Should heritage be preserved at all costs or can defunct and forgotten buildings make space for better use? On this week's Critic Podcast, our Online editor David Scullion discusses with Brice Stratford about the restoration of parliament and the heel-dragging by MPs over what should be done. Stratford argues that there are parallels between today and the conditions in 1834 just before the palace was destroyed by fire.

Stratford has written about the issue here, and also about the closure of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry here.

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Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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As the literary would comes out of its Covid-induced hibernation, The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, discusses with the writer and journalist Alexander Larman, the merits of celebrity authors and literary book prizes.

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Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Are progressive leaders more moral than their conservative rivals or are they just better at doing politics? In this podcast The Critic's Online editor David Scullion discusses with Patrick Hess whether the likes of Jacinda Ardern and Justin Trudeau are more machiavellian than Donald Trump.

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Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Matthew Roberts, the Minister of Trinity Church York and Jo Bartosch, a writer and reporter for Lesbian and Gay news, share their concerns with The Critic's David Scullion about the proposed legislation to outlaw "gay cure".

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This week marked the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena.

In this podcast, The Critic's publisher, Olivia Hartley, talks to Dr Arabella Byrne, a freelance journalist and writer with a doctorate in French Studies, about why, 200 years after his death, Bonaparte remains such a polarising figure in France and beyond.

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Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

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From fighting gender inequality with power poses to defeating racism with unconscious bias tests, psychologists are not shy when it comes to the claims they make about their field's ability to solve some of society's thorniest problems. In his new book, Quick Fix, the American journalist Jesse Singal exposes much of these claims as bunk that doesn't stand up to close scrutiny.

In this podcast, the Critic's US Editor Oliver Wiseman spoke to Jesse about his new book, how bad ideas spread so easily and why the psychological cures to our social ills should be taken with a spoonful of salt.  

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and iTunes to ensure you never you never miss an episode.

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Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

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Where has "modernising the royal family" taken Britain's monarchy and where can it go next? If the age of chivalry is dead, what can the crown put in its place?

In this podcast, the historian of monarchs and monarchy, David Starkey, talks to The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, about the Crown's delicate balance between reform, revolution, and sustaining a useful role.

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Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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The Chairman of the Northern Ireland Select Committee Simon Hoare and David Hoey, businessman and producer of the PoliticalOD podcast debate the merits of the Northern Ireland Protocol with The Critic's Deputy Political Editor David Scullion.

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Is Beijing's growing assertiveness towards its neighbours and especially with Britain and the United States a reflection of Chinese self-confidence and an alternative world view that requires careful management? Or is it evidence of a determined hostility that requires a clear-headed strategy to address? And if the latter, what should that response involve?

In this podcast, the former leader of the Conservative party, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, against who Beijing has imposed sanctions in retaliation for his criticism, gives his assessment to The Critic's political editor, Graham Stewart.

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Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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Alex Salmond is encouraging Scottish nationalists to 'game' Holyrood's electoral system by voting for their SNP constituency candidate but on the regional ballot list voting for Salmond's Alba Party. Would the same tactical voting work for Scottish unionists? In this podcast, All For Unity's leader, Jamie Blackett makes the case for voting for George Galloway's pro-union alliance to The Critic's political editor, Graham Stewart.

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Right now we’re offering 5 issues for just £10. Go to thecritic.imbmsubscriptions.com/ for details.

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Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

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See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.