Swooning audiences, demon-hunting popstars, and Sydney Sweeney’s jeans—it’s been quite a year for arts and culture. In this week’s special episode, three of Prospect’s critics join books and culture editor Pete Hoskin to chat over eggnog and mince pies.

Kate Maltby, Lucy Scholes and Laura Barton encounter the Prospect wheel of fortune and share their recommendations, as well as the cultural moments that defined the rest of the year.

Which theatre performance saw audience members fainting in droves? Which cosy reads should you try this Christmas? And is Sydney Sweeney the Republican Taylor Swift? Listen to find out.

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Seven MPs were suspended for rebelling on the two-child benefit limit last year. Now that the government has announced it will lift the policy, what will change? And why was this such a major focus for anti-poverty campaigners?

Ellen and Alona are joined by two experts on the subject: journalist and campaigner Terri White and Ruth Patrick, professor in social and public policy at the University of Glasgow. They bust the myths and misconceptions around the policy, and analyse the negative response from the British media on its lifting. How much will it really cost the country?

Terri and Ruth explore the policy’s real-life effects on families across the UK and how public discourse has been polluted with misogyny and Islamophobia. They also discuss the ways that communities can come together to implement local solutions—and examine the limit’s most controversial clause.

Plus, Ellen and Alona weigh up a Christmassy banger or dud.

To read Ruth’s writing on the two-child limit, click here.

And to read Terri's piece from the archive ‘Where is your outrage over the two child limit?’, click here.

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Why does every platform seem to get worse over time? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by journalist, tech activist and sci-fi writer Cory Doctorow, who coined the term “enshittification” to describe the decay of digital services into exploitative, user-hostile platforms.

As constraints that once kept platforms in check have broken down, Cory shares how tech giants polluted the digital landscape, why AI-generated “slop” has sped it up, and why we should all care. What’s in it for tech CEOs? What is this is doing to us as humans? And what would real de-enshittification look like?

Cory discusses how to grab people’s attention, and how to fight back against tech giants.

Plus, Ellen and Alona talk digital detoxes: “banger” or “dud”?

Cory’s book ‘Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It’ is published by Verso

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Palantir has acquired key UK government contracts, promising to make government more effective. But Peter Thiel’s controversial company has also worked with the US government and ICE on deportations and with Israel’s military during its war on Gaza. This week, investigative journalist Mark Wilding joins Ellen to explain how the tech giant has become embedded in the British state—and what it might mean for us in future.

In the latest issue of Prospect, Mark traces how Palantir seized a moment of opportunity in the Covid-19 pandemic to get its “foot in the door” and multimillion-pound government contracts, culminating in its takeover of the Federated Data Platform—the new data backbone of the NHS. But what happens when a private tech corporation becomes essential national infrastructure?

Mark also explains why even Palantir didn’t want to be associated with Labour’s plans for digital ID. 

Plus, Ellen and Alona discuss “Christmas creep”: banger or dud?

To read Mark’s investigation ‘How Palantir infiltrated the state’, click here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/democracy/government/71511/how-palantir-infiltrated-the-state

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In a world of unpredictable strongman leaders, do nuclear weapons keep us safe or make us more vulnerable? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Serhii Plokhy, historian and author of The Nuclear Age, to discuss the threat of nuclear conflict.

From Putin’s war in Ukraine to China’s expanding arsenal and new nuclear “threshold” states, Serhii discusses whether governments still hold to the idea of mutually assured destruction. He explains the role of fear in the origins of the nuclear bomb—and the importance of anti-nuclear civic action.

Plus, Ellen and Alona discuss “scream clubs”: banger or dud?

‘The Nuclear Age: An Epic Race for Arms, Power, and Survival’ is available now. To read Prospect’s review, click here.

You can listen to Serhii’s previous appearance on the Prospect Podcast here.

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How should the left resist fascism?

This week, Prospect’s Ben Clark speaks to Yanis Varoufakis, economist and Greece’s former finance minister, whose most recent book is Raise Your Soul: A Personal History of Resistance.

Yanis reflects on writing a feminist history as a man, what his family’s encounters with Nazism taught him, and whether today’s left can still speak to young men drifting toward the far right.He also weighs in on Ukraine, as well as Zohran Mamdani’s performance in the New York mayoral race, despite the decline of the Democrats.

Plus, Yanis reflects on optimism, resistance and the women who taught him both.

Stay tuned for Ben’s profile of Yanis, which will be published at prospectmagazine.co.uk

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In this episode of Policy Insights, sponsored by ASI and produced by Prospect Publishing, Prospect deputy editor Ellen Halliday talks to Annalisa Prizzon from ODI Global, Daniel Pimlott from ASI, and Stefan Dercon from the Blavatnik Institute and Oxford University about the future of foreign aid.

Our expert guests share their perspectives on the changing dynamics of foreign aid and explore how and why the international development sector is changing.

They discuss the impact of cuts in budgets from the UK, USA and elsewhere, the shift towards localisation and how the UK and other countries can maintain their influence and drive change in the global development sector.

ASI is a social impact business that works with governments, international organisations, companies and civil society to design and deliver aid programmes that address the big challenges facing the world.

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Zombies, werewolves and...ChatGPT?

In this week’s spooky special, Ellen and Alona are joined by historian and “monster consultant” Surekha Davies, who argues that humans have always created monsters to understand the world—and ourselves.

In her new book Humans: A Monstrous History, she explores a history of monsters, as well as the weird and horrifying monsters we’ve created in modern day life, including through Silicon Valley’s visions for artificial intelligence. Is technology pushing flesh-and-blood humans to the margins?

The three also discuss “monsterification” in political rhetoric as a way to frame the Other, including discourse about asylum seekers.

Plus, Ellen and Alona talk celebrity authors: banger or dud?

Surekha’s book ‘Humans: A Monstrous History’ is available now.

Halloween Werewolf Intro by miksmusic.

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Does Washington need a shake up?

As the Democratic party faces its lowest favourability ratings on record, one man wants to completely change its brand. This week, Prospect’s Ben Clark speaks to Saikat Chakrabarti, progressive political adviser and former chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is now running for Congress himself.

Saikat discusses running against Democratic powerbroker Nancy Pelosi, reveals his frustration with conventional Washington politicking, and shares what he thinks the Democrats are doing wrong. He also talks about how his Silicon Valley career radicalised him, “opportunist” tech billionaires, and meeting Peter Thiel.

Plus, Ellen and Alona discuss Celebrity Traitors: “banger” or “dud”?

To read Ben’s piece “Saikat Chakrabarti is coming for the Democratic establishment”, click here: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/views/people/71150/saikat-chakrabarti-is-coming-for-the-democratic-establishment

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