48 | Oil!

While we've been obsessing about the UK election, the world has been turning - this week we broaden our horizons to discuss the latest developments in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran and Syria.  What do recent changes in Saudi politics mean for the stability of the region?  Is the Trump administration making a bad situation worse?  Plus we ask the WWI question: are there fault-lines here that remind us of 1914 and a world on the brink of war?  We also talk to Helen about her new book: Oil and the Western Economic Crisis.  It all comes back to oil.  With Helen Thompson, Glen Rangwala and Aaron Rapport.

47 | Crisis, What Crisis?

The PM lurches from crisis to crisis, but her government looks more secure than it did a week ago.  What gives?  We try to make sense of where British politics now stands, after the terrible Grenfell tower fire, further terrorist attacks, and the start of the Brexit negotiations.  We also ask why there is such a disconnect between political turmoil and serenity in the financial markets: why aren't they more spooked?  Plus we talk with John Naughton about the role of social media in Corbyn's unexpected success.  With Helen Thompson and Chris Brooke.

45 | Another Shock!

We reconvene on little sleep to pick over the bones of another extraordinary election.  Where did it go wrong for Mrs May?  How did Labour win back UKIP supporters?  How will anyone meet the expectations of all the young people who came out to vote?  We recorded shortly before the Conservatives announced their intention to govern with 'friends in the DUP'.  We ask how long any arrangement can last.  With Helen Thompson, Finbarr Livesey and Glen Rangwala.
 

43 | The Corbyn Surge?

With a week to go, and the polls tightening, we ask what Corbyn is doing right and what May is doing wrong.  Is Corbyn riding a wave like the one that got Bernie Sanders close to the White House?  Or are May's troubles more about Tory weaknesses?  Plus we discuss the missing international dimension to the campaign.  After Merkel declared that Europe could no longer rely on a Trump-led United States, why is our Brexit election still so focussed on domestic issues?  With Aaron Rapport, Maha Rafi Atal and Chris Bickerton.

42 | Tim O'Reilly and the WTF Economy

We speak to Silicon Valley publisher, entrepreneur and guru Tim O'Reilly about what technology means for the future of politics and society.  A short conversation about the biggest questions: How do we get from a world of jobs to a world of meaningful work?  How can politics keep up with technological innovation?  How can we re-set our basic social arrangements without a war?  Recorded at the Computer Labs in Cambridge.

41 | The Who, The What, The How

We recorded this week in the aftermath of the Manchester terror attack, with the election campaign temporarily suspended.  We take a step back to review some of the broad themes of the campaign so far and talk about how the main parties have been presenting themselves and what they are trying to achieve.  We reflect on the importance of leadership style - what makes Theresa May different from Tony Blair? - and we ask why so little of the election has been about Brexit.  With Helen Thompson, Glen Rangwala and Chris Brooke.