The Policy Plug

With the transition period over, this week we talk about the official Brexit deal brokered on 24.12.2020. Professor Anand Menon, KCL Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs and Director of the think tank UK in a Changing Europe, discusses how the deal compares to promises made in the 2016 referendum, the future of UK-EU relations and UK trade policy, and how the deal affects devolution within the United Kingdom.

We introduce the policy centre Education through a brief interview with the Policy Centre Director Andoni Hormaza Nunes who will explain the work his policy centre has been conducting this past semester and where the focus will lie in 2021. Followed by an interview by Udit Mahalingam with Dr William Morris, Secretary-General of Next Century Foundation, a think-tank dedicated to peace-building in conflict zones.  

In this episode we discuss the 2020 US elections. First, Rachel Grand, a grassroots campaigner for the Biden-Harris ticket in Washington D.C., discusses the lack of a Blue Wave, the reliability of polls, and the polarisation of US society. Then Dr. Christine Mathias, Lecturer in Modern Latin American History at King’s College London, discusses the importance of the Latinx community in the US electorate, and how the Latinx vote related to Trump’s campaign. Finally, we discuss the potential future of American foreign policy under a Biden presidency with Carly Greenfield, who is currently working on borders in the Americas focussing on law enforcement and immigration.   

This week focuses on sustainability around consumption trends. The Policy Centre Energy and Environment is introduced through a discussion with working group member, Irene Perez Beltran. Co-Founder of Carbon Tag and KCL student Leonardo Vizioli is interviewed on the potential of carbon tracing and providing consumers with their products’ carbon emission data. Jeanne Begon-Lours, Co-Founder of UNV and KCL student, discusses the problems behind the fast fashion industry and how she is trying to tackle that with UNV.

This episode discusses the UK's Internal Markets Bill and introduces King's Think Tank's policy centre European Affairs. There is a brief interview with the policy centre director of European Affairs, Jonas Decker, who talks about the first event King's Think Tank hosted this year and what research areas his policy centre will be focusing on. This is followed by an interview with Dr. Andrew Blick, the Head of the Department of Political Economy at King's College London, where we discuss the UK's recent Internal Markets Bill, how the UK broke international law, and how the Northern Ireland Protocol is involved.

The premier episode of King's Think Tank's official podcast: The Policy Plug. Vice-President and host of the podcast, Katharina Fletcher, interviews KTT's President for the upcoming academic year. They discuss King's Think Tank generally and offer their perspectives on the student experience in the context of covid-19.