Would you want to work with a robot? A new technological revolution is underway—but what that revolution looks like, and where it takes us, is still being determined.

This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Sarah O’Connor, award-winning reporter and associate editor at the Financial Times, whose new book We Are Not Machines charts how AI is shaping the workplace.

Sarah shares her experience working alongside robots in an Amazon warehouse in the midlands, visiting a Swedish mine, and learning from the controllers of driverless lorries. She examines the impacts of technology on workers and asks: what makes a bad relationship between a human and a machine—and what makes a good one?

She argues that machines will never be able to replace the rich talents of a human—and explains how we can actively shape the future of AI and its impact on us.

Sarah's book We Are Not Machines is published by Allen Lane. To read more on this topic, click here.

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From nurseries to nursing homes, private equity increasingly affects all of us.

This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by journalist Hettie O’Brien, who investigates the rise of private equity in her book The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself.

Hettie traces the rise of private equity partnerships and their profound impact on our economy. She tells the story of how the buyout of railway arches resulted in rising rents and small local businesses being forced out in London.

She also discusses how it influences key services like healthcare and housing, often resulting in increased costs—as well as the shocking effects on outcomes, such as mortality rates in care homes.

Why are these firms shielded from accountability? And, as societal inequality widens, what reforms need to be made?

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Although the world seems full of war and conflict, love—of all kinds—is everywhere. This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Sally Hayden, award-winning journalist and author of This is Also a Love Story: Searching for Good in a Divided World.

As a reporter, Sally has witnessed first-hand the consequences of human brutality, as well as moments of hope. She shares stories from across the globe, from Ukraine to Japan to Syria.

Having lived in Lebanon since 2024, she also discusses life under Israeli bombardment and the tragically mundane items she finds buried amongst the rubble.

In the modern age, is empathy under attack? And why does her book include a bank robbery as an example of love? Listen to find out.

To read Sally’s Beirut diary, click here or head to prospectmagazine.co.uk.

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It’s been a nightmare week for Keir Starmer. After devastating results for Labour in the 7th May elections, pressure has this week mounted on the prime minister to resign. He has said that he will stay, and that he wants to lead Labour into the next general election—but how long can he hang on, and what would it mean for Labour’s fortunes if he did?

Ellen and Alona are joined by veteran pollster and regular Prospect contributor Peter Kellner to discuss Starmer’s predicament, what a leadership challenge would look like, and whether any of the contenders could rally the support needed to oust the prime minister.

Visit prospectmagazine.co.uk to read all of Peter Kellner’s latest analysis, including his open letter to the next Labour leader: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/72547/an-open-letter-to-labours-next-prime-minister

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It’s the week every political nerd has been waiting for. Tomorrow, voters go to the polls in England, Scotland and Wales to elect local councils, Holyrood and the Senedd. 

Just how bad do things look for Labour—and Keir Starmer? Why are Reform UK and the Greens surprisingly similar? And how come Kemi Badenoch, whose Tories are a mere shadow of their former selves, isn’t facing a leadership challenge? Plus: what can local elections really tell us about the next general election?

On today’s episode, Ellen and Alona are joined by writer and broadcaster Carys Afoko to discuss the days and weeks ahead. A former political adviser to several Labour politicians, she hosts the weekly current affairs podcast “Over the Top, Under the Radar”. 

To read Carys’s recent article. “Are Reform and the Greens battle ready?”, visit the Prospect website. Read everything for free until 11th May.

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Twenty years ago, Tharik Hussain moved from the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia with a sense that he and other Muslims didn’t belong in Europe. But, as he explains today on the podcast, he has since been on a journey to uncover some 1,400 years of rich Muslim history and culture on the continent.

Tharik joins Imaan and Ellen to discuss how Europeans forgot the contributions of Muslims in Europe—and what the impact of this erasure has been on modern politics.

Plus—why, in the 8th century, did Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia issue a gold coin inscribed with the shahadah (Islamic declaration of faith)?

Tharik’s book, Muslim Europe, was published by Penguin in 2025.

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After the explosive revelation that Peter Mandelson had “failed” his vetting before being waved through as US ambassador, Alona and Imaan are joined by contributing editor Tom Clark to discuss the root cause of this political disaster. It wasn’t the vetting process, argues Tom, but the power struggles at the heart of the Labour party.

Why weren’t Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein and Russian oligarchs immediate dealbreakers for the prime minister? And why was Number 10 enquiring about an ambassadorship for Matthew Doyle, who was recently driven out of the Lords over links to a sex offender?

Tom discusses party purges, secretive dealings and double standards. And, with Labour falling to fourth place in some polls, he also discusses the road to political recovery. How long will Starmer survive?

To read Tom’s article ‘The Mandelson saga is really about Labour factionalism’, click here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/73081/the-mandelson-saga-is-really-about-labour-factionalism

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The term “far right” is frequently invoked in British political discourse. But who really fits the bill?

This week, journalist and author Daniel Trilling joins Ellen and Alona to discuss how previously fringe positions have gained traction and entered mainstream politics.

Daniel defines the far right and explores its increasingly influential place in British politics, drawing from his upcoming book If We Tolerate This. He shares how Reform UK and figures including Tommy Robinson have capitalised on public dissatisfaction and economic grievances—and how the political establishment on both the right and the left enabled and empowered them.

He pinpoints the surprising moment that set us on a path where immigration became a divisive topic. And he explains why, even if far-right parties work within the bounds of democracy, their rise threatens democratic systems.

Plus, Daniel suggests how ordinary citizens can respond—and argues that the defeat of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán shows that resistance is possible.

Daniel’s book ‘If We Tolerate This’ is published by Pan Macmillan.

To watch Michael Ignatieff’s analysis of the Hungarian elections and the fall of Orbán, click here.

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