logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
42m 13s

Musk and the new political playbook

Financial Times
About this episode

Elon Musk’s hostility towards the UK government, and Sir Keir Starmer in particular, continues to escalate – prompting concerns he’s been radicalised by his own algorithm. What’s driving the technology billionaire’s fixation with the UK? And are his interventions reframing political discourse – not just in Britain but in other European nations too? Political Fix delves into the X owner’s motivations and examines the impact his actions are having offline as well as online. Host Lucy Fisher is joined by regular panellists Miranda Green and Jim Pickard, plus Westminster correspondent Anna Gross and Washington correspondent Joe Miller who have broken scoops this week on Musk’s intent to meddle in British democracy and his social media influences. 


Follow Lucy on Bluesky or X, @lucyfisher.bsky.social, @LOS_Fisher, Jim @pickardje.bsky.social @PickardJE, Miranda @greenmirandahere.bsky.social, @greenmiranda,  Anna @annasophiegross, @annasophiegross.bsky.social, Joe @JoeMillerJr, @joemillerjr.bskyb.social


Want more? Free links: 


Musk examines how to oust Starmer as UK Prime Minister before next election


Why has Elon Musk reignited debate over the UK rape gangs scandal? 


Musk’s grooming onslaught shows how politics needs a new playbook 


Musk’s war on American allies


The Musk threat to European democracy 


Sign up here for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award. 


Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Lulu Smyth. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Original music by Breen Turner and mixed by Simon Panayi. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 





Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Oct 6
Coming soon from Tech Tonic: Mission to Mars
US President Donald Trump has pledged to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”, China could send its first crewed mission to Mars within a decade, and Elon Musk wants people to actually settle on Mars, transforming the human race into an interplanetary species. In a ne ... Show More
1m 40s
Sep 30
Labour’s conference comeback?
This week, the Political Fix team comes to you from Liverpool — with all the news from the annual Labour Party Conference. Sir Keir Starmer struck a patriotic tone to the Labour faithful, promising to fight Nigel Farage’s “politics of grievance” and build a renewed, healthy Brita ... Show More
36m 27s
Sep 26
Does Starmer have a northern problem?
As the prime minister prepares for his annual party conference, the mayor for Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, seems to be mounting a thinly veiled bid for the Labour leadership. In numerous interviews given to the media this past week, Burnham said he had been privately urged b ... Show More
32m 16s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Is Elon Musk dictating the British political agenda?
Scroll through his latest posts on X and Elon Musk has a laser focus on UK politics. His main targets? Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips MP and their response to the country’s grooming scandal. He’s also blowing hot and cold on Reform UK. So what influence is the world’s richest man ... Show More
31m 46s
Jan 2025
Why Elon Musk is trolling world leaders
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, South African-born American resident and owner of X (formerly Twitter), is already within the fold of US politics and president-elect Trump's upcoming government.      Recently, more of his attention has turned to Europe, with Musk sharing supp ... Show More
20m 32s
Nov 2024
Peter Mandelson on Elon Musk, free speech, and his next big job
An ever present figure in British politics since the 1980s, Lord Peter Mandelson isn't done yet. He's hoping to become the next chancellor of Oxford University, but his name's also been brought up in the conversation about who should become Britain's ambassador to the US under Do ... Show More
40m 41s
Aug 22
The New Politics with Gladden Pappin
In the second episode of ECFR’s summer mini-series on the “New Right”, Mark Leonard is joined by Gladden Pappin, president of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, co-founder and deputy editor of American Affairs Journal and co-founder of the online magazine Post-Libe ... Show More
41m 51s
Feb 2025
How Elon Musk Is Infiltrating Washington
Elon Musk and his team have taken a hacksaw to the federal bureaucracy one agency at a time, and the question has become whether he’s on a crusade that will leave the government paralyzed or deliver a shake-up it has needed for years.Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The ... Show More
32m 30s
Sep 2024
France finally gets a new PM
President Emmanuel Macron has named the EU’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s next prime minister. Plus, Europe’s sustainable investment funds double down on defence stocks, and Ukraine ​President Volodymyr Zelenskyy carries out his biggest wartime cabinet resh ... Show More
11m 55s
Feb 2025
EU pushes ahead with sprawling AI regulation
US allies across Europe and the Middle East have condemned Donald Trump’s plans to “take over” Gaza, the US cracks down on a trade loophole, and Disney’s earnings shot up 27% in its financial first quarter. Plus, the EU is pushing ahead with enforcing its artificial intelligence ... Show More
9m 58s
Feb 2025
Trump greets Starmer at White House
US President Donald Trump has said his administration is working on a trade deal with the UK, Santander’s incoming chief accounting officer is under criminal investigation in Brazil, and the pound is rebounding. Plus, DeepSeek’s advances have sparked a nationwide push in China to ... Show More
11m 48s
Feb 2025
Starmer meets Trump, Musk at cabinet, Gene Hackman and Andrew Tate
President Donald Trump meets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the UK seeks a U.S. security backstop for Ukraine. Elon Musk has a starring role at Trump's first cabinet meeting. Judges question the secrecy of DOGE’s activities. Andrew Tate and his brother have left Romania o ... Show More
12m 37s
Sep 21
The Global Story: Why Trumpworld is obsessed with free speech in Britain
President Trump is in the UK on a State visit, where he’s been hosted by the royal family and is set to meet with Prime Minister Starmer.The two leaders appear to have a strong relationship. But there's one big issue that’s become a sticking point between them.Increasingly, free ... Show More
27m 7s