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Mile End Institute Podcast

Mile End Institute Podcast

By Mile End Institute

Welcome to the Mile End Institute podcast.

We bring together politicians, commentators, academics, students, and members of the public to discuss and debate the major challenges facing us in a fast-moving and ever-changing world.

If you are interested in finding out more about what we do, and how you can get involved, please see our website and sign up to our mailing list: qmul.ac.uk/mei
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Currently playing episode

Britain Alone: How a decade of conflict remade the nation

Mile End Institute PodcastAug 11, 2022

00:00
34:44
Behind Closed Doors: The Secret Life of London Private Members' Clubs

Behind Closed Doors: The Secret Life of London Private Members' Clubs

On 15 November 2022, ITV's Political Editor, Robert Peston, tweeted about being refused entry to a private members' club in Central London for wearing 'comfortable mid-top trainers' and sparked fierce debate about the traditions and standards of London clubs as well as their influence on public life in 2022. 

In this special episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast - recorded earlier this Summer - Dr Seth Thévoz (a freelance historian and the foremost expert on 'Clubland') explores the fascinating story of the rise, decline, and resurgence of London's private members' clubs, from the late-eighteenth century to the present day. 

Reflecting on his latest book, Behind Closed Doors, Thévoz explains that, while clubs may have started out as white, male, aristocratic watering holes, all sections of society built their own clubs and lived their lives there: highbrow and lowbrow; women and men; working-class, middle-class and upper-class; international and British. 

Nov 16, 202237:35
Britain Alone: How a decade of conflict remade the nation

Britain Alone: How a decade of conflict remade the nation

In the last episode of this series of the Mile End Institute Podcast, our Deputy Director, Dr Karl Pike, talks to Dr Liam Stanley from the University of Sheffield about his new book, Britain Alone: How a decade of conflict remade the nation, which was published by Manchester University Press earlier this year. Beginning with the global financial crisis of 2008, Britain Alone explores how a decade of 'austerity' as well as immigration and the hostile environment, nostalgia, race and the 'left behind', and the Covid-19 pandemic shaped Britain. Karl and Liam's conversation builds on these cultural, economic, and political themes and traces the 'complex nationalist path' that Britain found itself on after 2008. 

Aug 11, 202234:44
Practical Utopia: The Many Lives of Dartington Hall

Practical Utopia: The Many Lives of Dartington Hall

In this episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins talks to Dr Anna Neima about her new book, Practical Utopia: The Many Lives of Dartington Hall which was published by Cambridge University Press in April. In this fascinating conversation, Lyndsey and Anna discuss how the 1200-acre estate at Dartington Hall near Totnes in Devon was transformed into a 'social experiment of kaleidoscopic vitality' in the 1920s and 1930s by the American heiress, Dorothy Elmhirst (née Whitney) and her husband, Leonard. 

They consider how a network of utopian communities across the United Kingdom shaped education, the arts, and agriculture in first half of the twentieth century and what policymakers today can learn from the 'cooperative and democratic' way of living, enriched by lifelong learning and 'a sense of creative and spiritual fulfillment', which was pioneered at Dartington Hall before the Second World War. 

Jul 27, 202243:08
Waterloo Sunrise: London from the Sixties to Thatcher

Waterloo Sunrise: London from the Sixties to Thatcher

On this week's Mile End Institute Podcast, the MEI's Deputy Director, Dr Colm Murphy, is in conversation with Dr John Davis (Queens, Oxford) about his 'kaleidoscopic' new book, Waterloo Sunrise, which explores how London was transformed into a 'vibrant yet divided metropolis' during the 1960s and 1970s. They discuss how Davis's vivid and immersive book charts everything from Soho strip clubs to London's docklands, the underlying tension between 'majority affluence' and 'minority deprivation' as well as how the key aspects of 'Thatcherism' emerged before the 1980s and continues to shape the Capital today. 


Jul 20, 202257:43
Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life

Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life

In this week's episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, our Deputy Director, Dr Karl Pike, talks to Dr Rachael Wiseman (Liverpool) and Dr Clare Mac Cumhaill (Durham) about their new book, Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life

A Radio 4 Book of the Week and one of The Guardian's 50 Hottest Summer Reads, Metaphysical Animals explores how Oxford became a 'crucible of a new kind of ethical thinking' and charts the work, life and loves of four of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century, Elizabeth Anscombe, Iris Murdoch, Philippa Foot and Mary Midgley. 

Jul 06, 202253:13
Historicising the Refugee Crisis

Historicising the Refugee Crisis

In this week's episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, we are marking Refugee Week 2022 (which runs from 20 to 26 June) by exploring how Britain as a state and a society has responded to refugee populations since 1945. 

In this conversation, our Deputy Director, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins, is joined by Dr Anna Maguire (UCL) and Professor Becky Taylor (UEA) to examine the UK's attitude to refugees, explore the emergence of the 'Hostile Environment' in recent years, and 'historicise' the current refugee crises. 

We hope that this week's episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast will be of particular use as a teaching resource for those studying the history of Britain's response to refugee crises and populations since the Second World War. 

Jun 22, 202251:27
Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK

Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK

In this episode, Professor Tim Bale welcomes Simon Kuper to the Mile End Institute Podcast to talk about his latest book, Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK, which was published by Profile Books this Spring. Tim and Simon discuss how the University of Oxford has produced the most prominent Conservative politicians of our time, the prestige of the Oxford Union and the unique opportunities it affords 18-year-olds to network and 'debate', and how power, privilege, and elite education have interacted to shape modern Britain. 

Jun 15, 202232:08
The Politics of Expertise

The Politics of Expertise

In this episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Dr Patrick Diamond talks to Dr Lise Butler (City, University of London) and Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) about the place of expertise in public life and how understandings of expertise have evolved historically. 

This episode explores conceptions of medical expertise and how that expertise became more contested during the 20th century, alongside the increasingly important relationship between government and social sciences, as exemplified by the work of Michael Young. Patrick, Lise, and Agnes also discussed how it might be possible to forge a more productive relationship between experts and citizens in a liberal democracy in the contemporary era.

Jun 09, 202241:04
Neil Kinnock: Saving the Labour Party?

Neil Kinnock: Saving the Labour Party?

In the 60th episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, our Director, Dr Patrick Diamond, talks to Dr Kevin Hickson (Senior Lecturer in British Politics at the University of Liverpool) about his new edited collection, reappraising Neil Kinnock's policies, impact, and legacy, which was published by Routledge last week. Neil Kinnock: Saving the Labour Party? offers a fresh perspective on Kinnock's leadership of the Labour Party 30 years on from his defeat in the 1992 General Election, featuring first-hand accounts from 'insiders' and Kinnock himself. 

They discuss Neil Kinnock's political formation and his ideological position within the Party, his struggle with the 'Hard Left' and his relationship with New Labour as well as the enduring uncertainties about the future of the Labour Party. 

May 25, 202237:13
Brittle with Relics: A History of Wales, 1962-1997

Brittle with Relics: A History of Wales, 1962-1997

In this week's episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins talks to the award-winning writer and historian, Richard King, about his new book, Brittle with Relics: A History of Wales, 1962-1997, which was published by Faber earlier this year. Lyndsey and Richard are joined by Micaela Paines (a doctoral researcher at Cardiff University who specialises in working class women's labour activism from 1928 to 1969) to discuss Richard's groundbreaking study and the interweaving stories of deindustrialisation and nationalism until the referendum which brought devolution to Wales in 1997. 

May 19, 202235:42
Held in Contempt: What's wrong with the House of Commons?

Held in Contempt: What's wrong with the House of Commons?

In the latest episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Professor Tim Bale is in conversation with Dr Hannah White, the Deputy Director of the Institute for Government, about her new book, Held in Contempt: What's wrong with the House of Commons?, which was published by Manchester University Press last month. They discuss how the reputation of the House of Commons has been in 'a downward spiral' in recent years, explore how the increasing frequency of referendums has challenged the supremacy of Parliament, and offer some timely suggestions about how to make the House of Commons the 'cornerstone of our democracy' again, despite the worldwide populist challenge to representative government. 

May 11, 202234:19
Women, Media and Elections
May 05, 202236:43
Polling UnPacked

Polling UnPacked

In this episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Professor Tim Bale speaks to the President of the Liberal Democrats, Dr Mark Pack, about his new book, Polling UnPacked: The History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls (Reaktion Books, 2022), which was released earlier this month. They discuss how opinion polls work, whether they can be trusted, and how polling methods have been abused in the past. 

Apr 27, 202243:23
The Past, Present and Future of London's Aylesbury Estate

The Past, Present and Future of London's Aylesbury Estate

After the recent industrial action across the Higher Education sector, the Mile End Institute Podcast returns with a fascinating discussion about the history and future of the Aylesbury Estate in South East London, which was once described as one of Britain's 'more disastrous experiments in postwar municipal housing' and a 'byword for crime and deprivation'. 

The Institute's Deputy Director, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins, is joined by Dr Michael Romyn (QMUL) - the author of London's Aylesbury Estate: An Oral History of the 'Concrete Jungle'. She also talks to Caterina Sartori (a PhD candidate at Goldsmiths and the Film Festival Director at the Royal Anthropological Institute) as well as Aysen Dennis and Laura Fudge, two housing activists, about their experiences of living and campaigning on the Aylesbury Estate. 

Apr 13, 202242:09
The Welfare State Generation: Women, Agency and Class since 1945

The Welfare State Generation: Women, Agency and Class since 1945

To mark the start of Women's History Month 2022, the MEI's Deputy Director, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins, sat down with Dr Eve Worth (Oxford) and Dr Ruth Davidson (Visiting Research Fellow, MEI) to discuss Dr Worth's new book, The Welfare State Generation: Women, Agency and Class in Britain since 1945.

They discuss how the growth of the welfare state after 1945 and its contraction in the 1980s was central to the lives of women born in Britain between the late 1930s and early 1950s and conclude that historians should move beyond the focus on women's emotions and personal identity to consider their relationship with the state as employer, educator and provider. 

Mar 04, 202242:54
In Conversation with Anne Longfield CBE

In Conversation with Anne Longfield CBE

Anne Longfield CBE is the former Children's Commissioner for England. In this podcast, she discusses her vision for 'building back better' after the pandemic, and the work she is doing through her independent commission on how to protect children and young people from crime, violence and gangs. 

Feb 02, 202243:50
The Politics of Women's Suffrage

The Politics of Women's Suffrage

In this episode, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins (QMUL) and Dr Alexandra Hughes-Johnson (Oxford) discuss their recent book The Politics of Women's Suffrage: Local, National and International Dimensions in collaboration with Dr Kate Connelly (Arcadia). Interviewed by Dr Anna Muggeridge (Worcester), they discuss their respective contributions to suffrage historiography, especially in London, reflect on the legacy of 2018, and look forward to 2028.

Jan 26, 202238:38
Race, Rights and Reform: Black Activism in the French Empire and the United States from World War 1 to the Cold War

Race, Rights and Reform: Black Activism in the French Empire and the United States from World War 1 to the Cold War

In her recent book, ‘Race, Rights and Reform: Black Activism in the French Empire and the United States from World War 1 to the Cold War’, Sarah C. Dunstan (Glasgow) discusses African American and Francophone black activist struggles for rights and citizenship in their differing contexts, tracing their transatlantic collaborations as well as their contrasting attitudes to race, empire, and republicanism. Hosted by MEI Visiting Fellow Daniel Frost, in this podcast Sarah brings her work into dialogue with that of Ngozi Edeagu (Bayreuth), whose research focuses on non-elite groups’ use of print media in colonial Nigeria and highlights transatlantic and transimperial connections in the decolonisation process.

Jan 12, 202240:27
Chief of Staff with Gavin Barwell

Chief of Staff with Gavin Barwell

Gavin Barwell has done just about every job in the Conservative Party that it's possible for anyone to do: he's been a grassroots activist, worked on campaigns at CCHQ, become an MP and a minister, entered Number Ten as Chief of Staff to the PM and is now a Tory peer.  Here he talks about what made him a Conservative, about what's happened to the Party in recent years, and of course about his turbulent time in Downing Street with Theresa May - the subject of his recent, and highly praised memoir.

Jan 05, 202241:22
Free with Lea Ypi

Free with Lea Ypi

In this episode MEI Deputy Director, Dr Karl Pike, speaks to Professor Lea Ypi, author of the new book 'Free: Coming of Age at the End of History' - a memoir of childhood at a time of political change in the 1980s and 1990s. In the podcast, Professor Ypi talks about writing, the story of 'Free', and the philosophical theme of the book.

Dec 20, 202131:24
Out of the Darkness: Greenham Voices 1981-2000

Out of the Darkness: Greenham Voices 1981-2000

Dr Lyndsey Jenkins, Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute is joined by Visiting Fellow Freya Marshall-Payne, Professor Sasha Roseneil from UCL, and Rebecca Morden, one of the driving forces behind the oral history project Greenham Women Everywhere, to discuss Rebecca's new book, written in collaboration with Kate Kerrow, Out of the Darkness: Greenham Voices 1981-2000'. 

The book reunites the trailblazing women from the Greenham Peace Camp and charts their recollections of camp life, including how they organised and the ways in which they challenged the military, police and other cultural forces.

Dec 15, 202130:23
The Neoliberal Age?

The Neoliberal Age?

This week on the MEI Podcast, Deputy Director Colm Murphy was joined by two editors of the newly released book ‘The Neoliberal Age?’, Aled Davies and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite. They discuss the contested meaning of the term 'neoliberalism' and its relevance for understanding Britain since the 1970s.

Dec 07, 202135:43
Why Isn't Government Policy More Preventive?

Why Isn't Government Policy More Preventive?

This week, MEI Director, Patrick Diamond was joined by Paul Cairney and Emily St. Denny, authors of Why isn’t Government Policy More Preventative?

They discuss the dichotomy between policy aspiration and policy delivery, and the challenges that governments have faced in both defining ‘prevention’ and implementing preventative policies. The authors also offer their reflections on whether the Covid-19 pandemic will serve as a critical juncture in deepening the commitment to prevention-focused public policies. 

Nov 17, 202137:50
Green Energy, Scotland and COP26
Nov 05, 202141:44
The Political Economy of Inflation

The Political Economy of Inflation

In this episode, MEI Deputy Director, Dr Colm Murphy, was joined by Professor Helen Thompson and the economist, author, and journalist Duncan Weldon. They discuss what inflation is, why it has returned to the centre of political debate, whether it is a governing priority or a red herring, and its implications for politics and wider society.

Oct 27, 202142:50
The Aristocracy of Talent with Adrian Wooldridge and Emma Barrett

The Aristocracy of Talent with Adrian Wooldridge and Emma Barrett

In this episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Tim Bale was joined by Adrian Wooldridge and Emma Barrett to discuss Adrian's book, ‘The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World’.

They explore the historical origins of meritocracy and discuss how such a revolutionary concept, that had transformational effects on societies, has become corrupted and subject to attack from all sides of the political spectrum.

Oct 13, 202136:40
Global White Nationalism: From Apartheid to Trump

Global White Nationalism: From Apartheid to Trump

In the final episode of the series, Clive Gabay (QMUL), was joined by Camilla Schofield (UEA), and Bill Schwarz (QMUL), to discuss the edited collection of essays, Global white nationalism: From apartheid to Trump.

They discuss how white nationalism has long been a global phenomenon in reaction to the forces of civil rights, anti-colonial movements, and international institutions, and has been magnified in the context of the presidency of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, and their respective aftermaths.

Jul 30, 202129:49
The Pope and the Pill: Sex, Catholicism and Women in Post-War England

The Pope and the Pill: Sex, Catholicism and Women in Post-War England

This week, MEI Deputy Director, Lyndney Jenkins, was joined by Alana Harris (KCL) and David Geiringer (QMUL) to discuss his book, 'The Pope and the Pill: Sex, Catholicism, and Women in Post-war England'.

They consider the importance of oral history in shedding light on the often-hidden lives and experiences of Catholic women in post-war England, a time when the demands of spirituality and sexuality seemed at odds with each other.

Jul 23, 202137:58
How to Read Numbers with Tom Chivers and Sonia Sodha

How to Read Numbers with Tom Chivers and Sonia Sodha

The ability to properly get to grips with numbers has never been more vital, not least in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this episode, Tim Bale is joined by Tom Chivers and Sonia Sodha to discuss the importance of understanding the numbers we're presented with in the news and in our own lives. They discuss what journalists - and the sources they rely on - get right and wrong, and what we can all do to ensure we better understand the data we're exposed to in media each and every day.

Jul 16, 202134:23
Out of the Ordinary with Marc Stears and Emily Robinson

Out of the Ordinary with Marc Stears and Emily Robinson

In this episode, Co-Director, Colm Murphy is joined by Marc Stears (University of Sydney) and Emily Robinson (University of Sussex) to discuss Marc’s recent book ‘Out of The Ordinary: How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again'.

They consider whether contemporary politics can learn from ordinary people, as it did in the 1920s to 1950s, in an age of ever-increasing polarisation. 

Jun 25, 202138:60
The Dignity of Labour with Jon Cruddas MP

The Dignity of Labour with Jon Cruddas MP

This week MEI Deputy Director, Karl Pike, and Madeleine Davis (QMUL) were joined by the Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, Jon Cruddas, to discuss his new book, The Dignity of Labour.

Jon offers his perspective on what he sees as intersecting crises that are consuming society and politics: the crisis of social democracy, the rise of authoritarian populism, and flatlining productivity. He also offers his thoughts on electoral challenges for Labour and the debates around work itself. Is it something that gives life purpose? Or is it a necessity that will eventually be abolished by technology and automation?

Jun 18, 202144:02
Irish Political Prisoners

Irish Political Prisoners

This feature-length episode launches the final part of the trilogy, 'Irish Political Prisoners from 1848 to 2000', by QMUL’s Professor Seán McConville.

In conversation with Dr Maggie Scull (Syracuse University London) and Dr Martyn Frampton (QMUL), Seán discusses his latest book, 'Irish Political Prisoners 1960-2000, Braiding Rage and Sorrow'. The broad discussion, peppered with fascinating anecdotes, covers topics such as British and Irish state penal policy, internment, the role of the Catholic Church and Protestant Churches in Northern Ireland, and lessons for how states handle politically motivated offenders.
Jun 09, 202152:35
Thatcherism in the 21st Century

Thatcherism in the 21st Century

This week, Tim Bale was joined by Antony Mullen (Director, The Thatcher Network) and Emily Stacey (Associate Lecturer, Oxford Brookes University) to discuss the social and cultural legacies of Margaret Thatcher. They consider how ‘Thatcherism’ manifests itself today and the ideological impact it has had not only on the Conservative Party, but across the UK more widely.

May 28, 202138:26
The Mayor of London: Challenges and Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic City

The Mayor of London: Challenges and Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic City

In this episode, MEI Director Patrick Diamond examines the public policy challenges that will be faced by the Mayor of London during his second term of office. He is joined by guests Tony Travers (Director, LSE London), Claire Harding (Research Director, Centre for London), and Jason Strelitz (Director of Public Health, Newham), who in turn discuss the future of London as a global city, and the challenges and opportunities the capital will face as a result of economic, social and political change.

May 21, 202101:00:34
The Case for Scottish Independence: Nationalist Political Thought in Modern Scotland with Ben Jackson

The Case for Scottish Independence: Nationalist Political Thought in Modern Scotland with Ben Jackson

In this episode, the MEI’s Karl Pike and Farah Hussain were joined by Ben Jackson, Associate Professor of Modern History at University College Oxford.

They discuss the history of Scottish nationalist political thought in the 20th century, how it has been affected by political turbulence in the UK more broadly, and the prospects for an independent Scotland in the wake of recent elections to Holyrood and in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

May 14, 202133:02
Responses to the Report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities

Responses to the Report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities

In this episode of the MEI podcast, Farah Hussain (Queen Mary University of London), was joined by Sadiya Akram (Manchester Metropolitan University), and Shardia Briscoe-Palmer (De Montford University), to discuss the controversial report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

The conversation places the report in a historical context, looks at the use and usefulness of ‘BAME’ and assesses what the findings and narrative of the report might mean for future discussions about race and racism in the UK.

Apr 23, 202131:53
Identity, Ignorance, and Innovation with Matthew d’Ancona

Identity, Ignorance, and Innovation with Matthew d’Ancona

In this episode Matthew d’Ancona, author of Identity, Ignorance, Innovation: Why the Old Politics is Useless - and what to Do about it, joins Tim Bale to discuss what we should make of identity politics, what we need to teach in our schools and universities, and what the digital future holds for all of us.

Apr 14, 202142:08
Building Bridges with Sally Gimson

Building Bridges with Sally Gimson

With polling suggesting that Labour is going to have an awful lot of trouble holding on to Hartlepool in the upcoming by-election, we look at what's gone wrong for the party in northern England and what it might do to put it right. Veteran Labour activist Sally Gimson joins Tim Bale to discuss the fall of the ‘Red Wall.’ And, drawing on her recent work on Bassetlaw, for which she was briefly the party's candidate, Sally offers practical suggestions for how Labour might win back the seats it lost in 2019.

Apr 07, 202127:00
Church, State and Colonialism in Southeastern Congo

Church, State and Colonialism in Southeastern Congo

In this special episode of the Mile End Institute Podcast, guest host, Dr Peter Brett is joined by Dr Reuben Loffman, author of 'Church, State and Colonialism in Southeastern Congo, 1890–1962'.

This broad discussion outlines the pre-colonial history of southeastern Congo, how the Catholic Church began its encounters, and the relationship between Catholic missionaries and the colonial administration.

Mar 31, 202132:54
The Great British Social Mobility Myth with Selina Todd

The Great British Social Mobility Myth with Selina Todd

In this episode, MEI Deputy Director Dr Lyndsey Jenkins is joined by Professor Selina Todd, author of 'Snakes and Ladders: The great British social mobility myth'.

They discuss the concept of social mobility, how it became attractive politically, and the implications of living in a society where social mobility is touted as a political ‘good.’

Mar 24, 202134:26
Anti-System Politics: The Crisis of Market Liberalism in Rich Democracies with Jonathan Hopkin

Anti-System Politics: The Crisis of Market Liberalism in Rich Democracies with Jonathan Hopkin

In this episode, Tim Bale is joined by Jonathan Hopkin, author of Anti-System Politics: The Crisis of Market Liberalism in Rich Democracies. They discuss why politics, not only in the UK and US, but across much of Europe, seems to have turned upside down since the 2008 financial crisis, touching on austerity economics, instability in party politics, unexpected election (and referendum!) results, and the growth of populism on both the left and the right of the political spectrum.

Mar 17, 202128:50
Women in History
Mar 10, 202132:04
Forward March Halted? The British Labour Party in Opposition and Power 1979-2019
Mar 03, 202137:41
The Crisis of Meritocracy? A Longer Historical Perspective with Peter Mandler

The Crisis of Meritocracy? A Longer Historical Perspective with Peter Mandler

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the right of every child to an equal state-provided education and thrown the annual mass examination of children and teenagers into chaos, while many observers worry about the longer-term impacts of educational inequality.
In this episode, Dr Colm Murphy is joined by Professor Peter Mandler, author of <em>The Crisis of the Meritocracy: Britain's Transition to Mass Education since the Second World War.</em> They discuss how and why mass education had become such a crucial social and political issue and consider whether a historical perspective can help us to navigate today’s debates around education.
Feb 24, 202143:00
The Political Lives of Postwar British MPs with Emma Peplow and Priscila Pivatto

The Political Lives of Postwar British MPs with Emma Peplow and Priscila Pivatto

Parliament is Britain's most important political institution, yet its workings and their impact, remain obscure to academics and the wider public alike. In this episode, Dr Emma Peplow and Dr Priscila Pivatto join the MEI’s Dr Lyndsey Jenkins to discuss the Parliament Trust's collection of oral history interviews with postwar British MPs, and their accompanying book, 'The Political Lives of Postwar British MPs'. 

They discuss the diverse personal and political experiences of Members of Parliament, including motivations for seeking election, navigating life as a new MP, and the challenges and opportunities presented by an ever-evolving institution. 

You can find out more about the Oral History Project here: https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/about/latest-research/oral-history-project  

Recorded interviews from the project can be found here: https://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/The-History-of-Parliament-Oral-History-Project 

Feb 17, 202128:31
Self-Interest and Political Difference with Thomas Prosser and Rafael Behr

Self-Interest and Political Difference with Thomas Prosser and Rafael Behr

In this episode, Tim Bale is joined by political economist and academic, Thomas Prosser, (Cardiff University) and columnist Rafael Behr (The Guardian). They discuss Tom’s book ‘What’s in it for me? Self-interest and political difference’, including the problems currently faced by social democratic parties at home and abroad, and the importance of recognising self-interest in an age of increasingly tribal politics.

Feb 10, 202140:20
Is Brexit Done?

Is Brexit Done?

In this episode, Dr Karl Pike (QMUL) is joined by Professor Anand Menon (UK in a Changing Europe, King’s College London) and Professor Eunice Goes (Richmond University). They discuss whether Brexit is, in fact, ‘done’ and what part the UK's ongoing relationship with the EU will play in future political strategies. They explore how some of the major political parties are grappling with Brexit, and the possible implications for the United Kingdom - including for the next general election, and for the future of the Union.

Feb 03, 202134:06
The Dark Knight and the Puppet Master with Chris Clarke

The Dark Knight and the Puppet Master with Chris Clarke

In this episode, Tim Bale is joined by Chris Clarke, author of 'The Dark Knight and the Puppet Master'. They discuss what he sees as the core myths of Corbynite Left populism and the damage those myths have done - and will continue to do - to the prospects for progressive politics in the UK.

Jan 27, 202125:52
The US Presidential Election of 2020: Consequences and Prospects

The US Presidential Election of 2020: Consequences and Prospects

To launch the third season of the Mile End Institute Podcast, Dr Richard Johnson (QMUL) hosts a discussion with special guests Professor Lisa Miller (Rutgers University) and Professor Sidney Milkis (University of Virginia). They explore the consequences of the US Presidential Election of 2020 and the prospects, priorities, and potential obstacles that may be faced by the new Biden administration.

Jan 20, 202154:34
How to Make the World Add Up With Tim Harford

How to Make the World Add Up With Tim Harford

To close the second season of the Mile End institute podcast, Co-Director Tim Bale is joined by the economist, journalist, broadcaster, and author, Tim Harford.

Using Tim Harford's new book as a jumping-off point, they discuss the use of statistics to explain and solve problems, the way that humans can (often wilfully) make mistakes, the importance of landmark numbers, and the issue of partisanship - why it matters, and how it influences how people form opinions and perceive the world.

Dec 21, 202032:51