308 | What Does Jeremy Think?

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This week we talk to Suzanne Heywood about her memoir of her late husband, Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood - the man who helped to run Britain for more than two decades, working with four different prime ministers. From Black Wednesday to Brexit, from the Blair/Brown battles to the surprising successes of the Coalition, Jeremy Heywood had a unique position at the heart of British politics. We discuss what he did, what he learned and what he wished had turned out differently.

273 | Thomas Piketty: Three Years On

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We revisit our interview with the economist Thomas Piketty recorded the week Emmanuel Macron won the French presidency and David and Helen ask what we have learned since.  Where does Macron fit on the
left/right political spectrum?  What has his cult of personality done to French politics?  And are we anywhere nearer knowing how to tackle the problem of inequality?  The last in our series of updates from the Talking Politics archive.

272 | Has Covid Rescued Europe?

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This week we look at the big changes in European politics during the crisis and ask who has managed to turn it around.  Is Italy now a model for crisis management?  Has there been a reorientation in German politics under Merkel?  Can the EU rescue fund really rescue the European project?  Plus we discuss the long-term implications of big state politics for the future of Europe.  With Helen Thompson, Lucia Rubinelli and Hans Kundnani.

245 | Europe Blows Up

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How does a judgement of the German constitutional court threaten to explode the European project?  David talk to Helen Thompson, Adam Tooze and Shahin Vallee about what the court's decision might mean for
the Euro, for the response to the pandemic, for Franco-German relations and for the future of central banks.  Can the great European fudge continue?  And what happens if it can't?

Plus a bonus chat with Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd from the ‘Reasons to be Cheerful Podcast’ https://www.cheerfulpodcast.com/

239 | Adam Tooze/Shockwave

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David and Helen talk to Adam Tooze about what we know about the crisis that we didn't know a month ago, and what we still don't have much of a clue about. From fights inside the French government to the fate of the planet, from shale gas to corona bonds, we try to join up the dots. Plus a small update, recorded after news of the oil price-drop… | Read 'Shockwave' by Adam Tooze in the LRB 

218 | Are We Losing Faith in Democracy?

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We talk to Roberto Foa about some of the findings in his groundbreaking new report 'Global Satisfaction with Democracy'.  Where are people most dissatisfied with democracy and why?  Is it being driven by economic factors or is something else going on?  And why does democratic satisfaction divide Europe north/south and east/west?  Plus we talk about what might happen to satisfaction with democracy in the UK post-Brexit.  With Helen Thompson.