The Rest Is Politics

1 Oct 2026

576. How Xi is Outplaying Trump and Tensions in Northern Ireland

As Trump becomes the first American president to personally welcome a visiting head of state off a plane since JFK greeted Harold Macmillan in 1962, did his summit with President Xi signal improving US-China relations, or does Xi have his counterpart in an economic chokehold? With the standoff between protesters and members of the pro-British Protestant Orange Order in Northern Ireland showing no sign of resolution, is the region's fragile peace in danger of unravelling? And as violence erupts in Ethiopia, is Africa's second most populous country on the brink of civil war – and does it risk dragging other regional actors into a wider conflict spanning the Horn of Africa and the Gulf?

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.

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Leading

28 Sep 2026

208. Mustafa Suleyman: Is AI Actually Conscious?

Can Artificial Intelligence stay subordinate? Is Anthropic’s 100-Page constitution creating dangerous AI autonomy? Should AI models be granted legal personhood, rights, or financial compensation?

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.

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Latest

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
Leading

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
The Rest Is Politics

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
The Rest Is Politics

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
Leading

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
The New European

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
The Rest Is Politics

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
The New European

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... Continue
The Rest Is Politics