The Nudge Revolution

Sea Captain Hanson Gregory claimed to have first cut a hole in a donut on 22nd June, 1847, sparking an American tradition: the nation now consumes ten billion donuts per year. But Americans munched on Dutch “oily cakes” for decades prior to that, and the corporate intervention of ...  Show more

Sir Robert Peel received royal assent for the Metropolis Police Improvement Bill on 19th June, 1829 - leading to the creation of London's first professional police force, who were soon nicknamed ‘Bobbies’ in tribute. The Met’s first constables hit the streets that Autumn, dressed ...  Show more

What was the worst political mistake in modern history? How do religious Republicans bring themselves to support Trump? Was it wrong to describe the fall of the Soviet Union as ‘The End of History’? On today’s episode of Leading, Alastair and Rory sit down with political scienti ...  Show more

This week David, Helen and our producer Catherine Carr look back at five years of podcasting and five years of crazy politics, to pick our favourite moments and to discuss what we've learned. From the 2015 general election to the current crisis, via the Corn Laws and Crashed, the ...  Show more

In an extra episode this week David answers your questions about the most recent series of the History of Ideas - in particular about the political lessons of Gulliver’s Travels, for its own time and for our own. Plus, how is Trump like - and not like - Coriolanus, and where are ...  Show more

Keir Starmer, poster boy. The Labour leader’s new pledge card is here, with six key policies and a black and white photoshoot to woo the public. Is it all a bit retro? Well that depends who you ask: George Osborne would prefer a new approach, whereas Ed Balls reckons some soli ...