mosley – focused on how Britain is uniquely ill-placed to take advantage of the next industrial revolution. Tim Shipman's cover piece focuses on how the Labour government is approaching AI – there are some positives but, overall, Britain's creaky bureaucracy is blocking progress.To discuss this week's Edition, features editor William Moore is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, commissioning editor Lara Brown and the Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine. Are you a tech-optimist or part of the 'analogue resistance' that Sarah professes to head?Also on the episode: why is Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel obsessed with the antichrist – and is he the Isaac Newton of the 21st century; what does the Peter Mandelson scandal reveal about politics – and has Sarah Ferguson fallen further than the Prince of Darkness; is the new documentary Melania a genius PR move or a vain symptom of Trump's love of classic Hollywood; and finally, have you experienced 'elder-speak'?Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Guest: Grant Newsham. Newsham discusses the PLA purge of leadership, analyzing the implications of Xi Jinping'sremoval of top military officials and what it signals about internal instability within China's armed forces. Guest: Grant Newsham. Newsham critiques the weaknesses of national security studies that expect Chinese attack only at Taiwan, arguing this narrow focus leaves the U.S. vulnerable to broader PRC strategic threats. Guest: John Cochrane. Cochrane analyzes the inadequacy of tariffs as an economic tool, explaining why they fail to achieve their intended goals and often harm domestic consumers and businesses. Guest: John Cochrane. Cochrane discusses the demand for foreign investment, examining how capital flows impact the U.S. economy and the complexities of managing trade imbalances. Guest: Rebecca Grant. Grant compares U.S. carrier capabilities into the future against China's naval expansion plans, assessing the shifting balance of power in the Pacific. Guest: Rick Fisher. Fisher details China's century-long plan for space supremacy, warning that Beijing's strategic investments in space technology pose a significant threat to American dominance. Guest: Steve Yates. Yates examines how allies Australia, Canada, and the UK are seeking favorable trade deals with China, raising concerns about alliance cohesion amid PRC economic pressure. Guest: Steve Yates. Yates discusses strategies for dealing with the PRC as an adversary seeking supremacy, emphasizing the need for coordinated Western responses to Chinese ambitions. Guest: Sinan Ciddi. Ciddi analyzes Erdogan succession prospects in Turkey, examining potential successors and the implications for Turkish domestic and foreign policy. Guest: Sinan Ciddi. Ciddi assesses the possibility of democracy in Turkey, discussing the structural obstacles and political dynamics that shape the country's democratic trajectory. Guest: Sadanand Dhume. Dhume reports on the India-EU trade deal after 21 years of negotiation, analyzing the significance of this agreement for both economies and regional geopolitics. Guest: Michael Bernstam. Bernstam examines Russia's budget gap widening with the sinking price of oil, detailing the fiscal pressures facing Moscow as energy revenues decline. Guest: Simon Constable. Constable reports from France with a resident European pine marten, offering observations on rural life and wildlife in the French countryside. Guest: Simon Constable. Constable discusses the Labour scandal with the Epstein revelations, analyzing the political fallout affecting Britain's governing party. Guest: Bob Zimmerman. Zimmerman reports on Artemis plans for a launch in March, detailing NASA's progress toward returning American astronauts to the Moon. Guest: Bob Zimmerman. Zimmerman analyzes the failing Roscosmos, describing Russia's declining space program and its inability to compete with American and Chinese advancements.
You can watch this episode of Planet Normal on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wh42OqWtzDAAs the Prime Minister vows to release the ‘Mandelson Files' pressure on who knew what, and when is mounting on Labour. Repeat stowaway former head of Mi6 Sir Richard Dearlove is on hand to give his expert analysis on the unfolding situation.Allison is disgusted by the continuing scandal of Peter Mandelson and is in disbelief that Starmer et al. thought he would ever be a suitable candidate as Ambassador to the United States.Liam thinks this scandal will change the political landscape as deeply as the expenses scandal did; in making the public scrutinise the political class even closer.Book your tickets for Planet Normal: LIVE on the 24th February: telegraph.co.uk/planetnormallive |Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |Read Allison ‘When I met Peter Mandelson, I knew straight away he was rotten' https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/03/i-knew-peter-mandelson-was-rotten/ |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘The US dollar is down but not out': https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/02/01/the-us-dollar-is-down-but-not-out/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read Liam's Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ | Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Peter Mandelson was a totem of Britain's Labour party for decades. The newest Epstein files mark the end of his political career. What are the consequences for the country's prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer? Ryanair is controversial and widely hated—yet strangely successful. And why so many animals engage in same-sex relationships.To get 15% off Economist Education's new business writing and storytelling course, register with the code ECONWRITING-15.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Guest: Simon Constable. Constable discusses the Labour scandal with the Epstein revelations, analyzing the political fallout affecting Britain's governing party.1828 BANK OF ENGLAND
Peter Mandelson was a totem of Britain's Labour party for decades. The newest Epstein files mark the end of his political career. What are the consequences for the country's prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer? Ryanair is controversial and widely hated—yet strangely successful. And why so many animals engage in same-sex relationships.To get 15% off Economist Education's new business writing and storytelling course, register with the code ECONWRITING-15.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe green new scam is dead, and in Texas people are now seeing that wind and solar cannot support the electrical load during the cold. China said the quiet part out loud, they were suppose to be the reserve currency. Trump’s new Fed chair help with the transition. Trump is now exposing the criminal underworld the people of this country. The people are seeing all the pieces of the crimes they have committed. When the people see that all the characters are criminals and have done horrible things and that these people are the same ones that have been trying to stop trump, it is game over. Trump is now pushing the Save Act to shutdown the [DS]. Trump is setting the country up for the win. Economy Report: Texas Wind and Solar Failed During This Week's Winter Storm, Grid Carried by ‘Natural Gas and Coal' The recent snow storm that overtook Texas reportedly crashed the state's wind and solar energy generators, leading to natural gas, coal, and nuclear providing most of the state's electricity. https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/2015854614206206101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2015854614206206101%7Ctwgr%5Eccb14922c034250da614ea4ff40e89ae08ce9117%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F02%2Freport-texas-wind-solar-failed-weeks-winter-storm%2F According to David Blackmon, an energy-related public policy analyst and consultant, by the early morning hours of Jan. 26, natural gas, goal, and nuclear were providing 89 percent of all the state's power. “Natural gas alone is chugging along at an impressive 68%,” Blackmon reported online on Substack later that same day. Politico similarly reported that the U.S. energy grid “leaned heavily on coal and natural gas generation to satisfy the energy appetite from Winter Storm Fern.” https://twitter.com/mayes_middleton/status/2015822288663228536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2015822288663228536%7Ctwgr%5Eccb14922c034250da614ea4ff40e89ae08ce9117%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F02%2Freport-texas-wind-solar-failed-weeks-winter-storm%2F Source: thegatewaypundit.com China is on a ‘strong currency' mission to make the yuan a global reserve: Xi Xi Jinping says the goal of becoming an international powerhouse is a long-term one and will rest on core foundations China needs to build a “strong currency” that can become widely used in international trade, investment and foreign exchange markets, and reach the status of a global reserve. Source:.scmp.com Trump Launches $12 Billion Strategic Mineral Stockpile To Counter China; Rare Earth Stocks Jump The Trump administration is preparing to launch a major initiative aimed at protecting US manufacturers from disruptions in the supply of critical minerals, committing about $12 billion in initial funding to build a strategic stockpile of essential materials, according to Bloomberg. The project, known as Project Vault, is designed to reduce America's dependence on China for rare earths and other strategically important metals. By creating a centralized reserve for civilian industries, officials hope to cushion companies against sudden shortages and sharp price swings that can disrupt production and strain finances. Shares of MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, Critical Metals and other rare earth associated names are higher between 5% and 10% heading into the cash open on Monday on the news. At this point it’s safe to say last week’s Reuters rare earth hit piece (authored most likely at the behest of a disgruntled short), which sent the sector tumbling on disputed claims the Trump administration was seeking to distance itself from the rare earth space by moving away from a price floor on critical metals and suggesting MP’s deal with the government may be in question, has been thoroughly debunked. Even the MP Materials X account was mocking the grotesque misreporting: https://twitter.com/MPMaterials/status/2016734732835573833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Project Vault will be financed through a mix of private and public funding: $1.67 billion is expected to come from private investors, while the US Export-Import Bank is set to provide a $10 billion loan with a 15-year term. The bank's board is scheduled to vote on the deal, which would be the largest in its history. More than a dozen major companies have joined Project Vault, including General Motors, Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, GE Vernova, and Google. Three large trading firms – Hartree Partners, Traxys North America, and Mercuria Energy – will handle sourcing and purchasing materials for the stockpile. Source: zerohedge.com https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/2018319873609290010?s=20 https://twitter.com/StephenMoore/status/2017295983940354307?s=20 https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2018300872447418573?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Political/Rights https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/2018249171900227730?s=20 https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/2018147684276748388?s=20 https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/2018146323581513971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018146323581513971%7Ctwgr%5Ebf8eb4e3fdfcee731660a65a8ed9f8dad15fa004%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F02%2Fnicki-minaj-fires-back-grammys-host-trevor-noah%2F know — yet they continue to attempt bullying. Also, I won't be releasing an album until my contract is renegotiated & until I tell you about all the sabotage this RICO is finding out about Billboard. https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/2018156644689920362?s=20 https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/2018142074906845333?s=20 accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media. Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like I'll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$. Ask Little George Slopadopolus, and others, how that all worked out. Also ask CBS! Get ready Noah, I'm going to have some fun with you! President DJT https://twitter.com/Patri0tContr0l/status/2018162192676229182?s=20 the TV tells them to. https://twitter.com/DrunkRepub/status/2017198485510963485?s=20 https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/2018184786209087562?s=20 Lord Mandelson resigns from Labour Party over Epstein links Lord Mandelson says he has resigned his membership of the Labour Party as he does not want to “cause further embarrassment” by his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The former cabinet minister, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his past connections to Epstein, appeared in the latest release of files by the US Department of Justice on Friday. Documents suggest Epstein made $75,000 (£55,000) in payments to Lord Mandelson in three separate $25,000 transactions in 2003 and 2004. In his letter to Labour’s general secretary on Sunday, Lord Mandelson said: “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.” He added: “Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me. Source: bbc.com https://twitter.com/Patri0tContr0l/status/2018011104094380207?s=20 TRUMP'S DOJ that arrested Epstein. Facts are hard for professional liars like Eric Swalwell. Newly-Released Emails Reveal Jeffrey Epstein May Have a Secret Son Newly-released emails reveal Jeffrey Epstein may have a secret son. Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, congratulated Epstein on the birth of his baby boy. Ferguson said she ‘heard from the Duke' that Epstein had a baby boy. The email is date September 21, 2011 so if Epstein has a secret son, he would be 14 years old today. The Daily Mail reported: Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/JayTC53/status/2018073517368184847?s=20 Jew night” “media elite” and “once the money is paid” https://twitter.com/JayTC53/status/2018128138715443273?s=20 the biggest Trump haters were best friends with Jeffery Epstein https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018358307052793892?s=20 since been neutralized by King Salman and new crown Prince MBS. This Epstein email reveals (confirms) two sides of the Deep State triangle. House of Saud, and the Rothschilds. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2018185343263019234?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2017859237502767117?s=20 https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2018351298685419772?s=20 the documents with required redactions. With Trump exonerated & damaging details now pointing toward Democrat power brokers, the pressure has abruptly flipped back to secrecy. https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018138887655133692?s=20 https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018017331499213275?s=20 DOGE Geopolitical https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/2018020919252230227?s=20 since 1996 but was stormed by the police for the eviction 5 weeks ago. Nearly 2000 of the protesters later broke off from the main demonstration and fought the police for hours in the streets. They threw stones, fireworks and homemade bombs while also setting barricades and police vehicles on fire. Many Italians are now calling on Meloni to launch a crackdown against violent far-left extremist. https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2018311833405293048?s=20 friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to “BUY AMERICAN,” at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter! War/Peace https://twitter.com/AP/status/2017881629440483383?s=20 https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2018022342731976897?s=20 We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there… hopefully, we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right.” https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018030967823192563?s=20 Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2018176829723398321?s=20 https://twitter.com/Tyler2ONeil/status/2017430244496412840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2017430244496412840%7Ctwgr%5E1d06078b39cc73de0216e98cb34ee981fb7d135c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysignal.com%2F2026%2F02%2F02%2Fbreaking-2-more-arrested-minnesota-church-invasion%2F Armstrong tells Lemon—who knows the location but is hiding it from his audience—that they’re going to “disrupt business as usual” at what we later learned was Cities Church. Lemon said he would see her there. https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/2018326184468058566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018326184468058566%7Ctwgr%5E1d06078b39cc73de0216e98cb34ee981fb7d135c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysignal.com%2F2026%2F02%2F02%2Fbreaking-2-more-arrested-minnesota-church-invasion%2F https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2018337163188846994?s=20 https://twitter.com/Rightanglenews/status/2018101057902059727?s=20 Anti-ICE Resistance Manuals and Training at Schools Receiving Federal Funding Anti-ICE resistance training manuals, including de-arresting and blocking, are being distributed, and in some cases, the training is being held in schools receiving government funding. Image of de-arresting by Minnesota ICE Watch. Minnesota ICE Watch, the organization that Renee Good and her wife were members of, distributed a document known as the “De-Arrest Primer,” which instructs activists on how to physically interfere with law enforcement officers during arrests. The manual provides detailed guidance on pulling detainees from officers' grips, pushing and pulling officers, breaking holds, and opening law enforcement vehicles to free suspects. The manual also teaches the use of coordinated chanting to create confusion and overwhelm officers during active arrests, as well as surrounding officers until they release detainees. The guide openly acknowledges that these actions may constitute criminal offenses but argues that the risk is justified. Each successful interference is described as a “micro-intifada,” framed as a tactic meant to spread, replicate, and inspire wider disruption. The manual claims these methods originated in pro-Palestinian campus protests and presents them as a model for broader resistance activity. While no single formal publisher is identified, the manual appears to originate from broader activist and radical networks that promote direct physical interference with law enforcement. It has circulated widely through Instagram and other activist communication channels and has been used in training individuals described as “constitutional observers” or “ICE watchers.” Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2018111147237425556?s=20 https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2018114619320017259?s=20 JUST IN: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Signs “ICE On Notice” Executive Order to Prosecute ICE Agents Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at a press conference hosted by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker / Screenshot: MSNBC Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Saturday, launching investigations into ICE agents and laying the groundwork for criminal referrals for alleged law violations. The order “creates a framework for public accountability in the event federal agents violate local or state law while operating in Chicago,” a press release from Johnson's office reads. “Nobody is above the law. There is no such thing as ‘absolute immunity' in America,” Johnson said in a statement. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/9mmsmg/status/2017633783638368516?s=20 https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/2018435428932538861?s=20 President Trump's Plan Federal Appeals Court Tosses Justice Department's Misconduct Complaint Against Judge Boasberg A federal appeals court tossed out a Justice Department misconduct complaint against Judge James Boasberg. AS previously reported, DC Chief Judge James Boasberg and other DC Judges admitted bias against the Trump Administration during a March 2025 judicial conference with Chief Justice Roberts, according to a memo obtained by The Federalist. For the last year, DC Circuit Court Judges have engaged in a judicial coup against President Trump. Far-left DC judges James Boasberg, Beryl Howell, Chutkan, Berman Jackson and others have ruled against President Trump in every case related to deportations and firings in the Executive Branch. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/2018099758943084657?s=20 agencies, Los Angeles County has more than 36 states combined and 30X MORE than the whole state of Florida and New York “How is that possible? And take a look at this map, a cluster of 287 hospice providers, in a two-mile radius, some in strip malls, unmarked buildings, even a wrecking yard and vacant lot. All of it is just paperwork. I could fill that out in Kazakhstan if I want and get a hospice license waiting for me.” https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2018172495535247571?s=20 Rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World. In other words, if we don't close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer. The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result! Based on these findings, and totally subject to Board approval, I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before. Therefore, The Trump Kennedy Center will close on July 4th, 2026, in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country, whereupon we will simultaneously begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex. Financing is completed, and fully in place! This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before. America will be very proud of its new and beautiful Landmark for many generations to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP President Trump to SETTLE $10 BILLION IRS LAWSUIT — Plans to DONATE THE PROCEEDS TO CHARITY President Donald J. Trump is preparing to settle his massive $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department, and he says he will donate the entire payout to reputable charities instead of keeping a penny for himself. President Trump, Eric Trump, Don Jr., and the Trump Org filed a lawsuit against the IRS for leaking their tax returns. They are seeking $10 billion in damages. In September 2023, federal prosecutors charged a former IRS contractor who worked for the agency from 2018 to 2020 with unlawfully obtaining and disseminating the tax details of a high-ranking public official and numerous affluent Americans to media outlets. According to court documents and an official press release from the Department of Justice, Charles Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., stole tax return information associated with a high-ranking government official, referred to as Public Official A – now known as Donald Trump. He then disclosed this information to a news organization identified as News Organization 1 – now known as The New York Times. Littlejohn reportedly stole IRS information on thousands of wealthy people. The stolen information was then disseminated to two news outlets (New York Times and ProPublica). “In July and August 2020, Littlejohn separately stole tax return information for thousands of the nation's wealthiest individuals. Littlejohn was again able to evade IRS detection. In November 2020, Littlejohn disclosed this tax return information to News Organization 2, which published over 50 articles using the stolen data. Littlejohn then obstructed the forthcoming investigation into his conduct by deleting and destroying evidence of his disclosures,” the DOJ previously said. L Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2018117811625730171?s=20 some facts: 1. Yesterday’s voter turnout was 94,938. 2. In the same district in 2024, the voter turnout was 400,339. 3. In the same district in 2022, the voter turnout was 277,883. 4. This was a special election to fill a vacant seat resulting from a state senator's promotion into state comptroller. 5. Based on the timing of this election and the next election, and the peculiar nature of Texas state government, it is a 99.99% certainty that this new Democrat will never cast a single vote in the term he is filling. 6. The vote was on a Saturday. I am as passionate a MAGA voter as is alive, but if I lived in TX-SD9, I would have stayed home and enjoyed my Saturday based on fact #5 alone. Is this good for the GOP? No. Is it bad for the GOP? No. Then what is it, CP, you big smartypants? IT'S NOTHING. IT'S MEANINGLESS. So everybody please calm down. For the 2026 midterms, every Trump voter knows that if he does not win, the House will impeach him twice weekly. That fact will be as widely understood as any fact during the 2024 election. There are still many issues Trump needs to work on, and I'm not guaranteeing a 2026 victory. What I AM guaranteeing is that yesterday's TX-SD9 election has as much meaning as peanut butter on a dog's nose. (The dog freaks, everybody laughs, but ultimately the dog gets the peanut butter and we all move on.) https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/2018199554764447926?s=20 The Georgia Elections Board. https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/2018277500464275804?s=20 Complaint against Tulsi Gabbard could do ‘grave damage to national security': Report The whistleblower's allegations are so highly classified that documents are being kept locked in a safe and the complaint still hasn't been shared with Congress From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford i Source: the-independent.com There’s an “8 month old complaint” from a “US official” alleging “wrongdoing” https://twitter.com/awaitekw14/status/2018081688803516456?s=20 ballots from Fulton. Coincidence? No way. COVID wasn’t just a ‘pandemic’—it was the engineered pretext that flipped every state rule on mail-ins, drop boxes, and signature verification. Harvest those ballots, truck them in after 3 a.m. stops, rinse & repeat in swing-state blue zones. Regime change 2.0 after Russiagate flopped.If they can prove those Fulton ballots trace back to illegal harvesting (or even foreign interference via the biolab network), the whole house of cards collapses. Treason on a scale we haven’t seen since the founding. Trump saying ‘interesting things happening’ soon? Understatement of the century. Stay frosty, patriots. The storm is here. https://twitter.com/liz_churchill10/status/2018006616369496424?s=20 https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/2018375101847097793?s=20 Andrew Desiderio Schumer issues new statement reiterating that the SAVE Act is “dead on arrival” in the Senate — amid push from GOP Rep. Luna & others “If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown” https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2018378753873969400?s=20 elections from fraud. REP. AUGUST PFLUGER, Chair of Republican Study Committee nails it: “The House did our job nearly 300 days ago. It's high time that the Senate do theirs!” President Donald Trump has proposed building a massive triumphal arch in Washington, D.C., often referred to as the “Independence Arch” or “Memorial Circle arch,” to be located on Columbia Island near the Potomac River, close to the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The structure is envisioned as a 250-foot-tall monument, which would make it more than twice the height of the 100-foot Lincoln Memorial, taller than the 70-foot White House, and larger than Paris’s 164-foot Arc de Triomphe—though still shorter than the 630-foot Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Trump’s motivations stem from a desire to create a grand symbol of American pride and exceptionalism, emphasizing that Washington, D.C., is “the only city in the world that’s of great importance that doesn’t have a triumphal arch The arch signifies Trump’s emphasis on monumental nationalism and grandeur, evoking historical triumphal arches built by emperors and leaders to commemorate triumphs and project power—earning it nicknames like “Arc de Trump.” (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");
Guest: Joseph Sternberg. Sternberg warns that revelations linking Peter Mandelson to Epstein reinforce narratives of elitism, damaging Starmer's already unpopular Labour government among working-class voters.1859 CHARLES II
SHOW SCHEDULE 2-3-20261882 CONSTANTINOPLE Guest: Elizabeth Peek. Peek discusses Trump's nomination of hawk Kevin Warsh for Federal ReserveChairman, noting the immediate drop in precious metals and potential monetary policy shifts. Guest: Elizabeth Peek. Peek predicts Democrats will take the House in midterms, forcing Trump to rely on executive actions and non-traditional voter turnout to maintain his agenda. Guest: Judy Dempsey. Dempsey analyzes the stalemated Ukraine conflict, noting European refusal to accept Russian victory, while discussing rising tensions and internal political divisions within Iran. Guest: Judy Dempsey. Amidst the Mandelson-Epstein scandal, Dempsey explains how economic struggles and Brexit regrets are driving the Labour Party to consider re-engaging with the European Union. Guest: Joseph Sternberg. Sternberg details Starmer's unpopularity and lack of economic agenda, noting potential leadership challenges within the Labour Party from rivals like Burnham and Streeting. Guest: Joseph Sternberg. Sternberg warns that revelations linking Peter Mandelson to Epstein reinforce narratives of elitism, damaging Starmer's already unpopular Labour government among working-class voters. Guest: David Shedd. Shedd discusses the conviction of a Google engineer for stealing AI secrets, illustrating corporate naivety regarding China's state-mandated espionage and intelligence gathering operations. Guest: David Shedd. Shedd warns against selling advanced chips to China, describing Beijing's "capture, cage, and kill" economic strategy and criticizing the U.S. administration's transactional approach. Guest: Mary Kissel. Kissel argues U.S. talks with Iran are dangerous, as Tehran uses negotiations to stall while maintaining brutality and nuclear ambitions amidst regional military buildup. Guest: Mary Kissel. Kissel discusses the futility of appeasing Putin regarding Ukrainian territory and the need for security plans to support Venezuela's opposition against the Maduro regime. Guest: David Albright. Albright warns of "loose nukes" and dangerous materials in Iran, urging planning for a "day after" scenario to secure nuclear assets during potential regime instability. Guest: David Albright. Albright emphasizes the need for a coalition-led inspection and removal regime to secure Iranian nuclear materials and protect scientists if the government collapses. Guest: Gregory Copley. Copley analyzes new talks involving Turkey and the UAE, noting U.S. reluctance to support Iranian civil society leaves the clerical regime breathing room despite weakness. Guest: Gregory Copley. Copley observes Russia targeting Ukrainian infrastructure to pressure the public, noting that despite Western support, Moscow retains the upper hand while demanding territorial concessions. Guest: Gregory Copley. Copley details a civil war within the CCP as Xi Jinping purges military leaders, risking regime collapse while Western leaders ignore China's economic hollowing. Guest: Gregory Copley. Copley discusses the Epstein scandal involving Lord Mandelson and Prince Andrew, suggesting King Charles is distancing the monarchy from these revelations to protect the institution.
Coffee House Shots is on the road today. James Heale and Megan McElroy have travelled up to the frozen north to speak to the candidates who are lobbying locals in the lead-up to the Gorton and Denton by-election. This is the seat vacated by Labour's Andrew Gwynne, and made famous by Keir Starmer refusing to let Manchester mayor Andy Burnham contest it and complete his return to Westminster. Reform are giving it everything they've got – selecting academic and GB News presenter Matthew Goodwin – while some polling suggests that the Green party could do well. Who is in pole position?Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A forty-year slow-motion disaster in higher education is reaching its climax – and Labour is left holding the bag. If young people decide a degree isn't worth the massive debt, where does that leave British cities that depend on free-spending undergraduate populations – and universities that are hooked on no-longer-welcome foreign students? Can academia expect much sympathy from graduate generations whose aspirations are held back by crushing loan repayments? And can Labour do anything about it? In a fascinating conversation Oxford Brookes history professor and education commentator Glen O'Hara walks Ros Taylor and Hannah Fearn through the unfolding mess. Abstract: “The only way to wake up Westminster and Whitehall is to have a crisis.” • Buy Glen O'Hara's book New Labour, New Britain through our affiliate bookshop and you'll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org's fees help support independent bookshops too. ESCAPE ROUTES • Hannah recommends Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. • Glen recommends Kingdom Come by JG Ballard. • Ros has been watching David Baddiel's Cat Man on C4. Support us on Patreon. Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more Presented by Ros Taylor with Hannah Fearn. Audio Production by Chris Jones and Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Donald Trump claims that the release of millions more files related to Jeffrey Epstein ‘absolve' him of wrongdoing, even though his name appears hundreds of times. The latest documents also indicate high-profile figures, including the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Labour peer Peter Mandelson, continued friendships with the disgraced financier after his child sex abuse convictions. So what have we learned from the newly released files and what happens next? Lucy Hough speaks to columnist and host of Politics Weekly America Jonathan Freedland – watch on YouTube. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Last week a report from the Welsh Health and Social Care Committee revealed that women in Wales felt that they were being failed by gynaecological cancer services, with many facing long waiting lists to see a specialist or start treatment. Anita speaks to Jess Mason who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2022, Lowri Griffiths, Director of Policy, Research and Insight at Tenovus Cancer Care and Aarti Sharma, Consultant Gynaecology Oncology Surgeon, University Hospital of Wales.Politicians in France have moved to abolish so called "conjugal rights," the concept of a marital duty to have sex with your partner. A bill approved on Wednesday in the French National Assembly adds a clause to the country's civil code, which currently defines the duties of marriage as "respect, fidelity, support and assistance," and says couples commit themselves to a "community of living." The proposed law makes clear that "community of living" does not create an "obligation for sexual relations." Anita is joined by the French journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet.Across Wales more than 700 women volunteers regularly bring faulty toasters, ripped jeans, wobbly chairs and other broken stuff back to life for free. They are part of Repair Café Wales, a charity that spans 134 locations. They are launching 'Fix It February', a month-long campaign to inspire people to repair one broken item instead of replacing it. Anita is joined by Repair Cafe Wales director Phoebe Brown and Lucy Harris, one of the volunteers.The writer and performer Paris Paloma has a new single out today about women's bodies called Good Girl. Paloma joins Anita to sing and talk about her music, including her 2023 track Labour about women's unpaid work which started a social media trend as women around the world related the song to their own experiences with sexism.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rebecca Myatt
When Andy Burnham put forward his bid to stand in the Gorton & Denton by-election, the bond markets wobbled. What does this say about the state of Labour and their reputation with the markets? Michael Simmons speaks to former Treasury and Downing Street advisor James Nation about Labour leaders and fiscal policy, why Rishi Sunak was right on inflation and what he has learnt in the private sector since leaving the Treasury. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There's been a stark warning to MPs about the number of women pensioners living in poverty. The House of Commons Work and Pensions committee has been hearing the pension system is dysfunctional, and contributing to more gender disparity, that's according to the feminist economic think tank the Women's Budget Group, which gave evidence this week. Anita Rani is joined by their incoming director Dr Daniella Jenkins and Sarah Pennells, consumer specialist at Royal London finance company.It's less than a week to go until the Winter Olympics gets underway in Italy. With a record 47% of female athletes competing, the games will be the most gender-balanced in Winter Olympic history. Two women who are gearing up to cover every twist and turn of these Games are former two-time Winter Olympic snowboarder and broadcaster Aimee Fuller and Jeanette Kwayke, who'll be fronting the BBC's coverage as part of an all-female line up alongside Clare Balding and Hazel Irvine.The writer and performer Paris Paloma has a new single out today about women's bodies called Good Girl. Paloma joins Anita to sing and talk about her music, including her 2023 track Labour about women's unpaid work which started a social media trend as women around the world related the song to their own experiences with sexism.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor
Katie talks to former Army ranger Greg Stoker who is in Minneapolis about the protests; Palestinian analyst Mouin Rabbani about Gaza; Mahmoud Khalil's lawyer about his case; and Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos and historian Haim Bresheeth Zabner about Holocaust Memorial Day and how the Holocaust is being used to justify the genocide in Gaza. Watch the full interview on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-full-149337782 Stephen Kapos is an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor from Budapest who has been protesting against Israel's war on Gaza, which he describes as not only genocide but a holocaust. Stephen is a member of Holocaust Survivors Against Genocide. Stephen lost 15 members of his extended family in the Holocaust and his father was interned in Belsen & Theresienstadt. He settled in London but when he visited Israel was “shocked” by the racism exhibited by Israelis, including his relatives who had also survived the Holocaust. Stephen joined The Labour Party in 1997, becoming an activist and office-holder at various local levels. Stephen resigned from the Labour party, after penning a widely circulated letter, after the Labour party warned him they would “investigate” him if he spoke at a leftist organization on Holocaust Memorial Day. He is a member of Camden branch of PSC (Palestine Solidarity Campaign), Camden & Islington Momentum (affiliate of the Labour Party) and lately of the small network ‘Holocaust Survivors and Descendants Against Genocide.' Haim Bresheeth Zabnner was Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at University of East London and then a Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).He is Filmmaker, photographer, film studies scholar, and historian. His films include “A State of Danger,” a documentary on the first Palestinian Intifada. His books include "An Army Like No Other: How the Israel Defense Force Made a Nation." Haim is the son of two Holocaust survivors and was raised in Israel. He is a member of Holocaust survivors and Descendents Against the Genocide and a founding member of Jewish Network for Palestine. On November 4, Haim was arrested over a speech he gave at a pro Palestine demonstration outside the residence of Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely in north London. Greg Stoker is a former United States Army Ranger. He has a background in special operations and human intelligence collection. He conducted 4 combat deployments to Afghanistan during the unfortunately named “Global War On Terror” and is now an anti-war activist, host of the Colonial Outcasts Podcast, and analyst at MintPress News. Mouin Rabbani is a researcher, analyst & commentator specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict & the contemporary Middle East. He has among other positions previously served as Principal Political Affairs Officer with the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Head of Middle East w/the Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, Senior Middle East Analyst & Special Advisor on Israel-Palestine w/the Int'l Crisis Group. Rabbani is Co-Editor of Jadaliyya & a Contributing Editor of Middle East Report. Amy Greer is one of Mahmoud Khalil's lawyers. ***Please support The Katie Halper Show *** For bonus content, exclusive interviews, to support independent media & to help make this program possible, please join us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow Get your Katie Halper Show Merch here! https://katiehalper.myspreadshop.com/all Follow Katie on Twitter: https://x.com/kthalps Follow Katie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kthalps Follow Katie on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@kthalps
In his column this week, Tim Shipman has finally hit upon an answer to the age-old question: what is Starmerism? After a concerted effort from his team to tie the Prime Minister down to a definitive ‘-ism', he has delivered a threefold structure: firstly, the contestable claim that Labour has achieved macroeconomic stability by clinging grimly to the Chancellor's fiscal rules, which will mean interest rates and inflation fall; secondly, Starmer will say Britain needs an ‘active government' to intervene directly in retail offers; and finally, the PM will seek to tie together domestic and international policy by arguing that Britain needs ‘an active and engaged government abroad' if it is to control the cost of living at home.But is this the sort of thing that can secure his position? The rumour swirling around Westminster is that Streeting has up to 200 supporters waiting in the wings, and a straight fight between him and Angela Rayner is the most likely scenario given a poor local elections result.Tim Shipman and James Heale discuss.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's hard to be the only woman , I feel lonely sometimes because I'd like to have another woman colleague to talk too.'The BBC's Chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet speaks to Hind Kabawat, Syria's Minister for Social Affairs and Labour. and the only female minister in the transitional government.She was born in India and grew up across the Middle East and Europe. Her life has been shaped by movement, exile and conflict. She studied economics in Damascus, law in Beirut, and later continued her education in the United States.During Syria's war, she worked abroad on diplomacy and legal reform, advising on negotiations and pushing for greater representation of women in public life. After the fall of the Assad regime and the creation of a transitional authority, she returned home to take up public office. In this conversation, she talks about power, responsibility, and what leadership means in a country still reckoning with more than a decade of conflict.The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the Colombian president Gustavo Petro, the Palestinian-American human rights lawyer Noura Erekat and Mexican actor Diego Calva. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Lyse Doucet Producers: Lina Shaikhouni, Farhana Haider Editor: Justine LangGet in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Hind Kabavat Credit: Beyza Comert/Anadolu via Getty Images)
What do we mean when we talk about productivity?Anne McElvoy and guests discuss labour in the context of both work and motherhood: what the language of childbirth tells us about how mothers and their bodies are viewed today; how the language of production and reproduction is used in the public and private contexts of the workplace, in macroeconomics, in the labour ward and at home; and the current public debates about parental and domestic labour, the maternal pay gap and the 'productivity puzzle'.With: John Callanan, Reader in Philosophy at King's College London Beth Malory, Lecturer in English Linguistics at University College London Patrick Foulis, author and journalist Corinne Low, Associate Professor of Economics at the Wharton School and author of Femonomics Helen Charman, Fellow in English at Clare College, Cambridge and author of Mother State: A Political History of MotherhoodProducer: Eliane Glaser
EXCLUSIVE JANUARY OFFER: Get unlimited access to spiked for just £1 a month for the next three months: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/ Reem Ibrahim, Tom Slater and Fraser Myers on the smears, scandals and sectarianism surrounding the Manchester by-election. Plus, the clownishness of Andy Burnham and Suella Braverman's defection. Watch the second half of the discussion on spiked podcast: unlocked – our weekly bonus podcast, exclusively for spiked supporters – here: https://www.spiked-online.com/podcast-episode/whats-the-point-of-the-tory-wets/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Starmer slaps down Andy Burnham's bid to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election: bad move for Labour, bad timing from Burnham, or another distraction we don't need? Plus, who's bringing the best self to the overladen Reform bandwagon: twice-sacked Home Sec and Creature Comforts creation Suella Braverman, or race-baiting former academic Matt Goodwin? Special guest, media analysts Ayala Panievsky, takes us through the populist assault on the right to know, and her book The New Censorship: How the War on the Media is Taking Us Down. And in the Extra Bit: Who's feeling the “middle class spending crisis?” • Buy The New Censorship by Ayala Panievsky through our affiliate bookshop and you'll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org's fees help support independent bookshops too. ESCAPE ROUTES • HANNAH has been reading Eurotrash by Christian Kracht • MATT recommends the Tourette's movie I Swear • AYALA PANIEVSKY has been going to Iranian and Persian raves in Hackney like this one • ANDREW has rediscovered the (mostly) pre-Trump nostalgia of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn and Matt Green. Audio Production by: Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Who really runs Britain: the government, foreign courts or international lawyers? This question is at the heart of Michael Gove's cover piece for the Spectator this week, analysing the role of those at the centre of Labour's foreign policy. Attorney general Lord Hermer, national security adviser Jonathan Powell and internationally renowned barrister Philippe Sands may seek to uphold international law but is this approach outdated as we enter an era of hard power? For Gove, they are the three ‘guilty men' who are undermining Britain's national interest at the expense of a liberal international law that never really existed. For this week's Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by deputy editor Freddy Gray, columnist Douglas Murray and editor of the Spectator's Life section Arabella Byrne. The also discuss: whether Labour's reset can really work ahead of next month's by-election; how taking in so many disaffected Tories could backfire for Reform; why people care more about ICE in America than Iran – and if this proof that society has become conditioned; whether we should bemoan the demise of the landline; and finally, how parents should approach the issue of their children drinking.Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Who really runs Britain: the government, foreign courts or international lawyers? This question is at the heart of Michael Gove's cover piece for the Spectator this week, analysing the role of those at the centre of Labour's foreign policy. Attorney general Lord Hermer, national security adviser Jonathan Powell and internationally renowned barrister Philippe Sands may seek to uphold international law but is this approach outdated as we enter an era of hard power? For Gove, they are the three ‘guilty men' who are undermining Britain's national interest at the expense of a liberal international law that never really existed. For this week's Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by deputy editor Freddy Gray, columnist Douglas Murray and editor of the Spectator's Life section Arabella Byrne. The also discuss: whether Labour's reset can really work ahead of next month's by-election; how taking in so many disaffected Tories could backfire for Reform; why people care more about ICE in America than Iran – and if this proof that society has become conditioned; whether we should bemoan the demise of the landline; and finally, how parents should approach the issue of their children drinking.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Britain is being played — and according to a Qatari Sheikh and opposition figure, the people exploiting the system are laughing at us. SPONSORS: Organise your life: https://akiflow.pro/Heretics Earn up to 4 per cent on gold, paid in gold: https://www.monetary-metals.com/heretics/ Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at https://mintmobile.com/heretics In this episode, Sheikh Khalid explains why he believes the term “Islamophobia” has been turned into a political and financial tool, how it is used to shut down legitimate criticism, and why he says the strategy is working extremely well in the UK. Drawing on his experience from inside the Gulf region, Khalid describes what he calls an “Islamophobia industry”, how it operates across Western countries, and why questioning it often comes at a personal and professional cost. He also addresses the difference between Islam and Islamism, the role of activist organisations, and why Britain has become a particularly effective environment for this tactic. You don't have to agree with his conclusions — but understanding how he says the system works is essential to understanding today's political climate. #Britain #IslamophobiaDebate #FreeSpeech Join the 30k heretics on my mailing list: https://andrewgoldheretics.com Check out my new documentary channel: https://youtube.com/@andrewgoldinvestigates Andrew on X: https://twitter.com/andrewgold_ok Insta: https://www.instagram.com/andrewgold_ok Heretics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@andrewgoldheretics Chapters: 00:00 Who Sheikh Khalid Is — and Why He's a Target 03:00 The “Islamophobia Project” Explained 06:00 How Criminals Are Shielded From Scrutiny 09:00 Asylum, Extremists, and the Vetting Nobody Did 12:00 Integration Breakdown and Rising Street Violence 15:00 Inside Mosque Radicalisation 18:00 Hamas, Propaganda, and the Reality of October 7th 21:00 London Crime, Policing, and Living in Fear 24:00 Mosque Funding and the Money Trail 27:00 Tucker Carlson, Media Influence, and Qatar 30:00 Political Infiltration and Government Fear 33:00 Victimhood, Islamism, and Power 36:00 Reform, Labour, Conservatives — and System Failure 39:00 Who Should Hold Power in Britain 42:00 Immigration, Language, and Cultural Authority 45:00 Qatar, the Middle East, and a Coming Reckoning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Part 1: UK-based political bettors William Kedjanyi, Paul Krishnamurty, and Pip Moss debate how long Starmer can last as prime minister. Part 2: Chougule announces Polymarket sponsorship of DC Forecasting and Prediction Markets meetup. Timestamps 0:00: Chougule introduces UK segment 0:39: Polymarket markets on UK politics 1:35: Intro ends 3:36: UK segment begins 6:02: What has gone wrong for Starmer? 11:10: Starmer's communication problem 11:31: Perceptions of Starmer as a liar 11:41: Starmer is hated 17:40: Free speech 24:36: Market odds on Starmer's departure 25:23: Policy challenges 26:46: Housing 28:10: Local elections 32:50: Policy decisions 37:12: Immigration 39:30: Process After May Elections 42:14: May election odds 52:27: How Labour would remove Starmer 54:29: Blair-Brown rivalry 56:06: Trade unions 56:26: Soft left faction 1:05:52: Starmer U-turns 1:07:51: Challengers to Starmers 1:09:15: Reaction to Labour losses in May elections 1:12:30: UK segment ends 1:12:45: DC Forecasting and Prediction Markets Meetup Follow Star Spangled Gamblers on Twitter/X @ssgamblers Bet on UK politics at Polymarket.com, the world's largest prediction market. The next DC Forecasting & Prediction Markets Meetup will be on Thursday, January 29 from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM at The Flying Mexican in Washington DC. All 2026 DC meetups are sponsored by Polymarket! Polymarket is the world's largest prediction market, allowing you to stay informed on future events across various topics. Polymarket's markets reflect accurate, unbiased, and real-time probabilities for the events that matter most to you. Markets seek truth. Learn more at Polymarket.com. Thanks to Polymarket, food and drinks will be provided to all attendees of this month's meetup. Open to all ages. Last-minute/onsite walk-in RSVPs here on this Luma event page are welcomed! https://luma.com/dld19288?tk=XIracE Who are we? We are prediction market traders on prediction markets like Polymarket, Manifold, PredictIt, and Kalshi, forecasters (e.g. on Metaculus and Good Judgment Open), sports bettors (e.g. on FanDuel, DraftKings, and other sportsbooks), consumers of forecasting (or related) content (e.g. Star Spangled Gamblers, Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin, Scott Alexander's Astral Codex Ten), effective altruists, rationalists, futurists, and data scientists. This meetup is hosted by the Forecasting Meetup Network. Get notified whenever a new meetup is scheduled and learn more about the Forecasting Meetup Network here: https://bit.ly/forecastingmeetupnetwork Join our Discord to connect with others in the community between monthly meetups: https://discord.com/invite/hFn3yukSwv
Last October, a Senedd by-election took place in Caerphilly, South Wales. As long as the seat had existed, for over 100 years, it had belonged to Labour.But that night, Welsh Labour fell to third place. Reform galloped into second. And after fighting in 18 elections since the 1980s, Plaid Cymru's Lindsay Whittle took first place with almost 50 per cent of the vote.Is this a stark demonstration of how politics in Wales is changing? Plaid Cymru leader Rhun Ap Iorwerth joins Megan Kenyon.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN AD-FREE:
Trump's rumored choice for Fed Chair, BlackRock's Rick Rieder, has suddenly jumped to frontrunner status. In this episode of Market Maker, we break down what his nomination could mean for US interest rates, inflation, and the direction of monetary policy.We also explore why the US dollar is hitting four-year lows, the impact of Trump's recent comments, and why Japan's growing debt burden and political risks are putting pressure on the yen.Markets are moving fast - don't get left behind.Follow the Market Maker podcast for timely and easy to understand insight on central banks, currencies, and global finance.(00:00) Intro to Topics this Week(03:30) Trump's Fed Pick: Rick Rieder Explained(04:53) Why Trump Wants Rates Cut(06:12) Rieder's Views on Inflation & Labour(12:25) How Markets May React to a Rieder Fed(16:14) Fed Meeting Recap: Powell's Latest(18:56) USD Drops: What's Driving It?(23:05) Is Gold Signaling Crisis?(29:44) Japan's Debt Problem(35:59) Final Thoughts + What to Watch
In a Parliament first, National and Labour are teaming up to tackle modern slavery. Backbench MPs from the rival parties have put forward new legislation, and they are using a new rule to fast-track it up Parliament's agenda, skipping the usual "biscuit tin" lottery. But this big show of bonhomie appears to have been by necessity. Despite the prime minister's personal passion for the topic, it seems the ACT Party was blocking it from going through Cabinet. Political reporter Russell Palmer has more.
Of all its manifesto pledges, missions and milestones, Labour has been most keen to tell the public that it is ‘going for growth'. But does the government have a robust and well thought-through plan to deliver that growth? Or is it, like so many before it, struggling to really take the ‘tough decisions' required to drag UK GDP growth rates up to meet – and indeed surpass – those of our fellow G7 nations? This government has not been short of plans and strategies, but what it has not produced is a strategy for growth that helps it make hard choices nor the right support in place for the PM to follow through on them. This is a problem, as a new paper out this week from IfG and Imperial College London explores. Meanwhile, regional inequalities are one barrier to growth, and transport is both a symptom and a cause of this. Many regions lag far behind the capital on funding and transport connectivity, preventing people from getting new jobs, travelling to existing ones or otherwise moving about the country – all harming productivity. The authors of another new IfG report supported by Arup join us to discuss their findings – including a case study of the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham's work on the Bee Bus Network. Hannah White presents With Giles Wilkes, Akash Paun, Harriet Shaw and special guest Soumaya Keynes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Danny argues that if Labour wants to ditch Keir Starmer and pick a new leader, his replacement should immediately go to the polls. Have we switched to a presidential system without realising it, and would the party ever actually risk letting Reform into Downing Street?The team also discuss whether No 10's handling of Andy Burnham has parallels with Tony Blair's opposition to Ken Livingstone becoming mayor of London, and Danny's ongoing beef with Reform's Danny Kruger.Send your comments, questions and voicenotes to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Note: This month's Feeney Files with Jessie McCrone will come out next week, due to a scheduling conflict (a.k.a Stephen's globetrotting). But not to worry, we have an equally formidable guest for you this week.John Mcternan is back! He shares his expert analysis of UK politics and the health of social democracies around the world. Mcternan formerly served as the Director of Political Operations for Tony Blair from 2005-2007 and the Director of Communications for Julia Gillard from 2011-2013. In addition to working as a senior political strategist within UK Labour, he is a prolific political commentator and a pretty cracking podcast guest as well. This week, we discuss:
Is Trump amassing ships and troops in the Middle East for an attack on Iran? Labour risks election wipeout unless it improves Britain's high streets, and Brooklyn Beckham and his wife splash £80k on two bottles of wine!?
It's the news, featuring all the horrors to which we have become accustomed. But also Labour are offering the public something new: More Cops. Plus we check in with Andy "crash and" Burnham, before reading a delightful article by everyone's favourite Financial Times berk. Subscribe for two whole bonus episodes a month: https://www.patreon.com/praxiscast Watch streams: https://www.twitch.tv/praxiscast Buy shirts: https://praxiscast.teemill.com/ Follow us: https://bsky.app/profile/praxiscast.bsky.social Cast: David - https://bsky.app/profile/sanitarynaptime.bsky.social Jamie - https://bsky.app/profile/wizardcubes.bsky.social Alasdair - https://bsky.app/profile/ballistari.bsky.social
To hear this week's podcast in full, search 'Quite right!' wherever you are listening now. This week: Michael and Maddie ask whether Keir Starmer's grip on the Labour party is beginning to slip. After the party machine moved to block Andy Burnham from returning to Westminster, is Starmer governing from a position of strength – or fear? Does the decision expose a deeper crisis of authority at the top of the Labour party, and are we entering the early stages of a succession battle over who comes next?Then: Suella Braverman's long-anticipated defection to Reform UK. Was her exit inevitable, and what does it mean for the balance of forces on the right? As Reform continues to lure Conservative figures across, is it consolidating as a serious insurgent party – or accelerating a destructive fragmentation that could leave the Conservative party locked out of power for a generation?Produced by Oscar Edmondson.To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, visit spectator.co.uk/quiteright. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Birth is one of the most intimate, vulnerable, and powerful experiences a family will ever walk through. To invite someone into that space—especially someone holding a camera—requires trust, presence, and a deep understanding of birth itself.In this episode, we're talking about birth photography: what it really means to witness birth from behind a lens, how this work is different from any other kind of photography, and why presence matters more than the perfect shot.We explore what draws people to birth photography in the first place, what you learn about labor and birth when you're quietly observing it unfold, and why birth photography adds something profound for families long after the day itself has passed.We also get practical—talking equipment, settings, lighting, and the realities of photographing births in unpredictable, low-light environments. For photographers who already know their way around a camera, we share lessons learned over years of being in real birth rooms, not styled sessions.We talk about what qualifications birth photographers need that other professional photographers don't—why understanding birth, consent, and emotional safety is just as important as technical skill.We spend time on what it actually looks like to be in the birth room: how to be present without hovering, how to observe without making a birthing woman feel observed, and how to move in a way that supports the energy of the space rather than disrupting it.We also tackle the ethics of birth photography—who owns birth photos, how sharing should be handled, and how to have clear, respectful conversations with families about consent, boundaries, and image use.This episode is for photographers, birth workers, and anyone who feels drawn to the quiet, sacred work of witnessing birth well.Shownotes:Birth Becomes You photography courses - Comprehensive Birth Photography and Business Courses — Birth Becomes YouBasic needs of a woman in labor book (The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour ) and podcast (The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour Connect:Email us to say hi: holywildbirth@gmail.comPut in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the formApply to tell your birth story on the podcast: Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest ApplicationHang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): Rooted in Eden PMABecome a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother JourneyFrom Lauren:InstagramMidwifery consults: Email rootedinedenpma@gmail.comFrom Brooke:InstagramTrust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inboxEmbrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Intro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Can the 'middle powers' escape Trump's grip and build a world beyond American and Chinese dominance? What is the 'Board of Peace' and why is Trump its chairman for life? Is Starmer's ‘control-freakery' shooting Labour in the foot? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more. __________ The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. To sign up and for terms and conditions, visit fuseenergy.com/politics. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://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, Lorcan Mouillier Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Senior Producer: Callum Hill General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Millions of leaseholders in England and Wales will get their ground rents capped at £250 per year as part of Labour's long-promised overhaul of a hated system.Reforms also include proposals to ban the sale of new leasehold flats, in a bid to give people greater control over their homes.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Will Dunn.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN AD-FREE:
Sacha Lord delivers a stark warning for the Labour Party, claiming it is on course to be “wiped out” in the upcoming May local elections. In this video, Lord lays out why he believes Labour's electoral strategy is failing, what the local election results could signal for the national picture, and why Keir Starmer's leadership may not survive the months ahead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Andy Burnham has said it is "simply untrue" that he was told he would be blocked from standing as Labour's candidate in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election before he applied for selection. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kemi Badenoch has attacked both Labour and Reform for being “addicted to psychodrama”, and called recent defectors from her party “drama queens”. Tim is joined by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg to digest the speech.Tim also spoke to the Tory leader after she'd stepped off stage and put to her the suggestion – made by Sir Jacob on social media – that the Tories shouldn't field a candidate in Gorton and Denton in order to leave Reform a clear path.Elsewhere, Rees-Mogg makes the case for Shamima Begum to be allowed to return to the UK, and the Reverend Richard Coles talks to Tim and Jacob about the confirmation of new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally.We want to hear from you! Email us at thedailyt@telegraph.co.uk or find @dailytpodcast on TikTok, Instagram and X► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditorProducer: Georgia Coan and Lilian FawcettSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleSocial Producer: Nada AggourEditor: Camilla Tominey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question are the former Conservative Cabinet minister Lord Eric Pickles, Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo, plus the former Labour adviser Paul Richards and former Conservative adviser James Starkie.
Today, the chancellor has announced a package of support for pubs and music venues after the government was forced to U-turn on their plans to bump up business rates. BBC Business editor Simon Jack joins Adam to explain the measures, whilst political correspondent Joe Pike drops by to unpack the government's other big announcement of the day - capping ground rents at £250 a year for leaseholders.Plus, the PM is on his way to Beijing. Ahead of his visit, Starmer said the UK cannot afford to ignore the economic opportunities presented by working with China. His visit comes after one of the country's top generals was purged by the government. Our China correspondent Laura Bicker gives Adam a rundown of what to expect.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi. The social producer was Joe Wilkinson. The technical producers were Dave O'Neill and. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
The prime minister may have seen off the challenge for the moment – but what will be the cost to his leadership? Peter Walker reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Carl Benjamin and Dan Tubb discuss the latest batch of Tory defectors and examine what recent polling says about the desperation of Labour.
Keir Starmer lands in China tonight as he becomes the first British Prime Minister to visit since Theresa May in 2018. Sam Hogg from the Oxford China Policy Lab and James Heale join Patrick Gibbons to assess the UK-China relationship right now, what Labour is hoping to get from the visit and whether there are risks for Starmer as well as rewards. Is the tight rope Starmer is walking between the UK & China a sign of weakness, or an extension of a pragmatic 'Starmerite' foreign policy?Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's psychodrama all round on Coffee House Shots today. Between Andy Burnham – who over the weekend was denied the opportunity to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election – and Suella Braverman – who has just announced that she's defecting to Reform (shock horror) – it seems like the main parties are competing to see who can appear the most split. After high-profile Labour MPs gave their support for Burnham's return, what impact will this have on Labour party unity? And with this latest defection of a former Tory, can Nigel Farage dodge accusations that Reform is becoming the Tory party 2.0?Isabel Hardman speaks to Tim Shipman and Gabriel Pogrund.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today, Andy Burnham has said he is "disappointed" after being blocked from standing as a candidate for the upcoming parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton by Labour's ruling body.As a directly elected mayor, Burnham had to get approval from Labour's national executive committee (NEC), after he applied to be a candidate on Saturday.But Labour said the party had decided to deny him permission to stand to "avoid an unnecessary mayoral election, which would use substantial amounts of taxpayers' money and resources".Adam and Chris are here to discuss what it means and what might happen next. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXdThe presenters were Adam Fleming and Chris. It was made by Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Labour block Andy Burnham from standing as an MP, Ed Davey says we're in a Cold War, and a new centre-right movement is launched.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.