The 90's is often heralded as the era of Blur, Oasis, Pulp - but this decade belongs as much to boybands as it does to Britpop. But what was behind these manufactured groups? What does this era reveal about Britain's relationship with class and masculinity? And will Robbie Williams' legacy be a CGI monkey?

Tom Gatti is joined by senior commissioning editor at the New Statesman, Anna Leskiewicz and writer Emma Garland.

Read: Robbie Williams’ anti-redemption arc, by Emma Garland

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Would it be politically safe to go back on their promise not to raise income tax if the increase only affected high earners?, a listener writes in to ask.

Hannah Barnes is joined by political editor Andrew Marr and associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe, and in the first half of the programme we hear from senior data journalist Ben Walker about whether there has been a swell in youth support for Reform UK.

The team also cast their predictions for the year ahead in UK politics.

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Can Elon Musk reshape British democracy?

The X-owning billionaire has waded into one of the darkest scandals in recent British history: the horrific rape and abuse of thousands of girls across the UK by so-called “grooming gangs”. 

Musk’s inflammatory posts on his social media platform, X, have prompted statements from Keir Starmer, questions from Kemi Badenoch in PMQs, and extensive coverage across the mainstream media. 

How should the UK government respond to a foreign billionaire with a platform that amplifies misinformation to hundreds of millions around the world?

Andrew Marr joins Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe on Politics from the New Statesman.

📚 READ: How does Keir Starmer solve a problem like Elon Musk? - Andrew Marr

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2025/01/how-does-starmer-solve-a-problem-like-elon-musk

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Donald Trump is talking about the 'Gulf of America' but in reality the US is no where near as powerful as it once was.

Kate Lamble is joined by this week's cover writer Robert D. Kaplan, as well as George Magnus and Jonny Ball.

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Tom Gatti is joined by BAFTA award winning writer, director, and actor, Mackenzie Crook to discuss his acting career from The Office to Detectorists, as well as Crook's new book 'If Nick Drake Came to My House'.

This conversation was recorded at the recent winter edition of the Cambridge Literary Festival. To find out more about the festival, or to watch an extend version of this discussion, please follow the link: cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

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Trump round 2, instability in Europe, and power struggles in the Middle East.

Hannah Barnes is joined by Katie Stallard and Wolfgang Münchau to take a look at the world in 2025.

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Biggest gaffe? Dampest squib? Best political trolling?

Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr and Freddie Hayward to go through the highs and the lows of UK politics in 2024.

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It's the last listener questions episode of 2024!

Hannah Barnes is joined by Rachel Cunliffe and George Eaton to discuss Elon Musk's support and intentions for Reform UK.

The team also consider how Children Not In School register could help increase children's safety and wellbeing, especially considering up to 300,000 children may have been missing from education entirely in 2023.

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The podcast will be taking a break over Christmas but we'll be back on Monday to review the year in UK politics.

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The team discuss two big political stories of the week; WASPI women and Prince Andrew's friendship with the alleged Chinese spy. And the New Statesman's policy correspondent Harry Clarke-Ezzidio sits down with Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

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This conversation was recorded at the Cambridge Literary Festival. To watch an extended version or to find out more about Cambridge Literary Festival please head to cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

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The New Statesman’s business editor Will Dunn sat down with Torsten Bell, Labour MP for Swansea West, and former chief executive of the Resolution Foundation - a think tank which aims to improve the standard of living of low-to-middle income families. 

Torsten Bell also worked as Labour’s Director of Policy under Ed Milliband’s leadership. 

His first book Great Britain?: How We Get Our Future Back, was published earlier this year.

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