181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art
Why was Ai Weiwei kidnapped and held prisoner by the Chinese government? How did the 2008 Sichuan earthquake radicalise him into taking aim at the authorities through art? What’s behind Ai Weiwei’... Continue
writer, podcaster,
communicator, strategist
Latest
513. Inside Iran: The Country Trump Cannot Control? (Question Time)
Why are the US and the West as a whole so bad at understanding the cultures of other countries, including Iran, and what do they miss as a result? How will the Iran war unfold over the next six months... Continue
512. Trump’s Iran Disaster and the GB News Propaganda Machine
Is Russia the biggest winner from Trump’s war with Iran? Is GB News little more than a propaganda machine for Reform UK? How toxic is England's water and why does it have the only fully privatised w... Continue
180. The Only European Leader Defying Trump? (Pedro Sánchez)
Why is Prime Minister Sánchez such an outlier in challenging Trump on everything from military spending to Gaza? What’s behind Spain’s recent economic success? How is Spain tackling the rising fa... Continue
Alastair Campbell’s diary: Pedro Sánchez is outclassing Trump with the president’s own tactics
The Spanish prime minister succeeds because he thinks, speaks and acts in bold, primary colours... Continue
511. Is Blair Undermining Starmer on Iran? (Question Time)
Why is Tony Blair criticising Starmer’s approach to Trump’s warmongering in the Middle East? Should European leaders be calling out Trump’s lies more directly? What is actually unfolding inside ... Continue
Alastair Campbell’s diary: Trump’s dark legacy – the world now sees America as worse than China
MAGA has made the land of the free more of a global danger than a repressive surveillance state that spies, steals and kills... Continue
510. How The Iran War Is Spiralling Into a Global Crisis
Has Trump unleashed a sequence of events nobody in the world can control? How serious are the global consequences? Is this war even more dangerous than the Iraq war? Join Rory and Alastair as they an... ContinueThe Rest Is Politics
19 Mar 2026
513. Inside Iran: The Country Trump Cannot Control? (Question Time)Why are the US and the West as a whole so bad at understanding the cultures of other countries, including Iran, and what do they miss as a result? How will the Iran war unfold over the next six months? Has Trump unleashed a war he ultimately cannot control or end?
Two men who’ve been at the heart of the political world – former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy Alastair Campbell and cabinet minister Rory Stewart – join forces from across the political divide.
Leading
23 Mar 2026
181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through ArtWhy was Ai Weiwei kidnapped and held prisoner by the Chinese government? How did the 2008 Sichuan earthquake radicalise him into taking aim at the authorities through art? What’s behind Ai Weiwei’s belief that there is a serious censorship issue in the West?
Every Monday, Rory and Alastair interrogate, converse with, and interview some of the world’s biggest names – from both inside and outside of politics – about life, leadership, or leading the way in their chosen field.
Books
Little Experts: Why Politics Matters
Packed with fun, facts and challenges – perfect for readers aged 6 to 9.
Alastair Campbell Talks Politics
The empowering intro to politics that every young person needs right now from writer, podcaster and strategist Alastair Campbell.
Alastair Campbell’s diaries 2023
A thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable chronicle of our editor-at-large’s year, illustrated by Martin Rowson and Richard Jolley.
The bestselling new book from Alastair Campbell, on why politics has gone so wrong, and how you can help fix it. Part call to arms, part practical handbook, But What Can I Do? will prove required reading for anyone who wants to make a difference.
Alastair Campbell knows all about winning. As Tony Blair’s chief spokesman and strategist he helped guide the Labour Part…
Living Better is Alastair Campbell’s honest, moving and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression. It is an…
In Pursuit of Personal and Political Happiness
A Game More Serious Than Life or Death
Diaries Volume 8: Rise and Fall of the Olympic Spirit, 2010 – 2015
It’s 2010 and Britain stands at a crossroads. After thirteen years in power, Labour find themselves out in the cold as David Cameron takes office – with a little help from the Liberal Democrats.
Diaries Volume 7: From Crash to Defeat, 2007 – 2010
Caught in the no man’s land between being a key figure in Downing Street and the relative anonymity of the world outside politics, Alastair Campbell finds himself being torn in several directions.
Diaries Volume 6: From Blair to Brown, 2005 – 2007
After helping Tony Blair to secure a historic third term in office, Alastair Campbell might have hoped to make good his long-planned escape from Downing Street. Blair, and Gordon Brown, had other ideas.
Diaries Volume 5: Outside, Inside, 2003 – 2005
This eagerly anticipated volume picks up where its predecessor left off, with Campbell standing down as Tony Blair’s director of communications in 2003.
Diaries Volume 4: The Burden of Power: Countdown to Iraq
The Burden of Power is the fourth volume of Alastair Campbell’s diaries, and perhaps the most eagerly awaited given the ground it covers.
Diaries Volume 3: Power & Responsibility
It begins amid conflict in Kosovo, and ends on September 11, 2001, a day which immediately wrote itself into the history books, changing the course of both the Bush presidency and the Blair premiership.
Diaries Volume 2: Power and the People 1997 – 1999
Power and the People is the second of four volumes, and covers the first two years of New Labour government, beginning with their landslide victory at the polls in 1997.
Diaries Volume 1: Prelude to Power
Volume 1 details the extraordinary tensions between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as they resolved the question as to which one should stand to become Labour leader.
The Blair Years is the most compelling and revealing account of contemporary politics you will ever read. Taken from….
The Irish Diaries (1994 – 2003)
This newly edited one-volume edition focuses on one of the Blair government’s biggest successes, the Northern Ireland peace process.
Maya Lowe is one of the world’s most beautiful film stars.
Emily is a traumatised burns victim, Arta a Kosovan refugee recovering from a rape. David Temple is a longterm depressive, while the Rt Hon Ralph Hall MP lives in terror of his drink problem being exposed.
She likes a drink. Everyone has a problem.