James Meek talks to Tom about his latest report from Ukraine, where he spent time in Kharkiv and Kupiansk in the east of the country. In Kharkiv, he found a population living in fear not only of the Russian glide bombs falling daily on the city, but also of the increasingly ruthless activity of the Ukrainian military recruitment office, desperate to secure f ... Show More
Feb 4
Jessica Mitford’s Handbag
When Jessica Mitford (aka Decca) was eleven, in 1928, she opened a Running Away Account at Drummonds Bank. A few years later she ran away to Spain to help in the fight against Franco, and not long after that moved to the US where she became a naturalised citizen and joined the Co ... Show More
50m 44s
Jan 21
Buckley, MAGA’s Patron Saint
‘Anti-communist dandy, scourge of Ivy League administrators, magazine chieftain, amanuensis to Joe McCarthy, father-confessor of the Nixon White House, Ronald Reagan consigliere: is it any wonder that William F. Buckley is still the patron saint of the American right?’, Thomas M ... Show More
47m 30s
Feb 2025
Putin 'will not surrender' territory amid 'most vital week of diplomacy since Second World War'
Day 1,100.Today, amid more drone strikes on Ukraine and North Korea deploying new troops, we return to what some are calling one of the most significant weeks of diplomacy since the Second World War, as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s attempts to persuade the President to p ... Show More
54m 39s
Aug 2024
On the ground in Kursk as Kyiv advances 35 kilometres into Russia
Day 913.Today, we hear from a journalist who was just on the ground with Ukrainian forces in Kursk, Russia, reflect on the latest battlefield and political developments, and look deeper into Putin’s recent foreign trips and ask what it tells us about the tensions in Russian socie ... Show More
49m 37s
May 2025
'Retribution' as bomb kills officers in occupied Ukraine & Trump admits Putin ‘doesn't want peace’
Day 1,184.Today, as Moscow’s Airports are once again shut down by Ukrainian drones, we hear about Chechnan officers apparently assassinated in the occupied territories, as it’s revealed Trump told his European counterparts Putin does not want to end the war. Plus, we hear about t ... Show More
1h 3m
Jan 2024
120. Is Putin looking for a Ceasefire?
In our second Battleground podcast of 2024 Saul and Patrick return to the war in Ukraine, as in the past week has seen a tit for tat of missile and drone strikes – the majority, needless to say, fired from Russia. They also discuss both the possibility and the feasibility of rece ... Show More
35m 23s
Jan 2025
Hunting Russian soldiers with Ukraine's ace drone unit & tank brigade goes AWOL in France
Day 1,045.Today, after the latest updates from the battlefield, we hear about the cutting edge drones being used to wage war against Moscow's forces, and the moral conundrums they raise. Plus, we consider the state of the Russian economy as we enter 2025.
Contributors:Dominic Nic ... Show More
53m 54s