272 | Has Covid Rescued Europe?

This week we look at the big changes in European politics during the crisis and ask who has managed to turn it around.  Is Italy now a model for crisis management?  Has there been a reorientation in German politics under Merkel?  Can the EU rescue fund really rescue the European project?  Plus we discuss the long-term implications of big state politics for the future of Europe.  With Helen Thompson, Lucia Rubinelli and Hans Kundnani.

255 | Brexit in the Age of Covid

We have passed the deadline for any extension to the Brexit trade negotiations - now it's 31 December or bust.  We catch up with three of our resident experts to explore what this means, what the chances are of getting a deal and where the sticking points might be.  Plus we asses the impact of the Covid crisis on the fate of Brexit and its implications for what might happen later this year.  With Anand Menon, Catherine Barnard and Helen Thompson.

245 | Europe Blows Up

How does a judgement of the German constitutional court threaten to explode the European project?  David talk to Helen Thompson, Adam Tooze and Shahin Vallee about what the court's decision might mean for
the Euro, for the response to the pandemic, for Franco-German relations and for the future of central banks.  Can the great European fudge continue?  And what happens if it can't?

Plus a bonus chat with Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd from the ‘Reasons to be Cheerful Podcast’ https://www.cheerfulpodcast.com/

241 | What's Happening in Italy Now?

We catch up again with Lucia Rubinelli to discuss the latest developments in Italy.  With anger against the EU on the rise and regional divisions getting more acute, can the Italian government hold it together?  What is Salvini up to?  And will the technocrats try another take over?  Plus Lucia tells us what lockdown has been like for her.

239 | Adam Tooze/Shockwave

David and Helen talk to Adam Tooze about what we know about the crisis that we didn't know a month ago, and what we still don't have much of a clue about. From fights inside the French government to the fate of the planet, from shale gas to corona bonds, we try to join up the dots. Plus a small update, recorded after news of the oil price-drop… | Read 'Shockwave' by Adam Tooze in the LRB 

230 | Co-operation or Conflict?

This week we try to assess whether the Covid-19 pandemic is driving the world together or pushing it further apart.  From US-China relations to tensions within the EU, we discuss how coronavirus is exacerbating existing tensions and how it might overcome them.  Are we going to see new forms of international co-operation?  What does it mean for globalisation?  And is the politics of competence making a comeback? With Helen Thomson and Hans Kundnani from Chatham House.