The Rest Is Politics

With the UK’s new Chancellor, John Healey, announcing his first budget and Kemi Badenoch asking him, “is that it?”, how will the public judge his plans? With Lula making an historic return to Brazil’s presidency, was it the strength of his campaign or Bolsonaro Jr’s electoral gaffes in the leadership race that proved decisive? How did Aleksandar Vučić’s gamble on an early election backfire so spectacularly, and what does his shock defeat to a leaderless student movement tell us about just how unpredictable modern politics has become?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Michael Lewis by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory.

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Social Producer: Celine Charles, Bex Tyrrell

Video Editor: James Clayden, Caroline Kaye, Charlie Rodwell

Assistant Producer: Jake Preston, Daisy Alston-Horne

Producer: Evan Green

Exec Producer: Bella Soames, Nicole Maslen
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This week, we bring you one of Alastair’s favourite interviews.

He’s joined by Kim Leadbeater MP, whose sister Jo Cox was murdered in 2016, and his lifelong friend Lindsay Nicholson, who lost her husband John and nine-year-old daughter Ellie to the same rare cancer.

They discuss grief, breakdowns, anger and faith, why they disagree on assisted dying, and how to find hope when the worst has already happened.

To hear the whole interview and the rest of Alastair's series on Persevilience, sign up at therestispolitics.com

Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

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Producer: India Dunkley

Video Editor: Caroline Kay

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Executive Producer: Bella Soames
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What is at stake for Israelis and Palestinians in the upcoming parliamentary elections and, if Netanyahu loses, will anything actually change given the major parties reject a two state solution? Why does the IDF’s ‘bureaucracy of mass murder’ and its ‘NAZA’ collateral damage policy in Gaza feature so little in Israel’s domestic political debates? From Trump’s new press secretary’s disastrous five-day tenure, to the fallout from the Reform UK documentary, are we all now living in parallel political universes where scandals have less impact than they used to?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Mary Trump by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory.

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription.

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Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter: @restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com__________

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: James Clayden, Josh Smith

Assistant Producer: Evie Townend, Daisy Alston-Horne, Jake Preston

Producer: Evan Green

Exec Producer: Bella Soames
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After another devastating week for Ukraine, is Trump now firmly on Putin’s side, and how much leverage does Elon Musk have over Zelensky’s war effort through his ownership of Starlink? With more civil unrest in France, what does this mean for a protest movement increasingly overshadowed by rioting, and could it play into Marine Le Pen’s hands ahead of next year's presidential election? What do we know about the attack on Australian MP Helen Haines, after she was hit by a car twice in what the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described as a “deliberate” act?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

__________

Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Mary Trump by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory.

Sponsored by Lloyds. Get up to £400 in rewards. Apply for a Business Account by 30 November 2026. Search Lloyds Business Account. Eligability criteria and T&Cs apply.

The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription.

🌏 Upgrade your online protection with an all-in-one security app! Get an exclusive NordVPN deal + 4 months extra here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It’s risk free with NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee!

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Instagram: @restispolitics

Twitter:@restispolitics

Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com

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Social Producer: Celine Charles

Video Editor: Caroline Kaye, Tom McCagherty, James Clayden, Bruno Di Castri

Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne, Evie Townend, Jake Preston

Producer: Evan Green

Exec Producer: Bella Soames
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How has Alastair managed to come back from some of the darkest places in his life, overcoming a breakdown while in the public eye? Is his obsession with work unhealthy, or necessary to achieving great things and what does it cost his family and those around him? And, beyond the personal, could the word he invented, “Persevilience”, be the antidote to populism, polarisation and post-truth?

Listen to Rory Stewart interviewing Alastair Campbell for part one of Persevilience where they discuss all of this and more.

Producer: India Dunkley

Video Editor: Louis Mealing

Social Producer: Emma Jackson

Executive Producer: Bella Soames
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