Red Box Politics Podcast

By The Times

News & Politics

What's Red Box Politics Podcast about?

Politics without the boring bits: Matt Chorley presents the best interviews, analysis and panel discussions from his Times Radio show. Listen to Times Radio live on DAB, smart speaker or app 10am-1pm Monday to Friday. If you like what you hear, then read more at http://www.thetimes.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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LAST EPISODE

Donald or Ron or Nikki or M...

06.09.2023

Former US President Donald Trump has been criminally charged for the second time in three months, but is still the favourite to secure the Republican nomination in the race for the White House. Can any of the other candidates stop ...

Red Box Politics Podcast episodes:

06.09.2023 Donald or Ron or Nikki or Mike or Tim or Chris or Doug vs Joe Former US President Donald Trump has been criminally charged for the second time in three months, but is still the favourite to secure the Republican nomination in the race for the White House. Can any of the other candidates stop ...
06.08.2023 Escaping Hitler and Stalin Daniel Finkelstein, Times columnist and friend of the podcast, tells the story of his parents' remarkable journey from the Soviet Gulags and the Nazi concentration camps of World War II to safety in north London. Matt joins him at the ...
06.07.2023 DPMQs Unpacked: Dire Punchlines With Rishi Sunak away in America, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden faces off against Labour's number two, Angela Rayner. Matt, Patrick Maguire and Lara Spirit pause and unpack the exchanges as the two trade blows over the Covid inquiry, and ...
06.06.2023 Mr Sunak Goes to Washington Rishi Sunak is off to meet Joe Biden at the White House for the first time and will hope to make a big impression (or at least get the President to pronounce his name correctly). Matt discusses the the diplomatic ...
06.05.2023 The Exit Interviews: George Eustice Matt is back with the first episode in a new series, The Exit Interviews, sitting down with MPs leaving Parliament at the next election to talk about their highs and lows, their best and worst bosses, and the lessons they've ...
06.02.2023 How (Not) to Write a Manifesto Patrick Maguire is in for Matt, looking at Labour's 1983 manifesto - 'the longest suicide note in history' - 40 years on, with historian Phil Tinline. He also finds out how to write a modern manifesto with two people with ...
06.01.2023 Down Under Take Over Whether it's a love of Kylie, cricket or beer, Australia and Britain have plenty in common when it comes to popular culture - and politics, with a new wave of strategists from down under stirring things up in Westminster. Patrick ...
05.31.2023 Running The Numbers For Thatcher It was the leadership contest that finally ended Margaret Thatcher's premiership - even though she won in the first round. The year was 1990, when the veteran prime minister took on her challenger Michael Heseltine but failed to deliver the ...
05.30.2023 Should Johnson's WhatsApps Stay Secret? While Matt is away, Patrick Maguire is joined by columnists Daniel Finkelstein and Miranda Green to discuss whether the government should hand Boris Johnson's private messages to the Covid inquiry, whether the PM's country house Chequers could be turned into ...
05.29.2023 How Call of Duty Became Britain's Post-Brexit Battleground Matt is away for the bank holiday, but in the meantime we have another guest episode from the team at Stories of Our Times - one remarkable story, told in depth, each day. Microsoft has found itself in a bitter ...
05.26.2023 Sex, Lies And Boris Johnson Cleo Watson has gone from being deputy chief of staff for Boris Johnson to writing a satirical 'bonkbuster' set in and around Westminster, Downing Street and Chequers. Matt talks to her about life inside Number 10, partygate, working for Barack ...
05.25.2023 Focus Group: I Haven't Heard Of Him Undecided voters from across England make up this month's Times Radio Focus Group. They give their verdict on record levels of net migration, and their damning assessment of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer (provided they'd even heard of the ...
05.24.2023 PMQs Unpacked: You Owe Me Dinner Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer battle it out over migration, inflation and apprenticeships. Matt, Tim Shipman and Lara Spirit pause and unpack the exchanges, and Tim makes a bet on Boris Johnson's name cropping up. Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and ...
05.23.2023 What Is The Point of the Points-Based System After more than a decade of Conservative promises, targets and legislation to cut the rate of net migration, official figures are expected to show it has more than doubled from pre-Brexit levels. Matt discusses the impact of migration with guests ...
05.22.2023 Can Starmer Win Without Scotland? After years of decline north of the border, can a win for Labour in Scotland clear the path for Keir Starmer to secure a majority and get the keys to No 10? Matt talks to Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar, ...
05.19.2023 Photographing Five Prime Ministers For more than a decade Andrew Parsons was the official Downing Street photographer - chronicling life at No 10 with every prime minister from David Cameron to Rishi Sunak. He talks to Matt about capturing everything from David Cameron pre-emptively ...
05.18.2023 The Biggest Threat to the West Sir Richard Dearlove began his career in the intelligence services at the height of the Cold War, and went on to become 'C' - the head of MI6. He tells Matt what he thinks will happen to Putin, Trump, and ...
05.17.2023 DPMQs Unpacked: Olive v Ange It's Deputy Prime Minister's questions with new DPM Oliver Dowden facing Angela Rayner for the first time. Matt, Tim Shipman and Lara Spirit pause and unpack the exchanges as Rayner accuses the Tories of being on a "conveyor belt of ...
05.16.2023 Stuck In The Middle With You Exclusive YouGov polling for Times Radio shows that plenty of Labour voters - and even more Liberal Democrats - would like to see a coalition between the two parties after the next election. Matt discusses the history of Lib Dem ...
05.15.2023 Turkey's Turning Point Turks are at a historic turning point - choosing between two radically different visions for the future of their country. With the battle for the presidency almost certain to go to a second round and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan facing his ...
05.12.2023 Is It 1974 All Over Again? A Conservative prime minister, soaring inflation, strikes bringing the country to a standstill - and Britain hosting the Eurovision Song Contest. Welcome to 1974. Matt looks at what happened when Ted Heath asked 'who governs Britain', and considers whether Rishi ...
05.11.2023 How To Interview A Politician Rob Burley has had a ringside seat at some of the biggest political TV grillings for more than a quarter of a century, working with interviewers including Andrew Neil, Jeremy Paxman and Andrew Marr. He joins Matt to discuss his ...
05.10.2023 PMQs Unpacked: Zippy's Rainbow Coalition The star of children's TV show Rainbow joins Matt, Tim Shipman and Lara Spirit to pause and unpack the exchanges at PMQs. As Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer go head-to-head across the despatch box, does Starmer sound a bit like ...
05.09.2023 Why Are Tory Voters Switching To Labour? Matt discusses exclusive YouGov polling examining the reasons why 2019 Conservative voters are switching to Labour. Are they really embracing Keir Starmer's party, or just temporarily repelled by the Tories? Plus: Columnists Daniel Finkelstein and Henry Zeffman discuss speculation about ...
05.08.2023 Battle Of The Political Bands Forget the Coronation concert - Matt pits politicians singing and playing instruments against one another, and discusses the state of live music in the UK with guests including Wheatus frontman Brendan B. Brown. Plus: Columnists Rachel Sylvester and Libby Purves ...
05.05.2023 What Do The Local Elections Mean? Millions have had their say in elections across England, but what do the results tell us about the chances of Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer ending up in Downing Street? Matt presents the best analysis from Times journalists Henry Zeffman, ...
05.04.2023 Penny Mordaunt: How To Carry A Sword Matt talks to Lord President of the Privy Council Penny Mordaunt about her role in the Coronation, where she'll carry the four-foot sword of state in the King's procession. He also heads to the Tower of London to hear about ...
05.03.2023 PMQs Unpacked: They're Going To Need a Bigger Note Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer trade blows over housing and the infamous 'no money left' note at the last Prime Minister's Questions before the local elections. Matt is joined by Tim Shipman and Ayesha Hazarika to pause and unpack the ...
05.02.2023 Sue Gray, Simon Case And Surviving Politics With calls for cabinet secretary Simon Case to resign and Sue Gray to be blocked from joining Keir Starmer's team, Matt discusses their fate with columnists Daniel Finkelstein and Henry Zeffman. Plus: Journalist Rafael Behr thrived on the drama of ...
05.01.2023 The Swing Voters Who’ll Decide The Next Election This week millions of voters will go to the polls as more than 8,000 council seats in England are contested in the local elections – the most significant gauge of public opinion before Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at a ...
04.28.2023 Rock Against Racism 45 years ago, tens of thousands of people marched through London for the Rock Against Racism concert featuring some of the biggest names in music at the time. Matt speaks to organiser Roger Huddle, singer-songwriter Tom Robinson, and Billy Bragg ...
04.27.2023 Focus Group: He's A Snake Undecided voters in Scotland who previously backed the SNP give their verdict in the Times Radio Focus Group. Humza Yousaf is 'unremarkable', but which party leader is a snake? Matt is joined by James Johnson of JL Partners to discuss ...
04.26.2023 PMQs Unpacked: Zippy and George While Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash over the cost of living, Matt Chorley and Tim Shipman pause and unpack the exchanges - and do a passable impression of Rainbow's Zippy and George. Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton ...
04.25.2023 Corbyn Won In 2017. No He Didn't. Matt talks to American academic and author Noam Chomsky about the conflict in Ukraine, the end of the world - and who won the 2017 general election. Plus: Columnists Daniel Finkelstein and Henry Zeffman discuss Danny's prediction about Oliver Dowden ...
04.24.2023 Sir Softy or Keir Hard-y Keir Starmer keeps talking about his record as Director of Public Prosecutions, arguing it shows he was tough on crime - but the Conservatives think it proves he's actually 'Sir Softie'. Matt finds out what a DPP does, and looks ...
04.21.2023 Are You Having a Laugh? Which party's supporters can take a joke, and which have a sense of humour failure? Matt looks at the league table of humourlessness with Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and comedians Geoff Norcott and Tiff Stevenson. Plus columnists India Knight ...
04.20.2023 Testing The Schools Minister Nick Gibb is one of Britain's longest-serving ministers, in office (almost) continuously since the Conservatives came to power in 2010. Matt quizzes him about subjects including strikes, Ofsted, mobile phones in classrooms and appearing in an episode of the Simpsons. ...
04.19.2023 PMQs Unpacked: Arise, Sir Softy Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer trade personal attacks over crime at Prime Minister's Questions, as Sunak dubs Starmer 'Sir Softy'. Matt is joined by Tim Shipman, Lucy Fisher and Lara Spirit to pause and unpack the action. Plus: Columnists Alice ...
04.18.2023 Is Rishi Too Rich? Matt is joined by Daniel Finkelstein and Henry Zeffman to discuss whether Rishi Sunak's wealth is a problem after it was revealed he's being investigated by the ethics watchdog, and whether Peter Mandelson was right to tell us there's a ...
04.17.2023 The Reagan Question In the 1980 presidential election, Ronald Reagan asked "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" With the economy likely to define the next general election here in the UK, Matt looks at who will win the voters' ...
04.14.2023 The Death of TV Satire? With Have I Got News For You one of the last satirical comedy shows still standing, Patrick Maguire asks why satire on our screens seems to be dying a slow death. He speaks to John O'Farrell, former writer on Spitting ...
04.13.2023 When to Hold a General Election When it comes to holding a general election, timing is everything. With Rishi Sunak reportedly hoping to pull off a surprise win late in 2024, Patrick Maguire is joined by historian Phil Tinline and former advisers Ayesha Hazarika and Giles ...
04.12.2023 Difficult Days For Humza Yousaf Is Humza Yousaf done before he even gets started? Patrick Maguire looks at the SNP leader's chances after two weeks in office and a series of revelations about the party's finances. He speaks to Times columnist Alex Massie - who ...
04.11.2023 Does Negative Campaigning Work? Patrick Maguire discusses political advertising - does going negative deliver, or do we all suffer when the parties get down in the gutter? He speaks to Steve Parker, former Head of Strategy at M&C; Saatchi, author Ali Goldsworthy and campaigner ...
04.07.2023 Good Friday Agreement 25 Years On: Inside the Negotiations Carole Walker, sitting in for Matt Chorley, speaks to key figures that drafted the deal including Mark Durkan, assistant to SDLP leader John Hume, and Irish diplomat David Donoghue. Journalist Denis Murray joins the discussion too as he relives what ...
04.06.2023 Focus Group: Hugh Grant vs. Desperate Dan Matt is joined by James Johnson of JL Partners who leads a panel of undecided voters giving their verdict on the government, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. Find out who their ideal Prime Minister would be and who reminds them ...
04.05.2023 The Battle for Waterlooville Suella Braverman faces losing her seat in a reselection battle with Flick Drummond. Matt speaks to journalist Michael Crick and local councillors Caroline Brook and Roger Bird about who will come out on top. Plus columnists Janice Turner and Robert ...
04.04.2023 Killing Thatcher Matt revisits the last night of the Conservative party conference in 1984 when the IRA bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton in an attempt to kill Margaret Thatcher. Author Rory Carroll explains how the attack was carried out and journalist ...
04.03.2023 Clever Things to Say About Polling Matt shares the five things you need to know about British politics right now by looking at what's happening behind the headline polls with opinion experts Robert Hayward and Tanya Abraham. Plus columnists Rachel Sylvester and Libby Purves on what ...
03.31.2023 The Day The Times Was Bombed From the first camera to take aerial pictures over Everest to documents from the day the paper's offices were bombed during World War Two, the Times archives are home to decades of photography, cuttings and artefacts. Matt takes a look ...

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