Oct 8

On Politics: What is political writing?

In What is literature? (1948) Jean-Paul Sartre argued that writers and artists have a responsibility to engage with political and social realities. But is it still possible for writers to have political agency in a culture that instantly commodifies ideas? Lea Ypi, a professor of ... Show More

57 m

Oct 6

Fascism in a time of AI

Since Trump first took office in 2016 there has been a debate on the left as to whether he and other authoritarian right-wing leaders, such as Viktor Orbán and Narendra Modi, should be described as fascist. Some have dismissed the label as rhetorical excess, while others have cho ... Show More

54m 26s

Oct 1

An Alternative History of the Microphone

The first microphones were invented in the 1870s as components for telephones. By the 1930s, politicians as unalike as FDR and Hitler were using microphones as both audio devices and visual props for projecting power. The history of the microphone often focuses on its function as ... Show More

47m 19s

Sep 2024

The final Grenfell inquiry report and what it means for families – Politics Weekly UK

The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London was the result of ‘decades of failure’ by central government, the public inquiry into the catastrophe has found. The Guardian’s John Harris looks at the findings of the report with the social affairs leader writer Susanna Rustin. And, as Lab ... Show More

30m 27s

Sep 2024

Grenfell: Building a Disaster - Episode 0

In the early hours of the 14th of June 2017, a fire broke out in a tower block in West London. This fire was both a personal tragedy and a national scandal.It began in Flat 16 of Grenfell Tower. Before long, the flames reached combustible cladding and insulation, which had been i ... Show More

2m 30s

Mar 2022

The Grenfell Tower Fire Pt. 2

In 2019, a report from a public inquiry identified the main cause of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire. But it left one question unanswered: Who was ultimately to blame? Some have suggested charging the landlords with corporate manslaughter. Others point the finger at shady con ... Show More

43m 27s

Aug 2025

The Horrific Grenfell Tragedy

It’s known as one of the most devastating tragedies in recent UK history. Sickening failures in safety and housing management leading to 72 lives lost. The image of that burning building is etched in the memories of the whole of the UK - and the deaths have had a lasting impact o ... Show More

35m 45s

Sep 2024

204 The Phase 2 Report and the End of the Inquiry

The Inquiry’s Phase 2 report was released this week, distilling 400 days of evidence and more than three hundred thousand documents. The report concluded the fire which killed 72 people was the culmination of “decades of failure” by government and others in the construction indus ... Show More

44m 45s

Mar 2022

The Grenfell Tower Fire Pt. 1

After a deadly residential fire in London broke out on the 4th floor of a concrete highrise, 71 people died. Survivors and loved ones were left asking: How did the fire spread so quickly — when it never should have spread beyond the 4th floor at all? Learn more about your ad choi ... Show More

40m 6s

Aug 2024

From the archive: The Grenfell fire (Pt 2): The cladding scandal

The Public Inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower will publish its final report on Wednesday. Ahead of its findings, we're re-visiting a two-part series that looked into the failings that lead to the tragedy - and the stories of the families who lived in the tower.This podcast w ... Show More

44m 44s

After Grenfell