Twenty-five years after 9/11, does terrorism still pose an existential threat to humanity? How do ordinary people become extremists — and why is it a mistake to generalise about the “type” of person who joins a terror organisation? What opportunities did the chaos of ISIS’ caliphate present to otherwise unlikely recruits?
This week, Rory is joined by Iraqi historian and blogger Omar Mohammed, who, when ISIS captured Mosul in 2014, began secretly reporting on life inside the city, at great personal risk, and documented the occupation while it was happening.

This week, Rory is joined by Omar Mohammed, who, when ISIS captured Mosul in 2014, began secretly reporting on life inside the city, at great personal risk, and documented the occupation while it was happening.

To hear the whole episode and the rest of the series where Rory interviews Yuval Noah Hararri, Edward Fishman, Carlo Rovelli and Toby Ord, sign up at therestispolitics.com

Video Editor: Vasco Andrade

Producer: India Dunkley

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Executive Producer: Bella Soames

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As supermarket fridges are hacked and bomb threats are called in, how is AI accelerating the rate of cyberattacks, and can Britain’s defences keep up? Who is in the running to become the next UN Secretary-General, and what will the appointment mean for the future of the organisation and the international order? Following the ANC’s worst-ever performance in South Africa’s local elections, has corruption finally caught up with the ruling party, and can it tackle the country's deepening unemployment crisis?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time.

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Following the disastrous midterm results for the Republicans, where will Trump turn his attention for the last two years of his presidency, and what will the MAGA movement look like without him? With Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitting an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, what does the fallout mean for the future of the company – and its enormous influence over the future of AI and the entire American economy? What do the recent elections in Israel and New Zealand reveal about the challenges of proportional representation? 

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Paul van Zyl by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

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Why did Trump concede defeat so quickly and pledge to work with Democrats, and what does this mean for the final two years of his presidency, including his influence on the world stage? Was this a cost of living election defeat for Trump more than an outpouring of love for the Democrats, and will MAGA’s ‘America First’ worldview persist anyway? After the most highly funded election in American history, could there finally be bipartisan support for tackling the influence of extreme wealth and corruption in US politics?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Kevin Rudd by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

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What has Rory uncovered on the road through JD Vance country, and how did he feel attending a Trump MAGA rally? What is driving the wave of youth protests sweeping across Europe, and could we see similar unrest in the UK? What will be the political legacy of the late, great Patrick Stewart, and what was he really like?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week’s edition of Question Time.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Kevin Rudd by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

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To hear the full episode, and the whole series, sign up at therestispolitics.com

This week, Alastair sits down with someone who – in his opinion – is the most persevilient person in politics, Lord David Blunkett. Blind since birth, he lost his father at the age of 12 and grew up in a very poor household. 

Despite this, he went on to become leader of Sheffield Council at 33, then MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, and a key architect of New Labour.

You’ll hear how differently he experiences the world, not least in Westminster, why he thinks politics has before too ephemeral and why he never wants to be pitied.  

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Video Editor: Gabriela Gibbs 

Producer: India Dunkley

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Editorial Director: Emily Kent Smith

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Why are these US midterms so important, and what has Rory been seeing on the ground in Ohio? Could the Democrats really flip Texas, and is Trump alienating the Hispanic voters that were crucial to his 2024 victory? If the Republicans lose control of Congress, will Trump accept the result?

Rory and Alastair are joined by Issy Stanley, reporting from Texas, as they answer all these questions and more in this week’s edition of Question Time.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Michael Lewis by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

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With the UK’s new Chancellor, John Healey, announcing his first budget and Kemi Badenoch asking him, “is that it?”, how will the public judge his plans? With Lula making an historic return to Brazil’s presidency, was it the strength of his campaign or Bolsonaro Jr’s electoral gaffes in the leadership race that proved decisive? How did Aleksandar Vučić’s gamble on an early election backfire so spectacularly, and what does his shock defeat to a leaderless student movement tell us about just how unpredictable modern politics has become?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Michael Lewis by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

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Social Producer: Celine Charles, Bex Tyrrell

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This week, we bring you one of Alastair’s favourite interviews.

He’s joined by Kim Leadbeater MP, whose sister Jo Cox was murdered in 2016, and his lifelong friend Lindsay Nicholson, who lost her husband John and nine-year-old daughter Ellie to the same rare cancer.

They discuss grief, breakdowns, anger and faith, why they disagree on assisted dying, and how to find hope when the worst has already happened.

To hear the whole interview and the rest of Alastair's series on Persevilience, sign up at therestispolitics.com

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Producer: India Dunkley

Assistant producer: Evie Townend

Video Editor: Caroline Kay

Social Producer: Celine Charles

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

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What is at stake for Israelis and Palestinians in the upcoming parliamentary elections and, if Netanyahu loses, will anything actually change given the major parties reject a two state solution? Why does the IDF’s ‘bureaucracy of mass murder’ and its ‘NAZA’ collateral damage policy in Gaza feature so little in Israel’s domestic political debates? From Trump’s new press secretary’s disastrous five-day tenure, to the fallout from the Reform UK documentary, are we all now living in parallel political universes where scandals have less impact than they used to?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time.

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Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Mary Trump by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

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After another devastating week for Ukraine, is Trump now firmly on Putin’s side, and how much leverage does Elon Musk have over Zelensky’s war effort through his ownership of Starlink? With more civil unrest in France, what does this mean for a protest movement increasingly overshadowed by rioting, and could it play into Marine Le Pen’s hands ahead of next year's presidential election? What do we know about the attack on Australian MP Helen Haines, after she was hit by a car twice in what the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described as a “deliberate” act?

Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.

__________

Enjoy Rory and Alastair’s interview with Mary Trump by searching ‘Leading’ on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord.

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