Politics on the Couch

Larchmont Productions
  • 5.0 (12)
  • POLITICS
Politics on the Couch

Rafael Behr examines how our minds respond to politics and how politicians mess with our minds. In each episode an expert from the world of politics, psychology, history or philosophy joins Raf on our 'couch' to discuss what's driving our political thought and behaviour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. AUG 22

    'System Fail' - a conversation with Sam Freedman about the way Britain's broken politics can suffocate even the best intentions.

    Host Rafael Behr talks to author, policy expert and podcaster Sam Freedman about his new book Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix It Sam Freedman is a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and an Ark Schools adviser. He writes about policy and politics for numerous outlets, including the Financial Times, Sunday Times, Guardian and New Statesman. With his father, he runs ‘Comment is Freed’, Britain’s most popular politics Substack. He has spent his career working in different policy-focused roles around Westminster, including as an adviser to the then opposition leader, David Cameron, and as a senior policy adviser at the Department for Education for three years, working with (friends of the podcast) Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings. Feedspot has chosen Politics on the Couch as one of the Top 25 UK Psychology and Political Science Podcasts on the web. https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_psychology_podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/political_science_podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    59 min

  2. AUG 9

    ‘The gen Z revolution’ - how a student protest toppled a corrupt and violent government

    In a week of protests, counter-protests and riots in the UK, 5000 miles away in Bangladesh student-led uprising led to 300 people being killed, the toppling of a corrupt PM and violent regime, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner being installed as head a new interim government.  In this edition, we're talking about the violent and momentous events in Bangladesh with award-winning British-born investigative journalist David Bergman, who has been following and reporting on the country for almost 30 years.  He's written widely about Bangladesh for The Daily Telegraph, Al Jazeera, the New York Times, and The Times.  Between 2004 and 2017, he lived in Bangladesh, writing for several Bangladeshi newspapers, including New Age, The Daily Star and bdnews24.com. He was forced to leave in 2017 due to his critical writing about government corruption and human rights violations. Since then, he’s lived in London and helped found Netra News, a media platform based in Sweden that published investigative news and analysis on Bangladesh He’s also won a Royal Television Society award for a documentary he worked on about the atrocities that took place during Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence.  In the episode, David explains what happened there, what sparked it off, what’s next for the country, what we know about the next potential leader and the fascinating links between a new Labour Minister and the now deposed Bangladeshi PM and her party. Links mentioned in the podcast https://x.com/TheDavidBergman https://x.com/muktadirnewage https://x.com/nomhossain https://x.com/taqbirhuda https://www.facebook.com/shafiqul.alam.71216 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    55 min

  3. JUL 22

    Is this what hope feels like? Rafael Behr's reflections on Labour's 2024 victory

    In this summer bonus episode, Raf and (producer) Phil discuss the changing mood around British politics since Labour's election victory, the restoration of seriousness after years of triviality, why some people can't adapt, why others want to believe that Keir Starmer can deliver the change he has promised and whether they are right. Links to stuff mentioned in the podcast More in Common report Tony Judt's essay Reform came 2nd in 89 of the seats that Labour won. Lowest voter turnout for a General Election since universal suffrage began This is a Raf Behr and Larchmont Productions podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min

  4. MAY 27

    Going Ape - a conversation about evolution, morality and political cooperation

    In this edition host Rafael Behr talks to Nichola Raihani, Professor of Evolution and Behaviour in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. She's also the author of, 'The Social Instinct: How Cooperation Shaped the World' Professor Raihani has unique insight into a problem that has appeared in various forms on this podcast over the years. It's a question of collective action, solidarity, and cooperation. What motivates people to form units of political organisation or cooperation? Tribes, parties, whole nations—what holds them together and what drives them apart? Why do some societies tend to be democratic and some go despotic? Is it an accident of history? Climate? Culture? Religion? Evolution. This is the fabric of politics, the very stuff societies are made of at the most fundamental level, and Professor Rehani shines an evolutionary light on it all. This podcast is produced by Philip Berman of Larchmont Productions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    50 min

  5. APR 21

    Doom audit - a conversation with Jonathan Freedland about America, Israel, liberal angst and the unravelling West

    In the wake of October 7th and Trump's bid to become US President again, Rafael Behr sits down with fellow Guardian columnist and friend - Jonathan Freedland - to discuss the current state of geopolitics, liberal politics, Israel and Jewish identity. Events featuring Rafael Behr Shoreham, West Sussex, Wed 24 April An evening with Guardian columnist Rafael Behr and television producer Rob Burley in conversation with Ayesha Hazarika MBE, political commentator and broadcaster, and former special adviser to Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband. More details Central London, Thursday 25th April What Everyone Knows About Britain* Except The British: Michael Peel in conversation with Rafael Behr More details J Freeland links Award-winning edition of Unholy podcast The latest edition of the Guardian's weekly US politics podcast Jonathan Freeland and Israeli author Amos Oz New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    59 min

  6. 12/05/2023

    Moving the needle - Tom Gray of Gomez on swapping the recording studio for the campaign trail, and what being in a band teaches you about politics.

    Rafael Behr talks to Tom Gray from Gomez about his bid to become a Brighton MP. Tom's had a hugely successful career in music with Gomez rocketing to fame in 1998, beating Pulp and Massive Attack, among others, to the Mercury Prize. More recently he launched the Broken Record campaign, calling for a fairer deal for musicians from streaming services, among other industry reforms. And now, having banged on the doors to demand political change from the outside, Tom wants to get on the inside. He's on the shortlist to be selected as Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for the Brighton Pavilion constituency That's the only seat in the country with a green MP right now, Caroline Lucas, although she's standing down at the next election. Raf asks Tom what makes someone want to swap what looks like the perfect job, recording and performing music for eager fans, for the grim, and potentially thankless life of a politician where I think it's safe to say the audiences are less than adoring. https://twitter.com/MrTomGray https://twitter.com/TG4Pavilion Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 5m

  7. 09/29/2023

    'Bonus Couch Chat'

    In a departure from our normal format Rafael Behr (host) and Philip Berman (the show's producer) agreed to press record when they met yesterday (Thursday 28 September) to discuss a new series idea for Politics on the Couch. And this podcast is the end result, instead of a meta-cast talking about what we could talk about this Autumn, it's more of a casual ramble around Phil's break from Twitter, his despair about the state of political discourse and Raf's one-stop solution for all. Topics covered (in no order of importance): Twitter Laurence Fox GB News Sunak's postion on net zero The mood in Westminster State capture Democratic back-sliding The preface to the paperback version of Rafael's new book. https://rafaelbehr.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    41 min

  8. 07/20/2023

    'Beyond the Red Wall'

    Raf Behr talks to journalist, author and broadcaster David Aaronovitch about his recent visit to the National Conservatives conference, and what it taught him about state of the Tory party. They discuss: Was there really a re-alignment in British politics post-Brexit? What do the Nat Cons have to offer us Brits apart from hardline anti-immigration vibes? Why do some parts of the commentariat spend so much time talking about 'culture wars' when there are so many other issues to cover? If, as expected, the next government is Labour and inherits an economic mess, will it be possible for them to make all the necessary hard decisions about taxation and spending, and stay in power? David Aaronvitch's substack - https://davidaaronovitch.substack.com Politics on the Couch has been chosen by Feedspot as both one of the Top 25 UK Psychology Podcasts and Political Science Podcasts on the web. https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_psychology_podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/political_science_podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 4m
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Hosts & Guests

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Rafael Behr examines how our minds respond to politics and how politicians mess with our minds. In each episode an expert from the world of politics, psychology, history or philosophy joins Raf on our 'couch' to discuss what's driving our political thought and behaviour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Larchmont Productions
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2023
  • Show Website
    Politics on the Couch

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