The dramatic events in Afghanistan in recent days mark many things. The end of America’s longest war, the end of the post-9/11 era and the return of the Taliban.

They also constitute the first and perhaps defining foreign policy crisis for US President Joe Biden.

To try to make sense of the US side of the momentous Afghanistan story, the Critic’s US Editor, Oliver Wiseman spoke to Jacob Heilbrunn, Editor of The National Interest, a foreign policy journal, and Luke Thompson, a Republican strategist and advisor.

They debate what Biden has got right, what he has got wrong, how the American people will react and where US foreign policy goes next.

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

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In this episode, The Critic's publisher, Olivia Hartley, speaks to Dr Jon Pike, co-convener of the newly established Open University Gender Critical Research Network and a philosopher of sport and ethics, about setting up the UK’s new network for gender-critical academics and the inclusion of transwomen in women’s sport.

Jon tells Olivia that, far from being a gender-critical activist group, the network "isn't a political campaign; it's a research network with a focus on sexed bodies".

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In this episode of The Critic Podcast, Jo Bartosch is joined by Helen Joyce, the Britain editor of The Economist, to talk about her new book: Trans. Bartosch and Joyce discuss the ideology of the Trans movement, the influences behind this new book and how the direction the Trans movement is taking is damaging to young homosexuals.

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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In this Critic podcast, the writer Alexander Larman tells The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, why he thinks studying English literature at university is becoming such a deadening experience.

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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Image: A general view of the Duke Humphrey’s Library at the Bodleian Libraries (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images).

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In this podcast, The Critic's publisher, Olivia Hartley, talks to journalist and feminist campaigner Julie Bindel about her July feature, "When is a rape not a rape?", which covers LGBT charity Stonewall and its campaign to change the UK’s sex-by-deception clause.

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Introducing The Critic's new column, "This Sporting Life", Graham Stewart talks to the sports writer and Critic columnist, Boris Starling, about the enduring appeal of a British Lions tour — and the players who regard it to be more memorable than winning the Rugby World Cup.

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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On this week's Critic podcast, our Online editor David Scullion speaks to Christopher Howarth about the plot to remove Theresa May from office. In a real-life political thriller, the senior parliamentary researcher spills the beans for the first time about how his visit to a dying man in hospital secured a vital piece of information which led to the Prime Minister's downfall. Christopher's article is in the July issue of The Critic which will be available in shops from Thursday.

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Why are the membership numbers of the national trust falling? Are they placing themselves in socio-political conversations where they don’t belong? What is the purpose of the Trust in modern society?

In this episode, Editorial Assistant at The Critic, Anna Price, speaks to Constance Watson, Assistant Editor of the Catholic Herald and author of the piece: Burned by political expedience in the June issue of The Critic about how the National Trust’s priorities are potentially in the wrong place. 

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In this episode of The Critic Podcast, Josephine Bartosch, journalist and regular contributor toThe Critic, speaks with Maya Forstater about her recent victory at the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Forstater had lost her job after posting tweets on gender recognition, following which she lost her original case at a tribunal in 2019. However, last week a High Court judge ruled that her "gender-critical" beliefs fell under the Equalities Act.

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All major parties agree that the UK needs to cut carbon emissions but is the goal of "Net Zero" achievable or will it leave us, in the words of Steve Baker MP, "quivering under duvets in the dark on windless winter nights"? On this podcast the former Brexit rebel explains his scepticism with The Critic's Online Editor David Scullion.

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