Backchat

Bath and England rugby player Tom Dunn opens up about making it as a professional rugby player, the pressure involved and how he felt making his first England appearance behind closed doors. Tom also discusses the 'sacrifices' he had to make growing up and his root into rugby through club rugby, playing part-time for Chippenham Rugby Club before becoming a regular in the Bath squad. Listen to hear about Tom's take on rugby as an outlet and his thoughts about life after rugby. 

In the last episode of this series, Ed chats to the Mayor of Manchester about his well-publicised negotiations with the Government, the North-South Divide, the assignment of Covid Tiers in the North, devolution and why he got into politics all those years ago. Andy also reflects on entering politics and how working in Gordon Brown's Cabinet compared to Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet. 

Ed and Will chat to Dr Martin Farr from Newcastle University about lecturing during Covid-19, Brexit, the Special Relationship and the breakup of the United Kingdom. Listen to hear Martin chat about why he went into academia and to hear his honest views on Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon, the Special Relationship, ageing and what he sees as the biggest threat to modern British society. 

In this episode Ed chats to Daisy Cooper, Deputy Leader and Education Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats. Daisy chats about her early experience of campaigning at a CND march and on issues such as school uniform and acid rain. Daisy also talks about some of the archaic rituals in Parliament including 'bobbing' and the hooks to hang your sword. We also have a surprise appearance from her cat. 

Podcast Editor Ed Sawyer chats to George Evans-Jones and frequent guest Will Pascall about the ongoing US Election result. This episode tries to explain what is going on in America, looks at the strengths of both campaigns, whether Trumpism is dead and how Trump retained support with different ethnic groups. 

In this episode, Ed Sawyer talks to Ann Widdecombe, former Conservative Party MP and prominent Brexiteer. Never afraid to say what she thinks, Ann proves a very interesting, if somewhat controversial, guest for Ed. Ann shares her views on everything from climate change to 'wokeness'. Though these may seem provocative to some listeners, this podcast is definitely worth a listen, even if it's just to get your brain engaged on a weekday morning.

In the second episode of the new series, Ed Sawyer interviews ex Lib Dem MEP Caroline Voaden. Listen to hear Caroline talk about accidentally becoming an enemy of the Croatian state in the 1990s, working in the European Parliament, her views on the British Press, and why she got into politics.

Backchat is relaunching! Our new podcast editor Ed Sawyer and guest Will Pascall interview ex-England cricketer and current TV personality Monty Panesar in this first podcast. Give it a listen to hear Monty's thoughts on sport, politics and everything in between

Dissent within minority communities is often not only badly reported in the media but is actually actively silenced under the guise of political correctness. On the final episode of this season of Backchat, Podcast Editor Mihir Joshi talks to Maryam Namazie from the One Law for All campaign group. They discuss honour based violence, blasphemy and the popular revolt against the Iranian Regime that has been raging for the past year.

Join Podcast Editor Mihir Joshi and Backbench General Editor Tom Westgarth for a look back at how their predictions they made in October have fared in what has been a tumultuous year. To help you navigate this mammoth podcast here are some timestamps: Tory engineering for the election : 2.40, the United Kingdom's future relationship with the European Union: 13.00, the future of the Eurozone: 15.45, the future of the Culture War: 20.50,  the changing nature of the Conservative Party: 29.50, the future battle over resources: 37.00, the West's relationship with China: 41.44

Keir Starmer is the new leader of the Labour Party but the ideology it represents if over 100 years old. In this episode of Backchat we discuss what the left means, what the left represents and what the future of the left might bring in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Even a fortnight ago a total lockdown of the United Kingdom seemed implausible and unprecedented, but here we are in the 5th day of a lockdown with no real end in sight. In today's episode Mihir chats to Sindhu Ram an LSE Masters student who is currently self-isolating about the government, the media and our communities have responded to the challenges provided by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Culture has taken a whole new political dimension in the past decade with Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and many other political events have unleashed a revolution in the way campaigns, governance and the media are conducted. Today on Backchat we have  Mihir Joshi and Eleanor Longman-Rood, a regular contributor to Backbench, to talk about these critical issues.

It's all change at Backbench! What better way to say hello to our new Editor-in-Chief Maheen Behrana than to have her on another exciting episode of Backchat! On today's episode, we discuss the future of British journalism, the future of Backbench and how the journalistic community can help uncover the truth in these confusing times.

The Tibet issue has been around for decades with no sign of a resolution. On Backchat this week, Mihir, speaks to Campaigns Manager John Jones from the Free Tibet movement. He provides a fascinating insight into this very secretive part of the world. Amongst the issues discussed are the political situation in Tibet, attacks on the Buddhist faith and the future of the region. 

Football is the world's most popular sport but is there something going wrong with the beautiful game? Allegations of corruption, tournaments in places with questionable human rights records and spiralling ticket prices have hampered the game for the past few years. Listen to Mihir Joshi and George Casci talk about how to salvage football to ensure that it can truly become a force for good in the world. 

Rebecca Long-Bailey, Keir Starmer, Jess Philips and the rest of the contenders have been jostling for what many would call the poisoned chalise of the Labour Leadership. Listen to Editor Mihir Joshi and General Editor Tom Westgarth dissect what they have seen in the campaign and whether any one of them can save the Labour Party from the electoral difficulties that lie ahead. 

And so there we have it. No longer will we have to hear 'Get Brexit Done',  'For The Many Not The Few' and all the other cheesy election slogans. Boris Johnson has emerged from the General Election victorious and the Backbench Team are here to guide you through the election with (what were) live reactions from different times on election night and an in-depth analysis of what this seismic election means for the future of our nation.  Join us for 40 minutes of (not to gloat) but the best election analysis without any of the gimmicks! Just to help you navigate this mammoth podcast here are some pointers for what to expect: 

Mihir's intro: 0.00-1.40 

Live Reactions: 1.40-11.05 

Analysis: 11.05-49.02 

To continue our Conversations With series, this week we have John Abiona former Features Editor for The Boar and reporter at The Sun to talk about who he is considering voting for and why. We also discuss the state of the election campaigns and why the increasing tribal nature of our politics is troubling. 

Why do we vote for who we vote for? It's a question that's struck people as disparate as Dominic Cummings to Aristotle! At Backchat, over the next few weeks, we're going to try answer this question! Today we have Backbench Editor Tom Mitchell on the podcast to explain why he will be voting Liberal Democrat come December. 

And it's Groundhog Day again! Brexit has been delayed for another three months and  we have Professor Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe to talk about Brexit (obviously!), the nature of our democratic politics and the future of the Union. 

We have had a crazy summer of politics. New Prime Minister, a new dog at Downing Street, prorogation, de-prorogation, lying to the Queen, it really does seem like we have fallen into a parallel universe where the normal rules have been flipped. Mihir Joshi, the new Backchat Editor, sat down with Tom Westgarth, one of the new Backbench Editors, to discuss what has happened over the summer and what might happen in the months to come. 

To end the series, Natasha Livingstone sat down with Backbench's Editor-in-Chief Daniel Clark and Editor Tom Mitchell to chat about how politics has evolved since the podcast began last September. They discussed Trump’s unshakable resilience, the resurgence of the Lib Dems and asked if they're optimistic about the future.

Sam Knights is 22 years old.  Since joining Extinction Rebellion, he has attended meetings with Michael Gove and Sadiq Khan- and been arrested for gluing himself to a London hotel. Natasha Livingstone chatted to the young activist about his experiences and discussed criticisms of the movement.

The Indian elections are the largest democratic exercise in history, with 900 million eligible voters. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History at the University of Oxford. 

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is often accused of having no interest in resolving the conflict with Palestine. Following his re-election earlier this month, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Dr. Yaser Alashqar, to discuss how the election result will impact the Israel/Palestine conflict. 

From the high-protein diet to the juice cleanse, diet makers are profiting from the global obesity crisis. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Dr Giles Yeo, a geneticist at Cambridge University and author of the best-selling book ‘Gene Eating’, who argues that genes are to blame when your jeans don’t fit.

With Parliament not making any headway on Brexit, we experimented to see if Ellie Varley (Vice Chair for Brexit4Students and Conservative voter), Christopher Vince (Labour Councillor in Harlow) and Alisha Lewis (Community Activist for the Liverpool Liberal Democrats) could do a better job and find some common ground.

With the never-ending Brexit saga dragging on, you might not have noticed that Spain is having a snap election on the 28th April. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone chatted to Backbench writers Dom Griffiths and Sammy Russell.

As Brexit consumes all political and media attention, important domestic issues are being overlooked. One of these topics is Prison reform. To find out more, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Graham Atkins, a researcher at the Institute for Government. 

Brexit has been making all the headlines again this week as Parliament rejected Theresa May’s deal for the *second* time and voted for an extension. But how does all this affect the Scots? To find out, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Backbench writers Sam Payne (from Hampshire) and Scott Blair (from Scotland ).

Natasha Livingstone sat down with Francis Green, co-author of the new book 'Engines of Privilege: Britain's Private School Problem', to discuss educational inequality and how Brexit could make abolishing the private system a little easier.

With the ‘yellow vests’ protests entering their fourth month, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Anelise Borges, Paris correspondent for Euronews, to discover what the future holds for the 'gilets jeunes'. 

Backbench editors Calum Henderson and Abby King chat to Natasha Livingstone about The Independent Group and debate whether they represent a fresh start.

On the 27th February, Trump and Kim Jong-un will meet to discuss North Korean denuclearisation - but what will happen? To find out, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Dr Victor Cha, a former US government official and senior advisor at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. 

We often hear about the struggles facing millennials, but what about generation Z? Backbench editor Lilian Fawcett and writer Alisa Anwar chat to Natasha Livingstone about burnout and ask whether it is a generational issue.

Conservative voters under 25 are a minority in Britain, so what makes them different?  To find out, Natasha Livingstone spoke to Tom Harwood, a 22-year-old journalist for the right-wing news site Guido Fawkes.

In the first episode of series two, Backbench editors Maheen Behrana and Lauren White chat to Natasha Livingstone about the establishment, Owen Jones' twitter spats and Larry the Cat.