The Exchange | Long-form interviews from the New Statesman

"You may succeed in silencing one man, but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life."These are the words of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, written from his hospital bed - days out from death after an excruciating month suffering from radioactive poisoning. I’d guess you remember this certain chain of events with one image: the snapshot of a frail but defiant Litvinenko covered in wires, staring from his hospital bed. A small pool of blood beside him on his pillow.20 years later, Putin is still president. Over a dozen Russia-linked deaths on British soil have been deemed suspicious. And Litvinenko’s wife, Marina, continues his howl of protest.

Michael Lewis has a unique understanding of the way modern America works, what motivates its citizens, and what makes money move.He started out on Wall Street as a bond salesman in the 1980s; this would go on to serve as inspiration for his first book, Liar's Poker. Since then, he has published over 2 dozen books, often financial thrillers, looking into subjects such as subprime mortgage loans and the global financial crisis (The Big Short), Competitive baseball league (Moneyball), and the rise and fall of fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried (Going Infinite) His latest work (Blockers) turns away from the financial markets and Wall Street, instead looking towards America's official hub of power: Washington - the four months in which Elon Musk ran amok, and the public servants who tried to stop him from disassembling the state.

We live in a world where as many people have instantaneous access to porn as to clean water. At peak times, close to a tenth of internet traffic is devoted to streaming adult content. But while porn has quietly taken over the world, it seems that this industry is no longer just about sex. It's about clicks, attention, data. And while the ubiquitous and instantaneous access to pornographic content has impacted our sexual relationships and habits, it’s also deeply changed how we see the world and our own place in it. The porn industry was the blueprint for the attention economy and the forefather of personal branding. It’s also one of the starkest examples of our phones knowing us better than we know ourselves. Patricia Nilsson, Financial Times reporter and author of Guilty Pleasure: The Pornification of the Internet, the Economy, and Everything Else joins Oli Dugmore on this episode of The Exchange.

Since the publication of No Logo in 1999 - a critique of big brands and consumer culture - Naomi Klein has been one of the most influential voices in leftist politics in the world. In the past 3 decades, she’s explored the intersection of capitalism, war, climate, and conspiracies.Now in her latest work, and first written collaboration, she turns to fascism. As she sees it, we’ve entered “End Times Fascism” - a perfect storm of the rise of right-wing authoritarianism, tech evangelism, and ever-growing inequality. “The most powerful people in the world are preparing for the end of the world,” she warns with co-author Astra Taylor, “an end they themselves are frenetically accelerating.” It’s a difficult conversation to have, contemplating the destruction of our world. But if there’s one person who can articulate this clearly and precisely, it’s Naomi Klein.

The summer just passed was the hottest on record. Next year, the scientists predict, will be even hotter.And what will happen between these two infernos? Respite? Wrong. More extreme weather.Storms, droughts, and floods will sweep the world in coming months.George Monbiot, environmental activist and author, joins Oli Dugmore to discuss our new climate reality, how prepared (or rather unprepared) we might be, and why governments and those in power around the world are still ignoring not just the warning signs - but the unfolding disaster.

In Japan, couples can rent a grandchild in order to make them feel less bereft on special occasions. In South Korea, dog stroller sales have overtaken pram sales. And in France, deaths outnumbered births for the first time since the Second World War in 2025. So what's actually going on? Award winning journalist Camilla Cavendish joins Oli Dugmore to discuss her new book, Generation Maybe: Why We're Having Fewer Children, and What It Means for Us All.

Owen Jones burst onto the scene in 2011 with his bestselling book Chavs: the demonisation of the working class. Since then his activism and journalism has followed the ebbs and flows of the left in UK politics, his own push and pull relationship with the Labour Party - which he ultimately left in 2024. Now he wants to cast his analysis beyond Britain. He joins Oli Dugmore in this episode to discuss his new book The Fall of the West: how they really lost it.

Fuchsia Dunlop has dedicated much of her life to eating Chinese food.If you’re interested in Chinese cuisine and culture, you may have come across her through television programmes, heard her on the radio, or cooked one of her recipes.And if you haven’t, stick around and you’ll be tempted to dive a little deeper into this extraordinary world.Fuchsia joined Oli Dugmore on the day her latest book, Five Tastes, was published, to talk about the flavours that define Chinese food, what they reveal about an ancient culture, and the political and economic factors changing Chinese cuisine - both in China and in the West.

Alexei Sayle has never much cared for a conventional view of the world.Born in 1950s Liverpool to committed communist parents, he was named after Maxim Gorky - real name Alexei Maximovich Peshkov. Dyed-in-the-wool Marxism, in other words, was baked in from birth, and he’s Jewish on his mother's side. His first two memoirs, Stalin Ate My Homework and Thatcher Stole My Trousers, told the story of that red upbringing. Now Sayle is back with volume three: How I've Tried to Change the World, exploring a lifetime of protests, marches, and what decades on the picket line have taught him about being a Marxist today.