The Critic Show

The Decline of Statecraft

Mon, 25 May 2026 08:44:13 GMT

This week, Chris and Tom are joined by Dr Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri, the historian of political ideas, political conflict and the decline of the Royal Navy.

Comparing the Navy of decades past with the Navy we have today, one must ask: how did civil servants, bureaucrats and government bring about its decline? This inevitably leads to the question of the efficacy of the civil service, whether we have too many bureaucrats in the modern world despite huge technological advances, and how people were paid then compared with how the system works now.

What did statesmen of the past understand about power, defence and Britain’s place in the world that politicians today do not?

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Why We Poll

Mon, 18 May 2026 07:40:58 GMT

Tom and Henry are joined this week by pollster and strategist Scarlett Maguire, who explains the Wild West of British political polling.

Like the soothsayers of old, politicians use polling in all sorts of mysterious ways, making claims that may not always stack up with reality. This is how they can claim momentum even when their parties remain unpopular. In unrelated matters, they also discuss Kemi Badenoch and the wider challenges facing the Conservatives.

What are the limits of polling? In particular, what happens when policies that sound popular in theory crash into reality when put into practice?

In an ever more politically volatile world, we also now have increasingly idiosyncratic voters, whose views often cut across party lines. They might back Reform on some issues while favouring the Greens on others. What does that mean for modern British politics?

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What has become of Britain?

Mon, 11 May 2026 06:00:00 GMT

May marks the beginning of summer, and this month Tom, Henry and Graham are here to talk you through May’s edition of The Critic, leading with the question of whether Britain has any vision left.

After months of headlines and mistakes, it is hard to understand where the Government might go next, or what it actually wants. Does it want to rejoin the EU, or is this simply a visionless pitch from a Prime Minister who is running out of steam? When did Britain lose its direction, and will we ever win the World Cup again?

Political editor Henry Hill discusses what could actually generate growth, why Britain has entered a period of cultural and economic decline, and how we have been living in a simulacrum in which people spend more than they have, while the Government appears unable to fix the broken system we now live under.

Finally, the hosts take a trip to Dubai, where Fred Sculthorp has been experiencing the world of influencers amid the blitz. Despite being a city full of self-employed entrepreneurs, Dubai also highlights the uncomfortable reality that, even during wartime, it offers more opportunities for young professionals than Britain currently does.

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The Generation Delusion

Mon, 04 May 2026 06:00:00 GMT

This week on The Critic Show, Henry Hill and Chris Bayliss are joined by the Reverend Marcus Walker to discuss the erosion of intergenerational responsibility. From defence and infrastructure to fiscal policy, the Government just keeps getting it wrong, repeatedly prioritising electoral gain over the health and wealth of the country. The question is whether this trend is a recent development or a post-Cold War shift, and how political incentives, married with fragmented modern ideologies, contribute to a culture that struggles to implement any kind of constructive plan.

They also look at Keir Starmer’s leadership style, questioning whether his approach actually reflects strategic calculation, or whether he is so focused on populism that his reign has become a simple lack of coherent thinking.

With this week’s guest, it’s only natural to touch on ecclesiastical politics as well. Does the Church of England have similar dynamics to the civil service bureaucracy, where risk aversion, procedural expansion, and “barnacle-like” administrative growth can undermine core missions?

What would it really take to rebuild a political culture that genuinely values the judgment of future generations as much as the approval of today’s voters?

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The Reparations Game

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 06:00:00 GMT

This week on The Critic Show, Chris Bayliss and Henry Hill are joined by the Anglican priest, historian and ethicist Nigel Biggar.

They discuss the debate around the Church of England’s push towards reparations, and how initiatives like Project Spire and the historical link to Queen Anne’s Bounty have played a role in where we have ended up today.

Many of the assumptions behind reparations, such as Britain’s wealth being built on slavery, are historically dubious. Crucially, if we started handing out reparations now, would the calls for them ever end? While forgiveness is at the heart of Christian values, is there really a moral case for reparations in the 21st century?

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The Broken Police

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 06:00:00 GMT

This week on The Critic Show, Chris Bayliss and Tom Jones are joined by David Spencer as they examine the state of DEI in British policing. The story goes back to the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the subsequent Macpherson Report and, while serious failures were exposed, nothing was actually done to change anything. Later reforms, particularly since 2010, accelerated the drive toward diversity targets over standards. Recruitment has changed, physical fitness requirements have declined, and a broader “professionalisation” suited to third-sector organisations has taken over policing.Whilst there are valiant figures like Mark Rowley and Stephen Watson, their attempts at change in a world dominated by fear of activists are unlikely to be adopted by forces nationwide.For the full, uncensored version, go to: https://www.outpoststudios.net/s/the-critic-showAnd don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

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The Critic Show Special: Wine Club

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 06:00:00 GMT

This month’s Wine Club finds Henry Jeffreys joined by Tom Innes of Fingal Rock, a Burgundy specialist and a merchant with a gift for finding serious yet affordable wines. Before the bottles are opened, Tom talks Henry through his unusual route into wine, from an abandoned legal career to a shop in Monmouth, and from there to decades of legwork among small Burgundian growers.

This month, there’s a bright, lively white Coteaux Bourguignons, Le P’tit Bonheur, that punches far above its station, an opulent and characterful Bourgogne Épineuil Léger with a wonderful backstory, and a richer, more structured Domaine Gachot-Monot Côte de Nuits-Villages that delivers proper red Burgundy depth for a remarkably modest sum. There is, though, a slight note of melancholy hanging over the tasting. After severe flooding at his Monmouth shop and with retirement looming, Tom is no longer shipping new stock, which means that once these bottles are gone, they are gone. A rare chance, then, to buy from one of Burgundy’s great independent romantics while there is still wine left in the cellar.

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How the Spanish Left Uses the Right to Hold Power

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This week on The Critic Show, Chris and Tom are joined by Jack Davey as they turn to the politics of Spain, exploring the rise of Pedro Sánchez and what his success could mean for centre-left leaders like Keir Starmer. With separatist movements, particularly the Catalans, decisively occupying the middle ground, they examine how Sánchez built a governing strategy based on consolidating anti-right support, enabling him to hold power without commanding a majority of the electorate.

The flip side, of course, is the Spanish right, the growth of Vox, and the wider forces driving political radicalisation. Right-wing parties are gaining ground in Spain, yet, as is his strategy, this polarisation may be good news for Sanchez.

As Spain still struggles with the legacy of Franco, how do its shifting class and regional divides shape voting behaviour, and what does that mean for a fragmenting political system, both in Spain and beyond?

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The Green Myth

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMT

As another Easter draws near, so does a new issue of The Critic. Tom, Chris and Graham take listeners through some of their favourite picks from the April edition.

Chris unpacks his latest article on green energy, asking why electricity remains expensive if renewables are meant to be cheap. There is widespread misunderstanding of how the national grid actually functions and, as a result, serious discussion is all but impossible.

This month, Tom spoke to Neil O’Brien, the Conservative Party’s policy brain, about how data can inform lawmaking. While he is a dedicated, intelligent and practical figure, is well-argued policy enough to define the broader Conservative philosophy? Or is the party still stuck in the politics of bans?

As is so often the case, any discussion of Tory policy inevitably speaks to the Conservatives’ struggle to regain public trust, with lingering damage from the Brexit era and the missed opportunities of Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak. While the party is not finished, the path back to power is steep.

The team also touch on land use and farming policy, and a new essay by Dominic Green, which traces the arc of Western civilisation and explores how different political traditions, particularly on the American right, compete to define what “civilisation” really means.

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Why The Left Has Nowhere Left To Go

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:00:00 GMT

This week on The Critic Show, Chris and Tom discuss the article “The Left Is Intellectually Exhausted”, which argues that so-called progressives have failed to keep up with the times. At a moment when Britain is widely described as broken, the left should be politically ascendant. Instead, they argue, it has struggled to offer any serious analysis of how government and the state have drifted into stagnation.

Chris and Tom suggest the deeper problem is that the modern left struggles to face political realities. Moral questions are often treated as substitutes for practical ones, leaving basic policy problems unanswered. By focusing on signalling the right values rather than addressing difficult trade-offs, the left often ends up asking the wrong questions altogether. They also look ahead and predict how the left may eventually have to choose where it stands within an increasingly fragmentary right-wing political structure.

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The Welfare State

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 07:00:00 GMT

This week on The Critic Show, Tom and Chris discuss the numbers behind Britain’s welfare state. Around 53 per cent of adults are net recipients of the state, yet most people who fall into that category would never describe themselves as being on benefits. Universal Credit, tax credits, disability payments, housing support: the money adds up, yet who is actually on benefits, and how much it all costs, is rather difficult to say.

Without its people explicitly voting for it, Britain has drifted into a high-tax, high-transfer system, with little to show in terms of infrastructure or service quality. Once a “temporary” tax is introduced, it is rarely retired.

As Tom points out, a welfare system designed around personal benefit and vote-winning is politically unsustainable. Chris traces the rot to the managerial politics of the mid-1990s, where presentation overtook reform. As the state dominates ever more in the lives of its citizens, personal responsibility becomes an ever more alien idea. The statistics may be imperfect, but the trend is worrying. Britain needs serious structural reform.

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The Sectarian State

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:14:30 GMT

This week, Tom and Chris explore the rise of sectarianism in British politics, specifically, the role of Biraderi networks and the extended family structures that shape political behaviour of immigrant populations in Britain today. In urban constituencies where traditional civic associations are weak, Britain’s individualistic political culture offers little institutional counterweight, and, as a result, Britain’s political culture becomes ever more transactional.

As theLabour coalition of immigrants and the working class, which it has depended upon for decades, fragments and new parties seek to mobilise voters along cultural and demographic lines, politics risks drifting toward an informal “ethnic headcount”, where identity can matter as much as, if not more than, policy.

Is modern mainland British politics becoming more like that of Northern Ireland, or even reminiscent of Balkans and the Middle East? And, when established, are such dynamics self-reinforcing? If in-group preference becomes a normal organising principle, can liberal, cross-community politics can be sustained? What do we really need to prevent permanent political fragmentation?

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Next week: Chris and Tom turn their attention to the British Welfare State.

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Who are The Tories?

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 03:42:55 GMT

This week, Tom is joined by Poppy Coburn to look at the Conservative Party’s identity crisis and ask whether this is more than another bad election cycle. Whilst the top of the party is seemingly happy under the Badenoch regime, the grassroots have been hollowed out. The councillors, donors and activists, the footsoldiers of any election campaign are drifting away. As local associations wither and the coffee mornings and action days are ever more sparsely attended, the party has to ask itself, what does it stand for now?

Voters themselves, fed up with years of betrayal are turning to Reform, while the Conservatives lash out at their populist challengers. Fiscal discipline is still invoked, but many doubt the party can follow through on its promises. The gap between Westminster and provincial Britain is widening, especially on touchstone issues like immigration and crime.

Brexit once channelled a rebellious mood; that energy has moved on. If the Conservatives no longer set the terms of the right, are they still a leader, or just another fringe player, trading on the legacy of the past?

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Fracturing the Left

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:50:28 GMT

Chris Bayliss speaks to Fleur Meston about the slow break-up of the British left, and the end of the Labour party’s gauche-domination from Bloomsbury to Sedgefield. In the 21st century, this challenge mostly comes from the socialist ecologists of the Green Party. The Greens have evolved from their 1970s roots as a niche protest vehicle into something more electorally serious, drawing in voters uneasy with Labour in government and making electoral headway from Bristol to Brighton. What was once fringe now serves as a political home for a largely middle-class, self-described radical bloc, energised by Zack Polanski and his five MPs, not much different, in terms of parliamentary seats, from Reform UK.

But who benefits from this fragmentation? Can the Greens turn local strength into real gains, or will they remain influential but limited? If Reform consolidates its insurgent vote, tactical voting could reshape key seats. With Labour under strain in parts of its base and smaller parties sensing opportunity, Chris and Fleur ask whether Britain is moving into a genuinely multi-party era, and what that means as the protest vote becomes a means of tangible political power.

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The Critic Show Special: Open Justice

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:30:16 GMT

In this Critic Show special, Adam Wren discusses the Open Justice Project, which works with survivors who want their stories told, and the public inquiry into one of the most serious institutional failures in modern Britain: the grooming gangs scandal. The conversation centres on a system that too often appears underfunded, diffused and structurally incapable of taking responsibility. It’s a story of the failure of multicultural Britain, and the legacy of the Blairite optimism that assumed institutions would simply function due the inherent competence of the British state.

They also discuss the personal cost of working so closely with trauma, as well as the practical barriers Open Justice has faced, much the same as those that allowed abuse to happen in the first place, from the secrecy afforded to offenders to the way exploitation of the infrastructure of the small towns that make up England’s former industrial heartlands

Yet, in spite of the horrific legacy of these crimes, the pressure created by survivor-led initiatives is beginning to force institutions to listen, raising the central question of the inquiry: how Britain’s institutions, which failed to protect vulnerable young women, can be forced to do better.

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Why Europe Can’t Defend Itself.

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 14:41:39 GMT

This week, Tom and Chris look at foreign policy, and the widening gulf between Britain’s ambitions and its means. Defence spending is constantly under strain, artillery stockpiles are dangerously low, and Europe still relies heavily on Washington for its security. What happens if America’s defence commitments start to get transactional, particularly under Donald Trump? If a major war broke out tomorrow, does Britain have the industrial muscle or economic stamina to see it through?

Is the US returning to realism, or simply making ad hoc deals as it goes, whether with China and the Indo-Pacific or Greenland, or Ukraine? As Europe looks static, Washington looks unpredictable.

Britain under Keir Starmer is running up against the limits of soft power, the only weapon it seems to want to wield, hamstrung by the Chagos question, and its habit of outsourcing strategic judgment to international courts. What leverage does the UK actually retain, and can it rediscover hard-edged pragmatism of the past? Or is it doomed to decline, stooped in self-loathing nostalgia?

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The Critic Show Special: Wine Club

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 02:28:25 GMT

This month’s Wine Club has Henry Jeffreys in notably good company, Tom Harrow, better known as the WineChap, in town for Burgundy Week and armed with a trio of Italians that cheerfully make the case for looking south rather than east.

While the merchants of St James’s are earnestly pouring tiny glasses of rain-thinned Pinot Noir and murmuring about yields, here we are with bottles that feel gloriously, unapologetically alive. Tom’s also takes us along on his journey into wine, via schoolboy tastings at Millfield, a spell in the army, Lee & Sandeman, and eventually Honest Grapes. The sort of anecdotes that make you wish wine education were still considered an acceptable extracurricular for fourteen-year-olds. As he puts it, learning to smell properly is a life skill criminally underrated.

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The Cricket Revolution is Eating Itself

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Chris and Tom are joined by Critic associate editor, Patrick Porter, to talk Cricket. Fresh from another disappointing Ashes series, England seem lacking and out of ideas - except for one, the high-velocity aggressive style known as “Bazball”. The only problem being its not actually bringing England much success on the field.

The failure the net Test wins is compounded, Patrick argues, by the corporatised, Year Zero philosophy of a team which thinks it has nothing to learn from the past. This arrogance, rejecting outright the notion they have anything to learn from the great England cricketers of the past, and obsession with Moneyball-esque sporting fads, will only lead to more failure.

Patrick also brings to the show his specialism in International Relations, asking if the shock of Trump’s threatening behaviour focuses European minds on longer term strategic realities, then he’ll be the president Europe needs and whether they are about to embark on a costly rediscovery of why great power competition existed in the first place.

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Do White Britons owe Black Britons reparations?

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 02:07:03 GMT

In this episode of The Critic Show, Tom and Chris discuss Samuel Rubinstein’s review of Sir Lenny Henry’s new book The Big Payback, which calls for Britain to pay £18.62 trillion in reparations in penance for its colonial legacy.

Whilst economically absurd, and historically myopic, ideas like these are rapidly gaining credibility in the western world, and within the British Labour party in particular, in thrall to the politics of celebrity.

With the Chagos handover baked in, are proposals like this, though economically ruinous, inevitable?

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Is a Reform Government Inevitable?

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 23:11:48 GMT

For decades, Nigel Farage was the ultimate political outsider, yet, after a year of topping the polls by some margin, it is slowly dawning on Westminster that, for the first time in a century, he might break the two-party system.

How has he been able to do this? And why are the political currents of the mid-twenty twenties so different from the waters that UKIP swam in a decade before?

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The Secret Cult Behind AI

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Has western policy-making been broken by AI? Andrew Orlowski thinks so. The writer and journalist believes that our governing elites have become obsessed by artificial intelligence and Large Language Models in particular, yet, he argues, these technologies have singularly failed to live up to their promise.

Orlowski explains how the techno-utilitarian impulse behind this obsession also has much deeper roots, and many its advocates are entwined in a modern day cult of twisted morality.

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The Palace of Westminster is Falling Down.

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 08:01:07 GMT

The creaking edifice of British politics, without urgent intervention, is about to come crashing down. But enough about the Labour party, the Palace of Westminster is in a state of disrepair, and the cost of restoration is projected in the multiple billions. Why? And why can’t we seem to get architecture right in this country anymore?

To answer this, and so much more, Tom is joined this week by Nicholas Boys Smith, founder of Create Streets, the design practice, town-builder and think tank, campaigning to bring beauty and liveability back to our built environment.

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Why is the Right So Bad At Culture?

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 07:57:07 GMT

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Whilst the high culture of classical art and music has often been associated with conservatism, there has, nevertheless, been a slow decline of culture on the right. Nearly every single great cultural institution is effectively owned and operated by the left, and rightist attempts to create art and institutions of their own have been somewhat underwhelm…

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Crime and No Punishment

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:01:00 GMT

Chris Bayliss and Tom Jones if Britain’s punishment system is really that broken, and if our authorities are giving up on crime and punishment

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The Immigration Age

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:01:00 GMT

Fleur Meston and Poppy Coburn talk about how much the Overton Window has shifted in the last year, and how the continuing political rhetorical war around immigration proves the radical right are anything but.

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The Critic Show: Is Britain's Economy Fake?

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:01:00 GMT

This week, Chris Bayliss and Poppy Coburn discuss Britain’s new command economy, and why the free market is anything but.

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The British Army: Decline and Fall?

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:00:00 GMT

It’s the season of goodwill, and in the first of our new Critic Show Graham Stewart joins Tom Jones to discuss the editorial themes of the Critic’s double bumper festive issue, as well as the New Critic essay and the debut piece on the decline and fall of the British Army.

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Introducing The Critic Show

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:42:38 GMT

Hello, and welcome to The Critic Show.

Let’s not bother burying the lede. Britain’s best in-print periodical and online comment engine is re-launching our podcast — and this time you’ll be able to see us, as well as listen.

Today we’ve released the first 4 episodes, which you can watch here. In these first episodes, regular Critics Chris Bayliss, Poppy Coburn, Fleur Meston and I discuss anarcho-tyranny, how the Overton window has shifted on immigration in the last year and whether Britain’s economy is fake. There’s also an episode with Critic editor Graham Stewart and I, where we discuss the Christmas double issue, the new Critic Essay and the debut piece by Ben Barry, on the decline and fall of the British Army. After that you’ll be able to join us every Monday. You can find it here on Outpost - and for full access to the exclusive bonus episodes, subscribe now.

Does the world need another podcast? I get it. It must feel like every magazine has a podcast. It must feel like every 25-75 year-old man with a passing interest in culture and politics — and a lingering sense of frustration in life — has a podcast.

Well, forget all that. It’s like watching St Paul’s being built and asking Christopher Wren if London hasn’t got enough churches. It’s like watching Shakespeare draft Hamlet and asking if the world really needs another play about moody teenagers. It’s like hearing Beethoven preparing his Ninth and asking if he doesn’t think there are already enough symphonies.

Produced in partnership with Outpost Studios, this won’t be another chummy centrist political podcast — the kind Ben Sixsmith hates — that regurgitates the week’s news. Britain’s podcast market is saturated with the offerings of centrist hacks endlessly rehashing whatever has come up in Westminster that week, with no attempt to get under the skin of any story.

Rather than chase the news cycle, we’re going to do what The Critic does best — leading sacred cows to slaughter. We’ll have satire rather than sanctimoniousness, punchy commentary rather than ponderous blather and, crucially, The Critic Show won’t be hosted by a man who made the case for invading Iraq or Lewis Goodall.

Instead it will be hosted by me, Tom Jones, frequent contributor to these most august pages and owner of both the best hair and the best Donald Trump impression in journalism. I hope you’ll join me, as well as all the other varied and talented Critic contributors who will appear on the podcast, as we dig the scalpel of our analysis into the flesh of world events.

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173: On cockroaches and cancellation (w/ James Dreyfus)

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 09:16:07 GMT

Actor James Dreyfus joins Jo Bartosch to discuss the gender wars, cancel culture and the stifling of individuality in art.

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172: Progressive realism

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 10:08:41 GMT

Can Labour's new foreign policy doctrine work in our troubled world? Professor Patrick Porter joins Sebastian Milbank to discuss this, the Chagos Islands, Lebanon and the future of Britain in an increasingly isolated Europe.

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171: The world is not enough

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 11:31:20 GMT

In an age of globalisation could world government be on the horizon? Gal Treger joins Sebastian Milbank to discuss his recent article, and how deeper forms of identity and belonging will always take their revenge on dreams of worldwide hegemony.

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170: Post election rundown

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 16:55:49 GMT

Three very sleepy men discuss the election result. In an heroic bit of Critic broadcasting, Richard Johnson, a senior lecturer in politics at Queen Mary University and Sam Bidwell, a Parliamentary researcher and freelance writer join executive editor Sebastian Milbank to talk Reform, sectarian voting, first past the post, and Labour's constitutional plans.

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169: Critic election day special — William Clouston

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 14:17:44 GMT

As Britain goes to the polls, we look at one of the election's untold stories — the emergence of a revived SDP (Social Democratic Party), carrying forwards an Owenite, socially conservative and economically left wing message to British voters. The SDP's leader, William Clouston, joined Executive Editor Sebastian Milbank to explain the party's vision.

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168: Elder abuse

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 14:17:27 GMT

In our latest Critic podcast, we peer over the pond to the American elections. Last night saw the first (and perhaps last) debate between Trump and Biden. Executive Editor Sebastian Milbank was joined by Will Upton, a former US Treasury official and an editor of the National Pulse, to talk about the sorry sight of a man far too frail to run for office.

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167: The Road to the Cass Review — (5) Lord Moonie

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:37:28 GMT

The publication of the Cass Review validated many of the concerns that “gender-critical” commentators and activists had expressed about transgenderism and transitioning. In this series, Jo Bartosch will explore how we got here — interviewing some of the people who helped to make it happen.

In this episode, Jo speaks with Lord Moonie, a man of the left and a self-described “awkward sod” who resisted the rise of gender ideology and the medicalisation of children.

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166: Trouble in Toryland

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 16:48:20 GMT

On the latest Critic election podcast, we're talking Tories. Sebastian Milbank is joined by Henry Hill, Deputy Editor of Conservative Home, and Fred de Fossard, Director of Parliamentary Affairs for the Legatum Institute, to discuss Conservatism past, present and future.

On the agenda are the credibility of the party manifestos, the possible collapse of the Conservative ground game, the likely result of a post-defeat leadership election, and the potential role of Reform as Tory nemesis.

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165: Populism on the march

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 07:43:29 GMT

As populists make gains in the EU elections, and Reform rises in the polls in Britain, we ask if Europe's future, on both sides of the channel, is with the dissident right?

In our latest Critic election special, Sebastian Milbank is joined by Harrison Pitt, a Senior Editor at The European Conservative, and Political Commentator at the New Culture Forum, and by Sam Bidwell, a Parliamentary Researcher and freelance writer, to discuss the EU elections, Friday's TV debate, and whether populism can make the shift from insurgent movement to governing project.

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164: The Labour voter blues

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 08:29:08 GMT

According to a recent report, 40 per cent of Labour voters can be descried as "blue values voters" — economic and social conservatives who want greater state investment in public services, but also law and order, migration restrictions and a patriotism from their political leaders.

In our first Critic election special, Executive Editor Sebastian Milbank is joined by Professor Adrian Pabst, a writer, academic and Deputy Director of the NIESR (National Institute of Economic and Social Research), and Liam Stokes, an experienced environmentalist and countryside campaigner, to ask if Starmer can take these voters with him, or if he's likely to leave them behind.

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163: The Road to the Cass Review — (4) Keira Bell and Paul Conrathe

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 11:34:56 GMT

The publication of the Cass Review validated many of the concerns that “gender-critical” commentators and activists had expressed about transgenderism and transitioning. In this series, Jo Bartosch will explore how we got here — interviewing some of the people who helped to make it happen.

In this episode, Jo speaks to Keira Bell, who took the Tavistock’s Gender Identity Service to the High Court, and Paul Conrathe, a human rights solicitor who represented Bell.

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162: The Road to the Cass Review — (3) Sue and Marcus Evans

Wed, 29 May 2024 15:40:07 GMT

The publication of the Cass Review validated many of the concerns that “gender-critical” commentators and activists had expressed about transgenderism and transitioning. In this series, Jo Bartosch will explore how we got here — interviewing some of the people who helped to make it happen.

In this episode, Jo interviews the whistleblowing psychotherapy duo Marcus and Sue Evans about the scandals of the Tavistock Centre, the Gender Identity Development Service, and the problem of ideology in medicine.

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161: The Road to the Cass Review — (2) Stephanie Davies-Arai

Wed, 22 May 2024 09:45:54 GMT

The publication of the Cass Review validated many of the concerns that “gender-critical” commentators and activists had expressed about transgenderism and transitioning. In this series, Jo Bartosch will explore how we got here — interviewing some of the people who helped to make it happen.

In this episode, Jo speaks to Stephanie Davies-Arai about children, safeguarding and her pioneering work founding Transgender Trend.

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160: The Road to the Cass Review — (1) Dr Michael Biggs

Wed, 15 May 2024 10:12:26 GMT

The publication of the Cass Review validated many of the concerns that “gender-critical” commentators and activists had expressed about transgenderism and transitioning. In this series, Jo Bartosch will explore how we got here — interviewing some of the people who helped to make it happen.

In this episode, Jo interviews Dr Michael Biggs, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Cross College, about his early research into young people and gender medicine.

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159: Ridiculous research and irate academics (w/ Charlotte Gill)

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:56:41 GMT

Josephine Bartosch is joined by Charlotte Gill to discuss silly academic research, the right to debate the apportioning of taxpayers’ money and our decadent intellectual culture.

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158: The crisis in the universities

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 12:00:00 GMT

An all star panel of Critic editors and contributors, chaired by deputy editor Graham Stewart, addressed the theme of the crisis in the universities. James Orr spoke about the narrowing of speech in the university, and the centralisation of increasingly politicised research at Oxford and Cambridge. Sebastian Milbank discussed the medieval origins of the university, and its contemporary crisis of purpose. Charlie Bentley-Astor led us into the subterranean world of the modern conservative student, forced to live out their shameful beliefs in secret. And David Butterfield called for a return of the humanistic heart of academia.

Our next event will be a discussion of transgenderism held in a central London venue. You can sign up to our mailing list here, to stay informed.

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157: A tale of two Englands

Sat, 16 Mar 2024 09:21:00 GMT

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156: Their transition too (w/ Emma B)

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 15:20:27 GMT

Emma B from Children of Transitioners joins Jo Bartosch to discuss growing up with a trans father and the material and psychological challenges that it can cause.

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155: Blurred thin blue lines (w/ Lisa Townsend)

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:54:19 GMT

Lisa Townsend, Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner, joins Jo Bartosch to discuss attempts to have her removed from her position for opposing the principle of “self-ID”, and to talk about how ideology can damage institutions

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154: The state of the arts (w/ Pierre d'Alancaisez)

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:26:16 GMT

Curator and critic Pierre d’Alancaisez joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss the delusions of the art world and the opportunities for independent creativity.

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153: Who governs Britain? (w/ David Scullion)

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 09:25:12 GMT

Former Braverman special advisor David Scullion joins Sebastian Milbank to discuss the Home Secretary's departure, what a SpAd is, and the ongoing battle between elected ministers and civil servants.

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152: Karens and cohesion (w/ Ellen Pasternack)

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 11:16:10 GMT

Writer and researcher Ellen Pasternack joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss telling people off on the tube and the fluctuating nature of social cohesion.

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151: A load of hot air (w/ Barry Norris)

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 12:39:49 GMT

Barry Norris joins Graham Stewart to discuss his new Critic cover story “Britain, goner with the wind” and the fallacies behind the growth of wind power.

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150: From TV to the trans debate (w/ Graham Linehan)

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:10:35 GMT

Jo Bartosch interviews comedy writer and author Graham Linehan about his new book Tough Crowd and what led him to write it.

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149: Hungary, last safe haven of the West? (w/Rod Dreher)

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 15:25:53 GMT

Writer and commentator Rod Dreher in conversation with Critic executive editor Sebastian Milbank, to talk about Israel-Palestine, Viktor Orbán, and the dangers of romanticising victimhood.

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148: The bully state (w/ Christopher Snowdon)

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:10:44 GMT

Writer and researcher Christopher Snowdon joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss smoking, vapes, obesity and all kinds of prohibitionism.

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147: Mysteries of history (w/ Samuel Rubinstein)

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:18:02 GMT

The writer Samuel Rubinstein joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss historical controversies, political controversies and where the two meet.

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146: Glastonburied (w/ David Butterfield)

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 15:43:03 GMT

Dr David Butterfield, Literary Editor of The Critic, joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss his new article on Glastonbury, the different identities of the festival, and the decline of live music.

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145: The wisdom of gamekeepers (w/ Patrick Galbraith)

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 10:48:25 GMT

Ben Sixsmith is joined by the writer Patrick Galbraith to talk about hunting, endangered ways of life and what opinion columnists can learn from gamekeepers.

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144: Uni tunes (w/ Charlie Bentley-Astor)

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:41:56 GMT

Writer Charlie Bentley-Astor joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss Cambridge cancel culture, declining birth rates, decolonisation and the diminished prospects of the young.

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143: Out of the Ashes (w/ Nick Timothy)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 10:38:32 GMT

Opinion columnists are experts at picking through ashes, and here Nick Timothy joins Ben Sixsmith to do it in a more literal sense as they discuss the ongoing Ashes series, their favourite Ashes moments and the recent report on equity in cricket.

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142: The making of an energy horror story (w/ James McSweeney)

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 10:16:16 GMT

Writer and researcher James McSweeney joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss a future of energy shortages, institutional dysfunction, and why the beliefs, not the tactics, of Just Stop Oil are the real problem.

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141: Defenestrating a feminist filmmaker (w/ Vaishnavi Sundar)

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 15:18:53 GMT

Jo Bartosch interviews India's most provocative feminist filmmaker, Vaishnavi Sundar, on her work on gender issues and the ensuing controversy

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140: The uncivil service (w/ Radomir Tylecote)

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 11:53:02 GMT

Graham Stewart and Dr Radomir Tylecote debate and discuss the extent to which the civil service has been politicised and obstructs democratic processes in Britain.

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139: The limits of nationalism (w/ Adrian Pabst)

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 13:53:15 GMT

Deputy director of the NIESR (National Institute of Economic and Social Research) Professor Adrian Pabst joints executive editor Sebastian Milbank to discuss the impact of the National Conservative conference, and the place of the nation in the modern world.

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138: Writing the world to rights (w/ Jo Bartosch)

Wed, 31 May 2023 10:35:55 GMT

Jo Bartosch joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss the trials and triumphs of freelance writing, the state of the gender wars and the even darker side of pornography.

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137: Hope for helots? (w/ Tom Jones)

Wed, 24 May 2023 03:10:34 GMT

Tom Jones joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss the impoverished prospects for British youth, Conservative self-harm and the need for major national reform.

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136: Decline and crawl (w/ Ed West)

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 13:29:48 GMT

The author and commentator Ed West joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss the right-wing media, the pathologies of progressivism and the greying of British life.

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135: Badmission procedures (w/ Kittie Helmick)

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 05:36:54 GMT

Kittie Helmick joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss equality in education and the dangers of treating inclusion as an end in itself.

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134: London calling (w/ Charlotte Gill)

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 13:19:12 GMT

Journalist Charlotte Gill joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss London under Sadiq Khan, the classism of environmental regulations, and the politicisation of everything.

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133: Britain and the Blob (w/ Poppy Coburn)

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 10:50:27 GMT

Journalist Poppy Coburn joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss the charity sector, Conservative failings and her problems with the concept of post-liberalism.

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132: Not going to be ignored (w/ Victoria Smith)

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 09:59:38 GMT

Victoria Smith joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss her new book "Hags", the intersection of ageism and misogyny, and why J.K. Rowling makes people lose their marbles.

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131: Mission accomplished? (w/ Ben Sixsmith and Sebastian Milbank)

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 05:37:03 GMT

Ben Sixsmith and Sebastian Milbank discuss the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the ongoing consequences of the war, and why Alastair Campbell has a place in public life.

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130: Performance politics (w/ Lola Salem)

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 11:12:36 GMT

Lola Salem joins Ben Sixsmith to discuss gender politics, parenthood and the workplace, and the right-wing critique of art.

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129: Every British politics podcast

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 12:37:53 GMT

Online Editor Ben Sixsmith takes a wry look at the week's events with Online Editor Ben Sixsmith

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128: Disinformation and the nation (w/ Fred Skulthorp)

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 10:20:42 GMT

Online Editor Ben Sixsmith speaks to Fred Skulthorp about his new print piece "The keyboard secret army", online disinformation, the journalists who have been so obsessed with it and how to reverse declining trust in media and politics.

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127: Britain's grooming shame (w/ Charlie Peters)

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 12:15:01 GMT

Ben Sixsmith talks to Charlie Peters about his new “GB News Investigates” documentary Grooming Gangs: Britain’s Shame and the multi-layered scandal of grooming gangs.

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126: All things alcohol (w/ Henry Jeffreys)

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 10:19:19 GMT

Ben Sixsmith speaks to Henry Jeffreys, the author of Empire of Booze, The Home Bar and the forthcoming Vines in a Cold Climate, about alcohol and all its implications.

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125: Mistletoe and whine

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 12:10:37 GMT

Sebastian Milbank and Ben Sixsmith join forces once again to discuss Americanisation, commercialisation, the real roots of Christmas and the ideal present for the whole family.

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124: World War E

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 09:27:19 GMT

Ben Sixsmith and Sebastian Milbank discuss social media, Elon Musk, the corruption of online spaces and their least favourite Twitter accounts.

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123: The red ripple

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 11:01:59 GMT

Ben Sixsmith and Sebastian Milbank discuss the American midterms, their implications for the rest of the world, and why the hell Britons are so obsessed with the USA in the first place.

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122: Our first Californian PM?

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 13:38:17 GMT

Online Editor Sebastian Milbank joins Contributing Editor Ben Sixsmith to discuss the prospects of the new Tory government, the media's Suella obsession, and why Sunak may be our first Californian Prime Minister.

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121: Bye-bye Boris

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 19:51:32 GMT

In this podcast, The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, talks to the magazine's parliamentary sketchwriter, Rob Hutton, about covering the Prime Minister's downfall.

Picture: Boris Johnson addresses the nation as he announces his resignation outside 10 Downing Street, on 7 July 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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120: Tribes of Westminster: Steve Baker MP, Christian Libertarian

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 04:00:00 GMT

The Tribes of Westminster is a new monthly podcast co-produced by the Critic and the New Social Covenant Unit, seeking to unearth the intellectual roots of Westminster. This month Steve Baker MP speaks to Danny Kruger MP, Online Editor of the Critic, Sebastian Milbank, and Imogen Sinclair, Director of the NSCU, about his Christian libertarianism.

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119: The not-so-beautiful game

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 04:00:00 GMT

In the June 2022 issue of The Critic, Nick Timothy wrote that football needed to “search its conscience”, regarding the growing trend of clubs selling their own “fan tokens” — a sort of club-labelled crypto product, which can be bought and sold at prices that rise and fall according to demand.

In this podcast, The Critic's literary editor, Paul Lay, talks to The Critic's Sporting Life correspondent, Nick Timothy, about the wider issue of morality — and immorality — in football.

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118: In conversation with Laura Dodsworth

Wed, 18 May 2022 06:00:00 GMT

Olivia Hartley and Laura Dodsworth discuss Laura's article for the May 2022 issue of The Critic, "The false euphoria of dysphoria", the kickback she received against her piece, and the state of feminism today.

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117: What would Boris do if he had to resign?

Sat, 07 May 2022 04:00:00 GMT

Most ex-Prime Ministers struggle with life after Downing Street. But would Boris bounce back and, if so, in what role? In this podcast, his former Telegraph colleague, James Kirkup — along with Rob Hutton and Christopher Montgomery — discuss with Graham Stewart whether there is life after power for Boris Johnson.

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116: New Labour, new danger?

Sun, 01 May 2022 04:00:00 GMT

Historian of the Labour movement Anthony Broxton talks to Critic online editor Sebastian Milbank to mark 25 years since the 1997 election that saw Tony Blair sweep to power. They ask what lessons the modern left can draw from his example.

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115: In Sparta: How Brexit happened

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 15:09:00 GMT

Three years ago the UK had been due to leave the EU. But on the same day, 28 MPs voted against Theresa May's EU Withdrawal deal and hoped for a clean break. They became known as the Spartans and played a pivotal role in ousting Theresa May and securing a much greater break with the EU. David Scullion speaks to three with veteran lobby journalist Robert Hutton.

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114: Is NATO to blame for the war in Ukraine?

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 11:36:53 GMT

Journalist, author and Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens joins Professor Adrian Pabst, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research to discuss the role of Western foreign policy in bringing about war in Ukraine.

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113: Remembering Richard Shepherd

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 05:00:00 GMT

Sir Richard Shepherd, for 35 years an independently minded Conservative MP, died last month. How should he be remembered? As a Eurosceptic and a natural rebel, certainly, and also as the founder of Partridges - one of London's most loved food shops. But was he, at heart, a libertarian or a traditional Tory or an old school Liberal?

Joining The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, to discuss Richard Shepherd's life in politics in this podcast are his former parliamentary colleagues, Barry Legg and Sir Bill Cash.

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112: Ukraine special

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 16:26:34 GMT

Online Editor Sebastian Milbank hosts a special Critic Podcast special reacting to Russian's invasion of the Ukraine. He's joined by Patrick Porter, Professor of International Security and Strategy of the University of Birmingham, and Sam Ashworth-Hayes, Director of Studies at the Henry Jackson Society to discuss the conflict and its implications for the West.

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111: Is levelling up the answer to Britain's problems?

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode of The Critic Podcast Professor Adrian Pabst, Alys Denby and Imogen Sinclair discuss whether the government's levelling up agenda is enough to reverse decades of regional inequality, and whether the right prescription is state intervention, civil society or the free market.

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110: Julie Bindel in conversation with Raquel Rosario Sanchez

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 05:00:00 GMT

Raquel Rosario Sanchez is going to court to fight a trial against the University of Bristol for failing to protect her from bullying and harassment by trans activists. The case begins on the 7th February, and you can support Raquel here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/bullying-and-harassment-enable-bristol-university/. Julie Bindel asks her about her story, and how she has coped.

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109: Is the myth of the “plucky Brit" false?

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 12:33:16 GMT

On this episode of The Critic podcast, Deputy Editor Graham Stewart is joined by Professor Phillips O'Brien and The Critic's sketch-writer Robert Hutton to discuss whether the wartime myth of the “plucky Brit“ is an accurate way of viewing Britain in the 1940s.

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London gossip, Dickensian Christmasses and experimental castles

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 12:39:46 GMT

Welcome back to The Critic Narrated, where we bring you a selection of articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors.

In this episode, Robert Thicknesse narrates his Man About Town column from the December/January double issue, Welcome to Londongrad; Alexander Larman laments the myth of the Victorian Christmas for this issue's sacred cow, and, in his architecture column, Charles Saumarez Smith says that Jonathan Ruffer’s daring philanthropic experiment with Auckland Castle hopes to bring a different kind of regeneration to the north-east

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Fast food and stolen goods

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 11:42:06 GMT

Welcome back to The Critic Narrated, where we bring you a selection of articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors.

In this episode, Felipe Fernández-Armesto says that empty shelves need not mean dreary eating in his column from the December/January issue of The Critic: “The art of fast food”, while Daisy Dunn narrates her book review of Mary Beard's Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern, and Michael Prodger reads aloud his art column from the latest issue of The Critic: “To catch a culture thief”.

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Unexpected music and a crisis of theology

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 06:00:00 GMT

Welcome back to The Critic Narrated, where we bring you a selection of articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors.

In this episode, Sarah Ditum reveals the joy of letting unexpected, accidental music in as she narrates her column from the December/January issue of The Critic: “Strange Brew”, while David Scullion says the Church of England are woefully out of touch and with falling congregations, now faces a crisis of leadership and theology, as he reads his feature: “Remotely wishing you a Merry Christmas”.

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Feminists, F1 rivalries and couples therapy

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 05:00:19 GMT

In this episode, David Starkey says Feminists like Stock have made a belated rediscovery of biological reality in his column ‘Welcome back to reality, feminists’, while Boris Starling outlines the latest rivalry in F1 in ‘Top Guns of the Track’ and Claudia Savage-Gore drags woke Will back to therapy.

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Thai feasts, muscular unionists and the need for literary panjandrums

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 04:30:22 GMT

Hello and welcome back to The Critic Narrated, where we bring you a selection of articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors.

In this episode, Lisa Hilton reads her piece ‘How Britiain really eats’, where she relays how she enjoys a Thai feast that shows that fiery and exotic has now become mainstream. Henry Hill says a new breed of “muscular unionists” is seeking to reverse the damage done by devolution, as he narrates his feature: ‘Putting muscle behind the Union’ and our Secret Author says we need heavyweights to separate good from back, in this month’s column: 'Bring back the panjandrums'.

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Is Britain winning the fishing wars?

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 16:30:00 GMT

As President Macron climbs down on his deadline to punish Britain over fishing licences, David Scullion asks Patrick O'Flynn whether Britain is getting the better of the French, or if the post-Brexit deal has left UK fishermen high and dry.

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Image: The Scottish scallop trawler "Cornelis-Gert Jan" leaves the northern French port of Le Havre after being granted permission by French port authorities on November 3, 2021, after being held for days amid a post-Brexit dispute over fishing rights between France and Great Britain. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

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Dilyn goes to Glasgow COP26

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 05:00:57 GMT

Welcome back to The Critic Narrated, where we bring you a selection of articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors.

In this episode, Robert Hutton reads the secret diary of Boris and Carrie Johnson's dog, Dilyn, as he attends Glasgow COP26, Josephine Bartosch, author and campaigner for women’s rights narrates her feature, 'Turning victims into folk devils' and Robert Thicknesse reads his November Opera column, ‘Hot Valks Live!’.

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It's time to resurrect forgiveness

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 03:00:59 GMT

In this episode of The Critic Narrated, Revd. Marcus Walker, Rector of Great St Bart’s in the City of London, reads his piece ‘Resurrect Forgiveness’, Hannah Betts narrates her column: ‘Time for Coco’ and Patrick Galbraith reads his piece from Country Notes, this week entitled ‘Do the Right Thing’. These articles are taken from the October issue of The Critic.

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Welcome to Tufton Street!

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 16:30:09 GMT

Welcome back to The Critic Podcast, and welcome to our new series: The Critic Narrated!

Each week, we will be bringing you a selection articles from our print issues, read aloud by their authors for you to listen to on your commute, around the house or alongside reading the written piece. Don’t forget you can visit our website to subscribe to the print issue, and to read a plethora of articles on politics, current affairs, society, culture and beyond.

In this episode, architectural historian Matthew Lloyd Roberts reads his article ‘The Critic’s New Home’, Anna Price, podcast producer here at The Critic, narrates Claudia Savage Gore’s October Hot House column, 'Eat, Pray, Hate', and Jonathan Aitken, Christ Church alumnus, former Conservative cabinet member and current Prison Chaplain, reads his feature ‘Low Panic at the High Table’. All articles taken from The Critic’s October issue.

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Can countries ever really be friends?

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 12:17:01 GMT

After the US withdrawal from Afghanistan ignited a bitter briefing war between the President and members of the British Cabinet, it seemed that Britain's relationship with the US was on ice. But then, out of the blue, a secret trilateral agreement between the US, UK and Australia was struck, gifting Australia nuclear propulsion technology for use in their submarines, much to the chagrin of France. Are we witnessing the usual ups and downs in the anglosphere relationship or do countries really only act in self interest?

In this podcast, David Scullion discusses this, the Afghanistan withdrawal, and the Special relationship with Patrick Porter, Professor of International Security at Birmingham University and Sebastian Milbank, a PhD Candidate in the Cambridge Faculty of Divinity and a journalist based at the Tablet.

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Canada's gender ideology obsession

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 04:00:26 GMT

In this episode of The Critic's podcast, publisher Olivia Hartley speaks to Chris Elston — A.K.A Billboard Chris — about the progression of gender ideology in Canada as well as the use of puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria.

Chris has travelled the length and breadth of Canada raising awareness of these issues and has amassed an online following of over 35,000. In this podcast, Olivia asks him why he does what he does and what he would say to the activists who question his authority to speak on these polarising topics.

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Consumerism, woke identity politics and the corporatist agenda

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 08:43:07 GMT

By his own admission, Vivek Ramaswamy is a traitor to his class. A self-made man who founded a successful bio-tech firm in his 20s, Ramaswamy’s story has the telltale signs of membership of America’s corporate elite. But in his new book, Woke, Inc, he takes aim at fellow business leaders for what he calls “the defining scam of our time”.

According to Ramaswamy, big business’s enthusiastic embrace of woke identity politics isn’t just hypocritical but undemocratic. He argues that it’s dividing his country, and undermining the values on which America has thrived in the past. Ramaswamy spoke to Oliver Wiseman, the Critic’s US Editor, about why ruthless captains of industry have gone woke, why it matters, and what should be done about it.

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Save the Parish

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 15:11:09 GMT

A campaign is underway to elect members to the General Synod of the Church of England under a “Save the Parish” banner. The campaign leader Marcus Walker, the Rector of St Bartholomew’s, described it as “the last chance to save the system that has defined Christianity in this country for 1000 years”. Campaigners say the Church of England hierarchy already squeezes parish churches and is planning to use vital funds to open new churches in places like cafes and cinemas rather than prioritising the existing parish structure. But critics say the movement fails to recognise the dire reality of church attendance, and are afraid of embracing new radical ideas that could reverse the fortunes of the established church.

David Scullion speaks to Alison Milbank, Professor of Theology and Literature at the University of Nottingham, and the founder of the campaign Marcus Walker.

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The Afghanistan Withdrawal

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 09:19:48 GMT

The dramatic events in Afghanistan in recent days mark many things. The end of America’s longest war, the end of the post-9/11 era and the return of the Taliban.

They also constitute the first and perhaps defining foreign policy crisis for US President Joe Biden.

To try to make sense of the US side of the momentous Afghanistan story, the Critic’s US Editor, Oliver Wiseman spoke to Jacob Heilbrunn, Editor of The National Interest, a foreign policy journal, and Luke Thompson, a Republican strategist and advisor.

They debate what Biden has got right, what he has got wrong, how the American people will react and where US foreign policy goes next.

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Inside the new gender critical research network

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 09:15:35 GMT

In this episode, The Critic's publisher, Olivia Hartley, speaks to Dr Jon Pike, co-convener of the newly established Open University Gender Critical Research Network and a philosopher of sport and ethics, about setting up the UK’s new network for gender-critical academics and the inclusion of transwomen in women’s sport.

Jon tells Olivia that, far from being a gender-critical activist group, the network "isn't a political campaign; it's a research network with a focus on sexed bodies".

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Debunking Trans ideology

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 13:05:05 GMT

In this episode of The Critic Podcast, Jo Bartosch is joined by Helen Joyce, the Britain editor of The Economist, to talk about her new book: Trans. Bartosch and Joyce discuss the ideology of the Trans movement, the influences behind this new book and how the direction the Trans movement is taking is damaging to young homosexuals.

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Is the English lit degree killing love for literature?

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 09:31:50 GMT

In this Critic podcast, the writer Alexander Larman tells The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, why he thinks studying English literature at university is becoming such a deadening experience.

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Image: A general view of the Duke Humphrey’s Library at the Bodleian Libraries (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images).

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Stonewall's war on women

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 05:00:23 GMT

In this podcast, The Critic's publisher, Olivia Hartley, talks to journalist and feminist campaigner Julie Bindel about her July feature, "When is a rape not a rape?", which covers LGBT charity Stonewall and its campaign to change the UK’s sex-by-deception clause.

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How does a Lions Tour compare to playing in the Rugby World Cup?

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 05:00:24 GMT

Introducing The Critic's new column, "This Sporting Life", Graham Stewart talks to the sports writer and Critic columnist, Boris Starling, about the enduring appeal of a British Lions tour — and the players who regard it to be more memorable than winning the Rugby World Cup.

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How I brought down Theresa May

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 16:52:10 GMT

On this week's Critic podcast, our Online editor David Scullion speaks to Christopher Howarth about the plot to remove Theresa May from office. In a real-life political thriller, the senior parliamentary researcher spills the beans for the first time about how his visit to a dying man in hospital secured a vital piece of information which led to the Prime Minister's downfall. Christopher's article is in the July issue of The Critic which will be available in shops from Thursday.

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Has the National Trust forgotten its purpose?

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 10:13:00 GMT

Why are the membership numbers of the national trust falling? Are they placing themselves in socio-political conversations where they don’t belong? What is the purpose of the Trust in modern society?

In this episode, Editorial Assistant at The Critic, Anna Price, speaks to Constance Watson, Assistant Editor of the Catholic Herald and author of the piece: Burned by political expedience in the June issue of The Critic about how the National Trust’s priorities are potentially in the wrong place.

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Maya Forstater: my fight against trans-activism

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 15:52:32 GMT

In this episode of The Critic Podcast, Josephine Bartosch, journalist and regular contributor toThe Critic, speaks with Maya Forstater about her recent victory at the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Forstater had lost her job after posting tweets on gender recognition, following which she lost her original case at a tribunal in 2019. However, last week a High Court judge ruled that her "gender-critical" beliefs fell under the Equalities Act.

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Is "Net Zero" achievable?

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 16:28:37 GMT

All major parties agree that the UK needs to cut carbon emissions but is the goal of "Net Zero" achievable or will it leave us, in the words of Steve Baker MP, "quivering under duvets in the dark on windless winter nights"? On this podcast the former Brexit rebel explains his scepticism with The Critic's Online Editor David Scullion.

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Parliament will burn again

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 17:52:28 GMT

Should heritage be preserved at all costs or can defunct and forgotten buildings make space for better use? On this week's Critic Podcast, our Online editor David Scullion discusses with Brice Stratford about the restoration of parliament and the heel-dragging by MPs over what should be done. Stratford argues that there are parallels between today and the conditions in 1834 just before the palace was destroyed by fire.

Stratford has written about the issue here, and also about the closure of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry here.

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Man About Town

Fri, 28 May 2021 05:00:00 GMT

As the literary would comes out of its Covid-induced hibernation, The Critic's deputy editor, Graham Stewart, discusses with the writer and journalist Alexander Larman, the merits of celebrity authors and literary book prizes.

Music: “Modern Jazz Samba” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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