The Prospect Interview

For our final episode of 2024, Alan and Lionel look back at their Media Confidential year. They’ve tackled a huge range of stories: from phone-hacking and the rise of AI, to Ofcom’s battles with GB News. They’ve analysed elections on both sides of the Atlantic, were joined by Toby Jones on the Post Office scandal, and heard from courageous reporters working inside Gaza.There’s been an assassination attempt on Donald President, and a crisis at the Washington Post… but which episodes do they find the most memorable?Michael Lewis came to Prospect Towers in September to promote his new book about Sam Bankman-Fried, Going Infinite. But when Alan started reading out criticism of the book, the temperature dropped several degrees. The heated resulting exchange is hard to forget.Ahead of the US election, Rebecca Solnit joined Alan and Lionel to discuss her concerns about the American media “sanewashing” Donald Trump.Finally, James Harding and Carole Cadwalladr recently appeared on the show to tell-all about Tortoise's controversial decision to buy the Observer. James received a grilling from our hosts. Now, with Observer journalists striking, who’s to say who was right?2025 promises to be a heck of a ride.

After more than 50 years of repressive dynastic rule, Bashar al-Assad has fled Syria.Ellen and Alona are joined by Syria expert Lina Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS and associate fellow at Chatham House. While many were surprised by the rapid toppling of Assad’s regime, Lina was not.As people speculate about what HTS and other rebel groups intend for Syria, she explains why this might not be what western commentators expect. And with some voicing anxiety about Syria becoming a new Afghanistan, she unpacks why these comparisons just don’t make sense—and what policymakers are getting wrong.Plus, unicorns and dinosaurs: banger or dud? From medieval monsters to Big Oil, Priya Khanchandani shares the secret histories and consumer messaging behind two of the most ubiquitous creatures in the toy industry. Read her feature "Unicorns and Dinosaurs are everywhere!" from our Winter Special magazine issue here.Lina’s piece on pragmatism in Syria can also be found at prospectmagazine.co.uk. To watch this interview, head to our YouTube channel, where the Prospect podcast is published every Thursday.

This week, political scientist Cas Mudde joins the Prospect podcast to analyse the “year of elections”.In 2024, around 70 countries with a combined population of 3.4bn went to the polls. In many of those elections—in the EU, India and the US, the far right did surprisingly well. But why do the far right seem to be the only group to have benefitted from the turbulence of recent years? Was it inevitable? He joins Prospect’s Ellen Halliday to discuss.Plus, a festive “banger” or “dud”: posh advent calendars—terrific or tacky?To watch this interview, search for ‘Prospect magazine’ on YouTube, where episodes are published every Thursday.Cas’s piece “Doom Spiral” is featured in the latest issue of the magazine, which can be read in print or online at prospectmagazine.co.uk.

Are Jews white? Is criticism of Israel antisemitic? Why is the “Judeo-Christian” grouping a myth?To unpack these big questions, Ellen and Alona are joined by journalist Rachel Shabi, whose new book Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism was released earlier this month.Rachel explores the rising tensions of the past year, including the impact of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and a slew of misinformation and bad faith arguments on social media. She discusses her own identity as a British-Israeli with Iraqi heritage, how antisemitism has historically intersected with other forms of racism, and how it gets weaponised today. And she forces us to confront our own dark history—the idea that Britain’s antisemitism was “the first and the worst”.To watch this thoughtful discussion on race, privilege and prejudice, search for ‘Prospect magazine’ on YouTube, where episodes are published every Thursday.

This month we introduce a new Lives columnist, Kiran Sidhu, who writes about the rural Welsh village where she lives. Kiran celebrates the power of nature, as does actor and writer Sheila Hancock, who welcomes a robin to her roof garden. Alice Garnett asks whether Gen Z have killed the office romance, while Anglican priest Alice Goodman explains her secret love of weightlifting.

Families are spending years living in hotels, households are being moved miles across the country, and government is spending billions on a system that harms those it is designed to protect. What can be done?This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by researcher and local government expert Jack Shaw to talk about his exclusive investigation into the growing scandal of temporary accommodation. This form of homelessness is worse in the UK than in any other nation in the OECD and has a terrible impact on families and individuals.Jack reveals what goes into an investigation and shares his most shocking discoveries, including the millions that councils are doling out to private hoteliers. He explains why this is a problem—and which councils are trying to fix a broken system.Plus, the hosts take on a hard-hitting Daily Mail article which condemned gen-Z’s embrace of “woke sandwiches”. Are fancy sandwiches a “banger” or a “dud”? Ellen and Alona discuss.To read Jack’s article “Temporary accommodation nation” from the latest issue of the magazine, click here.And to order tickets to our special book event with Lionel Barber, go here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/gamblingman

Why do some women like tradwife videos? And why does it even matter?This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by writer Sarah Manavis to discuss the small but significant group of women who promote anti-feminist values online—and why so many others watch their videos.Sarah argues that the success of right-wing young men with large social media followings has distracted from a boom in similarly reactionary gen-Z women. Lifestyle influencers—from the overtly political to the unassuming—are using social media to championing a return to traditional gender roles.Sarah reported on the story for the most recent issue of Prospect magazine. While researching her article, she spoke with academics to analyse why so many women gravitate towards making and consuming this brand of content online.Is this harmless escapism, or a form of radicalisation? What about the paradox of self-made women making their careers out of promoting domestic lifestyles? And in the aftermath of Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris, Sarah discusses what trends on social media tell us about the US more broadly.

Would legalising assisted dying end unnecessary suffering? Or would it instead enable the abuse of some of society’s most vulnerable people?As parliament discusses assisted dying once again, Prospect invited two of our most profound thinkers—Rowan Williams and Brenda Hale—to debate the issue. As archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams led a Church that publicly opposes any form of assisted dying, while, as a Supreme Court judge, Brenda Hale was involved in life-or-death judgements.In a moving discussion, Hale discusses her own Christian faith, while Williams shares his pastoral experience in the company of the dying. They join Prospect’s editor Alan Rusbridger and commissioning editor Emily Lawford for a thoughtful and vitally important conversation.To read this conversation from the magazine, visit our website.