The New Statesman | UK politics and culture

One week from the US Presidential Elections, the race remains tight. There’s been renewed focus on Trump’s political rallies. At Madison Square Garden in New York Trump spoke to tens of thousands about the enemy from within, others who appeared likened Kamala Harris to a prostitute with pimp handlers, called her the antichrist and described Puerto Rico an island of garbage.The rally drew comparisons to a fascist event held in the same arena on the eve of the Second World War in 1939. Are these comparisons accurate, and if so, what does this mean for the future of the Republican party and American conservatism?Kate Lamble is joined by New Statesman writers Freddie Hayward, Sarah Churchwell, and Sohrab Ahmari.

A new film from Steve McQueen is about to hit cinema screens: Blitz. Set during the devastating German bombing raids of 1940 to 1941, it follows Saiorse Ronan as east end mum Rita, and her son George, played by Elliot Heffernan, as they travel across London searching for each other.In some ways, it’s a new look at history, Rita’s son is mixed race – and issues of race, class, and gender are present throughout McQueen’s film.But Blitz also takes its place in a long tradition: almost 80 years on from the end of the Second World War, Britain’s role in both world wars still dominates British culture and retains a central place in our national psyche, and our politics. Why is this?Tom Gatti is joined by journalist and academic Gary Younge and historian David Edgerton.Read Gary's piece: The myths of Blitz spiritGet access to all our reporting at newstatesman.com and receive your copy of our weekly magazine. Podcast listeners can get the first two months for just £2 at https://www.newstatesman.com/save

Andrew Marr, Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe hear from a focus group of voters in a marginal Kent constituency, to get their views on Labour's first three months in government. They reveal why they're struggling to trust "posh" Keir Starmer, whether they regret their vote, and which public figure they would love to see in parliament.This focus group was arranged by Public First.📚 READThe 100 days that shook Labourhttps://www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/2024/10/andrew-marr-100-days-that-shook-labour-keir-starmer🙋‍♀️ ASK a questionWe answer listener questions every Friday. Submit yours at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus📧 FREE get our daily politics emailhttps://morningcall.substack.com💷 SAVE Become a New Statesman subscriber:Get access to all our reporting at newstatesman.com and receive your copy of our weekly magazine. Podcast listeners can get the first two months for just £2 at https://www.newstatesman.com/save

Ben Zaranko, senior research economist from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, takes us through the numbers ahead of next week's budget, and the New Statesman's political editor Andrew Marr takes us through the politics.

We’re just two weeks from the 2024 US Presidential election. Donald Trump is up against Kamala Harris. Polls are vanishingly close. They suggest Harris has a 53% chance of moving into the Oval office. But after years of incorrect predictions, can they be trusted?In this episode of Insight, Kate Lamble speaks with Scott Keeter from Pew Research centre as well as the New Statesman's data journalist Ben Walker about what can be gleaned from the polls, and if they are more trustworthy than the past two election cycles. Later on in the programme we hear from the New Statesman's Megan Gibson and Katie Stallard about what, or rather who, doomed Harris from the start.

Donald Trump has reshaped American politics. But who shaped him? A new film has some answers.The Apprentice, written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abasi, charts the rise of a young Trump (Sebastian Stan) under the caustic tutelage of bulldog lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Megan Gibson interviews writer Gabriel Sherman to discuss the creative challenges of putting Trump on screen, and Tom Gatti speaks to New Statesman film critic David Sexton to explore whether star Sebastian Stan is right that “the first three-dimensional portrayal” of Trump has done the presidential candidate a favour.This is the first episode of a new weekly series, Culture from the New Statesman, hosted by Tom Gatti. We would love your feedback on our new episodes, and on the New Statesman podcast in general. Please email your comments to podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk📚 READ The Apprentice: a grotesque, compelling Trump satirehttps://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2024/10/the-apprentice-review-grotesque-compelling-donald-trump-satire🙋‍♀️ ASK a questionWe answer listener questions every Friday. Submit your by commenting here, or at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus📧 FREE get our daily politics emailhttps://morningcall.substack.com💷 SAVE Become a New Statesman subscriber:Get access to all our reporting at newstatesman.com and receive your copy of our weekly magazine. Podcast listeners can get the first two months for just £2 at https://www.newstatesman.com/save🎧 LISTEN to the New Statesman podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/@NewStatesman

With "normal" James Cleverly out of the Tory leadership race, a listener asks if a Badenoch or Jenrick leadership would split the Conservative party in two.Andrew Marr, Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe answer listener questions in our weekly episode, You Ask Us - published every Friday.Also in this episode: do journalists talk about Westminster gossip too much? Our own gossipy journalists give their answer!📚 READ Would Kemi Badenoch be worth the risk for the Conservatives?https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2024/10/would-kemi-badenoch-be-worth-the-risk-for-conservatives🙋‍♀️ ASK a questionWe answer listener questions every Friday. Submit yours at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus📧 FREE get our daily politics emailhttps://morningcall.substack.com💷 SAVE Become a New Statesman subscriber:Get access to all our reporting at newstatesman.com and receive your copy of our weekly magazine. Podcast listeners can get the first two months for just £2 at https://www.newstatesman.com/save

The health secretary Wes Streeting has suggested this week that weight loss injections should be used to get Britain back to work. Is this a good idea? And what does it miss from the root of the problem?Hannah Barnes is joined by political editor Andrew Marr and business editor Will Dunn.Read: Wes Streeting can’t solve unemployment with weight-loss drugs