104 Trump Blows Through

After another extraordinary week, we try to make sense of what Trump has been up to on his European travels. From Chequers to Brussels to Helsinki, what was he doing and why was he doing it?  Is he really Putin's puppet?  Has he helped or hurt May's chances of survival?  Plus we catch up with the other side of the Trump presidency: the remaking of the US Supreme Court.  How will the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh impact on some of the most contentious issues in American politics, above all the deep divisive question of abortion?  With Helen Thompson and Gary Gerstle, Mellon Professor of American History at Cambridge.

102 World Cup Politics

As the World Cup approaches its climax we talk politics and football, on the morning after England's dramatic penalty shootout win over Colombia.  What happened to the warnings that this World Cup would be like the 1936 Berlin Olympics?  Can we learn anything about German politics from the failure of the German football team?  What does England's progress mean for Brexit?  Plus much more, from Saudi Arabia to Croatia to West Ham.  With Helen Thompson and Mike Kenny.
 

101 | Populism, Migration and Merkel

 In a special live edition recorded at the Guardian's King's Place Politics Festival - David, Helen and Chris Bickerton discuss whether the migration crisis has opened up a new dividing line in European politics.  Is Viktor Orban right that Europe is now split between the countries that will accept immigrants and the countries that won't?  What does that mean for Merkel's survival prospects?  Where does Macron stand in this fight?  Plus we take questions from the audience about what populism really means and what, if anything, we can do about the current state of politics.
 

99 | Trump Abroad

From the G7 to the Singapore summit, it's Trump's world: we just live in it.  This week we try to get some perspective on these spectacular events.  Is Trump's behaviour really unprecedented for an American president?  What is the point of the G7?  Where is his relationship with Kim heading?  Plus we compare with summits past: Nixon in China, Reagan & Gorbachev, or something new?  With Helen Thompson and Andrew Preston, who gives a Canadian view.  Next week: Grenfell.

98 | Oh Italy!

 A new Italian government spells a heap of trouble for Europe.  We ask how we got to this point and what it means the future of the Euro.  What really spooked the markets?  Who blinked first?  And why does Italian politics have such a soft spot for university professors?  Plus we talk about the new government in Spain and we weigh up the state of democracy across the continent.  Is this how democracy is meant to work or is this really how democracy ends?  With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Lucia Rubinelli from the LSE

97 | Socialism in this Country?

After John McDonnell said he was still committed to the socialist transformation of Britain, we ask what that might mean.  Does socialism really require the overthrow of capitalism?  What's the difference between socialism and communism?  And with successful Democratic candidates in the US starting to use the s-word in public, what does socialism have to offer in America?  Plus we talk about whether social media and social networks offer the possibility of a new kind of socialism for the twenty-first century.  With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Chris Brooke.