Wright on the Nail New Thinking

In this week’s News Roundtable episode, Chris Wright is joined by political commentator, Marina Purkiss, Managing Editor of Local Government Studies and Co-Convenor of the UK Political Studies Association's Specialist Group on Local Politics, Dr Peter Eckersley, Communications Officer at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Reem Ibrahim, and Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, John O’Brennan.

Chris introduces with a scintillating monologue reflecting on the student protests in the US in the late 1960s, which he was a part of. He asks the panel whether today's re-engagement of the young through protest will translate into the polling booth across the Atlantic in the UK in the upcoming local elections and onwards.  
The conversation centres on the UK local elections and how much they will indicate the general election result. They discuss Sunak’s evermore controversial Rwanda rabbit hole (lately causing the migrants to escape the UK into Ireland); the practicality and the politics of the scheme. 
They dig back into the pro-Palestinian campus riots across the US that began at Columbia State University. Whether or not their branding by the media as anti-semitic is representative of the majority of anti-Israel protesters, and the UK’s diplomatic tone compared to the US’s towards Israel. 
They circle back to the local elections this Thursday 2nd May and whether the Tories would dare oust Rishi Sunak after what may be a disastrous result for his party.

Many thanks,
WOTN Team

'I Hit The Nail Right On The Head' by Billy Bremner. 
© Fridens liljor/Micke Finell.
Rock around the clock productions AB.
www.rockaroundtheclock.co



This podcast is published by New Thinking: www.newthinking.com

In this week’s News Roundtable episode, Chris Wright is joined by:
Founder and Director of the Israeli Disarmament Movement, and the Middle East Treaty Organization, Sharon Dolev. Sharon was also the Israeli representative of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate International Campaign for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at UCL, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, and author of 'The Palestinian Prisoners Movement: Disobedience and Resistance', Dr Julie Norman -  she is currently writing a book on the political history of Gaza. Geopolitical and financial crime researcher and consultant, Middle East Research Fellow at ITSS (The International Team for the Study of Security) Verona - an apolitical non-profit organisation focused on the study of International Security Omri Brinner. He specialises in Middle Eastern geopolitics and terror financing, namely Hamas' financing.The panel provide the historical context for the beginnings of the current crisis in the Middle East, looking beyond the 7th October attack back to the Israeli disengagement of 2005 and The Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. They paint the picture of the political misopportunities on the behalf of the Israeli and Palestinian leadership that led to the last six months’ vast acceleration in violence. They discuss the relations between all the countries in the region including Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.  
They move onto what’s happening on the ground in Gaza, the military capabilities of Israel, analysing the reality of their proclaimed aim to eliminate Hamas. They turn their focus to Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend. Whether it was a mistake, and whether is was a true display of Iran’s full military capabilities. Led by Sharon, they turn to the reality of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and set out a vision for how peace can truly be achieved in the whole region of the Middle East. 

Many thanks,

WOTN Team

'I Hit The Nail Right On The Head' by Billy Bremner. 
© Fridens liljor/Micke Finell.
Rock around the clock productions AB.
www.rockaroundtheclock.co


This episode was produced by Sound Sapien
soundsapien.com

This podcast is published by New Thinking: www.newthinking.com

In this week’s News Roundtable episode, Chris Wright is joined by writer, journalist and broadcaster, Christina Patterson, Communications Officer at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Reem Ibrahim, UK and US political commentator Edward Hardy, and Chief Economic Adviser at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Vicky Pryce.

The conversation kicks off with an in-depth analysis of the Conservative Party’s scheme to tear itself apart.  They turn to the economic legacy of Thatcher and discuss whether privatisation, such as of Water and the Railways, is the foundational cause for Britain’s dire problems today. They also pick apart the housing crisis and the tendency of our politics to pit the young and old against each other.   They turn to the topic of the ageing population, the pension system and the kind of policies we need to bring real change.

Each of the panellists offers their views on whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about the economic future of Britain. 

Economist Vicky Pryce joins the conversation to offer her thoughts on this issue, what Labour will and can do should they come into power, and how geopolitics is affecting the economy.

Finally, they turn to Donald Trump's newfound wealth and the potential world consequences of his ability to get away with everything - with expert analysis from Edward and Vicky. 
 
Many thanks,

WOTN Team


'I Hit The Nail Right On The Head' by Billy Bremner.
© Fridens liljor/Micke Finell.
Rock around the clock productions AB.
www.rockaroundtheclock.co


This episode was produced by Sound Sapien
Soundsapien.com



This podcast is published by New Thinking: www.newthinking.com

In this week’s episode, Chris Wright is joined by Richard Spencer, the China correspondent at The Times, formerly the Middle East correspondent from 2016 until August 2023, but brought back to cover the war in Gaza since Hamas’s attack on Israel on the 7th October. He was previously news editor, China correspondent, Middle East correspondent and Middle East editor at The Daily Telegraph.

The focus quickly turns to Israel-Palestine where Richard cuts to the chase, outlining the different ways the conflict may end, and what these scenarios would mean for the citizens on the ground. Questions are raised, such as whether the West is hypocritical to criticise Israel’s campaign in Gaza, considering their relatively recent campaigns in Iraq and Syria. Richard later explains the geopolitics of conflict for the UK and the US, and the power dynamic in the Palestinian West Bank.

They turn their gaze to Ukraine - what is the status of the war and how the American election will impact it, and therefore, the future of Europe. Chris also asks Richard for his views on the possibility of China invading Taiwan. 
 
We’d love to hear what you think of the episode at email@wrightonthenail.fm.

Many thanks,

WOTN Team


'I Hit The Nail Right On The Head' by Billy Bremner.
© Fridens liljor/Micke Finell.
Rock around the clock productions AB.
www.rockaroundtheclock.co

This episode was produced by Sound Sapien
soundsapien.com



This podcast is published by New Thinking: www.newthinking.com

In this week’s News Roundtable episode, Chris Wright is joined by the Founder of the Alliance for Trust in Media, Editor-in-chief of Amplify Publishing Group, and former CEO of Inc. and Fast Company, Eric Schurenberg, the first woman to run a US presidential campaign, the youngest woman to have tenured at the Harvard Law School, and prominent US political commentator, Susan Estrich, and journalist, US and UK political commentator, and regular Wright on the Nail contributor, Edward Hardy.
Topics:


The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Super Bowl conspiracy theory People still believe the 2020 election was stolen from TrumpRepublicanism and conspiracy theories The macro causes of the frightening polarisation in the US and the worldTrump’s unique ability in communicationThe QAnon conspiracy and ‘Pizzagate’ accusing individuals including Obama, the Clintons and the Pope of running a secret paedophile ring. Elon Musk’s troubling control of the X ‘microphone’Trump’s toxification of the political debateWill the problem go if and when Trump goes?Is the general population tired of Trump’s politics? Can he Win?The October ‘Event’What do people really think of Joe Biden?
We’d love to hear what you think of the episode at email@wrightonthenail.fm.



'I Hit The Nail Right On The Head' by Billy Bremner. 
© Fridens liljor/Micke Finell.
Rock around the clock productions AB.
www.rockaroundtheclock.co


This episode was produced by Sound Sapien
soundsapien.com



This podcast is published by New Thinking: www.newthinking.com

In this week’s News Roundtable episode, Chris Wright is joined by writer, journalist and broadcaster, Christina Patterson, Communications Officer at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Reem Ibrahim, and former Political Editor of the Sunday Mirror, Nigel Nelson.

Chris kicks the conversation off with Rishi Sunak’s seemingly desperate electoral ploy to push through the Rwanda scheme, passing the Safety of Rwanda Bill through the House of Commons on Wednesday night. The panel analyse whether the public is as concerned with the issue of immigration as the government have convinced themselves they are, and how Britain should be addressing legal and illegal immigration. Reem argues that immigrants on average are less of a burden and contribute to the economy more than ‘native’ Britons… 

They then focus on Sunak: does he have a vision for the country behind the veil of party politics? Will the Conservatives lurch even further to the right after his likely election defeat? 

Chris then asks each panellist what story is catching their interest right now: 
- Nigel takes on the post-office scandal and the impact of ITV’s drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office


- Christina’s is the expansion of the Israel-Gaza conflict in the Middle East to the Red Sea


- Reem’s is the government’s historic bill to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 – she thinks the attack on vape products doesn’t make sense

We’d love to hear what you think of the episode at email@wrightonthenail.fm.

Many thanks,

WOTN Team
 
 'I Hit The Nail Right On The Head' by Billy Bremner. 
© Fridens liljor/Micke Finell.
Rock around the clock productions AB.
www.rockaroundtheclock.co


This episode was produced by Sound Sapien
soundsapien.com



This podcast is published by New Thinking: www.newthinking.com