The Critic Show

This week, Tom welcomes The Critic editor Graham Stewart and guest Fred de Fossard to discuss the October issue of The Critic.

Listeners are walked through a preview of a profile of Roger Hallam which features in the print issue, as well as discussing the cover piece which talks about the figure behind Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion.

Fred then explains asylum reform, tracing the system from the 1951 Refugee Convention’s postwar European focus through its 1967 expansion into a global framework. He reflects on decolonisation, international law, and refugee movements of the 1980s and 1990s.

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Reform’s fortunes are changing, while the Conservatives face a difficult balancing act: keeping older voters onside while finding a compelling offer for younger generations.

On this week’s Critics Show, Chris Bayliss is joined by Henry Hill and Scarlett Maguire to untangle the confusing web of where voters’ loyalties really lie in a political landscape defined by fragmentation on the right and disappointment on the left.

They discuss Scarlett’s latest research, which suggests Reform has been in decline since earlier this year, while also examining the rise of younger right-wing parties such as Restore.

Henry and Chris also talk to Scarlett about the Conservative–Liberal Democrat contest and what shifting voter loyalties could mean for the political landscape.

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In this episode, host Boris Starling is joined by journalist, writer and film critic Jason Solomons for a wide-ranging conversation about football, management, culture and cinema.

The episode begins with Arsène Wenger and the extraordinary impact he had on English football. Boris and Jason explore how Wenger helped change the way the modern game was managed, bringing new ideas around nutrition, fitness, preparation and player welfare to the Premier League. They discuss his belief in understanding players as individuals, not simply as footballers, and how his attention to their personalities, habits and development helped establish a very different model of management.

From Wenger’s influence, the conversation opens out into a broader discussion about football, its culture and the way the game has evolved, both on and off the pitch. What can football managers learn from other worlds, and how much has the modern game changed as a result of the ideas Wenger introduced?

Finally, the conversation moves from football to film, with Jason talking about his upcoming film projects, his work as a critic and what audiences can look forward to next.

For the full episode, head to https://www.outpoststudios.net/

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In this episode of The Critic Show, Tom Jones and Henry Hill are joined by The Critic’s editor, Graham Stewart, to explore the magazine’s bumper Summer Double Issue.

Graham takes us through the issue’s highlights, including a major summer books bonanza, meanwhile over in the sport section, Boris Starling’s looks at what happened to England’s 1966 World Cup heroes.

The issue also features some important reposting concerning the continuing controversy around the Government’s digital ID plans, and David Shipley’s investigation into the crisis at the Atheneum Club.

Henry Hill then walks listeners thought his cover story: is Andy Burnham really the “new Boris Johnson”? Henry examines the striking parallels between the two politicians, from media-driven politics and North-South rhetoric to the promise of devolution without confronting its difficult trade-offs.

Tom, Henry and Graham discuss Burnham’s political honeymoon, the looming realities of his first budget, the prospects of an early general election, Reform UK’s growing strength, and whether the idea of “Manchesterism” has any substance at all.

Read the Summer Double Issue and listen to the full conversation on The Critic Show.

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This week on The Critic Show, Tom is joined by our online editor, Ben Sixsmith and classics scholar and Antigone editor, David Butterfield, to discuss why ancient Greece and Rome are enjoying a remarkable revival. They examine how classical education became wrongly associated with elitism, and why classical literature is having a renaissance within a culture which is, seemingly, addicted to phones.

The conversation explores the modern appeal of Stoicism, its popularity among young men and the danger of reducing ancient philosophy to simplistic lifestyle advice. David explains what figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius and Plutarch can teach us about human nature, politics and virtue, before considering whether today’s renewed interest in the classics will become a lasting cultural revival.

David ends his personal recommendation for your classical reading fix, which is the poet and philosopher Lucretius.

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This week on The Critic Show, Henry and Tom are joined by Seb Milbank to discuss the Home Office’s Research, Information and Communications Unit, otherwise known as RICU, and the growing suspicion that the British state has tried to shape public narratives after acts of violence involving immigrant communities.

Seb gives listeners an insider explanation on explains how the unit operates, and the intricacies of the counter-terrorism and national security, why Freedom of Information requests so often hit a wall.

The podcast explores how, increasingly, journalists, PR agencies and government departments can end up working together to manage political fall out by bending the truths we live by.

The conversation ranges from the 2014 Sun front page on Islamic State to family statements after recent killings, the response to Manchester Arena, Martin’s Law, social media regulation, and the wider collapse of trust in British institutions. They also discuss why big, archaic institutions in Britain are now failing so visibly that the old social contract is breaking down.

What happens when people no longer believe in a state that can protect them?

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This week on The Critic Show, Chris Bayliss and Henry Hill are joined by Emma Schubert of the Henry Jackson Society to ask whether Britain is becoming a sectarian country. Emma discusses her research into the rise of Muslim sectarian politics in English local elections, explaining how she has created a model to help identify some of the predictors of sectarian candidates’ success.

The panel explores Labour’s long miscalculation over communal voting, and whether Britain risks importing the kind of entrenched bloc politics seen in Northern Ireland. They also discuss what this fragmentation could mean for the next general election, and what is being done to prevent further corruption.

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This month Critic wine columnist Henry Jeffreys talks to Daniel Grigg from Museum Wines in Salisbury about The Critic Wine Club’s latest South African selection.

Henry and Daniel discuss why South African wine has changed so dramatically in recent years, from the dull pub reds and insipid whites of old to some of the most exciting bottles now being made anywhere in the world. They explore the country’s new generation of winemakers, the rise of serious Chenin Blanc and Cinsault, and why South Africa offers such remarkable value compared with Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne.

Together they taste three wines: a textured Sauvignon Blanc from Hazendal, a fuller, food-friendly Pinot Noir rosé, and a sensational old-vine Cinsault from Darling. Expect sharp opinions, good stories, and plenty of enthusiasm for a country whose wines are firmly on the up.

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In the first episode of Starling on Sport, Boris is joined by Jack Davey to look ahead to this year’s Tour de France and ask whether anyone can realistically stop Tadej Pogačar. They discuss Pogačar’s astonishing season, and the threat posed by Jonas Vingegaard, as well as turning an eye onto the emergence of French prodigy Paul Seixas.

Boris and Jack also explore the tactics, team dynamics and brutal mountain stages that could decide the race, as well as the Tour’s changing identity — from its French roots to its increasingly global, corporate future.

Their is also an inevitable question that still hangs over the sport as performance becomes more and more enhanced: can fans trust what they are watching?

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This week on The Critic Show, Lord David Frost joins Tom and Graham Stewart to mark ten years since Brexit and ask what really went wrong, and ask what might be on the cards next.

Frost challenges the familiar claim that voters were misled in 2016, arguing instead that Brexit was always about Britain’s right to govern itself from Westminster rather than Brussels.

Frost warns that unless the Right makes the case for national independence again, Britain risks becoming a rule-taker without ever formally rejoining. Plus, Graham gives a preview of the July issue of The Critic, from the Home Office’s secretive messaging machine to politics, culture, music and more.

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