Podcast appearances and mentions of steve bloomfield

What a show we had everything including a technical issue..... ah.... I forgot to plug a laptop into the power! yep I'm damaged! Yogi calls in from Nullarbor Road House. CJ joins us from Adelaide and Steve Bloomfield our Truckin Life Cartoonist joins in as well.

CBD oils, meditation apps, and memory foam mattresses—our obsession with getting the perfect night's sleep is stronger than ever. But is the drive to get more shut-eye actually making us more exhausted? Journalist Barbara Speed wrote an essay for Prospect going behind the global sleep industry, and unpacks the false science and misguided assumptions that are stopping us from getting the proper rest we need. She joins outgoing deputy editor Steve Bloomfield to talk about why she was drawn to going behind the sleep industry, why she's no longer bothered about getting in her nightly eight hours, and the tech industry's insidious war on our waking brains. You can read Barbara's essay on sleep here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/cant-sleep-lockdown-quarantine-problems-why-coronavirus-nightmares-help See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Human rights lawyer and award-winning author Philippe Sands joins the Prospect Interview to talk about his new book, The Ratline: Love, Lies, and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive. The author of bestselling history memoir East West Street discusses his new book, which traces the real-life disappearance of a Nazi leader and his wife. He talks to deputy editor Steve Bloomfield about what drew him to this curious family history, what 20th century atrocities can teach us today, and—as a human rights lawyer—what concerns him about life under lockdown. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Early modern historian and polyglot John Gallagher joins the Prospect Interview this week to talk about language learning in Britain from the 16th century to today. What was it like when the English language was, in the words of one early modern writer, useless anywhere past Devon? And why do Brits today perform so poorly on language acquisition, especially against their continental peers?John's book, Learning Languages in Early Modern England, is published by Oxford University Press.Plus: Stephanie Boland and Steve Bloomfield on language learning in the time of coronavirus lockdown See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From Edward Heath to Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron to Tony Blair—what makes a good opposition leader? Broadcaster and journalist Steve Richards joins the Prospect interview to talk about what it takes for politicians to best their opponents across the dispatch box. You can read Steve's essay on the politics of the opposition leader here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/other/ill-tell-you-and-youll-listen-the-one-thing-successful-opposition-leaders-all-have-in-commonPlus Stephanie Boland and Steve Bloomfield on the Labour leadership contest See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question this week are Conservative candidate for Mayor of London Shaun Bailey, broadcaster and former Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality Trevor Phillips, Deputy Editor of Prospect Magazine Steve Bloomfield and Shabnam Nasimi, Conservative activist and Director of Conservative Friends of Afghanistan.

Two years on from the New York Times' publication of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor join Prospect's Steve Bloomfield to discuss what it was like to report on the story—and how their article helped ignite a global movement.Plus: Stephanie Boland on Britain's #metoo moment and what comes next. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In recent months, the climate change movement reach new heights with global strikes and large-scale marches. Journalist and author of The Uninhabitable Earth David Wallace-Wells joins the Prospect podcast and takes stock of where the global climate movement is today, and what change needs to happen to avoid the alarming futures we may face.Plus: Tom Clark and Steve Bloomfield on the climate change proposals unveiled party conferences See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David Cameron and Theresa May both came into power with ambitious visions for reforming Britain. Both, it is widely argued, failed to achieve their aims. Will Boris under Britain see the same fate? Conservative blogger and commentator Tim Montgomerie joins the Prospect Podcast this week to discuss the unfashionable, but important question of what the Conservative Party stands for beyond Brexit. You can read Tim Montgomerie's feature on the future of Conservatism here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/tim-montgomerie-future-conservative-partyPlus: Tom Clark and Steve Bloomfield on why the Tories have turned away from economics See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does Tony Blair himself make of the Blair doctrine? When the former prime minister outlined his case for intervening in Kosovo in 1999 at the Chicago Economic Club, he unveiled a bold new internationalist doctrine—one that sought to meld liberal values with a strong interventionist arm.Twenty years on, deputy editor Steve Bloomfield met Tony Blair to discuss the contested legacy of the Blair doctrine. What, if anything, has the former prime minister learned from his adventures abroad, and should we expect Boris Johnson to dig liberal interventionism out from its grave?You can read Steve Bloomfield's profile of Tony Blair and review of the Blair doctrine here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/tony-blair-second-thoughts-war-iraq-liberal-interventionism See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#90: Demystifying the food industry, with Marion NestleFrom miracle foods to fad diets, and nutritional studies backed by murky science and shadowy sponsors, it seems like we might never quite know the truth behind what we eat. We talk to Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition and public health at New York University, on demystifying our diets and the tricky politics of food studies. Nestle's new book, Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat is available from Hachette.Plus: Tom Clark and Steve Bloomfield on children's diets See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“Once upon a time, contracts dissolved once you were dead… but big tech companies are holding the same terms of the contract in tact with the deceased person.”How has Facebook revolutionised grief? Psychologist Elaine Kasket has been researching how online lives have reshaped the way we mourn, and all the uncharted questions it raises. Do you really want to remember your partner through a ‘likeness' app in your smartphone? Who owns the data of ghosts?Elaine's book, “All the Ghosts in the Machine” is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Ghosts-Machine-Illusions-Immortality/dp/147214189XPlus: Alex Dean on the next Tory party leader, and Steve Bloomfield on podcasts and mental health See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chess used to be the ultimate expression of brilliance and ingenuity—but nowadays, a Grandmaster would lose to the chess app on your smartphone. The philosopher David Edmonds discusses the triumph of computer power over humans, what it means for chess and for the world at large. Interview by Sameer Rahim. Presented by Tom Clark, with Steve Bloomfield and Alex Dean. Produced by Jay Elwes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Prospect speaks to Paul Collier, the Oxford economist, about Britain's London problem. The capital city attracts a huge amount amount of the country's economic activity and keeps the benefits for itself: how can Britain's smaller towns and cities get their fair share? Hosted by Tom Clark, with Steve Bloomfield and Alex Dean.Producer, Jay Elwes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Labour Shadow Chancellor is Jeremy Corbyn's oldest political ally, but is John McDonnell the hard-left bruiser that his image suggests? Kevin Maguire talks to Steve Bloomfield about the life and times of the man who would be Chancellor and how training for the priesthood, working in factories and running a care home have shaped his world view.Featuring Sameer Rahim and Alex Dean. Produced by Jay Elwes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From May's speech to McDonnell's economics, this week Prospect brings you a round-up of the Labour and Conservative party conferences—including an audio postcard from the Tory event in Birmingham. What are the parties and their activists thinking? And what's it actually like to be at a party conference? Stephanie Boland, Steve Bloomfield, Sameer Rahim and Tom Clark get to grips with the state of the parties—while Jay Elwes and Alex Dean take you on tour to Birmingham. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Ben Rhodes speaks to Steve Bloomfield. Rhodes was formerly at the centre of the Obama administration: he started as a speechwriter but quickly became one of Obama's closest advisors on foreign policy. He was there for some of the most important geopolitical events in recent history. 

His new book is called The World As It Is: Inside the Obama White House. Bloomfield reviewed it for our July issue. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Iyadoo ay taageerayaasha kubadda cagta ee ku sugan daafaha adduunka ay si xiiso le u la socdaan #Koobka Adduunka oo ay ku tartamayaan kooxo kala duwan, ayaa waxaan todobaadkan barnaamijka #TubtaNabadda diiradda ku saaraynaa kubadda iyo kaalinta ay ka qaadan karto nabadda iyo midnimada bulshada. Waxaan barnaamijka ku waraysanaynaa Cabdiqani Siciid Carab, Guddoomiyaha #Xiriirka Kubadda Cagta Soomaaliyeed oo ka hadli doona doorka ay kubadda cagtu ka qaadan karto faafinta jacaylka iyo nabadda bulshadeeda dhexdeeda. Waxaa sidoo kale barnaamijka naga la qaybqaadanaya Steve Bloomfield oo wax ka qora arrimaha ciyaaraha kuna sugan Magaalada #London. Wuxuu ka hadlayaa waxa ay tahay inay sameeyaan ururada caalamiga ah si ay u taageeraan kubadda cagta Soomaaliya iyo sida Soomaaliya ay awood ugu yeelan karto inay soo ceshato dhaqankeedii dhanka ciyaaraha. Barnaamijka ayaa waxaa idinla socodsiin doona Faadumo Sheikh Abdullahi Aden iyo Cali Guutaale waxaana ku soo biiri doona Awdango oo noo qaadi doonaa hees hallaasi ah. Ka dhageyso Radio Muqdisho, Radio Kulmiye, Radio Baidoa, SBC Radio, Radio Risaala, GoobJoogFM, Radio Cadaado iyo Radio Hiranweyn Beletweyne maanta. Ha hilmaamin in aad wici karto idaacadaha oo aad nala wadaagi karto aragtidaada ku aadan ama qaybtaan hoose aragtidaada noogu reeb. Haddii uu ku dhaafay, halkaan ayaad ka dhageysan kartaa marwalba. Waxaad ka heli karta barnaamijka iyo qaybaha kaleba iTunes (apple.co/2xbk78c), Stitcher (bit.ly/2x9djbd) and TuneIn (bit.ly/2kljcZJ).

Leaving the EU, despite what the Leave campaign claimed last year, is turning out to be rather complicated. We were supposed to save money—£350m a week—but now it seems we’re paying tens of billions first. We were supposed to quickly sign a trade deal with the rest of the EU—the German car manufacturer would insist on it, remember—but we haven’t even started talks about talks yet. And all those concerns about what this meant for Northern Ireland and the border were pretty straight-forward to deal with, really—but, well, we know where we are with that… So, was there—is there—another way? In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: · Asa Bennet, Brexit commissioning editor · Chris Bickerton, Cambridge academic · Alex Dean, Prospect’s Brexit expert Get in touch Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading The case for a slow-motion Brexit: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/the-case-for-a-slow-motion-brexit The EFTA Court piece we mentioned: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/in-future-britain-may-have-a-judge-on-the-efta-court-bench-says-its-president And since Chris talked about the productivity, here’s Diane Coyle’s recent piece for the mag: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/how-to-have-a-productive-brexit

How do you fix Brexit? Well, for a start it depends on whether you want us to leave or remain. Next week we’ll work out how to fix leaving. Today, we’re going to see if there’s a way to remain. Despite the vote, is it possible for the UK to remain in the European Union after all? It is, and we’ll explain how. In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: · Alison McGovern, Labour MP · Alex Dean, Prospect’s Brexit expert Get in touch Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading The inside story of how David Cameron drove Britain to Brexit, by Ivan Rogers: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/the-inside-story-of-how-david-cameron-drove-britain-to-brexit Alison McGovern on why free movement doesn’t affect wages: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/the-evidence-is-clear-ending-free-movement-wont-raise-british-wages Ian Dunt on how Brexit negotiations are going to get worse: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/think-brexit-negotiations-are-going-badly-its-about-to-get-a-whole-lot-worse Dominic Cummings fears Brexit will fail: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/peering-over-the-cliff-edge-why-dominic-cummings-fears-brexit-will-fail

For the tenth episode of How to Fix we decided to hand the reins over to you, dear listener. What do you think needs fixing? We’ve whittled down your suggestions to half a dozen and have parcelled out your queries to a handful of prospect editors, including myself and Steph. So in the next twenty minutes or so you’ll hear Tom Clark discuss the state of the United Kingdom, Sameer Rahim will wax lyrical on English curriculums at universities, Steph will tell us all about children’s health and I’ll have a minor rant about sports administration. We’ll also talk about the age bias in the arts and discuss the growing distrust in the media. In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: · Tom Clark · Sameer Rahim Get in touch Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading Here’s that bizarre piece about children spending less time outside than prison inmates: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/25/three-quarters-of-uk-children-spend-less-time-outdoors-than-prison-inmates-survey Here’s a good overview of the ‘decolonising Cambridge’ row: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-university-decolonisation-lola-olufemi-13831287 The moment when FIFA executives were arrested: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/sports/fifa-scandal-arrests-in-switzerland.html?_r=0

Think of a city with an air pollution problem and, a few years ago, Beijing probably would have sprung to mind. Dense smog, citizens in face masks, this was a problem that cities like London had left behind after the Clean Air Act of 1956 dealt with the problems caused by the great Smog of 1952. But while London and other cities in the UK don’t suffer from a Great Smog today, they are feeling the effects of air pollution in far greater ways than many of us have realised. An estimated 40,000 deaths each year are attributable in some way to air pollution. Too many cars, of which too many of those are diesel, are causing serious health problems. the mayor of greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, from the chair of the transport select committee, Lilian Greenwood; Sarah Macfadyen at the British Lung Foundation, and the science editor of Buzzfeed News, Kelly Oakes In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: · Lilian Greenwood, chair of the transport select committee · Kelly Oakes, science editor, Buzzfeed UK · Sarah Macfadyen, policy manager, British Lung Foundation Get in touch Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading Here’s Kelly’s piece on Brixton Road and its air pollution: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/this-london-road-has-breached-its-annual-air-pollution-limit?utm_term=.wgXP2vEK9#.utDYk4ryz Here’s the British Lung Foundation’s very useful explainer on air pollution: https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/air-pollution Here are those adverts about air pollution that Steph mentioned: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/hardhitting-air-pollution-posters-to-go-on-display-on-londons-tube-network-a3661891.html

Right now, there are 65.6 million people around the world who have been forcibly displaced. That’s roughly equivalent to the population of Britain. Of those, 22.5 million are refugees. Of those, less than 200,000 were resettled last year in another country. So what about the rest? Well, many of them are in camps. We think of the refugee camp as a temporary structure. A place of tents and well-meaning aid workers in white t-shirts handing out food and medicine. And at first, they can be. But as the weeks turn into months and the months into years and the years into decades, and refugees still can’t go home, they are left in limbo. The aid often dries up. The camps become dangerous. Solutions are thin on the ground. In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: · Kilian Kleinschmidt, former director of the Zaatari refuge camp · Ben Rawlence, author of City of Thorns Get in touch Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading Here’s a review of Ben’s brilliant book, City of Thorns: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/books/review/city-of-thorns-by-ben-rawlence.html Here’s a profile of Kilian Kleinschmidt from his time as the director of Zaatari: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/25/world/middleeast/kilian-kleinschmidt-calm-boss-at-center-of-a-syrian-refugee-camps-chaos.html

In the three weeks since the first allegations of sexual harassment and assault were made against Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, the floodgates have opened. From film to journalism, politics to law, women have come forward with horrific stories of assault and everyday harassment. No industry is immune. It feels as if something might have changed, as if we’ve reached—or are reaching towards—a tipping point. But are we? What, if anything, will actually change? What can we do—both men and women—to make sure that things change. And what do we mean by that? What does change look like? In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: · Rosamund Urwin, a columnist for the Evening Standard Berlin · Musa Okwonga, writer and poet Get in touch Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading Read Musa Okwonga on what men must do to fight back against the Weinsteins https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/life/as-men-its-our-job-to-challenge-the-culture-that-enables-people-like-harvey-weinstein Rosamund Urwin has written frequently on how to end sexual assault and help support women’s rights in her Evening Standard Column (we love this piece on Donald Trump inauguration) https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/rosamund-urwin-a-brave-new-world-you-must-be-joking-a3444416.html Steph Boland has written on how informal whisper networks help women avoid predatory colleagues—and explains why harassment is not a party political issue in this piece on Jared O’Mara https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/the-jared-omara-story-isnt-about-the-internet-its-about-how-we-decide-who-should-be-in-politics

Back in May it was Mental Health Awareness week. Newspapers ran stories, MPs dutifully tweeted support, awareness was raised. Fine. But then what? One in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem this year. You’ve probably heard that stat before, or something similar. Politicians certainly have. But despite all the awareness, we as a society and as a nation, still struggle to take this seriously. Most companies still don’t understand the idea of a mental health sick day; governments are still unwilling to properly fund mental health care. If you break you arm, you go to A&E, see a doctor within four hours, and get it fixed. If you are diagnosed with a mental health issue, good luck if you get any treatment on the NHS inside six months. And even then, it probably won’t be very good. In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: · Luciana Berger, shadow minister for mental health · Anoosh Chakelian, New Statesman · Mark Brown, journalist and mental health advocate Get in touch Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading Mark Brown on why it’s time to take student mental health seriously: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/its-time-to-take-student-mental-health-seriously Anoosh on workplace sick days: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2017/07/i-felt-so-frantic-i-couldn-t-see-my-screen-why-aren-t-we-taking-mental Here’s an interview with Luciana Berger from 2015, just after she became shadow mental health minister: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/04/luciana-berger-mental-health-crisis-minister

More than 4,000 people were sleeping rough in England in 2016. That figure is higher than it was in 2015; indeed, it’s a figure that’s been rising every year since 2010. And those are the official figures. Research by Crisis puts the real figure at 9,000—and they believe it could grow by three-quarters in the next decade. As the worst form of homelessness, rough sleeping is only the tip of the iceberg. It’s estimated that around a quarter of a million people in the UK are homeless—living in hostels or squats, cars or tents. In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East Dawn Foster, Guardian columnist Juha Kaakinen, chief executive, Y-Foundation Get in touch 
Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading House of Commons Library Briefing paper on rough sleeping: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN02007 Y-Foundation in Finland: https://ysaatio.fi/in-english/ You can find Dawn Foster’s work at the Guardian here: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/dawn-foster And here’s the piece in the New Statesmans from 2008 that Steph mentions: https://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2008/11/street-homelessness-end-rough

When the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was established in 1949 it had a purpose – to protect North America and western Europe in the face of the emerging threat, as they saw it, from the Soviet Union. But once the Cold war ended in 1989, some began to question whether there was any point to Nato. Over the following three decades it has found a new role – several new roles, in fact – from military interventions in the former Yugoslavia to dealing with piracy off the coast of the Horn of Africa. But it has also faced more challenges – from outside, in the form of a resurgent Russia; and recently from inside, thanks to an American president who doesn’t seem to understand what the organisation does and is quite happy to criticise its members. In this week’s show, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by:  Fabrice Pothier, former advisor to Nato secretary generals Anders Fogh Rasumssen and Jen Stoltenberg  Deborah Haynes, defence editor at The Times  Elisabeth Braw, non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Get in touch Steve: https://twitter.com/BloomfieldSJ Steph: https://twitter.com/stephanieboland Further reading Donald Trump’s speech at Nato in May 2017: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/25/remarks-president-trump-nato-unveiling-article-5-and-berlin-wall Trump shoving the Montenegro president out of the way: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-40050926/trump-pushes-past-montenegro-s-pm A review of French president Emmanuel Macron’s speech about Europe (including defence) in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/world/europe/france-macron-european-union-reforms.html

Prime Minister’s Questions is the one bit of parliamentary business that most people are dimly aware of. It’s normally guaranteed to make the news in the evening, but it’s not exactly parliament at its best. It’s boorish, it’s petty and it turns the public off. This week, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: Theo Bertram, former advisor to Gordon Brown and Tony Blair Esther Webber, reporter for BBC Politics and BBC Parliament Louise Thompson, lecturer in British politics at Surrey University Get in touch on Twitter Steve is @BloomfieldSJ Stephanie is @StephanieBoland Show notes Theo explains what it’s like to prepare a prime minister for PMQS: https://goo.gl/chQ5vH And here are some videos: John Bercow says order a lot. Then tells the childrens' minister to behave like an adult https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVs1jN85w10 David Cameron tells Angela Eagle to “calm down, dear” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URWXkPDwG0g [

Newspapers are in crisis. In fact, they’ve been in crisis for a decade and a half. Sales are down. Advertising is down. Jobs have been cut. The Independent shut down its print operation. The Guardian is losing tens of millions of pounds a year. The Telegraph is a shadow of its former self. And that’s before we even begin to look at the dire situation in the regional and local press, where dozens have been forced to close down. This week, Steve Bloomfield and Stephanie Boland are joined by: Lisa Markwell, the last ever editor of the Independent on Sunday Jim Waterson, political editor of Buzzfeed News Andreas Kluth, editor in chief of Germany’s Handelsblatt Global (https://global.handelsblatt.com/editor/akluth) Show notes: Here are Jim’s articles about the new wave of left-wing media sites: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/the-rise-of-the-alt-left?utm_term=.fgovEJqkW#.xcJYM2GVo and https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/how-newspapers-lost-their-monopoly-on-the-political-agenda?utm_term=.sdZyAe12j#.yvNqzMa7r Here’s a piece on HuffPost (fittingly, a new media operation) about the final front page of the Indy on Sunday: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/independent-on-sunday-last-issue-cover_uk_56ee88fae4b0fbd4fe080b95 If you want to get in touch with us on Twitter, Steve is BloomfieldSJ; Steph is StephanieBoland

Prospect has a new podcast series starting this week, called How To Fix... - and we'd like to share it with our Headspace listeners. In the first episode, Steve Bloomfield was joined by Andrew Dilnot, Liz Kendall and Daniel Drepper to discuss social care—what's wrong with it, and how we could make it better. You can subscribe now to hear future episodes at: http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/howtofix Show notes Here's Andrew Dilnot's report on Funding of Care and Support. webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/2013022…report/ Liz Kendall mentioned the Barker report. Here it is. www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/commi…l-care-england Here's Daniel Drepper's book on Amazon. www.amazon.de/Jeder-pflegt-allei…1740017/ref=sr_1_1 And if you'd prefer something in English, here's a piece on Correctiv: correctiv.org/en/investigations/…-home-care-system/, the non-profit Daniel co-founded, that dealt with the same issue. In April 2015, Liz Kendall spoke to the Guardian about social care. www.theguardian.com/society/2015/ap…care-health-nhs Here are the manifestoes from 2017. Labour's bit on social care begins on page 71, the Conservatives infamous policy is recorded for posterity on page 64: www.labour.org.uk/page/-/Images/ma…festo%202017.pdf, while the Lib Dems' section is here: www.libdems.org.uk/health. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the first episode of How to Fix, Steve Bloomfield was joined by Andrew Dilnot, Liz Kendall and Daniel Drepper to discuss social care—what's wrong with it, and how we could make it better. Show notes Here’s Andrew Dilnot’s report on Funding of Care and Support. Liz Kendall mentioned the Barker report. Here it is. Here’s Daniel Drepper’s book on Amazon. And if you’d prefer something in English, here’s a piece on Correctiv, the non-profit Daniel co-founded, that dealt with the same issue. In April 2015, Liz Kendall spoke to the Guardian about social care. Here are the manifestoes from 2017. Labour’s bit on social care begins on page 71, the Conservatives infamous policy is recorded for posterity on page 64, while the Lib Dems’ section is here. See you all next week!

This month Tom Clark and guests chew over three simmering—or potential—culture wars. Immigration is often said to divide the "metropolitan elite" from "the masses", but Steve Bloomfield says that Canada proves that, done the right way, immigration can be popular. Jessica Abrahams fills us in on what's good, what's bad and what's complacent in fourth-wave feminism. And the Sun's Emily Andrews fills us in on how insiders fear that the change of the guards at Buckingham Palace that will bring in Charles III could bring down the institution at the pinnacle of British class: the monarchy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield sits down with the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet to talk about the start of her career, the impact that Afghanistan has had on her life, her current reporting on Syria and why she continues to see working in journalism as a privilege.

Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield sits down with Christiana Figueres, the former head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The woman behind the 2015 Paris Agreement talks about the work involved in the legendary deal, growing up in Costa Rica, our pressing moral obligations to future generations and why it’s important to be stubborn when it comes to the environment.

Steve Bloomfield sits down with the BBC’s world affairs editor to talk about his 50-year career, the responsibilities, danger and excitement of being a war correspondent and some advice he would give to his younger self.

Is there anything the US can do in Syria? Will the diplomatic success of the Iran deal be built upon? Will stability be prioritised over democracy (if that ever actually works)? And will the US still be engaged in the Middle East at a time when many Americans would rather they weren’t involved at all? Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield is joined by Sir William Patey – former UK ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia – alongside Chatham House’s Lina Khatib and analyst Bill Law.

Is the US isolating itself from the rest of the world? There’s more to this story than Donald Trump and his ‘America First’ rhetoric. There appears to be a growing unease in the US about its engagement with the rest of the world. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have damaged the idea of America and its military might, while concerns over the economy have led to many – on both left and right – questioning the wisdom of free trade. Even if Hillary Clinton wins there is no guarantee that the US will want to engage as much with the rest of the world as it has over the past 70 years. Some may argue that that’s a good thing – but what will it mean if the US leaves the rest of us alone? Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield is joined by two European former foreign secretaries: Poland’s Radek Sikorski and the UK’s Sir Malcolm Rifkind.

Despite being an issue on which both candidates have very different views, climate change hasn’t played much of a role in this year’s election – in fact, there wasn’t a single mention of it in any of the three presidential debates. Hillary Clinton is likely to continue many of the policies set out by Barack Obama and fully supports the recent Paris agreement. Donald Trump, meanwhile, has dismissed climate change as a “hoax”. Steve Bloomfield is joined by Connie Hedegaard, the EU’s former commissioner for Climate Action and Michael Jacobs, one-time advisor to UK prime minister Gordon Brown and a former senior advisor to the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

For 15 years, American foreign policy has been dominated by a single word: terrorism. Barack Obama may not use the phrase “global war on terror”, America’s main enemy may have shifted from al-Qaeda to Isis and the tools used in the fight may have changed dramatically but terrorism – that imperfect way of describing a complex battle – remains America’s over-riding fear. In this election the two candidates have very different world views – and very different plans for how to deal with terrorism. Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield is joined by former UK counter-terrorism chief Chris Phillips, security adviser Sally Leivesley and professor of peace studies at Bradford University Paul Rogers.

Of all the issues raised by this election that could have an impact on the rest of the world, the economy is the biggest – and the scariest. Economic decisions in the US can have an outsized influence elsewhere: if the US is motoring along nicely, so are the rest of us; if the wheels fall off there, the crash will be felt elsewhere too. Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield is joined by Harvard economics professor Ken Rogoff, economist and broadcaster Linda Yueh and Martin Sandbu of the ‘Financial Times’ to discuss the potential ramifications of a Trump and Clinton presidency.

Could London become a city-state after most of its inhabitants voted to stay in the EU? Dan Damon talked to Steve Bloomfield of Monocle magazine to find out whether the idea could ever come to fruition. (Picture: Buses and taxis on Westmister Bridge with Elizabeth Tower and the Houses of Parliament Credit: Thinkstock)

Europe doesn’t always like to admit this but it needs the US. The US economy has an outsized effect on Europe’s, while Europe often needs the diplomatic and (sometimes) military heft of the US. All of which means that those of us in Europe are keenly watching what happens in the US this November. Trump’s few foreign-policy pronouncements have filled many Europeans with fear. Are they right to be afraid? Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield is joined by Greece’s former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis; Quentin Peel, former foreign editor of the ‘Financial Times’; and Europe correspondent for the ‘The Irish Times’, Suzanne Lynch.

At some stage in the near future China is likely to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy. The nations are clashing diplomatically too – over what the US sees as Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and what China sees as American interference in “their” region. What would the election of Trump or Clinton mean for US relations with China – and who would Chinese leaders prefer? Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield is joined by Chas Freeman, president Nixon’s interpreter at his famous meeting with Mao in 1972; Rana Mitter, the director of the Oxford China Centre; Kerry Brown author of ‘The Rise of Xi Jinping’; and the Chinese novelist Diane Wei Liang.

Donald Trump has refused to say that he’d back a Nato ally if they were under attack, suggested that South Korea and Japan should not be protected by the US and defended Russia’s annexing of Crimea. Under his presidency would the US still be the world’s policeman? We discuss this along with the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency and ask how much her foreign policy will differ from President Obama’s. Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield is joined by Richard Shirreff, Nato’s former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Xenia Wickett from Chatham House and one-time Kremlin advisor Alexander Nekrassov.

US writer and father of narrative journalism Gay Talese sits down with Steve Bloomfield to discuss non-fiction writing, adulterers and gangsters, and obituaries and morality.

From diplomacy to government, business to media, how do we create a vibrant nation? To coincide with the publication of [“How to Make a Nation: A Monocle Guide”](https://monocle.com/shop/books-and-music/books/how-to-make-a-nation-a-monocle-guide/), Steve Bloomfield posed this question to panellists and delegates at our Quality of Life Conference in Vienna.

From diplomacy to government, business to media, how do we create a vibrant nation? To coincide with the publication of [“How to Make a Nation: A Monocle Guide”](https://monocle.com/shop/books-and-music/books/how-to-make-a-nation-a-monocle-guide/), Steve Bloomfield posed this question to panellists and delegates at our Quality of Life Conference in Vienna.

The Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz sits down with Steve Bloomfield to discuss his work at The White House during the Clinton Administration, his time as chief economist of the World Bank and his views on the current US presidential race, globalisation and inequality.

The Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kevin Roche sits down with Steve Bloomfield to discuss his early years in his native Ireland and moving to the US. He also talks about working with some of the greatest names in the field, including Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen, and explains why retirement is not on his mind.

Monocle’s executive editor Steve Bloomfield sits down with actor, writer and artist Antony Sher to discuss the guilt of growing up during Apartheid, bringing Shakespeare to the masses and how he overcame his own conflicts in order to get where he is today.

Steve Bloomfield sits down with one of the world’s greatest and most interesting architects, Daniel Libeskind. Perhaps best known for the Jewish Museum in Berlin and for being master planner for New York’s Ground Zero, Libeskind discusses the state of the world, optimism and the place he calls home.

The Big Interview continues this week with Danish politician Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The former prime minister of Denmark and ex-secretary-general of Nato sits down with Steve Bloomfield to discuss his political career and, in the wake of the Paris attacks, the challenges the West is facing in its fight against Isis.

Join Monocle editors Tyler Brûlé, Andrew Tuck, Steve Bloomfield and Robert Bound as they look back on the inaugural Quality of Life Conference in Lisbon. They discuss the key themes and you can hear the best contributions from an amazing array of speakers covering all seven of the day's sessions.

From Mali to Martinique, every four years the best athletes from the French-speaking world gather for the Francophone Games. Monocle’s Steve Bloomfield reports from Nice on the event, which to France is about more than simply sport.

Our foreign editor, Steve Bloomfield, and photographer Sebastian Meyer visit Sulaymaniyah, the cultural capital of Iraqi Kurdistan to meet the artists, journalists and musicians putting the city on the map.

Several months ago I interviewed Steve Bloomfield, the author of a book on African football, for New Books in African studies. As usual, I ended the interview with a simple enough sounding question: ‘Where is your favourite place in Africa?’ Steve’s answer was an unusual one – ‘Mogadishu’. Out of all of the fabulous places on the continent why on earth had he chosen the place that in itself was an expression for chaotic, murderous anarchy? Mary Harper’s Getting Somalia Wrong: Faith, War, and Hope in a Shattered State (Zed Books, 2012) helps explain why Steve was so entranced with Mogadishu. Somalia is not an easy place to get your head around, but it’s certainly fascinating, and Mary (an old journalistic colleague of mine from the BBC World Service) knows it well enough to give an outsider a real feel for what makes the place tick. Somalia is a country of paradoxes. It is pretty much unique in Africa for its racial, linguistic, cultural and religious coherence, and yet it lacks any genuine and effective central government. Some Somalis dream of a ‘greater Somalia’ that would involve incorporating chunks of territory from neighbours, and yet it is itself home to (at least) two coherent breakaway states, Somaliland and Puntland. It is a failed state and yet every Somali has a set place in its intricate web of clans that allows some of the most complicated functions of a modern state to function without the usual state infrastructure. Somali also matters: from the piracy that reaches out from its shores far into the Indian Ocean, to its potential for destabilising a large chunk of eastern Africa through violence and Islamic extremism, to the security threat that its diaspora is considered by some to pose from Minneapolis to Melbourne. Mary’s book is an excellent way to (begin to) understand Somalia, a place that she evidently loves. She doesn’t pretend that it’s anything less than a complicated and unique country, but leaves readers flattering themselves that they understand the country more than is genuinely possible! I really enjoyed reading the book, and now have a bit more of an idea why Steve thought Mogadishu was the best place in Africa. I hope you enjoy the interview, and I thoroughly recommend getting hold of a copy of the book! PS: Mary’s website is www.maryharper.co.uk and she can be found on Twitter at @mary_harper PPS: Oh, and you might also want to follow me at @npw99 and NBN at @newbooksnetwork and @newbooksafrica   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Several months ago I interviewed Steve Bloomfield, the author of a book on African football, for New Books in African studies. As usual, I ended the interview with a simple enough sounding question: ‘Where is your favourite place in Africa?’ Steve’s answer was an unusual one – ‘Mogadishu’. Out of all of the fabulous places on the continent why on earth had he chosen the place that in itself was an expression for chaotic, murderous anarchy? Mary Harper’s Getting Somalia Wrong: Faith, War, and Hope in a Shattered State (Zed Books, 2012) helps explain why Steve was so entranced with Mogadishu. Somalia is not an easy place to get your head around, but it’s certainly fascinating, and Mary (an old journalistic colleague of mine from the BBC World Service) knows it well enough to give an outsider a real feel for what makes the place tick. Somalia is a country of paradoxes. It is pretty much unique in Africa for its racial, linguistic, cultural and religious coherence, and yet it lacks any genuine and effective central government. Some Somalis dream of a ‘greater Somalia’ that would involve incorporating chunks of territory from neighbours, and yet it is itself home to (at least) two coherent breakaway states, Somaliland and Puntland. It is a failed state and yet every Somali has a set place in its intricate web of clans that allows some of the most complicated functions of a modern state to function without the usual state infrastructure. Somali also matters: from the piracy that reaches out from its shores far into the Indian Ocean, to its potential for destabilising a large chunk of eastern Africa through violence and Islamic extremism, to the security threat that its diaspora is considered by some to pose from Minneapolis to Melbourne. Mary’s book is an excellent way to (begin to) understand Somalia, a place that she evidently loves. She doesn’t pretend that it’s anything less than a complicated and unique country, but leaves readers flattering themselves that they understand the country more than is genuinely possible! I really enjoyed reading the book, and now have a bit more of an idea why Steve thought Mogadishu was the best place in Africa. I hope you enjoy the interview, and I thoroughly recommend getting hold of a copy of the book! PS: Mary’s website is www.maryharper.co.uk and she can be found on Twitter at @mary_harper PPS: Oh, and you might also want to follow me at @npw99 and NBN at @newbooksnetwork and @newbooksafrica   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of days ago I had an unusual experience. I was staying in a hotel in Kampala, with a stunning view of the southern reaches of the Ugandan capital and the northern edge of Lake Victoria. It was the weekend, and in Africa that usually means football (soccer, to our friends over in the US). Two of the guys I was with – Alex and then Fred – filled me in with the details of why they supported their favourite teams: Arsenal and Liverpool. Fred helped my wife and I decipher the superb Lugandan radio commentary during a match between Bolton and Manchester City. Every bar and shack we passed seemed to have sound – and usually pictures – from the matches. So far so ordinary. What was unusual, however, was that the hotel where we were staying had no coverage of any of this. Somehow, and to my wife’s delight, we seemed to have ended up in one of the few hotels on the entire continent that seemed oblivious to football. After a week on the DRC border, examining vanilla farms for my wife’s work, this was a cruel and unexpected let down. Football is ubiquitous in Africa. As Fred told us as we chugged along in a Kampalan traffic jam, ‘I love football!’ Village kids kick balls of tied rags about; every streetwise hustler wears the shirt of their favourite (usually English) team; and almost any male on the street of almost any town or city can be diverted by asking them who they support, and whether Arsenal are terminally on the slide. The major leagues are riddled with an increasing number of influential and skillful African players, and the biggest hard luck story of last year’s World Cup was the elimination of a superb Ghanaian team thanks to the skulduggery of Uruguay’s Luis Suarez. This African love of football is what makes Steve Bloomfield’s entertaining book, Africa United: How Football Explains Africa (Canongate Books, 2010), such an excellent read. Like life in Africa, football has drama, skill, luck, triumph, disaster, pathos, pain, banality and moments of exquisite joy. While working as the Africa correspondent for The Independent, a British newspaper, Steve reported from all over the continent. Wherever he travelled – to Somalia, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire and beyond – he watched football matches and asked questions. Sometimes the football acted like a mirror to real life in these countries; sometimes it was an alternative reality; sometimes the football itself played a real and vital role in the stories that Steve was covering. The resulting book is fascinating, and not just for fans of football or those who are interested in Africa. I hope the same can be said for this interview with Steve. I hope you enjoy it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of days ago I had an unusual experience. I was staying in a hotel in Kampala, with a stunning view of the southern reaches of the Ugandan capital and the northern edge of Lake Victoria. It was the weekend, and in Africa that usually means football (soccer, to our friends over in the US). Two of the guys I was with – Alex and then Fred – filled me in with the details of why they supported their favourite teams: Arsenal and Liverpool. Fred helped my wife and I decipher the superb Lugandan radio commentary during a match between Bolton and Manchester City. Every bar and shack we passed seemed to have sound – and usually pictures – from the matches. So far so ordinary. What was unusual, however, was that the hotel where we were staying had no coverage of any of this. Somehow, and to my wife’s delight, we seemed to have ended up in one of the few hotels on the entire continent that seemed oblivious to football. After a week on the DRC border, examining vanilla farms for my wife’s work, this was a cruel and unexpected let down. Football is ubiquitous in Africa. As Fred told us as we chugged along in a Kampalan traffic jam, ‘I love football!’ Village kids kick balls of tied rags about; every streetwise hustler wears the shirt of their favourite (usually English) team; and almost any male on the street of almost any town or city can be diverted by asking them who they support, and whether Arsenal are terminally on the slide. The major leagues are riddled with an increasing number of influential and skillful African players, and the biggest hard luck story of last year’s World Cup was the elimination of a superb Ghanaian team thanks to the skulduggery of Uruguay’s Luis Suarez. This African love of football is what makes Steve Bloomfield’s entertaining book, Africa United: How Football Explains Africa (Canongate Books, 2010), such an excellent read. Like life in Africa, football has drama, skill, luck, triumph, disaster, pathos, pain, banality and moments of exquisite joy. While working as the Africa correspondent for The Independent, a British newspaper, Steve reported from all over the continent. Wherever he travelled – to Somalia, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire and beyond – he watched football matches and asked questions. Sometimes the football acted like a mirror to real life in these countries; sometimes it was an alternative reality; sometimes the football itself played a real and vital role in the stories that Steve was covering. The resulting book is fascinating, and not just for fans of football or those who are interested in Africa. I hope the same can be said for this interview with Steve. I hope you enjoy it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of days ago I had an unusual experience. I was staying in a hotel in Kampala, with a stunning view of the southern reaches of the Ugandan capital and the northern edge of Lake Victoria. It was the weekend, and in Africa that usually means football (soccer, to... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices