The New Statesman | UK politics and culture

What was behind the Washington Post's shock decision not to endorse a presidential candidate? It's owner, Jeff Bezos, has cited reasons of impartiality and a perception of bias. Others have suggested that the decision was financially motivated, made out of fear of losing support and contracts from a Trump government.Tom Gatti is joined by Alison Phillips, former editor of the Daily Mirror, to discuss the impact of this choice and also what drives the handful of men who have controlled our media throughout history.Read more from Alison Phillips on the New Statesman here

The first Labour budget in 14 years is "refreshing" but risky, say the IFS.Rachel Reeves has delivered her maiden budget in the House of Commons. As expected, thanks to leaks and pre-briefing over the preceding week or so, the Chancellor is raising employers' National Insurance, changing capital gains and inheritance tax, and increasing stamp duty. Andrew Marr and George Eaton join Hannah Barnes on the New Statesman podcast to analyse the politics of the Labour budget. They are also joined by Ben Zaranko from the IFS to review the economics.📚 READLabour has laid a trap for the Torieshttps://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour/2024/10/how-labour-aims-to-trap-the-tories🙋‍♀️ 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

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