Politics on the Couch

Rafael Behr talks to Paula Surridge Professor of Political Sociology about the fragmentation of support for the two big parties since Brexit, what's causing it and what it means for parties trying to maintain their voter coalitions.Questions also covered:What drives support for Reform UK, and how vulnerable is their voter base?Are the Liberal Democrats benefiting from tactical voting, and can they sustain their recent gains?Why the Conservative Party faces so many difficulties in defining its identity?How are changing media consumption habits and voter expectations reshaping political engagement?The discussion also touches on the impact of non-voters and the potential for electoral reform to become a more prominent issue.This is a Rafael Behr and Philip Berman production.

Host Rafael Behr talks to author, policy expert and podcaster Sam Freedman about his new book Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix ItSam Freedman is a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and an Ark Schools adviser. He writes about policy and politics for numerous outlets, including the Financial Times, Sunday Times, Guardian and New Statesman. With his father, he runs ‘Comment is Freed’, Britain’s most popular politics Substack. He has spent his career working in different policy-focused roles around Westminster, including as an adviser to the then opposition leader, David Cameron, and as a senior policy adviser at the Department for Education for three years, working with (friends of the podcast) Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings. Feedspot has chosen Politics on the Couch as one of the Top 25 UK Psychology and Political Science Podcasts on the web.https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_psychology_podcastshttps://blog.feedspot.com/political_science_podcasts

In a week of protests, counter-protests and riots in the UK, 5000 miles away in Bangladesh student-led uprising led to 300 people being killed, the toppling of a corrupt PM and violent regime, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner being installed as head a new interim government. In this edition, we're talking about the violent and momentous events in Bangladesh with award-winning British-born investigative journalist David Bergman, who has been following and reporting on the country for almost 30 years. He's written widely about Bangladesh for The Daily Telegraph, Al Jazeera, the New York Times, and The Times. Between 2004 and 2017, he lived in Bangladesh, writing for several Bangladeshi newspapers, including New Age, The Daily Star and bdnews24.com.He was forced to leave in 2017 due to his critical writing about government corruption and human rights violations.Since then, he’s lived in London and helped found Netra News, a media platform based in Sweden that published investigative news and analysis on BangladeshHe’s also won a Royal Television Society award for a documentary he worked on about the atrocities that took place during Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence. In the episode, David explains what happened there, what sparked it off, what’s next for the country, what we know about the next potential leader and the fascinating links between a new Labour Minister and the now deposed Bangladeshi PM and her party.Links mentioned in the podcasthttps://x.com/TheDavidBergmanhttps://x.com/muktadirnewagehttps://x.com/nomhossainhttps://x.com/taqbirhudahttps://www.facebook.com/shafiqul.alam.71216

In this summer bonus episode, Raf and (producer) Phil discuss the changing mood around British politics since Labour's election victory, the restoration of seriousness after years of triviality, why some people can't adapt, why others want to believe that Keir Starmer can deliver the change he has promised and whether they are right.Links to stuff mentioned in the podcastMore in Common reportTony Judt's essayReform came 2nd in 89 of the seats that Labour won.Lowest voter turnout for a General Election since universal suffrage beganThis is a Raf Behr and Larchmont Productions podcast.

In this edition host Rafael Behr talks to Nichola Raihani, Professor of Evolution and Behaviour in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland.She's also the author of, 'The Social Instinct: How Cooperation Shaped the World'Professor Raihani has unique insight into a problem that has appeared in various forms on this podcast over the years.It's a question of collective action, solidarity, and cooperation. What motivates people to form units of political organisation or cooperation?Tribes, parties, whole nations—what holds them together and what drives them apart? Why do some societies tend to be democratic and some go despotic? Is it an accident of history? Climate? Culture? Religion? Evolution. This is the fabric of politics, the very stuff societies are made of at the most fundamental level, and Professor Rehani shines an evolutionary light on it all.This podcast is produced by Philip Berman of Larchmont Productions

In the wake of October 7th and Trump's bid to become US President again, Rafael Behr sits down with fellow Guardian columnist and friend - Jonathan Freedland - to discuss the current state of geopolitics, liberal politics, Israel and Jewish identity.Events featuring Rafael BehrShoreham, West Sussex, Wed 24 AprilAn evening with Guardian columnist Rafael Behr and television producer Rob Burley in conversation with Ayesha Hazarika MBE, political commentator and broadcaster, and former special adviser to Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband.More detailsCentral London, Thursday 25th AprilWhat Everyone Knows About Britain* Except The British: Michael Peel in conversation with Rafael BehrMore detailsJ Freeland linksAward-winning edition of Unholy podcast The latest edition of the Guardian's weekly US politics podcastJonathan Freeland and Israeli author Amos OzNew York Times columnist Thomas Friedman