101 | Populism, Migration and Merkel

 In a special live edition recorded at the Guardian's King's Place Politics Festival - David, Helen and Chris Bickerton discuss whether the migration crisis has opened up a new dividing line in European politics.  Is Viktor Orban right that Europe is now split between the countries that will accept immigrants and the countries that won't?  What does that mean for Merkel's survival prospects?  Where does Macron stand in this fight?  Plus we take questions from the audience about what populism really means and what, if anything, we can do about the current state of politics.
 

99 | Trump Abroad

From the G7 to the Singapore summit, it's Trump's world: we just live in it.  This week we try to get some perspective on these spectacular events.  Is Trump's behaviour really unprecedented for an American president?  What is the point of the G7?  Where is his relationship with Kim heading?  Plus we compare with summits past: Nixon in China, Reagan & Gorbachev, or something new?  With Helen Thompson and Andrew Preston, who gives a Canadian view.  Next week: Grenfell.

98 | Oh Italy!

 A new Italian government spells a heap of trouble for Europe.  We ask how we got to this point and what it means the future of the Euro.  What really spooked the markets?  Who blinked first?  And why does Italian politics have such a soft spot for university professors?  Plus we talk about the new government in Spain and we weigh up the state of democracy across the continent.  Is this how democracy is meant to work or is this really how democracy ends?  With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Lucia Rubinelli from the LSE

97 | Socialism in this Country?

After John McDonnell said he was still committed to the socialist transformation of Britain, we ask what that might mean.  Does socialism really require the overthrow of capitalism?  What's the difference between socialism and communism?  And with successful Democratic candidates in the US starting to use the s-word in public, what does socialism have to offer in America?  Plus we talk about whether social media and social networks offer the possibility of a new kind of socialism for the twenty-first century.  With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Chris Brooke.

96 | Iran, Israel, Korea, the World

This week we try to make sense of what's happening to the international order, from the end of the Iran deal to the on-again-off-again US-North Korean summit to opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.  Can Europe carve out a separate foreign policy from the Trump administration?  Is regime change still the name of the game?  And what has it all got to do with the price of oil?  Plus we ask if anything is left of Obama's legacy and why it was so easy to undo.  With Helen Thompson, Aaron Rapport and Chris Bickerton.

95 | The Politics of Mental Health

This week we discuss how and why mental health has become a growing political issue.  What are the differences in the way the political parties approach this problem?  Is it something that unites or divides people across generations and classes?  And what can politicians do to help us cope?  Plus we talk about whether politics itself has become a more stressful job than it used to be.  With Helen Thompson and Chris Brooke.