As Britain acquires a new king and new prime minister, and ordinary people are arrested for expressing dislike of the royal family, James Butler and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite join Tom to consider whether this might be a perilous time for the monarchy, and how the Truss government will go about selling its old-fashioned Thatcherite vision in an era of in ... Show More
Today
What’s the point of literary criticism?
As universities are cutting English degree programmes and ever fewer people are taking English A-level, Colin Burrow isn't the only one asking ‘what’s the point of literary criticism?’ But he has several answers, and in this episode he joins Tom to discuss them, along with the wo ... Show More
36m 48s
Sep 10
On Politics: Germany's Far-Right Future?
On Sunday, the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) won the state election in Saxony-Anhalt with 44 per cent of the vote, the highest share for any far-right party in post-1945 Germany. Among the many surprising aspects of the result was the broad, multigenerational ... Show More
1h 4m
Sep 6
The Romantic History of the Bayeux Tapestry
The story of why, and how, an arrow ended up in Harold's eye in the Bayeux Tapestry is tied to the politics of the early 19th century, to Napoleon's ambitions and Britain's national pride, and the work of two antiquaries, Anne and Charles Stothard, who travelled to northern Franc ... Show More
59m 54s
Sep 2022
787. The Rick & Gill Thompson Report: Queen Elizabeth II / King Charles III
<p>Talking to my parents about events in the UK following the death of The Queen on 9 September, including the media coverage, the proclamation of King Charles III, comments about Charles as King and a discussion of the role of the monarch in the UK’s constitution. Also includes ... Show More
1h 26m
Feb 2024
Liz Truss is back – and this time she’s “popular”
Will Liz Truss’s “PopCon” undermine Rishi Sunak?On Tuesday Tory right-wingers gathered in Westminster for the launch of “Popular Conservatism”, a new political group spearheaded by Liz Truss, who was joined by the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lee Anderson and Mark Littlewood, former ... Show More
22m 35s