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Episode 33 - Barry Soper
Cam Slater finally sits down with legendary political journalist Barry Soper for a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation about Barry’s new book, the 12 Prime Ministers he’s covered, and what politics really looks like from the inside.
Barry opens up about the catastrophic loss of his personal archives (a staff member “tidied” several thousand pages of notes going back to Roger Douglas) and how that forced him to write the book as pure memory. They then dive deep into the characters:
Key timestamps:
Key timestamps:
• 00:05:49 – Muldoon: the little grunter, Think Big, the schnapps election, and why Barry has revised his opinion of him
• 00:19:50 – Jacinda Ardern: five years of close observation, “kindness,” the performative nature of her leadership, and the movie that confirmed everything
• 00:24:00 – Chris Hipkins: the man trying to distance himself from the very government he was central to
• 00:26:00 – Helen Clark: despised her politics, admired her ability and leadership style
• 00:34:38 – Jim Bolger: the man who came to Barry’s wedding and quietly rolled Jim McClay
• 00:43:00 – Winston Peters: the most consummate politician Barry has worked with, his coalition strategy, and why small parties usually get smothered
• 00:49:00 – The Trevor Mallard wine prank and the Annette King flowers saga
• 00:51:30 – Why Luxon is largely misunderstood and what he actually needs around him
It’s funny, blunt, and full of the kind of stories you only get from someone who has been in the room for decades. No political tome — just two old hands telling it straight.
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By Cam SlaterCam Slater finally sits down with legendary political journalist Barry Soper for a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation about Barry’s new book, the 12 Prime Ministers he’s covered, and what politics really looks like from the inside.
Barry opens up about the catastrophic loss of his personal archives (a staff member “tidied” several thousand pages of notes going back to Roger Douglas) and how that forced him to write the book as pure memory. They then dive deep into the characters:
Key timestamps:
Key timestamps:
• 00:05:49 – Muldoon: the little grunter, Think Big, the schnapps election, and why Barry has revised his opinion of him
• 00:19:50 – Jacinda Ardern: five years of close observation, “kindness,” the performative nature of her leadership, and the movie that confirmed everything
• 00:24:00 – Chris Hipkins: the man trying to distance himself from the very government he was central to
• 00:26:00 – Helen Clark: despised her politics, admired her ability and leadership style
• 00:34:38 – Jim Bolger: the man who came to Barry’s wedding and quietly rolled Jim McClay
• 00:43:00 – Winston Peters: the most consummate politician Barry has worked with, his coalition strategy, and why small parties usually get smothered
• 00:49:00 – The Trevor Mallard wine prank and the Annette King flowers saga
• 00:51:30 – Why Luxon is largely misunderstood and what he actually needs around him
It’s funny, blunt, and full of the kind of stories you only get from someone who has been in the room for decades. No political tome — just two old hands telling it straight.