Debated Podcast

In this episode of the podcast Will speaks to Chris Clarke, author of The Dark Knight and the Puppet Master, about a new paper he's written entitled "Putting Down the Vase" in which Chris argues that Labour needs to change its approach a year after winning the 2024 general election. They discuss how the ming vase strategy has played its part in how Labour governs, how the rules for established parties are different from those for smaller parties, the role of social media in how MPs operate and how migration has become a lightning rod for political debate.

In this episode of the podcast Will speaks to Michael Mullaney, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Leicestershire County Council and Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Hinckley and Bosworth in 2024 about British By-Elections 1769–2025: The 88 By-Election Campaigns That Shaped Our Politics a book he has contributed a chapter to. They discuss the Workington by election of 1976, the significance of by elections, why the Liberal Democrats and other third parties have been so successful at winning them and how turnout can often dictate the result.

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by the former Leader of the Liberal Democrats and former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Sir Vince Cable to discuss his new book Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world. They discuss how the economies of China and India have increased, their relationships with the UK, the amount of centralisation in their countries as compared to the UK and what China and India's increasing dominance means for the future.

In this episode Will is joined by the legendary script writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran to discuss three of their TV series - Shine on Harvey Moon, The New Statesman and Mosley.

In this episode of the podcast Will speaks to Bea Martinez-Gatell, author of Swoon: Fangirls, Their Idols and the Counterculture of Female Lust – From Byron to the Beatles about how she came to write the book, the emergence of fan girls, why she chose the subjects for each chapter of the book, the connection between fangirls and the media's representation of women, how interlinked fangirls were to broader social and political changes for women's rights in the 19th and 20th centuries and how comparable fangirls and the perception of them in the media in the past is to the fangirls of today. 

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Dr Daniela Tepe, Senior Lecturer in Political Economy, Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool and editor of a forthcoming collection of essays called "What went wrong with Britain?: An audit of Tory failure" The discuss how the book was developed, the Conservative Party's relationship to the NHS and race, the Conservative Party's perception of the public and the impact of Brexit.

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Hope Watts to discuss her new project You Political. They discuss how Hope became interested in politics, what the aim of You Political is, how young people can be encouraged to engage more with politics, the presence of AI in society and the nature of the online world.

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Meadhbh Park author of the newly published book Blackpilled: Masculinity, Media and Incels to discuss the book, how she became interested in the world of Incels and the Manosphere, the impact of media and in particular films like Joker and Taxi Driver, how the media's view of masculinity has contributed to the ideology and how men become part of the incel community. You can buy Blackpilled from all good retailers.