logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
44m 28s

How radical is Scotland?

THE LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
About this episode
Rory Scothorne joins Tom to discuss the evolution of Scottish politics over the past century or so, and how best to understand a country that’s shifted from a centre right electoral majority in the 1950s to a Labour stronghold in the 1980s, to being governed by the SNP since 2007. Is Scotland’s left-wing tradition a myth? And with the loss of Nicola Sturgeon ... Show More
Up next
Nov 21
Aftershock: The War on Terror – Episode 1: With Us or Against Us
In the days after 9/11, George W. Bush declared a state of emergency and initiated what would become an unprecedented expansion of US power. Public debate narrowed: there were new limits on what was acceptable, and not acceptable, to say. The London Review of Books published a nu ... Show More
44m 54s
Nov 19
Where does our waste go?
Since the 1980s, Brett Christophers wrote recently in the LRB, ‘firms have made vast amounts of money by sending the rich world’s waste to the global South’ – hazardous waste at first, joined more recently by discarded electronics, clothes and plastics. Literal mountains of our r ... Show More
57m 10s
Nov 15
Introducing ‘Aftershock: The War on Terror’
After 9/11, George W. Bush launched a global War on Terror. What followed was an unprecedented expansion of American power, from Guantánamo Bay to drone strikes, mass surveillance to the weaponisation of the financial system. Asked when it would end, Vice-President Dick Cheney re ... Show More
3m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2021
A short history of Scottish separatism
With the Scottish parliament election less than a week away, Jack Blanchard looks back at the history of the Scottish nationalist movement and explains how it shifted from a fringe pursuit to perhaps the majority view in Scotland. Former First Ministers Alex Salmond and Jack McCo ... Show More
39m 56s
Sep 2023
The Battle for Scotland
Host Ailbhe Rea hits the campaign trail in the greater Glasgow constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West, where a high-profile by-election battle between Labour and the ruling Scottish National Party looks very much like next year's general election in Scotland in microcosm. A ... Show More
43m 13s
May 2021
Election Fallout
David and Helen are joined by the historian Colin Kidd to try to make sense of last week's elections in England, Scotland and Wales. What do they mean for the future of the UK? What do they mean for the future of the Labour Party? Are either (or both) in terminal trouble? Plus we ... Show More
41m 9s
May 2022
Is Scottish independence back on the agenda?
<p>Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the SNP, has been pushing for Scottish independence since she was elected First Minister seven and a half years ago. The UK government has repeatedly rejected her calls, but after the local elections further strengthened the SNP, could a second refer ... Show More
26m 34s
Apr 2024
Humza Yousaf quits - does this spell the end for Scottish independence?
Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf has resigned – days after he cut the SNP's power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens.     It followed a bitter row over the SNP's climbdown on climate targets as he said the agreement between the parties had "served its purpose".     As a ... Show More
18m 58s
Feb 2023
Independence fray: Scotland’s leader steps down
<p>Nicola Sturgeon is bowing out after shaping a party that has defined itself on the notion of Scottish independence. <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/02/15/nicola-sturgeons-resignation-is-part-of-britains-great-moderation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank ... Show More
28 m
Feb 2023
What Nicola Sturgeon’s exit means for UK politics
<p>Scotland’s first minister announced this week that she was stepping down after eight years in office. What does her resignation mean for the Scottish National party and Scotland’s independence campaign? We discuss the country’s future. Plus, presenter George Parker talks to Do ... Show More
24m 9s
Feb 2023
Has Sturgeon SNPeaked?
<p>Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon is under pressure following the row over her gender reforms and a drop in the polls.</p><br><p>But is she in serious trouble, or will the dominant force in Scottish politics continue to confound her critics?</p><br><p>Matt hears from f ... Show More
43m 3s
Jul 2021
Scotland's Startling Cases (with David Linden MP)
David Linden, SNP MP for Glasgow East, says the delta virus has hit Scotland hard because the Westminster government failed on border controls. He tells Bloomberg's Roger Hearing and Caroline Hepker the U.K. government is being too gung ho.Bloomberg Opinion columnist Therese Raph ... Show More
23m 9s