74 | Nobody Knows Anything

 David recently gave the Political Quarterly annual lecture, on the subject 'Nobody Knows Anything: Why Is Politics So Surprising?'  We hear his thoughts on why so many people - including podcasts like this one! - keep calling elections wrong.  And why, when there is so much more information available about how people behave, do we know so little about what the voters are really thinking?  Recorded at an echoey venue in Bush House, London - apologies for the sound quality, hope you enjoy the content.

73 | That was 2017

With Christmas round the corner, we pick some personal highlights and lowlights from another rollercoaster year of politics.  What are our most memorable Trump moments?  What stays with us from the UK general election six months on?  And, with all the usual caveats, what do we think is coming down the pipe in 2018?  With Helen, Aaron, Chris, Chris and David

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72 | Deal or No deal

This week we try to work out who's up and who's down in the great game of European politics.  Has May won anything significant in the Brexit deal?  Is Merkel any nearer to forming a government?  Is Macron the big winner from recent events?  Plus we ask what prospect of Martin Schulz getting his United States of Europe, and what chance now of Jeremy Corbyn making it to No 10.  With Helen Thompson, Chris Brooke and Chris Bickerton.

 

71 | How Democracy Ends

Worst-case scenarios for democracy - especially since Trump's victory - hark back to how democracy has failed in the past. So do we really risk a return to the 1930s? This week David argues no - if democracy is going to fail in the twenty-first century it will be in ways that are new and surprising. A talk based on his new book coming out next year. Recorded at Churchill College as part of the CSAR lecture series http://www.csar.org.uk

70 | Jess Phillips

This week we talk to Labour MP Jess Phillips about sexism, Twitter and the future of democracy.  Has anything changed in Westminster post-Weinstein?  What would it take to make parliament more representative?  And how can politicians be more relatable?  Plus we discuss what Brexit tell us about the biggest social divides in our politics.  Jess is the author of Everywoman: One Woman's Truth About Speaking the Truth http://amzn.to/2Ajlqjk

69 | David Miliband

This week we talk to former Foreign Secretary David Miliband about his new book Rescue: Refugees and the Political Crisis of our Time.  He explains what the refugee crisis tells us about the state of world politics and why it is both so essential and so hard to tackle it.  We also talk about climate change, Brexit, the failures of the Blair government and the fate of social democracy in the new 'age of extremes'.  David Miliband is currently Chair and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC).