The Rest is Politics and Alistair Campbell

Hadn't listened to it for ages- and was thinking about starting again. Maybe I won't bother. Haven't listened much to TRIPUSA but like Americast better.
Agree about the Newsagents, that is very smug. I think I might try the Michal Hussain programme if I can find it.

Agree about Alistair’s smugness in particular. Both anti-women. Used to like it, but the more I hear of their views, the more I tend to switch off. I’ve started listening to Political Currency and like the fact that Ed and George can laugh at themselves.

Should add that I do rate The Rest Is Politics US. 😊

Try Political Currency - Ed Balls & George Osborne. They are an excellent combo & it covers politics and economics. My favourite podcast

I need to find a podcast where I don't have a pre-existing deep dislike for the presenters.

This really for me puts it very well. I have to fast forward at times or zone out of the name dropping or incredible smugness. But it has increased my knowledge of world affairs and the finer nuances that short news clips can't ever capture.

The News Agent is basically inusufferable. I love the Rest is Politics US - though I'm selective about episodes. Like Newscast and US Newscast too - more variety in presenters is useful to get different viewpoints and voices.

I do enjoy the News Agents most of the time.

But do find it odd that she’s started to introduce herself as Matliss.

Maybe friends and colleagues have used that for years, but it feels odd.

I think she's just so far removed from life as a normal person that she thinks nothing of it. Her arrogance on this podcast and other media appearances is astonishing.

Most people (and most newspapers) in the UK were in favour of the Iraq War at the time. A poll I remember was 54% of the public in favour of war vs 38% against.
yougov.com/en-gb/articles/12483-remembering-iraq

In the Commons vote the LibDems were against the war (wanting a UN resolution), with the Labour and the Conservatives parties in favour (85 Labour MPs and 3 Conservatives defied their parties and voted against the war).

www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2003-03-18&house=commons&number=118

My only real exposure to the TRiP is Dominic and Tom gently ribbing the fierce agreement that goes on.

Regardless of any role in the WMD/Iraq clusterfuck, Campbell was not the elected politician who had the levers of power at the time. What happened happened because elected politicians were empowered to make them happen.

Sadly, I think Emily Matliss's ego completely ran away with her when she got lucky with the interview with the member of the Royal Family formerly known as Prince! I find her hard to stomach in the News Agent.

Can't do George Osbourne either. As @JimBobsWife says it is a struggle finding commentators to listen to that you don't despise!

A friend who swears by it recommended The Rest is Politics to me. I gave it a listen but found it very myopic in its outlook, the presenter smarmy and condescending, and unable to see the wider picture past the presenters own political beliefs and bias. And I can't condone listening to someone with such a bad judgement that they took the UK into an unnecessary war.

I now regularly listen to Planet Normal with Liam Hallighan and Allison Pearson. They cover some difficult subjects that other news outlets don't seem to want to touch, and it gives good balance on a number of issues we only tend to ever hear one side of. Give it a go, you don't have to agree with everything or all the guests, but it's refreshing none the less.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/planet-normal/id1514949294

It'll be cold day in hell before I listen to a podcast with Allison Pearson in.

Can't do Allison Pearson either! She lost me completely when she described Brussels as the jihadist capital of Europe during Brexit. Her views on immigrants are too extreme for me too. She also doesn't have any political experience or insight, which is what I'm looking for in a political podcast.

This is my favourite of the political podcasts I listen to. I wasn't a particular fan of either Ed or George before I started listening but I find in non-hysterical and very interesting. I also find George Osborn much more humble that I would have anticipated.

If you like this for the economics then I wholeheartedly recommend the IFS podcast series - it's sounds pretty dry (and it is I suppose) but I love it. It's one of my favourites if you really want to learn about something without the political hype.

Mine too.
They had some good in depth interviews over the summer.

I find her very annoying but Liam Halligan is good on the economy. Not sure why he's teamed up with her.

Also - and not in any way related to this thread, was interested to hear recently he is dating Kate Garraway.

Isn't it lovely that we have people on here with their minds so firmly stuck up themselves that they won't even entertain someone challenging their own entrenched beliefs, perhaps learning something in the process, and at the very least hearing both sides of an argument.

But I guess if you already know everything, and you are so certain that you are more of an expert on everything than anyone else, then no need I guess.

Chiming with all of this - TRIH is just heaven, I was a huge DSandbrook fan from his books and find that even though he pitches himself as ‘old school shires’ etc, he wrote the best description of the reality of a working class woman’s life in I think the sixties which stands out to me now a decade later because it’s one of the only examples I can think of of a male commentator clearly thinking ‘an ordinary working class housewife’s life is frankly absolutely fucking exhausting’.

Love TRIPUS because I think that Katty Kay is a good journalist who can keep the conversation moving and Anthony and she are such good foils for each other.

I find TRIP too self indulgent, anecdotal and not razor sharp enough on the issues. Did you go to Oxford guys, why didn’t you mention it eight billion times before?

Love Steph Flanders on Trumponomics.

Going to look up IFS!

Steph McGovern and Robert peston have had some good ones recently, they’ve upped their game.

To be fair @Amythomas , it is hard to miss Allison Pearson's views. She is a journalist and hardly holds back. Getting her opinions out there is how she makes a living.

Thanks for the IFS recommendation @notspringingback . I shall go and investigate.

I disagree with most of you. I find it really useful and informative. They do a decent range of interviews with world leaders on leading. Notably having Andy Burnham and Shabana Mahmood on recently. Both of which were worth listening to.

I think You can dislike what happened in the build up and during the Iraq war and Alistair’s role in it without letting it undermine what they are doing now. Mistakes were made for sure nobody is going to dispute that but that doesn’t invalidate everything else he does.

They have been poor on women’s rights and the trans/ GC debate. But I’m not sure I’d expect much else from two men tbh.

Your post says you won’t condone listening to someone who you consider to have bad judgement, and then you criticise another for not wanting to listen to someone because of their views. Why is that poster stuck up and unwilling to hear the views of others, but you aren’t?

I agree and I like it too. Particularly the Leaders strand. I don’t want to hear any more about trans issues, it has no bearing on my life. I also like Political Currency, the News Agents and Electoral Dysfunction. A variety of podcasts is a good way of getting a broad spread of opinions.

Completely agree. The Rest is History posts are a breath of fresh air. No egos, passionate, hilarious

I used to love The Rest is Politics when they were essentially just bashing the tories, but it’s become so worthy and tedious. The ego of Rory is unbearable. And he often says things that just aren’t factually correct? But delivered with this Etonian confidence. Facts aside too often his proposed solutions are very ivory tower / don’t translate into the real world. Alistair Campbell has a bit more natural intelligence behind him

The other one I quite like is the private eye podcast.