Behind the Lines with Arthur Snell is a new geopolitics podcast. Every week we give the listener access to the best informed people to help you understand this turbulent world and get a feel for the things that will matter in the future. I am on Twitter @snellarthur and you can read some of my thoughts on world affairs here https://arthursnell.substack.com/ If you enjoyed this podcast please spread the word and give us a positive review - as a brand new title it makes all the difference!" Ho ...
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Quiet Riot, the politics podcast with more passion, less shouting and lots of laughter
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Have we entered a post-Western world? What does that mean and how does it look from the other side of the world? Singapore based academic and former British diplomat has published a new book, Westlessness about this idea and I spoke to him for a wide-ranging discussion on the decline of the west, the rise of Asia and the potential implications. Hos…
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Ukraine's push into Russian territory took plenty by surprise (though probably not western defence chiefs). So what has changed in the war, and what do we know about the F16 jets that have been assigned a role in the conflict? Naomi Smith seeks reassuring words on the war from former diplomat, writer and podcast host Arthur Snell, whose career is a…
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Alex and special guest Brian Klaas, with their 30-minute review of the entire Democratic National Convention - complete with the best clips. Can the Democrats maintain this momentum? Can Trump find anything that will stick - or will he turn on Vance? What next before the first Harris vs Trump debate in September? TW Testimony of rape survivor. Clic…
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Is there a glimmer of light at the end of the (Channel) tunnel for young Britons wanting to travel more freely in Europe? This week's headlines hinting at a Youth Mobility Scheme suggest there may well be, and polling tells us that even old Brexity types aren't against helping Generation Z win back some of the European travel freedoms that us oldie…
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Naomi and Alex, with guest Sir Vince Cable, discuss the lack of policy flesh on the meat of an American election that seems all about vibes. Meanwhile, the new Labour government seem willing to devise an industrial policy - but it will take more than words. Rachel Reeves bought into BIDENOMICS - but with Biden gone, and Harris more mercurial, is th…
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Alex takes you through some impressions from the first night of Democratic National Convention, and finds it touching and inspiring. Click here to back Quiet Riot on Ko-fi. "Disarray was what was expected. Instead, what happened was absolute array. A party ready for a fight. And all of it enabled by the most dignified, respectful, affectionate, eve…
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Naomi and Alex take you through what to expect from the Democratic National Convention starting tomorrow, discuss Farage's income, declarations of interest and MPs' second jobs, and gossip about the birth of their baby podcast, its mission, and what you can do to help it grow. Click here to back Quiet Riot on Ko-fi. “[Farage] has not yet tabled a s…
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Naomi Smith takes us deep into the stat tables of the recent YouGov poll and finds some stunning tidbits, about demographic breakdown and how much closer to the EU voters want to go - but also, how far they believe this Labour government has a mandate to go. “Scotland still leads the country with the highest proportion of voters wanting to get back…
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Naomi and Alex chat to special guests Labour MP for Brent East Dawn Butler and former Tory SpAp Salma Shah through the fallout of the riots and how we can carve a way forward. And we go through the Tory Leadership race candidates. Who will it be? And will anyone care? PLUS a very special Wokey Dokey about idiots blowing up their motorbikes and we g…
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Alex has boiled down an INTERMINABLE three hours of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, finally becoming TRUSK, into 20 minutes WITH a few comments. TL;DR - there is none. You really have to listen. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. (We are working…
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Quiet Riot: Sunday School - IS THIS HOPE, IS THIS HOPE, IS THIS HOPE, IS THIS HOPE THAT I'M FEELING? with Zoe Williams
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Alex goes through the week's political events, both here and across the Atlantic, with special guest Zoe Williams. “The Spectator is in a really difficult position. They’re not like the Daily Mail. They cannot turn round and hold the exact opposite point of view to the one they held yesterday, without intellectual consequences. If they wash their h…
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Why is Northern Ireland the only UK nation other than England where the riots took hold? Alex talks to Belfast MP Claire Hanna, who has seen thuggery in the last few days on her patch, about what factors make Northern Ireland different on this - and what wisdom, from decades of dealing with this sort of violence, actually applies more universally. …
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Alex, Naomi, and special guest James O'Brien chat about the riots in England, the people who stoked them and now claim refuse all responsibility, and the toxic influence of social media. And in the second part, we look at Harris's VP pick, Tim Walz, and the remarkable turnaround in the US election. PLUS Wokey Dokey and You Gotta Troll With It. Find…
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Alex - a former regulator by trade - talks through the issues of social media regulation and the ultimate sanction of banning Musk from having history's most destructive midlife crisis at the expense of UK democracy. Please take a minute to subscribe to the podcast, like, review and rate us, and share Quiet Riot pearls on social media because shari…
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Naomi and Alex talk about the Far Right riots up and down the UK, the extent to which they are an omen of worse things to come, or the final spasm of a faction of sore losers, the role disinformation has played, and what Starmer can do. Alex: “The far right have had a pretty bad year. The European election did not go their way in the mega-wave they…
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Naomi Smith chats to Conservative Home's Henry Hill about every aspect of the Tory leadership contest, who are the runners, who are the riders, who doesn't know if they're afoot or horseback, and what is at stake. A free-roaming and illuminating conversation - and a perfect illustration of our mission here at QRHQ, to build understanding. Henry on …
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James Dorsey is a writer and journalist and author of the new book The Battle for the Soul of Islam - Defining the Muslim Faith in the 21st Century, published by Macmillan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Quiet Riot - Episode 11: The United States we're in – from swing states to the cult of weird
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The new buzzword in American politics is Weird, and it seems to be having an effect. Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith are joined by transatlantic academic, author and podcaster Brian Klaas, Associate Professor of Global Politics at University College London, to talk weird politics, Kamala's crowds and a whole bunch of other fascinating stuff around the…
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Alex Andreou, in conversation with Christina Pagel and Tom Brufatto, teases out the main threads from the Covid Inquiry Module 1 Report and discusses the current wave of Covid sweeping the country and the status of Long Covid. “Our plan was how do we cope with the number of deaths. And they planned, into the 2011 strategy, for over 800,000 people t…
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OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY REACTION. Alex and Naomi with a bumper edition of your favourite weekly feature, looking at the comically insane and the insanely comical reactions to a man with a hole in his tights, a drag race, and Papa Smurf singing. What happened to Christian temperance and forgiveness? It's all pride and wrath these days. "They think…
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A familiar voice returns to join Alex and Naomi – fresh from playing Angela Merkel with the Royal Shakespeare Company, actor, writer and all-round good egg Ingrid Oliver casts a knowing eye over the in-tray of Lisa Nandy, our new Secretary of Culture, Media and Sport. We talk theatre, music, libraries and even TikTok and footie, as the challenges f…
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In September last year, an established community in a European country of hundreds of thousands of people was removed in its entirety after a devastating military campaign. This was not Ukraine, but the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has now ceased to exist. To understand this and the dynamics of a little understood region including…
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Alex with a short personal view, on how the treatment of Biden has set back the cause of trying to ease the stigma of conditions like dementia back by years. The way this was treated, often involved a sort of gratuitous cruelty and vicious glee that did not need to be there, served no purpose. It seemed just a chance to join in with a public humili…
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Goodbye Joe, he gotta go: Joe Biden has finally done what many considered inevitable, and exited the race to be the next US President. In this Quiet Riot special, our hosts Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith are joined by long-time Democratic Party donor and political analyst Mark Bergman, to prod the embers of Biden's 2024 campaign. Among the burning qu…
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Quiet Riot - Sunday School SNP SPECIAL - John Nicolson: Losing your seat is a bit like bereavement
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Alex chats to John Nicolson – now a former SNP MP – reflects on what went wrong for the SNP and how to fix it, as well as a wide range of topics, from the US presidential race to behind-the-scenes insights on the life political. And there's a little regret that he and his SNP colleagues weren't a little more awkward when they descended en masse on …
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Naomi chats to newly re-elected Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran on the campaign, the stunning success, and what do they mean for the party going forward. Layla Moran on Ed Davey in a wetsuit: “You can’t do that unless you’re very comfortable in your skin. It’s quite exposing, politically and quite literally. He did take a risk, with bubbly Ed, but …
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Alex talks to former UK ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, about the attempt on Trump's life, JD Vance as a Vice President pick on the ticket, and the prospects of the Democrats replacing Biden so late in the day. Naomi talks to Layla Moran about the King's Speech, what was in it, what wasn't, and what opposition can do against such a large maj…
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Alex chats to award-winning Cardiff-based journalist Will Hayward about Vaughan Gething's resignation and a perfect fifteen-minute explainer of the general election result. A potted summary of the Gething scandal. Who did well and who did poorly? Why is Reform building such a strong base in Wales? What next for a Senedd and a Labour party, both spl…
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Alex Andreou talks to author and politics professor Brian Klaas about the attempt on Trump's life - a moment of violence that is as shocking as it was predictable. "The US is a fundamentally broken society... All of the ingredients for political violence are in the US and have been for many years. The reason there hasn't been a high-profile assassi…
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Away from NATO's glitzy summit 75th anniversary summit in Washington DC, the war in Ukraine drags on. Ian Bond, a former British ambassador and now Deputy Director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank spoke to me about his recent visit to Ukraine and Moldova and what it portends for the war in Ukraine and wider European security. Hosted on …
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Continuing our series of focussed analysis of the general election, Naomi Smith chats to the deputy leader of the Greens, Zack Polanski, about every aspect of the result. What was different in this campaign that resulted in a quadrupling of Green seats? Will the LibDems' success in primarily Tory-facing constituencies leave space for the Greens to …
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This week, your stars Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith are joined by a genuine Chevalier, Olivier Morel, to cast a bemused glance at politics over La Manche and, closer to home, ask the big question: is Sir Keir showing signs of happiness? As well as being a partner at law firm Cripps, Olivier chairs the UK chapter of the French Foreign Trade Advisors …
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As a General Election treat, Alex and Naomi dish up an all-you-can-eat special with guest chefs Rory Bremner and Zoe Williams. What other show brings you a menu featuring lashings of Starmer, Johnson, Trump and Glastonbury? With a side order of William Hague and some Gordon Brown sauce? We snack on memorable elections of the past, nibble on some ta…
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Naomi chats to journalist - and Norn' Iron political encyclopaedia - Amanda Ferguson who provides the perfect twenty-minute explainer of the election result. Where does each party stand politically and in relation to the constitutional question? Who did well and who did poorly? Who are the new MPs? What was the NI's Portillo moment? What do the par…
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Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith, and Ian Dunt do a deep dive into every aspect of the election result and what has followed it. And while you're listening, why not subscribe to or follow the podcast, rate us, and give your social media followers a prod to listen. Ideas, feedback, comments, guest or topic suggestions? Find us on twitter @quietriotpod, ema…
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In this episode I speak to Annette Dittert, London correspondent of German TV channel ARD since 2008. She has lived here since 2008, but she remains someone who can look dispassionately at our politics, culture and institutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Naomi and Alex right the world's wrongs, in the wee small hours of the morning. We decided that, basically, Nick Clegg is to blame for everything - among several other people, who are also to blame for everything. Also, that, at a time the country needed a broadsheet editorial, Sunak provided a listicle. Also, that conservatism in deep doo-doo. Als…
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I spoke to Nick Cohen, veteran political journalist and author of the Writing from London substack https://nickcohen.substack.com/ about the record of the past 14 years of Conservative government and what we might expect from a Labour one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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This week, Alex Andreou is flying solo in the studio while Naomi Smith checks in from the campaign trail – from lots of campaign trails, in fact. Joining Alex are special guests Luke Tryl, Executive Director of More in Common UK, and Yasmeen Serhan, Time's politics and policy specialist for Europe and the Middle East. As the clock ticks down to the…
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I spoke to Jason Pack about the fallout from President Joseph Biden's poor debate performance on 27 June. Jason has written about this in his substack and also recorded his own podcast on the subject, both available here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-146086715?source=queue We covered: does the poor debate even matter? What is the process (if on…
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Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith have a wee-hours chat, analysing the last head-to-head Starmer v Sunak debate. Because we love you and like giving you unexpected nice prezzies. Subscribe to the podcast, like us, rate us, and share the joyous news on social media. Ideas, feedback, comments, guest or topic suggestions? Find us on twitter @quietriotpod, …
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Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith chat to the CEO of 38 Degrees, Matthew McGregor, fresh from focus groups in Rishi Sunak's own constituency and talk through the last few days, including the latest in the Tory betting scandal, Farage's interview, the BBCQT Leaders' Special, and Kuenssberg's interrogation of the trans issue, in another Sunday special. He…
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Alex Andreou fact-checks Nigel Farage's claim that he is some sort of oracle that - alone, among politicians - saw the war in Ukraine coming, that he made his complimentary comments on Putin before the annexation of Crimea. All he found was a history of shilling for Russia. Please subscribe to the podcast, like, review and rate us, and share the lo…
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President Macron did something truly unexpected when he called a snap election in the aftermath of the European parliamentary elections. It now looks very likely that France's next legislature will contain a plurality of hard right deputies from Marine Le Pen's National Rally. I spoke to Lord Peter Ricketts, former British Ambassador to France abou…
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This week, Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith are joined by special guests Henry Morris – he of Secret Tory fame and now unleashing a Shakespearean take on the Downing St rabble – and Jim Blagden, Associate Director at More In Common. There's a recap of the General Election so far – just 14 days to go people – and we ask if there's a parallel universe in…
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I was delighted to speak to Akanksha Narain, Indian political analyst and consultant about the unexpected election results in India where Modi's BJP party fell far short of their target of 400 seats in the 542-seat lower house of Parliament (Lok Sabha). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
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Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith bring you another Sunday special, this time with a focus on tactical voting, and a look at tactical tomfoolery too. Best for Britain – that's Naomi's team – has its latest MRP behemoth here: https://www.bestforbritain.org/june_2024_mrp You can also find it on the front of The Sunday Times, because it's quite an eye-open…
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This week, Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith and special guest, investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan discuss the Conservative manifesto and why everyone is treating it like a business document, rather than a work of fiction. They also look at the fall-out from Sunak's catastrophic D-Day decision. And in Part II they splash around in the murky waters of…
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I spoke to Christina Keßler of the Centre for European Reform (CER) about the current EU elections and the possibility of Europe taking a turn to the right. You can find Christina's work at the CER here: https://www.cer.eu/personnel/christina-kessler Separately, I appeared on the new podcast Quiet Riot. Find the episode here: https://open.spotify.c…
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Sunak is meant to have "won" the debate on Tuesday. So why has every Tory spokesperson had to spend the last two days defending him? Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith are joined on their new politics podcast by old friend Behind The Lines' Arthur Snell to talk through the debate fallout - and Farage's return. And in Part II we focus on foreign policy. H…
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