The Rest Is Politics: Leading

Latest Episodes:

200. Count Binface: Nigel Farage's Biggest Threat? Aug 02, 2026

Show notes

Is Count Binface really Nigel Farage's biggest threat in Clacton, and has Farage already lost by turning "me against the establishment" into a battle against a bin? Does Binface's manifesto hide serious politics beneath the comedy? Could a joke candidate ever become a serious political force?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Count Binface as they 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: Josh Smith, Caroline Kaye, James Clayden, Oli Ortega, Lorcan Moullier

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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

199. Is Trump's Chaos Pushing Iceland Towards the EU? (Prime Minister of Iceland, Kristrún Frostadóttir) Jul 26, 2026

Show notes

What are the real reasons Iceland has brought forward its vote on restarting accession talks with the EU? What lessons did the Prime Minister learn from watching Brexit unfold while living in the UK, and how have those experiences shaped her government's approach to Iceland's EU campaign? How did the Social Democrats go from three MPs to running the country?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Kristrún Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, to discuss all these questions and more.

__________

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

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

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

198. How Trump’s Imperial Presidency Really Works Jul 19, 2026

Show notes

How does the most chaotic White House in history actually make decisions? How did Netanyahu sell Trump on a regime change war in Iran? Who is the only world leader Trump is truly afraid of?

Alastair is joined by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, White House correspondents for the New York Times and authors of 'Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump' 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: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Caroline Kaye

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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

197. The Billionaire Tax Debate (Gabriel Zucman) Jul 12, 2026

Show notes

Can the super rich ever be fairly taxed, or are there too many functioning tax havens? Can capitalism survive the ever growing disparity between the top 1% and the rest? Should billionaires exist at all?

Rory and Alastair are joined by economist Gabriel Zucman to answer all this and more.

__________

Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

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: Lorcan Moullier

Videographer: James Clayden

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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

196. How America Talks Itself Into Endless Wars Jul 05, 2026

Show notes

What does the gap between American foreign policy rhetoric and reality reveal about the failures of its military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Iran? In an age of algorithm-driven political polarisation, can authentic political speech still break through, or has social media made Trump-style fragmentation impossible to overcome? Is Donald Trump an anomaly in American politics, or part of a recurring historical cycle - and what does this suggest about America's future?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama's former speechwriter and Deputy National Security advisor, to answer all of these questions and more.

__________

Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory.

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

Barack Obama's 2009 ⁠speech⁠ on a 'New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan', as mentioned by Rory.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Josh Smith, Caroline Kaye

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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

195. Can the West Reclaim its Power from Trump? (Malcolm Turnbull) Jun 28, 2026

Show notes

As Western nations become increasingly dependent on the US for AI, satellite infrastructure, and defence, are they sacrificing sovereignty in exchange for American security? Can middle powers such as Australia and the UK pursue genuinely independent foreign and defence policies when a Trump-led America prioritises its own interests? Is AUKUS a genuine security partnership, or is Australia bankrolling American and British interests?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister of Australia, to discuss all of these questions and more.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

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

194. Is Putin Losing His Grip on Russia? Jun 21, 2026

Show notes

With war fatigue growing and polls showing increasing dissatisfaction with life in Russia, is Vladimir Putin beginning to lose control? What is really happening inside Russia today? And what is it like to report the truth from inside one of the world's most repressive states?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Steve Rosenberg, Russia Editor for BBC News, to answer all of 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: Emma Jackson

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

193. James Cleverly: Why Has There Been A Radical Shift On The Right? Jun 14, 2026

Show notes

What does James Cleverly think of Nigel Farage and Reform? How does Cleverly explain his unexpected exit from the Tory leadership race? What could the future of AI in Great Britain look like under different leadership?

Sir James Cleverly joins Rory and Alastair 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: 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

192. Are We On The Brink Of World War III? (Odd Arne Westad) Jun 07, 2026

Show notes

How similar is today's world to the months before the outbreak of World War I? Could Taiwan, India-China tensions, or an unforeseen crisis be the spark that sets the world ablaze? Are our leaders too consumed by domestic politics to prevent a catastrophic great power war?

Alastair and Rory are joined by Historian Odd Arne Westad 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: Celine Charles

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

191. Is It Already Too Late to Control AI? (Anthropic Co-Founder, Jack Clark) May 31, 2026

Show notes

Why is one of AI's most powerful insiders scared of what he's building? Who's really in charge of the technology reshaping our world? Is it too late for governments to regulate it?

Rory and Matt Clifford are joined by Jack Clark, Co-Founder of Anthropic, 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: Josh Smith

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen