237 | British Politics: The Big Reset?

We discuss whether British politics is about to undergo a fundamental shift.  Are we seeing a new role for the state?  Have the lines between the parties started to blur?  What will be the long-term consequences of the economic decisions taken in the last few weeks? Plus we explore whether the crisis points in the direction of more democracy, less democracy or a different kind of democracy.  With Helen Thompson and Tom McTague of the Atlantic.

232 | Tara Westover/ Educated

We catch up with Tara to reflect on what her experience of being educated without going to school means for a world where so many kids are being kept out of school.  Should we be trying to replicate the education they are missing or should we be trying something new?  And will the current crisis bridge or deepen existing political divides in the US?  Plus another chance to hear the interview we recorded with Tara in February 2018 about her extraordinary book Educated.

227 | Adam Tooze on the Crisis

We talk to Adam Tooze in New York about the possible impact of coronavirus on the global financial and political system.  How does this crisis compare to the financial crisis of 2008?  What are the implications for the future of the Eurozone?  And what have we learned already about the shift in power from the US to China?  Plus we talk to Helen Thompson in London about how it intersects with the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.  The first of a series of conversations about the biggest event of our times. Updated overnight

224 | Super Tuesday Special: Biden's Back!

A special live edition recorded on the morning after Super Tuesday: we try to make sense of where the Democratic race now stands. How did Biden pull it off?  Is there a path back for Sanders?  And what role was Obama playing behind the scenes?  Plus we ask which strategy now makes sense for the general election and whether Trump has got the candidate he wants or the one he fears.  With Helen Thompson and Gary Gerstle, recorded at the McCrum Lecture Theatre in Cambridge.

215 | What's the Future for Labour?

We are back for 2020 to talk about Labour's future after Corbyn. How can the party move the argument beyond Brexit?  Does the voting system help or hinder Labour's chances of returning to power?  And what to do about Scotland?  Plus we ask how much damage would be done if the next leader turns out to be the only man in the field.  With Helen Thompson, Chris Brooke and Chris Bickerton.

212 | The 15th and the 19th

Sarah Churchwell tells the tortured history of the campaign to secure votes for women and how it was tied up with another campaign to suppress votes for black Americans.  From the 15th amendment in 1870 to the 19th amendment in 1920: why the promise of enfranchisement is often not what it seems.