The Rest Is Politics: Leading

Latest Episodes:

214. What Can The UK Learn From How South Africa Ended Apartheid? (Paul van Zyl) Nov 09, 2026

Show notes

How can politicians rebuild trust after decades of division? How do you get political enemies to sit down at the same table? What are some of Nelson Mandela's best - and funniest - moments?

Alastair Campbell is joined by Paul van Zyl, who served as the Executive Secretary of South Africa's post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 1995 to 1998, to answer all these questions and more.

_________

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Caroline Kaye

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Exec Producer: Bella Soames

General Manager: Tom Whiter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

213. China and the USA: The Most Important Relationship In The World? (Kevin Rudd) Nov 02, 2026

Show notes

What do Xi Jinping and Donald Trump actually want? How much does Beijing back Putin, and could it ever pressure him over Ukraine? How likely is a conflict over Taiwan, and when could it be?

Rory and Alastair are joined by the prior Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, to answer all these questions and more.

__________

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Caroline Kaye

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Exec Producer: Bella Soames

General Manager: Tom Whiter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

212. What Happens When The World Stops Trusting America? (Michael Lewis) Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

Why did Elon Musk really go to Washington, and was DOGE ever about cutting government at all? What happens when the world stops trusting America, and could the next financial crisis already be under way? What will Trump do if he loses the midterms?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, Moneyball and the new book Blockers, to answer all these questions and more.

__________

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Bruno Di Castri

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Exec Producer: Bella Soames

General Manager: Tom Whiter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

211. Trump's Niece on Why He's On Putin's Side Oct 18, 2026

Show notes

How did Donald Trump’s childhood shape the president we see today? Why was Mary Trump cut out of her grandfather’s billion-dollar will? Why does he want to see Europe fail?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Mary Trump, Donald Trump’s niece and a clinical psychologist, to discuss all these questions and more.

__________

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Bex Tyrrell, Celine Charles

Video Editor: Caroline Kaye, Tom McCagherty, Oli Ortega, Kierson Leslie

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Exec Producer: Bella Soames

General Manager: Tom Whiter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

210. Rory and Alastair Interview Prime Minister Andy Burnham Oct 11, 2026

Show notes

With the Trump administration planning to livestream a firing squad execution, should the UK take a stand? How will Andy Burnham change Britain’s relationship with the EU? Why has he agreed to publish details of meetings following the Manchester City scandal?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Andy Burnham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to answer all these questions and more.

__________

To listen to our series Becoming Burnham, with Alastair Campbell and Burnham’s closest confidant, friend and former colleague Steve Rotheram – the Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region — go to therestispolitics.com

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Bex Tyrrell, Sam Oakley

Video Editor: Kieron Leslie, Charlie Rodwell

Videographer: Harry Swan, Charlie Rodwell, Tom McCagherty

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Executive Producer: Isabella Soames

General Manager: Tom Whiter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

209. Shabana Mahmood: Palestine Action, Faith, and What I Told Starmer Oct 04, 2026

Show notes

Should Palestine Action stay banned? Why can't Britain just send small boats straight back to France? Can faith and public duty coexist in modern British politics?

Rory and Alastair are joined by the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to answer all this and more.

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to goalhanger.com

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Kieron Leslie

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Head of Politics: Tom Whiter

Exec Producers: Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

208. Mustafa Suleyman: Is AI Actually Conscious? Sep 27, 2026

Show notes

Can Artificial Intelligence stay subordinate? Is Anthropic’s 100-Page constitution creating dangerous AI autonomy? Should AI models be granted legal personhood, rights, or financial compensation?

CEO of Microsoft AI, and co-founder and former head of AI at DeepMind, Mustafa Suleyman, joins Rory Stewart to discuss all this and more.

If you'd like to listen to more of Mustafa Suleyman and his backstory, click here to find our previous interview with him from 2023.

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to goalhanger.com

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Teo Ayodeji-Ansell

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Head of Politics: Tom Whiter

Exec Producers: Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

207. Gordon Brown: How to Fix a Fracturing World Sep 20, 2026

Show notes

What did Gordon Brown learn from leading the UK through the global financial crisis? Why do so many citizens today not belong to any civic or religious group, and how does that impact our politics? How can middle powers come together to rival the strength of China and the USA?

Former Prime Minister of the UK, Gordon Brown, joins Rory and Alastair to discuss all this and more.

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to goalhanger.com

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Vasco Andrade

Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Head of Politics: Tom Whiter

Exec Producers: Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

206. How Putin's War Changed Finland Forever (Sanna Marin) Sep 13, 2026

Show notes

Following Putin's war in Ukraine, how politically challenging was it committing Finland to join NATO? What was it like becoming the world's youngest sitting prime minister at 34? Why did a scandal over dancing at a private party become a national and international story?

Rory and Alastair are joined by former Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, to discuss all this and more.

__________

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

__________

Instagram: ⁠@restispolitics⁠

Twitter: ⁠@restispolitics⁠

Email: ⁠therestispolitics@goalhanger.com⁠

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Lead Video Editor: Josh Smith

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

General Manager: Tom Whiter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

205. Anthony Scaramucci: Why America Keeps Making the Same Mistakes Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

Why does Anthony Scaramucci think Osama bin Laden is “winning”, and what has the War on Terror really cost America? From letting China into the WTO to bailing out the banks in 2008, how did America's own leaders pave the way for Donald Trump's electoral victories? As Trump's second term reaches its halfway point, is America about to bankrupt itself?

Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart are joined by Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former Communications Director and co-host of The Rest is Politics: US, to answer all these questions and more.

__________

Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Head Video Editor: Josh Smith

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

General Manager: Tom Whiter