Steve is back, but as a guest, and joined by Ian Dunt to reflect on what makes a liberal, how to win the culture war, and whether we remember anything from our undergraduate days. Swearing.Buy Ian Dunt's new book, How To Be A Liberal, from Can

Episode 71: Specific and Limited Return

Sep 23rd, 2020 49m 23s

Chris and Garvan Walshe catch up on how they handled lockdown, what to expect next, and what has changed since they last recorded the podcast together, in November 2018. Just as it did two years ago, the Northern Ireland backstop features heavi

Episode 70: Our Friends In The North

Mar 4th, 2020 1h

Alviina Alametsä (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/204335/ALVIINA_ALAMETSA/home#detailedcardmep) is a Green Party MEP from Finland. She took up her seat only in February 2020, after it was vacated by a departing UK MEP. Cakewatch likes to

Episode 69: Back to the Future

Feb 4th, 2020 1h 3m

Trade expert David Henig joins the podcast again for our first survey of the post B-day wreckage. With the EU and the UK apparently offering different visions of their future relationship, which one is the more realistic? Hahaha no seriously, w

Episode 68: One Thousand Days

Jan 22nd, 2020 1h 43m

For our final podcast before Brexit, we're joined again by Tanja Bueltmann to talk about coping strategies, Steve's album of ambient prozac, and the ongoing work to support EU citizens in the UK as they face mounting hostility and an unforgivin

Episode 67: We Raged Against the Lying of the Right

Dec 16th, 2019 1h 36m

The aftermath. Rather than wallow in despair we look back on a fight well fought, and the friends that have joined us on the podcast. We also reflect a little bit on what the future will bring. It's not pretty, so we need to find strategies to

Episode 66: Goodnight and Good Luck

Dec 11th, 2019 14m 54s

We cut to the chase. Nothing is more important than this. On Thursday, vote for the candidate most likely to beat Boris Johnson. Because if you don't, if he wins, our country will become unrecognisable. This will be the defining battle of our c

Episode 65: Vote Early Vote Often Vote Tactically

Dec 3rd, 2019 1h 12m

Brexit flowchart hero and EU Twitter legend Jon Worth joins Chris this week to take a deeper dive into tactical voting in the UK's general election - where is a tactical vote needed, how to work out where a tactical vote should go, and what mig

Episode 64: Centrist Unicorn Hunt

Nov 19th, 2019 58m 2s

Steve studied moral philosophy. (So did Chris but he doesn't get a word in edgeways.) We look at the ethics of tactical voting in the 2019 general election, and why you should hold your nose and vote for a candidate from a party you might not e

Episode 63: Honey Badger

Oct 21st, 2019 1h 3m

Laura's kitchen table is once again the scene of a cosy chat about our favourite things: Brexit, Boris Johnson, his so-called new deal, and the wholesale attack on citizens' rights. For light relief we join four Remainers Now standing in the ra

Episode 62: Rally For Our Rights

Oct 10th, 2019 1h 28m

Nicky James, aka Bloke from Barnsley, joins us to talk about the Rally For Our Rights taking place in London this coming weekend. Plus some further reflection on how it is that the Westminster bubble still can't read the other side, despite

Episode 61: Brexit is a Legacy Issue

Oct 1st, 2019 1h 6m

Chris is back from Tashkent with a head full of musings. How badly does the EU want the UK to leave? Quite badly, he thinks. Steve sort of agrees. But this week's unicorn chaser is the imminent collapse of the Bannonite populist project on both

Episode 60: Bettel The Devil You Know

Sep 17th, 2019 1h 24m

Johnson says he has a deal that might fly but he won't show it to anyone yet, because it's too soon isn't it? [turns head, stares at camera]Is the EU losing patience? Xavier Bettel looks as if he has. What are the implications for Remainers?P

Episode 59: Rentrée

Sep 4th, 2019 1h 24m

After a long absence, Steve is back co-hosting the podcast and here we all are again: parliament versus executive. Does Cummings have a grand strategy? Or is Johnson flying by the seat of his pants and about to crash? After a long evening watch

Episode 58: Transatlantic Perspective

Aug 5th, 2019 1h 4m

Chris is joined by Jason Knoll who teaches high school students in Verona, Wisconsin. His particular interest is the European Union, and he brings his particular point of view to the podcast in a discussion about Trump, Johnson, populism, and g

Episode 57: Act Three Scene Three

Jul 23rd, 2019 1h 12m

Former Tory Party insider Peter Wilding is back on an historic day for his old party and for the UK. We reflect on the realisation of Boris Johnson's ambition and how he'll handle his poisoned chalice; the Jacobins are now in charge and the nex

Episode 56: Montagegate

Jun 25th, 2019 1h 18m

Chris and Steve Analyst discuss 'montagegate', in which Steve documents selective editing of news footage by the BBC to give the false impression that Leavers and Remainers alike said ahead of the referendum that voting to leave the EU would me

Episode 55: In Medias Res

Jun 12th, 2019 1h 19m

Ancient historian Katie Low joins Chris to talk about why ancient history has so much to teach us about modern Brexit. Will Brexit be the UK's Sicilian Expedition? (Yes.) Is Boris Johnson the modern Alcibiades? (Sort of.) Is Jacob Rees Mogg a m

Episode 54: Denied My Vote

May 29th, 2019 1h 22m

Chris, Tanja, and Axel Antoni offer a first take on last week's European election and its aftermath before examining in a bit more detail what led to the disenfranchisement of many EU citizens who were denied their vote, and what can be done ab

Episode 53: More Joy in Heaven

May 15th, 2019 1h 25m

Andy voted Remain but was not particularly engaged in politics. But something prompted him to become an activist and launch a huge and growing grassroots campaign providing a platform for people who voted Leave, but regret it, to challenge the

Episode 52: Happy Europe Day 2.0

May 10th, 2019 1h 15m

Now the parties have published their manifestos, how should Remainers plan to use their votes in the European election on 23 May? We talk about the tribal nature of party politics and why good people stay loyal to bad parties.Intro music this

Episode 51: Pattern Recognition

Apr 30th, 2019 1h 21m

Steve is off sick this week with a tummy bug so Chris is flying solo as host with guest Peter Wilding, aka @eurorealist, long-time Tory party insider, former head of the British Influence think tank, inventor of the dread word Brexit, and now

Episode 50: Useful Idiots

Apr 23rd, 2019 1h 13m

We D'hondt tell you how to vote in the European elections, but we hope our prolix chat about infighting and outfighting and tactics and principles and manifestos and candidates and choices and dilemmas has given you a helping, er, hondt.Steve'

Episode 49: Be An EU Citizen

Apr 16th, 2019 1h 34m

So we got another extension, to Halloween - did the threat of no-deal actually work? Are there divisions appearing among the EU27? What happens between now and October? Also, how should we be approaching the European elections? Should we vote t

Episode 48: Stitched Up Like Kippers

Apr 4th, 2019 59m 55s

Recorded on the evening of Wednesday 3 April, Steve and Chris discuss the failure of Meaningful Vote 3.0, Indicative Votes 2.0, and Theresa May's Road to Damascus moment (spoiler: it's not). How will the EU27 respond to her plan for a further s