The Times Red Box Podcast

PLUS: Is a general election insane, and how much did Times reporters drink in the 1980s?Matt Chorley is joined by Sam Coates, The Times deputy political editor, who says the prime minister is the root of all our problems.Times columnist Daniel Finkelstein warns a planned election is mad, but it is worth planning for an accidental one.And as Frances Gibb prepares to retire after four decades covering the law for The Times, she describes what has got better (and worse) in justice and journalism.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Who is really ahead in the polls? Is support building for a second referendum? Would Leave or Remain win? And is Labour really trailing the Tories? Matt Chorley is joined by polling guru Sir John Curtice and Deborah Mattinson, Gordon Brown's former pollster and founder of Britain Thinks. PLUS: Do you feel politically homeless? Jane Merrick describes quitting Labour and Nick Mazzei explains why he quit the Tories.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nevermind Brexit, there are plenty of other crises to keep us awake at night.Matt Chorley is joined by a bumper panel of Times reporters and columnists to discuss the issues not being discussed enough.Columnist Rachel Sylvester is worried about poverty; Lucy Fisher, the defence correspondent, is worried about Nato; Graeme Paton, the transport correspondent, is worried about the railways; Chris Smyth, health editor, is worried about almost all of the NHS, and columnist Kenny Farquharson is worried about SNP infighting.Subscribe to the Red Box politics morning email at thetimes.co.uk/redbox  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley is joined by The Times' Daniel Finkelstein, Iain Martin, Esther Webber, Hugo Rifkind and Henry Zeffman in the corridors of power, and asks MPs including Boris Johnson, Mary Creagh and James Cleverly what happens now.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley is joined by award-winning playwright James Graham, who explains how and why he created Channel 4’s Brexit: The Uncivil War, and why he hopes drama can be a catharsis.Kieran Hodgson is a comedian and actor but also a self-confessed political history nerd and his latest show, '75 indulges his fascination for the lively world of 1970s politics, in particular the dramatic story of how the UK joined Europe in the first place.And Nikki da Costa, who until November was Theresa May’s director of legislative affairs in No 10, explains how the Brexit plot will play out over the next few months.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley asks Tim Shipman, political editor of The Sunday Times, Esther Webber, the Red Box reporter, and Katie Perrior, Theresa May's former director of communications to gaze into their crystal balls and predict what this year might hold in store in British politics.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley is joined by two of his favourite comedians who give their impressions of the last year. Look out for their Fawlty Towers sketch.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley presides over more chaos in part two as the teams fight it out in the remaining rounds.On the MPs’ team, Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Labour’s Conor McGinn. On the columnists team Daniel Finkelstein and Hugo Rifkind. And finally on the reporter’s team, the undefeated champion for the last two years: sketchwriter and diary editor Patrick Kidd, who this year is joined by Red Box reporter Esther Webber. Can they make it three years in a row?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley is ringmaster of the annual circus, testing who has paid the most attention this year: MPs, columnists or reporters.On the MPs’ team, Conservative MP Anna Soubry and Labour’s Conor McGinn. On the columnists team Daniel Finkelstein and Hugo Rifkind. And finally on the reporter’s team, the undefeated champion for the last two years: sketchwriter and diary editor Patrick Kidd, who this year is joined by Red Box reporter Esther Webber. Can they make it three years in a row?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On another day of drama, Matt Chorley presents from Westminster speaking to journalists and MPs about May's narrow victory, her promise to stand down before the next election, and whether all the theatrics help or hinder the path to a deal.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley is joined by Times columnist Iain Martin who tries to explain what went wrong with the Brexit vote, Katie Perrior, May's former director of communications, says her old boss could be on the way, and Henry Zeffman, The Times political correspondent, examines what (might) happen next.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, tells Matt Chorley about the risk of social unrest if Brexit is stopped, his fears over the decline of freedom around the world, and how he carries out diplomacy via WhatsApp.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley is joined by Henry Zeffman, Times political correspondent, who explains what could happen if and when Theresa May's Brexit deal is voted down by MPs.Rachel Sylvester, Times columnist, argues Theresa May’s fixation on immigration is her fatal flaw.And Kenny Farquharson on interviewing John McDonnell on Labour working with the SNP, splits with Jeremy Corbyn, and learning to play the trombone.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Who would become a politician? Who can afford to? And why is there is disconnect between the electorate and the elected?Matt Chorley is joined by Isabel Hardman, author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians, Sam Alvis, a former parliamentary intern and researcher, and Rob Wilson, a former minister who lost his seat in 2017.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When it comes to bad leaders, trapped penguins or mental health, is there a right time to intervene?Matt Chorley is joined by Francis Elliott, The Times' political editor, who wonders how the Tory plotters got it so wrong.PLUS Alice Thomson, Times columnist, on police appeals for the public to step in and Matthew Parris asks do we get bang for our buck on mental health?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the most extraordinary day in Westminster since, well, yesterday Matt Chorley watches Jacob Rees-Mogg call for a leadership challenge with The Times' Sam Coates and Patrick Kidd; Kate Devlin explains why Dominic Raab quit; and Henry Zeffman, Esther Webber and Oliver Wright try to explain what is happening, before admitting nobody knows.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Matt is joined by Times columnist Philip Collins, who wonders why more billionaires don’t do good, Nicola Woolcock, Times education correspondent, on the latest, expensive Tory plan to win back the youth vote, and columnist Daniel Finkelstein who deciphers Labours Brexit position so you don't have to.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley meets House of Cards creator Lord Michael Dobbs. In a wide ranging conversation Dobbs explains his brutal firing by Margret Thatcher, how he came to write House of Cards when he should have been in therapy and the impact of the #metoo movement in Westminster and Hollywood.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley is joined by Hugo Rifkind, who is worried about the vast power that vastly rich people today can have over our politics.In the week of the death of Jeremy Heywood, Rachel Sylvester wonders whether the civil service can withstand the huge pressure of Brexit.And Joe Jervis, co-author of Spirit of Britain, Purpose of Labour, says we are a nation divided between Communitarians and Cosmopolitans.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Philip Hammond heralded the beginning of the end of austerity, blowing a multi-billion pound windfall on tax cuts and extra spending. But what was hidden in the small print, does it make an election more likely, and who will actually have more money in their pocket?Matt Chorley is joined by Anne Ashworth, The Times money and property editor, Oliver Wright, The Times policy editor, and Richard Fletcher, The Times business editor, to answer these questions, and others sent in by Red Box newsletter readers.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.