In partnership with the LRB
We say goodbye to 2016 with some individual thoughts from regular Talking Politics contributors: a chance to hear what we're reading and what we think we might be talking about next year. Also a chance to find out who we all are - without interruption!
We're joined by Helen Lewis and Stephen Bush from the New Statesman podcast to chew over the ups and downs of 2016. How do they feel as journalists about a year when the political news has been so startling so often? Who are the winners and losers from the 'fake news' agenda? Who do their readers trust to tell them the truth? Plus we look ahead to 2017 to ask what will happen when the economy catches up with the winners of 2016. And we ask Helen and Stephen for their good news stories from the past year.
Hear part II of our conversation here or via www.newstatesman.com/podcast
We try to make sense of what Trump's Cabinet appointments tell us about a Trump Presidency. What will oil baron Rex Tillerson do as Secretary of State? What will fast food tycoon Andrew Pudzer do at Labor? Rick Perry has been put in charge of one of the agencies - Energy - that he previously promised to eliminate (and then forgot). So we ask: is this about what Trump wants to undo, not what he wants to do? Plus we talk Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia and (very briefly) Theresa May's trousers. At the end, Maha, Aaron and Finbarr give us some good news after all the doom and gloom of 2016.
After the resounding No vote in the Italian referendum and the resignation of Matteo Renzi we talk about what comes next. Is this vote part of the populist backlash that brought us Brexit and Trump, or is it something different? What does it mean for the future of the Euro and the EU? And is it possible to be a populist and a technocrat? Plus, we discuss the meaning of 'Viva Trump, Viva Putin, Viva Le Pen'. With Chris Bickerton and Mariana Mazzucato.
Guardian journalist Gary Younge covered the presidential election from Muncie, Indiana: aka Middletown. We talk to him about the view of Trump and Clinton from Middle America, what he thinks might happen next, and what Trump's election means for race, violence and poverty in the US. We also talk with Helen and Chris about the latest developments in Europe: Fillon vs. Le Pen in France, and Renzi vs. everyone in Italy. There are still more twists and turns to come in this most amazing political year.
We come back across the Atlantic to talk about how UK politics stands after Trump's victory. Will it make Brexit harder? Will Europe punish the UK for America's sins? Plus, on the day of the Chancellor's autumn statement, we discuss how much wriggle room the government has to push its economic agenda. Who has the better grip on strategy: May/Hammond or Corbyn/McDonnell? And Helen shares some more scary thoughts about the future of the Euro.