The New Statesman | UK politics and culture

50 years ago this month the German band Kraftwerk released Autobahn – an album that not only marked a dramatic departure in their sound, but went on to change the entire course of contemporary music. With the title track, a 22-minute ode to the German motorway, Kraftwerk’s founding members Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider forged a modern musical language, using electronics to articulate a new and optimistic vision of the future.To discuss Autobahn’s genesis and enduing legacy Tom Gatti is joined by Jude Rogers, journalist and author of The Sound of Being Human: How Music Shapes Our Lives, and Uwe Schutter, author of Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany.Read: How Kraftwerk’s Autobahn remade pop

And what's behind the global "incumbency curse" which has seen so many incumbent leaders ousted in 2024 elections?Hannah Barnes is joined by political editor Andrew Marr, and associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe to answer listener questions.Read Andrew's column: The UK’s broken system makes losers of us all

Andrew Marr pays tribute to "an extraordinary character" - the former Labour deputy Prime Minister and titan of Blair-era New Labour, who died on Thursday.Also, George Eaton interviews the David Lammy in New York.The foreign secretary opened his appearance at the UN security council with a declaration of "shame on Putin". In an interview with George Eaton, Lammy explains why he believes Donald Trump will pursue "peace through strength" rather than giving way to Putin over Ukraine. George joins Hannah Barnes and Andrew Marr to discuss whether this is, in fact, the case.British farmers are protesting against what they see as punitive changes to inheritance tax laws by Rachel Reeves. Will Dunn and Andrew Marr both attended the protests and give their analysis of both the proposed changes and the government's extremely difficult position.READAndrew Marr: Labour will always need a John Prescotthttps://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2024/11/labour-will-always-need-a-john-prescottGeorge's David Lammy interviewhttps://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics-interview/2024/11/david-lammy-interview-donald-trump-doesnt-want-vladimir-putin-winThe farmer's revolt is coming for Labour, by Will Dunnhttps://www.newstatesman.com/business/economics/2024/11/farmers-revolt-protest-coming-labour-jeremy-clarksonGet our political analysis in your email inbox every weekday morning: sign up to the free Morning Call newsletter: morningcall.substack.comClaim your 25% discount on a subscription to the New Statesman: newstatesman.com/pod24

In 2020, Sinn Féin, a left-wing party born out of Ireland’s nationalist movement, claimed victory. At the time Ireland’s two major parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, went into coalition with each other, preventing Sinn Fein from forming a government. Sinn Fein’s leader, Mary-Lou McDonald proudly claimed that she would be the first female Taoiseach.Four years later, support for the left-wing has markedly dropped, scandals have surrounded them on both sides of the border, and party political identities have become blurred.But when Ireland heads to the polls next week, what will be at the forefront of voter's minds? And how will issues of economy, housing, and immigration decide trajectory of the country's future?Kate Lamble is joined by Eoin O'Malley, Finn McRedmond, Conor Kelly, and Dan O'Brien.

The author of Orbital says Elon Musk's "individualistic" future is "problematic in all sorts of ways".Samantha Harvey, winner of the 2024 Booker Prize for fiction speaks to Nicholas Harris in this episode of Culture from the New Statesman.She discusses how her novel portrays the politics and powers of the world from orbit, and why the de-orbiting of the ISS marks the end of an era of "peaceful co-operation between nations".📚 READ Nicholas Harris's write up of this conversationhttps://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2024/11/samantha-harvey-booker-prize-2024-winner-interview-orbital🙋‍♀️ ASKWe answer listener questions every Friday. Submit yours at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus📧 FREEGet our daily politics emailhttps://morningcall.substack.com💷 SAVE Give a loved one a year's subscription to the New Statesman for just £49 https://www.newstatesman.com/pod24

Where you live could drastically impact how long you live. According to the Office for National Statistics, a person in South Kensington, one of London’s wealthiest areas, can expect to live up to 16 years longer than someone in a more deprived area, like Blackpool. In this episode, host Sarah Dawood is joined by a panel of guests to discuss the stark health inequalities across the UK. -      Jennifer Dixon DBE, CEO of The Health Foundation-      Jonathan Ashworth, CEO of Labour Together, former Shadow Secretary for Health, and former Labour MP-      Steve Brine, former Conservative MP, former Minister for Public Health and Primary Care, Chair of Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee, and host of Prevention Is The New Cure podcast The panel discusses the social determinants, or building blocks of health, that shape health outcomes and life expectancy. They discuss the need for a cross-government approach to address these inequalities and highlight the urgency of meaningful, coordinated action to improve public health. We also hear from Dr. Ronny Cheung, Consultant General Paediatrician at Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Officer for Health Services at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. This episode is sponsored by Health Equals, a coalition of 27 organisations campaigning to ‘Make Health Equal’. Visit www.healthequals.org.uk Show references: Health at the heart of government https://www.health.org.uk/publications/health-at-the-heart-of-government Health and social care select committee prevention inquiry https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7205/prevention-in-health-and-social-care/ Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health – Child health inequalities and poverty toolkit https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/key-topics/child-health-inequalities-poverty

And what can Keir Starmer learn from Theresa May's relationship with Trump? (keep hands firmly in pockets)Read: Andrew Marr's weekly column

As Starmer contends with a fraught political landscape, he has increasingly turned to figures from the Blair administration: Jonathan Powell, Liz Lloyd, Peter Mandelson, Alan Milburn. What will this means for the factions within the current Labour government?We are also midway through COP29 which is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan. Keir Starmer was only one of two G7 leaders to appear at the conference (where he announced new plans for the UK to cut its emissions by 81% compared to 1990 levels by 2035. How are Labour going to stick to their pledge of going green?Read: The return of the Blairites

Last month Russia gained the most Ukrainian territory since March 2022 when the war was in its infancy. At least 10,000 North Korean troops have also joined the fight, which will do little to replace the roughly 1,500 Russian soldiers killed or injured daily. And among all that Donald Trump was re-elected as US President. Kate Lamble is joined by Chris York, Wolfgang Munchau, Angela Stent, and Mex Bergmann.Read: Putin stares down the west by Wolfgang Munchau