<p>How do British political parties get funded? What does that money buy? With only a few weeks to go until the local elections and in a year of a general election I spoke to Seth Thevoz, political and investigative journalist, about how parties are funded.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Professor Amalendu Misra of the University of Lancaster is an expert in Latin America and the Caribbean, notably Haiti. I spoke to him about the current crisis there and what it tells us about the wider region. </p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Mike Martin (who is on Twitter and elsewhere @threshedthought) is one of the most insightful thinkers on conflict and geopolitics active today. He served in the army in Afghanistan with some distinction and subsequently has worked as an academic and adviser on conflict and strategy. He is now running for parliament as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Tunbridge Wells. When we say that parliament needs more people who have actually done things with their lives and fewer professional politicians, it's hard to imagine a better candidate than Mike.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Is Democracy for Sale? The degree to which dark money, powerful interests and political power intersects in this country is startling and depressing. One of the most dogged chroniclers of this phenomenon is the investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan whose book, published articles and substack are all essential reading for people that take an interest in this question.</p><br><p>I spoke to Peter about his work and what it means for our politics. You can find Peter's substack here <a href="https://democracyforsale.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://democracyforsale.substack.com/</a> and he is on Twitter here <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/PeterKGeoghegan</a></p><br><p>I'm, as always, at <a href="https://twitter.com/SnellArthur" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/SnellArthur</a> and <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://arthursnell.substack.com/</a> as well as on BlueSky for those that celebrate.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Returning to our occasional episodes on Britain's relationships with Europe and the EU, I spoke to EU law professor Jacob Öberg about how Britain could evolve its relationship with the EU in future, the realistic possibilities of joining a customs union, the single market and the EU itself, and the need for future governments to start talking honestly to the British people about the realities of our relations with Europe.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Frank Ledwidge is a War Studies academic, a former serviceman and an expert on military matters. He made several visits to Ukraine since the start of the current conflict and offers an incisive, clear-eyed account of the challenges faced there, the capacity of the Russian military to learn and the risks the West has brought on itself through chronic underinvestment in its military.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>At the heart of much of the discussion of the multiple crises facing the Middle East is Iran, whose proxies are active across the region. But what is it that Iran itself wants? What is it trying to achieve and and what considerations does it bring to these questions?</p><br><p>To try to answer these complicated questions I was fortunate to be joined by Charlie Gammell, historian, Iran expert and former UK diplomat, to talk through Iran's recent history, it's current preoccupations and its possible futures.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

With Laura Cretney

<p>Argentina's 'anarcho capitalist' president Javier Milei haș a series of policies that are barely believable. I spoke to Leiza Brumat about the political and economic background to his election, his political platform and whether he is likely to get it adopted.</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>BONUS EPISODE</p><br><p>In conversation with Jason Pack of the <a href="https://twitter.com/DisorderShow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder Podcast</a> about Yemen. This is a joint episode with Disorder, so if you are already listening to that show, you won't find too much different between these two. </p><br><p>There are some links that were referenced during the show. </p><br><p><a href="https://time.com/6555947/houthi-airstrike-history/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://time.com/6555947/houthi-airstrike-history/</a></p><br><p><a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/12/houthis-red-sea-british-royal-navy-is-back/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/12/houthis-red-sea-british-royal-navy-is-back/</a></p><br><p>And my substack articles on Yemen can be found here <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://arthursnell.substack.com/</a> </p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>EMERGENCY EPISODE</p><br><p>On 11 January US and UK airforces struck targets in Yemen associated with the Huthi militia which has been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, purportedly in solidarity with the plight of the Palestinians.</p><br><p>To try to understand the bewildering background to these worrying events I was privileged to be joined by Hannah Porter, Senior Research Officer for Yemen at ARK Group and a particular expert on Yemens Huthis.</p><br><p>Hannah can be followed on Twitter @Hannaheporter</p><br><p>You can find me in the usual places, including a recent Substack piece I wrote about Yemen's Huthis here: <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com/p/what-do-the-houthis-want" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://arthursnell.substack.com/p/what-do-the-houthis-want</a></p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>After a tough year in 2023 and a lack of major progress in regaining territory from the Russians, this year promises to be another challenging one for Ukraine. Looming over all of what Ukraine does is the question of Western support. Will the USA be able to overcome its political turmoil and continue to provide the Ukrainians with the weapons and aid they desperately need? Will Europe be able to step up its weapons production? And perhaps the biggest question of all: will Donald Trump return to the presidency, thereby ending American support to Ukraine?</p><br><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/lukeharding" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Luke Harding</a>, Guardian foreign correspondent and author of the book <a href="https://guardianbookshop.com/invasion-9781783352777" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Invasion</a>, has spent most of 2023 in Ukraine, reporting from the frontlines of that conflict. He joined me to discuss the war so far and the war to come.</p><br><p>Thank you for listening to this podcast. Please check out my substack Not All Doom <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://arthursnell.substack.com/</a> and don't forget to give us a positive review if you have enjoyed this episode. </p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>With all the pressure of the Christmas season I held off from putting out a 'geopolitical review of the year' or something like that: there's a lot going on and people need some space. Instead, I wanted to finish the year with an episode that is in some ways completely different, but also relevant to the issues we have covered in the podcast earlier. <a href="https://www.tcd.ie/research/profiles/?profile=smomara" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shane O'Mara</a> is a professor of experimental brain psychology at Trinity College, Dublin and the author of numerous books and studies. He also has a brilliant Substack called <a href="https://brainpizza.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brain Pizza</a> which I can highly recommend.</p><br><p>Recently, Shane published a book called Talking Heads which explains the unexpected link between human conversation, which of course depends on human memory, and nations. At a time when nationalism in its most pernicious and dangerous form is an increasing phenomenon, understanding that it is a function of human memory, not some inherent feature of Englishness, Germanness, Russianess or whatever, feels like an important insight and worth talking about.</p><br><p>Thank you all for listening to this and other episodes of the podcast. I hope you have enjoyed it and hope that you will continue to listen into 2024.</p><br><p>You can follow me <a href="https://twitter.com/SnellArthur" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/SnellArthur</a> also more often on BlueSky <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. I write at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com/p/my-enemys-enemys-enemys-enemy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://arthursnell.substack.com/</a></p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>As the Israeli assault on Gaza, immediately preceded by the Hamas-led massacre in Southern Israel, continues, we return to the history of this conflict. This is the second part of my extended interview with the historian&nbsp;<a href="https://www.historythatmatters.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Barr, author of several books on the history of the Middle East including&nbsp;A Line in the Sand&nbsp;and&nbsp;Lords of the Desert</a>, some of the best regarded guides to the region, particularly in the early years of the twentieth century. If you have not yet heard the preceding episode 18, where James starts this story, I recommend that you listen to that first.</p><br><p>In this episode we start at the aftermath of World War II and the horrific events of the Holocaust, as Jews are trying to emigrate to what will become the State of Israel and the British colonial authorities are trying to stop them.</p><br><p>You can follow James via his website <a href="https://www.historythatmatters.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.historythatmatters.org/</a> as well as on Bluesky at&nbsp;<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/jamesbarr.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bsky.app/profile/jamesbarr.bsky.social</a></p><p>I am on Twitter @snellarthur, Bluesky <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social</a> and&nbsp;arthursnell.substack.com </p><br><p>If you’ve enjoyed this podcast why not subscribe, and give us a positive review.</p><br><p>Also, don't forget to check out the Disorder Podcast <a href="https://www.goalhangerpodcasts.com/disorder" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.goalhangerpodcasts.com/disorder</a></p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Part 1 of a 2 part special

<p>The sense that our politics isn’t working might be familiar to listeners of this podcast. If you heard last week’s episode you’ll know that I had James O’Brien discussing his book “How they Broke Britain”, which gets to the heart of these questions. But one area that James and I didn’t touch on is our parliament. Britain’s parliament, sometimes self-importantly calling itself the Mother of Parliaments, isn’t working properly. Its members aren’t scrutinising legislation properly, its regulations and procedures are largely broken and it contributes to a wider sense of cynicism around our politics. Two seasoned parliamentarians, Nick Harvey and Paul Tyler, have focused in on the way parliament currently works and how it&nbsp;<u>should</u>&nbsp;work and have produced a short, easily readable book which contains a set of clear proposals, around elections, parliamentary procedure, reform of the upper house and standards in public life. Although it’s just about parliament, this book could be titled How to Fix Britain, because if its recommendations where followed, our national life would be improved immeasurably. It’s actually called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Can-Parliament-Take-Back-Control/dp/B0CHKY67X8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Can Parliament Take Back Control&nbsp;</a>? And comes with strong endorsements from the Institute for Government, the Constitution Unit at University College London and the Former Clerk of the House of Commons, Lord Lisvane.</p><br><p>I was lucky to be able to speak to Paul and Nick and draw on their combined several decades of political experience to hear their recommendations for how to fix our politics. Here they are</p><br><p>You can find Paul and Nick on Twitter and in the usual places. I am @snellarthur on most social media and my Substack is&nbsp;<a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://arthursnell.substack.com/</a>&nbsp;</p><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>James O'Brien is often described as the voice of liberal England. With this regular radio slot on LBC and his huge online following, he is a reminder that popular doesn’t have to be populism. His patient, forensic but totally accessible unpicking of cynical political dishonsesty, particularly of the Brexist variety, has been a beacon of sanity for literally millions of people - at a time when so many other media outlets, including the BBC, no longer seem prepared to call out deliberately misleading public messaging. O’Brien sometimes feels like a lone voice of reason and that points to a profound change in our society. Politicians have always tried to avoid answering difficult questions and portray their own actions as virtuous and ingenious, but the kind of profound dishonesty characterised by Boris Johnson coupled with the refusal to take responsibility for your own failings, perhaps best epitomised by Liz Truss, feels like a newer phenomenon. This plays into a wider prospect, of a country that now feels broken, its media, its politics and perhaps most importantly its public services, all deeply dysfunctional. The roots and causes of that malaise are the subject of James OBrien’s new book,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/457804/how-they-broke-britain-by-obrien-james/9780753560341" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>How they Broke Britain</em></a><em>.</em>&nbsp;In the excellent introduction, O’Brien talks of the boiling frog metaphor and succinctly explains the premise of his book: it is “the story of slowly boiled water from which an entire country failed to escape”.</p><br><p>Like anyone who has been profoundly distressed by that boiling water, I have been a big admirer of O’Brien’s work, both on LBC and on&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mrjamesob" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. This was particularly the case as his book has a similar title to my own,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Britain-Broke-World-1997-2022/dp/1912454645/ref=sr_1_1?crid=25OL0S2R0OZ9G&amp;keywords=how+britain+broke+the+world&amp;qid=1700830990&amp;sprefix=,aps,110&amp;sr=8-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>How Britain Broke the World</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em>I wouldn’t go so far as to suggest they are companion volumes, but I was to some extent attempting in my work to look at some of the similar effects of Britain’s internal politics on the wider world. So it was a huge pleasure and privilege to have James on the podcast. He is, as you’d expect for a consummate radio presenter, an excellent guest and I really hope you get as much from listening to him as I did from interviewing him.</p><br><p>Thanks for listening and please subscribe to this show if you haven’t already. You can follow my work at&nbsp;<a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://arthursnell.substack.com/</a>&nbsp;as well as on&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SnellArthur" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluesky</a>.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Finally, a link to the Disorder Podcast which I mentioned at the top of the show:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goalhangerpodcasts.com/disorder" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.goalhangerpodcasts.com/disorder</a></p><br><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Are Ukraine and Russia in a stalemate? And does the rest of the world care anymore?

with Larisa Brown

Rejoining: How Britain Might Come Home, with Mike Galsworthy

Mike Martin on the risks of global conflict

The complexities of Israel's neighbourhood, with Michael Stephens

<p><br></p><p>In this episode I wanted to go back to something that Paul Mason said in an earlier episode&nbsp;which struck a chord. He identified that the weakest link in International democratic politics is the world’s greatest democracy, the United States.</p><br><p>Here’s Paul’s line “the key to the international situation is America. we could&nbsp;wake up in November 2024 with Trump as president that is a legitimation of&nbsp;insurrectionary politics.” (Have a listen to that episode&nbsp;- number 7 - if you’ve not yet had the chance)</p><br><p>That challenge led me to this week’s interview. Greg Olear, whose name sounds Irish but is in fact Slovakian in origin is an American novelist, podcaster and commentator on political affairs. He has a&nbsp;<a href="https://gregolear.substack.com/p/europes-war-with-arthur-snell?nthPub=191" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">substack</a>&nbsp;and his&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/prevail-with-greg-olear/id1553506699" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">podcast</a>, Prevail, can be found in all the usual places.</p><br><p>Greg has focused heavily on the current crisis in American politics, as well as the complicated history of President Trump’s links to Russia and the degree to which that still matters. I hope you get as much from the discussion as I did.</p><br><p><br></p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&amp;ik=763cd0fc5d&amp;attid=0.1.1&amp;permmsgid=msg-f:1780266340717995279&amp;th=18b4c6cdfc14a50f&amp;view=fimg&amp;fur=ip&amp;sz=s0-l75-ft&amp;attbid=ANGjdJ-LgwwelAFhDmP8Udx95ujymcsHoOOUUU7D2-I7AE30EgXhErPNbvdN7vkHfYbVDsUsds4jamc2tMemnJUgEqvwLA-ZavYJtukdfwkaI89vnSz8cspiJ2bc5c0&amp;disp=emb">Arthur Snell (@snellarthur.bsky.social)</a></p><p>bsky.app</p><br><p><a href="https://twitter.com/SnellArthur" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Arthur Snell (@SnellArthur) / X</a></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/SnellArthur" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">twitter.com</a></p><br><p><a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&amp;ik=763cd0fc5d&amp;attid=0.1.2&amp;permmsgid=msg-f:1780266340717995279&amp;th=18b4c6cdfc14a50f&amp;view=fimg&amp;fur=ip&amp;sz=s0-l75-ft&amp;attbid=ANGjdJ_Y0nkCzEhlhSFK8CzMWu0BH26XCkkwmT5UGsX4vj72VXb_ANyHEYtxzmFPHqXsqV_eEmXg2e7KDvNI2wbj8W2h0_MPjoHzG5YWF7160VvbBi_3cqADl42oNss&amp;disp=emb">Not all doom | Arthur Snell | Substack</a></p><p>arthursnell.substack.com</p><br><p>Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate site <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/behindthelines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behindthelines</a> and please sign up for my substack at <a href="https://arthursnell.substack.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">arthursnell.substack.com</a> and/or follow me on Bluesky</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@snellarthur.bsky.social</a>. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often <a href="https://disordershow.com/home" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disorder</a> which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the <a href="https://www.rusi.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Royal United Services Institute</a>, the world's oldest think tank.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

With Arthur Snell and Shashank Joshi