Podcasts for 16yo with an interest in Politics and Economics A levels

[ThinkingAgainAndAgain]

I was slow on the podcast uptake, so I only listen to sports ones. My 16yo is hoping to do Politics and Economics A levels, without having done them at GCSE.

Can anyone recommend entry level podcasts please? I’ve heard of The Rest Is Politics, so there’s that, but any others that might be suitable for him please?

I second The Rest is Politics along with The Rest is Money, which may help with Economics. The News Agents is also interesting.

I third The Rest is...

LSE have a lot of stuff on YouTube,

Arron Bastani does one from a left leaning perspective - Novara Media is his company. I wish I could remember the name of the woman who does it with him 😳

R4 does a series called Taking the Long View which compares and contrasts topical issues with events from history.

Buddhists have a vision for an alternative economy- I don't know any Buddhist podcasts but there must be some.

The Bottom Line ( radio 4 again) is good for economics. My DS wants to do politics too, and I was wondering the same about newspapers. I was thinking of getting him an Indy student subscription as its quite cheap but I don't know what they are like now. They seem OK on the occasions I've read it.

The ones suggested are all top quality and would probably be enough.
Alistair Campbell is just about to publish a book for teenagers about British politics

This is all great, thank you

I’d also recommend the offshoot of TRiP called “Leading” where they deep dive interview key figures.

I especially enjoyed the interview with the heads of MI5 & MI6, not especially relevant to Econ but was such an interesting listen!

Recently they have had Rachel Reeves and Kwasi Kwarteng, which I imagine would be well worth a listen.

My 16yo who is really interested in politics and is considering politics A level says:

• Newscast - with all the BBC political heavyweights, they get good info leaked to them
• Today podcast - now twice a week for the election
• The Rest is Politics she finds a bit grating sometimes, so she alternates it with Political Currency (George Osbourne and Ed Balls, a very similar format, but fewer and less annoying ads)
• Westminster Hour - this is more long form
• Westminster Insider - less about current political events but good on political process
• Politics at Jack and Sam’s - two well connected journalists talking about the week (she says the election daily one is good, as it goes out in the morning and distils things down)
• Americast - if you want American politics, its the sister programme to Newscast. It’s a good overview, she says.
• Electoral Dysfunction - she hasn’t tried it yet, but wanted one with more women, and this is three women discussing things

I find the Leading podcasts from the Rest is Politics team really good. They get some amazing interviewees. I like The Rest is politics , newsagents and electoral dysfunction is worth a listen.

Electoral Dysfunction is now my preferred listen over The Rest is Politics as Rory and Alastair’s ignorance around womens issues has irritated me greatly.

It’s Beth Rigby, Ruth Davidson and usually Jess Phillips but as Jess is campaigning atm Harriet Harman is filling in for her - and is wonderful.

Understand the economy on BBC sounds. Nice 15 min chunks on each topic.

News Agents and Electoral Dysfunction and brilliant . And I'd also recommend A Muslim and a Jew Go There.

lawfare podcast (american centric with lots of trump)

bbc more or less

the big flop

Origin Story - Dorian Lynskey and Ian Dunt discussing the history of a variety of political ideas/figures. They’ve just covered John Stuart Mill for example. And The Rest Is History often cover political history. A lot of Politics A level is rooted in history.

In addition to ones already listed (and I have to admit my dislike of Campbell stops me from listening much to The Rest is Politics) I’ve been enjoying Oh God, What Now? which has rotating hosts (including the Origin Story presenters).

british scandal
a bit mixed, some are about society more than political, current episodes are about the ppe scandal

More or Less. So many nonsense stats come from politicians
I like The News Agents

Thanks ever so much for these. I think I will listen and try to make a shortlist. There’s so much to choose from!

The rest is politics and I quite like politicsjoe too though that's significantly less serious

Freakonomics is fantastic.
Also The Rest is Politics US.

@ThinkingAgainAndAgain Not sure about economics, but a grounding in basic politics really helps make sense of what people say. So I’d just get a basic text book first then at least voting systems, parliamentary systems etc will be understood. Opinions need context.

The good thing about the recent political turmoil is a great range of interesting books about the UK’s current political workings. My favourite has been Held in Contempt by Hannah White. But there are quite a few to choose from on different elements of the system.

Definitely also check out recommended reading lists.

No idea if they are helpful for Uni, but Newscast and More or Less are both excellent podcasts and very listenable to.