The Rest Is Politics

Latest Episodes:

Will Climate Action Go Backwards Under Burnham? Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Should Andy Burnham deliver a covid style national emergency briefing to inform the public about the climate emergency? How do we foster cross-party consensus on the climate emergency? And, can we balance the need to build data centres and protect the environment?

Join Alastair Campbell, Rory Stewart and Caroline Lucas as they discuss all of these questions and more.

To watch Caroline’s four part series on climate as a national security threat, sign up at therestispolitcs.com

⁠⁠⁠⁠Read the redacted Joint Intelligence Committee Report here⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Find out more about the National Emergency Briefing here.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Producer: India Dunkley

Researcher: Evie Townend

Video Editor: Josh Smith, Vasco Andrade

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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562. The Right’s War With Itself and Burnham’s Prisons Challenge Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

With Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe trading blows, is the British right tearing itself apart, and will Kemi Badenoch destroy the Conservative Party by chasing Reform and Restore voters rather than the centre ground? With prisons at breaking point and reoffending rates soaring, why aren’t governments honest about the real causes of the crisis, or the solutions? As the Rhine falls to record lows and Germany's economy takes the hit, is this the clearest sign yet that the climate crisis is now an economic one?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Johnny Mercer by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

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.

Summer sale is HERE: get an annual membership for an extra 20% off with code SUMMER26. That's ad-free listening, every bonus episode, and full access to our exclusive members' series. Sale ends August 31st, so grab it before summer's over.

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Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Lorcan Moullier, Bruno Di Castri

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Exec Producer: Bella Soames

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561. How Trump’s Chaos Keeps Splintering the World Order Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

As a new military alliance between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan the first sign that America's allies no longer trust its guarantees? Why are politicians refusing to admit how fast America is burning through its Patriot missiles in Iran? With suspected Russian drones probing Europe, is the Kremlin about to test NATO like never before?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Johnny Mercer by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

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.

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Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Josh Smith, Caroline Kaye

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Exec Producer: Bella Soames

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The Truth About Climate Migration – It's More Complicated Than You Think Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

To hear the whole episode and catch up on the rest of the series, which includes a deep dive into food security, water scarcity and the suppressed national security report, sign up at therestispolitics.com

Are people really migrating because of changes in the climate? Who pays when a nation is destroyed by a crisis it didn't cause? And what does it cost, financially and emotionally, to leave home for good?

Join Caroline Lucas, Alex Randall and Aminath Shauna as they discuss all of these questions and more.

⁠⁠⁠Read the redacted Joint Intelligence Committee Report here⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Find out more about the National Emergency Briefing here.⁠⁠⁠

⁠Discover Climate Outreach's work here⁠

Producer: India Dunkley

Video Editor: Gabriella Gibbs, Oli Ortega

Social Producer: Celine Charles

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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

560. Trump's Hamas Disarmament 'Deal' and Europe's FIFA Boycott Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

As Trump's Board of Peace unveils a plan to disarm Hamas, will the group now give up its weapons and what would this mean for Gaza's future? Amid an escalation of violence on the West Bank and with settlements continuing to grow, why does the US President appear not to care? In the wake of the Gianni Infantino revelations, does the head of FIFA actually hate football?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time.

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Watch Rory and Alastair’s interview with Count Binface by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.For a chance for your thoughts on the climate to be discussed in our Q&A with Caroline Lucas, fill in our survey HERE.

We want to know what you think about the climate crisis! For a chance for your thoughts on the climate to be discussed in our Q&A with Caroline Lucas, fill in our survey HERE.

The TRIP+ summer sale is HERE. Get an annual membership for an extra 20% off with code SUMMER26. That's ad-free listening, every bonus episode, and full access to our exclusive members' series. Sale ends August 31st, so grab it before summer's over.

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.

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription.

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Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

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Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Lorcan Moullier, Caroline Kaye

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Executive Producer: Emily Kent Smith

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559. Who Really Benefits from the Ceuta Migration Crisis? Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

Why did 50,000 people risk their lives in an attempt to cross the Morocco-Spain border? What do the pictures emerging from the enclave of Ceuta reveal about the bigger migration story? Why did right-wing figures across the world, from Donald Trump to Elon Musk and Giorgia Meloni, all weigh in?

Alastair and Rory are joined by immigration expert Gerald Knaus as they answer all these questions and more.

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Watch Rory and Alastair’s interview with Count Binface by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

We want to know what you think about the climate crisis! For a chance for your thoughts on the climate to be discussed in our Q&A with Caroline Lucas, fill in our survey HERE.

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.

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription.

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Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

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Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Josh Smith, Bruno Di Castri

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

Executive Producer: Emily Kent Smith

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

Data Centres vs. Drinking Water: What Matters To Us Most? Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

To hear the full episode, which includes an interview with global water expert, Sandra Postel, sign up at the therestispolitics.com

With the government quietly categorising data centres as ‘critical infrastructure’, could we ever be in a situation where data centre water supply is prioritised over the water that comes out of our taps? Why do we no have clear data that tells just how much water data centres use? And why are so many data centres being built in areas which are already water stressed?

Join Caroline Lucas and Ollie Hayes as they all of these questions and more.

⁠⁠Read the redacted Joint Intelligence Committee Report here⁠⁠

⁠⁠Find out more about the National Emergency Briefing here.⁠⁠

Find Sandra Postel's book here

Read Global Action Plan's AI Data Centre Water Report Here

Producer: India Dunkley

Video Editor: Kieron Leslie

Social Producer: Celine Charles

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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

558. The 'Cockroach' Uprising and Should We Stop Data Centres? Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

Is Modi's power finally cracking as the Cockroach Janta Party's mass protests force a minister to resign for the first time in over a decade? Does the new US-Saudi uranium deal risk triggering a fresh wave of nuclear proliferation across the Middle East and beyond? If AI data centres are the foundation of future defence and security, can Britain build them without wrecking its water supplies and climate targets?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Kristrún Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

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.

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription.

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Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

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Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Adam Thornton, Bruno Di Castri

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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557. Can Burnham Deliver Britain's Biggest Change in Generations? Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Can Andy Burnham, in a single term or less, fix problems like social care that are generations in the making? Is his new push for vocational education a long-overdue fix for Britain's broken skills system, or a betrayal of the working-class kids who have the most to gain from a rigorous academic education? As wildfires tear through France and Spain, have we already passed the climate and nature tipping point?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

__________

Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Kristrún Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

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.

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription.

__________

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

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Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Josh Smith, Caroline Kaye

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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

Britain's Ticking Time Bomb: The Food Security Crisis Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Could the UK be facing empty supermarket shelves by 2030? Are food distribution centres sitting ducks for drone warfare? And how has Britain got to a place where is has just 3 days to 3 weeks worth of food supplies?

This week, Caroline Lucas sits down with food security expert, Professor Paul Behrens from the University of Oxford.

To hear the full episode and the whole series as it drops, sign up here or at therestispolitics.com

Please continue to send in your questions for Caroline, Alastair and Rory.

⁠⁠Read the redacted Joint Intelligence Committee Report here⁠⁠

⁠⁠Find out more about the National Emergency Briefing here.⁠⁠

⁠Find Paul Behrens book here ⁠

Producer: India Dunkley

Video Editor: Josh Smith

Social Producer: Celine Charles

General Manager: Tom Whiter

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