200. Count Binface: Nigel Farage’s Biggest Threat?
3 August 2026
Podcast
9 December 2024
What lessons on leadership does Angela Merkel have after 16 years served as Chancellor of Germany? Does she have any regrets from her tenure? What was it like being in East Germany when the Berlin wall fell? And what should Europe do to ensure the future security of Ukraine?
Rory and Alastair are joined by ex-Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, to discuss all this and more.
TRIP Plus:
Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes.
Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics.
Instagram:
Twitter:
Email:
Assistant Producer: India Dunkley
Producer: Nicole Maslen
Senior Producer: Dom Johnson
Head of Content: Tom Whiter
Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
1 minute(s) read
Recent Podcasts
200. Count Binface: Nigel Farage’s Biggest Threat?
Is Count Binface really Nigel Farage's biggest threat in Clacton, and has Farage already lost by turning "me against the establishment" into a battle against a bin? Does Binface's manifesto hide serio... Continue3 August 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
Data Centres vs. Drinking Water: What Matters To Us Most?
To hear the full episode, which includes an interview with global water expert, Sandra Postel, sign up at the therestispolitics.com With the government quietly categorising data centres as ‘critica... Continue30 July 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
558. The ‘Cockroach’ Uprising and Should We Stop Data Centres?
Is Modi's power finally cracking as the Cockroach Janta Party's mass protests force a minister to resign for the first time in over a decade? Does the new US-Saudi uranium deal risk triggering a fresh... Continue30 July 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
557. Can Burnham Really Deliver Britain’s Biggest Change in Forty Years?
Can Andy Burnham, in a single term or less, fix problems like social care that are generations in the making? Is his new push for vocational education a long-overdue fix for Britain's broken skills sy... Continue29 July 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell’s diary: The right wing case for climate crisis denial is going up in flames
Europe is burning, food insecurity is growing and Trump and Farage are still shouting about “Net Stupid Zero”... Continue28 July 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
27 July 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
Britain’s Ticking Time Bomb: The Food Security Crisis
Could the UK be facing empty supermarket shelves by 2030? Are food distribution centres sitting ducks for drone warfare? And how has Britain got to a place where is has just 3 days to 3 weeks worth of... Continue23 July 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
556. The US-China AI Arms Race and Badenoch vs. Rory’s Centrism
Is China quietly outsmarting the US in the AI arms race, and is Trump laying the pitch to challenge the results of the US midterms with his repeated, unfounded claims of Chinese election meddling? Why... Continue23 July 2026
Posted by Alastair Campbell
A very interesting and illuminating interview. Thank you!
But I do wish there had been an option to hear Frau Merkel’s responses in German.
if you get the YouTube version which I posted on social media earlier this week you can go to settings and change language to German
Hi Alastair
This was a great listen but I’d be really interested to watch a video version with the German audio and English subtitles (for when my German fails me….).
I realise the dubbing was needed for the podcast, (and the parts where I heard the original German were dubbed well), but you always lose some nuance when things are translated and not in the original voice.
Kind regards
Andrea
Commenting from Portugal, the view from here of Merkel has always been one of “fear”, contempt, but also admiration of this big political figure. Heavily associated with austerity, even if seen as a symbol of stability.
Such insightful conversation as this one gives us a better look into her mind. I guess in some things really brave, in others with an uncertain legacy.
Thanks for this interesting interview. As a former conference interpreter, I was disappointed that you didn’t acknowledge the person who did the interpreting. Was it AM’s former trusted interpreter at the AA ? AM herself always acknowledged and thanked her interpreter(s) if she had the opportunity to do so.
Did you synch the interpretation differently after the interview as the English soundtrack on the podcast always finished before AM, or was it voiced over afterwards ?
Listening with a professional ear, I find the interpretation very competent but the interpreter is not a native speaker of English which detracts slightly from the overall performance.
we talked about her, and praised her hugely, on a later episode