• 1 hour 15 minutes
    202. Is Peace in the Middle East Closer Than We Think? (A Palestinian & An Israeli's View)

    How do an Israeli who lost his parents on October 7th and a Palestinian whose brother died after torture in Israeli prisons come together to reject revenge and build a brotherhood for peace? Why do they believe lasting peace between Israel and Palestine could be just "two to four weeks away"? What can Britain do to help end a conflict it helped create?

    Alastair and Rory are joined by peace activists Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah to answer all of these questions and more.

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    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Josh Smith, Vasco Andrade

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    16 August 2026, 11:00 pm
  • 1 hour 16 minutes
    201. How Westminster Breaks Politicians and Why Britain Isn't Ready for War

    Is Britain's military being left behind as drones and AI rewrite the rules of modern warfare? Is British politics broken beyond repair, and does Johnny Mercer's ruthless fight for veterans reveal what's really wrong with Westminster? Why did a man so obsessed with truth end up defending Boris Johnson? 

    Alastair and Rory are joined by Johnny Mercer, former Conservative MP, Cabinet Minister, and Veterans Minister, to answer all these questions and more.

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    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Josh Smith

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    9 August 2026, 11:00 pm
  • 42 minutes 6 seconds
    200. Count Binface: Nigel Farage's Biggest Threat?

    Is Count Binface really Nigel Farage's biggest threat in Clacton, and has Farage already lost by turning "me against the establishment" into a battle against a bin? Does Binface's manifesto hide serious politics beneath the comedy? Could a joke candidate ever become a serious political force?


    Alastair and Rory are joined by Count Binface as they answer all these questions and more.

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    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Josh Smith, Caroline Kaye, James Clayden, Oli Ortega, Lorcan Moullier

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    2 August 2026, 11:00 pm
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    199. Is Trump's Chaos Pushing Iceland Towards the EU? (Prime Minister of Iceland, Kristrún Frostadóttir)

    What are the real reasons Iceland has brought forward its vote on restarting accession talks with the EU? What lessons did the Prime Minister learn from watching Brexit unfold while living in the UK, and how have those experiences shaped her government's approach to Iceland's EU campaign? How did the Social Democrats go from three MPs to running the country?


    Alastair and Rory are joined by Kristrún Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, to discuss all these questions and more.


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    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Josh Smith

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    26 July 2026, 11:00 pm
  • 52 minutes 51 seconds
    198. How Trump’s Imperial Presidency Really Works

    How does the most chaotic White House in history actually make decisions? How did Netanyahu sell Trump on a regime change war in Iran? Who is the only world leader Trump is truly afraid of? 

    Alastair is joined by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, White House correspondents for the New York Times and authors of 'Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump' to discuss all these questions and more.

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    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Caroline Kaye

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    19 July 2026, 11:00 pm
  • 1 hour 11 minutes
    197. The Billionaire Tax Debate (Gabriel Zucman)

    Can the super rich ever be fairly taxed, or are there too many functioning tax havens? Can capitalism survive the ever growing disparity between the top 1% and the rest? Should billionaires exist at all?


    Rory and Alastair are joined by economist Gabriel Zucman to answer all this and more.


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    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Lorcan Moullier

    Videographer: James Clayden

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    12 July 2026, 11:45 pm
  • 1 hour 12 minutes
    196. How America Talks Itself Into Endless Wars

    What does the gap between American foreign policy rhetoric and reality reveal about the failures of its military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Iran? In an age of algorithm-driven political polarisation, can authentic political speech still break through, or has social media made Trump-style fragmentation impossible to overcome? Is Donald Trump an anomaly in American politics, or part of a recurring historical cycle - and what does this suggest about America's future?


    Alastair and Rory are joined by Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama's former speechwriter and Deputy National Security advisor, to answer all of these questions and more.


    __________


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    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.


    Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store.


    Barack Obama's 2009 ⁠speech⁠ on a 'New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan', as mentioned by Rory.

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    Email: [email protected]

    __________


    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Josh Smith, Caroline Kaye

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    5 July 2026, 11:00 pm
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
    195. Can the West Reclaim its Power from Trump? (Malcolm Turnbull)

    As Western nations become increasingly dependent on the US for AI, satellite infrastructure, and defence, are they sacrificing sovereignty in exchange for American security? Can middle powers such as Australia and the UK pursue genuinely independent foreign and defence policies when a Trump-led America prioritises its own interests? Is AUKUS a genuine security partnership, or is Australia bankrolling American and British interests?


    Alastair and Rory are joined by Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister of Australia, to discuss all of these questions and more.


    __________

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    Twitter: @restispolitics

    Email: [email protected]


    __________

    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Josh Smith

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    28 June 2026, 11:00 pm
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    194. Is Putin Losing His Grip on Russia?

    With war fatigue growing and polls showing increasing dissatisfaction with life in Russia, is Vladimir Putin beginning to lose control? What is really happening inside Russia today? And what is it like to report the truth from inside one of the world's most repressive states?


    Alastair and Rory are joined by Steve Rosenberg, Russia Editor for BBC News, to answer all of these questions and more.


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    Social Producer: Emma Jackson

    Video Editor: Josh Smith

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    21 June 2026, 11:00 pm
  • 1 hour 18 minutes
    193. James Cleverly: Why Has There Been A Radical Shift On The Right?

    What does James Cleverly think of Nigel Farage and Reform? How does Cleverly explain his unexpected exit from the Tory leadership race? What could the future of AI in Great Britain look like under different leadership?


    Sir James Cleverly joins Rory and Alastair to answer all these questions and more.

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    __________

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    Email: [email protected]

    __________

    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Josh Smith

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    14 June 2026, 11:05 pm
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    192. Are We On The Brink Of World War III? (Odd Arne Westad)

    How similar is today's world to the months before the outbreak of World War I? Could Taiwan, India-China tensions, or an unforeseen crisis be the spark that sets the world ablaze? Are our leaders too consumed by domestic politics to prevent a catastrophic great power war?


    Alastair and Rory are joined by Historian Odd Arne Westad to discuss all these questions and more.

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    __________


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    Email: [email protected]

    __________


    Social Producer: Celine Charles

    Video Editor: Josh Smith

    Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne

    Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen

    General Manager: Tom Whiter

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    7 June 2026, 11:00 pm
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