Shows
How To Academy PodcastPhil Tinline - Iron Mountain and the Birth of American Conspiracy CultureHow did a 1960s spoof of Cold War technocracy become a bible for far-right militias in the present? Political journalist Phil Tinline traces the strange journey of the Report from Iron Mountain.
In the mid 1960s, a group of New York satirists conceived of an ingenious hoax; a report purportedly written by government technocrats, planning for an unprecedented economic and political catastrophe: what if world peace broke out? The Report from Iron Mountain became an bestseller, its scathing indictment of the military industrial complex taken seriously even by those who correctly identified the document as a work o...
2026-05-1540 min
What's Left? With Jovan + FreddieLabour's Leadership Conspiracy - Phil TinlineJOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content **********************************************The Labour leadership crisis has gone nuclear with Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigning this afternoon, after a week of intense speculation of a coup following Labour's local elections drubbing. We sat down with Phil Tinline, author of Ghosts of Iron Mountain and The Death of Consensus: 100 Years of British Political Nightmares, to dive deep into the chaos. Phil...
2026-05-141h 41
The Two MattsSpecial: Exploring the Ghosts of Iron Mountain with Phil TinlineThe Matts sit down with Phil Tinline to discuss his book The Ghosts of Iron Mountain - genuinely one of the most fascinating and consequential stories of our age. Phil tells how a 1967 hoax report into the desirability (or lack of it) of peace in America triggered a culture of conspiracy and paranoia which not only infects American politics today, but sometimes dictates it to a quite surreal degree. It’s a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation... enjoy! And once you’ve listened to the pod, do get Phil’s book The Ghosts of Iron Mountain in paperback, out today!...
2026-05-0746 min
Oh God, What Now?Return of the Mandel-Scandal• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon support – that’s 20% in total.
Oh Mandy… the scandal that won’t die is back (again). Can Keir Starmer style this one out or is his credibility finally shot? Plus, imagine if you wrote a hoax government report about how a secretive shadow government controls America and then everyone believed it. Even though you admitted it was false. And believed it so completely that they ended up destroying democracy. Nightmare, right? Author Phil Tinline talks us through the scarcely believable true tale he sets out in Ghosts of Ir...
2026-04-211h 07
YIMBY Pod – formerly The Abundance AgendaHS2's gravel nightmareArch-Remainer James discovers why re-aligning with Europe could spell doom for Britain’s critical fixes to how we build nuclear power plants. Martin updates us on the drama at Dobbins Lane in Wendover, and how HS2 and the council have landed on an insane solution to a stupid problem. And we speak to Phil Tinline about his fascinating new paper, Power Failure: A new theory of Power.James’s newsletter is here. His piece on vibe-coding is here.Martin’s newsletter is here, and his big pothole video is here.Don’t forget to tell...
2026-02-2346 min
The Monocle DailyBritish prime minister Keir Starmer hangs on – but for how long?Phil Tinline and Marion Messmer discuss Keir Starmer’s staying power and impressions of the UK prime minister abroad: Plus: Will nuclear testing resume? And why spies and foreign interference warnings are growing in Europe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2026-02-1036 min
Start the WeekRethinking politicsIf trust in politicians is broken and the political system isn't delivering, then how might we go about fixing things? Can we revive faith in democratic government by doing things differently?
The political scientist Hélène Landemore argues that electoral politics is broken and that the answer lies in doing away with career politicians. She imagines dismantling a system that is biased in favour of the special interests of big money, propelled by the constant quest for re-election and the jaded proffering empty promises. In her new book, Politics without Politicians she posits that, among other solutions, we ne...
2026-01-1941 min
The Bunker – News without the nonsenseCivil War in Britain – Why the Right is hyping itOpen warfare between British citizens is “inevitable” according to Elon Musk. Farage says “I don’t think anybody in London even understands how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale.” New Reform convert Nadim Zahawi says we’re entering “a dark and dangerous chapter”. Where is all this talk coming from? Why are the Right so keen on these apocalyptic ideas? And beyond all the hysteria, what really triggers civil wars? Political commentator and author Phil Tinline tells Andrew Harrison about the reality behind the fever dreams of civil war… and when we really were close to fighting one an...
2026-01-1535 min
The 15 Minute Book ClubGhosts of Iron Mountain with Phil TinlineIn 1967, a group of writers penned a fake US Government Report titled "Report From Iron Mountain." The report was satirical, but it was so frighteningly convincing that its contents are still believed by many today. Phil Tinline joins Alex Churchill and Matt Bone and has 15 minutes to convince you to buy his book.Patreon members get extra time: 15 more minutes in which you get to see behind the scenes and find out how the book was written. You can subscribe here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/15MinuteBookClubBuy the book (UK) https://uk...
2025-12-2419 min
Oh God, What Now?The Oh God, What Now? Politics Awards 2025Who and what will receive our FIFA Peace Prize-style gongs for the year? Elon Musk for his brief, mayfly political life of casual mass murder? Trump and Vance for their disgusting Oval Office attack on Zelenskyy? Liz Truss, madwoman for hire? Oasis? Prince Andrew? Stephen f**king Miller? All these and more feature in our heated debate about the defining moments, heroes, villains, blessed distractions and underreported stories of a year we’re already drinking to forget. Cheers!
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2025-12-221h 00
Hoax!Report from Iron MountainAt the height of the Cold War, a "leaked Top Secret Memo" from inside the government proposed a controversial and radical idea: the worst thing that could happen to humanity was worldwide ... peace. Sources:https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/30/us/l-c-lewin-writer-of-satire-of-government-plot-dies-at-82.htmlGhost of Iron Mountain by Phil TinlineJFK (1991, O. Stone)https://hvmag.com/life-style/a-history-of-iron-mountain-an-information-storage-facility-in-germantown-ny/https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-many-lives-of-iron-mountainhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/16/iron-mountain-hoax-anti-vietnam-war-satire-conspiracy-theoriesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2025-11-1048 min
Arts & IdeasThe end of civilisations and societies"Doom-prepping" tech billionaires have been in the headlines recently and whether it’s ecological crisis or a breakdown in law and order, fear of societal collapse seems to lurk in the background of a lot of discussion in politics and wider society. But what does it mean? When has it happened in the past? Can we avoid it – or survive it – in the future? Joining presenter Shahidha Bari for Radio 4's roundtable discussion about the ideas shaping our world are:
Luke Kemp from the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, the writer and commentator Peter Hitchens, classical histor...
2025-11-0756 min
Since Attlee & ChurchillWhy was Britain absent from the EU's beginning?In this week's podcast, we discuss one of the most important forks in the road in Britain's post-war history: when Clement Attlee's Labour government refused to take part in discussions on the Schuman Plan, which would become the European Coal and Steel Community and ultimately evolve into the European Union. What motivated their decision? Was it Germanophobia, or a devotion to socialism? And did their decision mean that European integration was set on a course that meant Britain could never truly be happy as part of the European project? We discuss these questions - and more!In...
2025-10-261h 01
HistoryExtra podcastReagan's plan to 'make America great again'The phrase 'Make America Great Again' is indelibly associated with President Trump – yet a very similar version of the slogan – 'Let's Make America Great Again' – was in fact used by his predecessor Ronald Reagan. What can this parallel tell us about the United States of the 1980s? And does drawing such comparisons reveal anything about the US today? Speaking to Matt Elton, author and documentarian Phil Tinline offers his take.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad...
2025-10-1738 min
The Last Best Hope?The Last Best Hope: Series 14It's been almost a year since The Last Best Hope aired, and in that time, America has changed dramatically. So in the new series, we’ll be attempting to put Trump’s foreign policy in a historical context, we’ll be discussing the enduring myth of the frontier, and asking how history will judge Joe Biden. And in a special two-part documentary, we’ll return to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1863 in the midst of the Civil War, and ask what significance it still has at another moment of national crisis.“Adam Smith is one of the UK’s...
2025-10-1301 min
Politics UnpackedPlaying The Ball And Not The Man?Reform UK says Keir Starmer’s attack on Nigel Farage risks inciting violence. Has Labour been guilty of playing the man, not the ball?Hugo Rifkind unpacks the politics of the day with Robert Crampton and Phil Tinline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-10-0232 min
Só se estraga uma estante109. Abelhas, JFK e LBJ, balanço do verāoA Ana estava ansiosa por falar da sua grande leitura de verāo: The Bee Sting (2023), o grande drama familiar irlandês de Paul Murray, repleto de segredos e reviravoltas.O Tomé também recomenda uma das suas leituras de verāo, de regresso a dois velhos amigos: o biógrafo Robert Caro e o biografado Lyndon Johnson. Assim, recomenda o quarto volume da obra 'The Years of Lyndon Johnson's, intitulado 'The Passage of Power' (2012).Na segunda parte, a Ana e o Tomé revisitam os seus planos de leituras de verāo, assim como a sua conc...
2025-09-041h 00
Story in the Public SquareDocumenting the impact of conspiracies and coverups with Phil TinlineWhat if a secret gathering of luminaries concluded in the 1960s that the consequences of “peace” would be worse than continued war? Phil Tinline explains that in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, just such a story emerged, and its consequences reverberate to this day. Phil Tinline is a freelance writer and documentarian. He is the author of the 2002 book “The Death of Consensus,” which was chosen as The Times (London)’s Politics Book of the Year. Over the course of twenty years working for the BBC, he has made and presented many acclaimed documentaries about how politic...
2025-08-2226 min
The Politics ShowWhy are people talking about an English civil war? | Politics with Anoosh ChakelianFollowing last year’s riots, in the wake of the Southport murders, Elon Musk predicted civil war in the UK was “inevitable”. So far, however, no civil war…Over the last century, people in British politics at times of turmoil have raised the prospect of civil war, repeatedly, in ways not unlike today. What did they fear, and why? And what might we learn from the fact that - each time - those fears remained unfounded?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by author and journalist Phil Tinline.Download the app Hoste...
2025-08-2032 minPolitics UnpackedNot So Silly SeasonAugust is supposed to be a quiet time for politics but the Prime Minister has an array of thorny issues to contend with - from Heathrow's expansion plan, to foreign criminals and the fact that no one wants to name their baby after him.Harry Wallop unpacks the politics of the day with Alys Denby and Phil Tinline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-08-0132 min
War Movie Theatre | for Fans of Classic War Films and Cinema HistoryPrisoner of War - with Phil TinlineIn what is surely the most obscure episode of any podcast ever recorded, Rob and Duncan are joined by author and documentary-maker Phil Tinline to watch 1954's "Prisoner of War", the film that was going to turn Ronald Reagan into a major movie star. The reason that never happened wasn't simply the quality of the movie. It was also because of a shift in the US military's attitude to prisoners returning from Korea, which makes this film a fascinating window into the changing mindset. "Every man has his breaking point," Reagan warns, but why did that...
2025-07-311h 09Politics UnpackedIs Britain "Fraying"? Keir Starmer has warned Britain is "fraying at the edges" and urgent action on immigration is needed to avoid a repeat of last summer's riots. But is this the worst it's been? Robert Crampton and Phil Tinline join Ed Vaizey to unpack the politics of the day Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-07-2332 minHistoryExtra podcastIron Mountain: the conspiracy that duped AmericaAs the war in Vietnam spiralled out of control, US president Lyndon B Johnson was confronted by a different type of threat: a fake report so convincing that it tricked Americans into believing dangerous disinformation. But that was never the intention. Revisiting The Report From Iron Mountain, journalist Phil Tinline speaks to James Osborne, to reveal how a satirical report evolved into something far more sinister than anyone could have predicted.
(Ad) Phil Tinline is the author of Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax that Duped America and its Sinister Legacy (Apollo, 2025). Buy it...
2025-07-2335 min
A Paranoid's History of the United StatesReport From Iron MountainEpisode 13: Report from Iron Mountain explores the bizarre journey of a 1967 satirical hoax that became a foundational text for American conspiracy theorists. Created by left-wing satirists led by Viktor Navasky (later editor of The Nation) and writer Leonard Lewin, Report from Iron Mountain purported to be a leaked government study concluding that peace would be catastrophic for American society and that war was essential for social stability. The dry, academic prose perfectly mimicked Cold War-era think tank reports, suggesting disturbing alternatives to war including reintroducing slavery, implementing eugenics, and creating fake UFO scares to maintain social control. Published as...
2025-07-1229 min
Story in the Public SquareDocumenting the impact of conspiracies and coverups with Phil TinlineWhat if a secret gathering of luminaries concluded in the 1960s that the consequences of “peace” would be worse than continued war? Phil Tinline explains that in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, just such a story emerged, and its consequences reverberate to this day. Phil Tinline is a freelance writer and documentarian. He is the author of the 2002 book “The Death of Consensus,” which was chosen as The Times (London)’s Politics Book of the Year. Over the course of twenty years working for the BBC, he has made and presented many acclaimed documentaries about how politica...
2025-07-0826 min
The Remnant with Jonah GoldbergCrackpot RealismJonah Goldberg is joined by author and journalist Phil Tinline to discuss his new book, Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax of the Century, Its Enduring Impact, and What It Reveals About America Today. Phil tells the tale of conspiracies gone by, arguing that hoaxes, crackpottery, and moral panics are as American as apple pie.
Show Notes:—Order Phil’s book, Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax of the Century, Its Enduring Impact, and What It Reveals About America Today.
The Remnant is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy...
2025-05-151h 12
The Chauncey DeVega ShowHow "Iron Mountain" and Other Conspiracy Theories Birthed the Age of Trump Phil Tinline is the author of the new book Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax of the Century, Its Enduring Impact, and What It Reveals About America Today. Over the course of twenty years working for the BBC, Tinline has made and presented many acclaimed documentaries about how political history shapes our lives. He has also written for The Times (London), The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The New Statesman, BBC History Magazine, and Prospect. In this wide-ranging conversation, Phil Tinline explores how conspiracy theories and conspiracism helped to birth the Age of Trump and its authoritarian populism and anti...
2025-05-141h 53
Frank Morano Interviews & MorePhil Tinline | 05-02-25James Flippin is joined by journalist Phil Tinline, whose latest book is, "Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax of the Century, Its Enduring Impact, and What It Reveals About America Today". They discuss the history of Iron Mountain and how it connects to the military industrial complex, the Vietnam War and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2025-05-0228 min
The Politics ShowAmerica's greatest hoaxHow did a joke gone awry in 1967 forever changed the nation’s relationship with the truth?Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Phil Tinline, a regular writer for the New Statesman and author of the new book Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax that Duped America and its Sinister Legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-04-1723 min
C-SPAN BookshelfBN+: Phil Tinline, "Ghosts of Iron Mountain"British writer Phil Tinline has written a book titled "Ghosts of Iron Mountain." The publisher Scribner calls it "an investigative masterpiece for readers curious about the surprising connection between John F. Kennedy, Oliver Stone, Timothy McVeigh, QAnon, Alex Jones, and Donald Trump." In his introduction, author Tinline says the book is the true story of a hoax. A hoax that shocked the nation in the late 1960s and that once created seemed impossible to extinguish. Those involved in the hoax included Victor Navasky, E.L. Doctorow, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Leonard Lewin. Learn more about...
2025-04-151h 04
Booknotes+Ep. 214 Phil Tinline, "Ghosts of Iron Mountain"British writer Phil Tinline has written a book titled "Ghosts of Iron Mountain." The publisher Scribner calls it "an investigative masterpiece for readers curious about the surprising connection between John F. Kennedy, Oliver Stone, Timothy McVeigh, QAnon, Alex Jones, and Donald Trump." In his introduction, author Tinline says the book is the true story of a hoax. A hoax that shocked the nation in the late 1960s and that once created seemed impossible to extinguish. Those involved in the hoax included Victor Navasky, E.L. Doctorow, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Leonard Lewin. Learn more about...
2025-04-151h 04
HistoryExtra Long ReadsDid Ronald Reagan 'make America great again'?This year has seen Donald Trump retake the US presidency, repeating his vow to ‘make America great again’. But he’s not the first to wield such a slogan, as this Long Read written by Phil Tinline explores. Back in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan stood for election with the same promise. Did he deliver?HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History Magazine, direct to your ears. Today’s feature originally appeared in the March 2025 issue, and has been voiced in partnership with the RNIB. Learn more about yo...
2025-04-1419 minStart the WeekUntangling fact from fictionIn 1967 a group of writers in the US pulled off an ingenious hoax – the publication of a so-called top secret document detailing how global peace would destroy American society. Even when the deception was revealed, many groups on the left and right argued it was true, or that it revealed truths about the ‘deep state’. Phil Tinline takes up the story in Ghosts of Iron Mountain, showing how what started as satire gained currency, as trust in government and institutions collapsed. During the Covid-19 lockdown the comedian Rosie Holt began a series of satirical videos in which she sp...
2025-04-0741 min
The Michael Shermer ShowThe Hoax of the Century: Iron MountainPhil Tinline, author of the new book Ghosts of Iron Mountain, explores the origins of the infamous Report from Iron Mountain, its role in conspiracy culture, and its lasting influence on perceptions of the military-industrial complex. The conversation also examines Holocaust denial, nativism, and the evolution of deep state conspiracies, highlighting the power of narratives in shaping democracy and public trust. Tinline is a British freelance writer and documentarian. His book The Death of Consensus: 100 Years of British Political Nightmares was named The Times (London) Politics Book of the Year. Over two decades at the BBC, he...
2025-03-181h 42
The Progressive Britain PodcastOrwell's Ghosts, with Steven Fielding, Phil Tinline and Laura BeersHost of the Progressive Britain History Project, Laura Beers, turns guest for this episode as she's quizzed on her new book, Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the 21st Century, by History Project host Steven Fielding alongside guest host and renowned author Phil Tinline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-08-3050 min
The Politics ShowTrump shooting: what the Democrats must do nowTrump loyalists are blaming Democrats for inciting the assassination attempt on the former President. How should Dems respond?Republicans and Democrats alike have rightly condemned the shocking attack on former US President Donald Trump which left a bystander dead, two more injured and the presumptive Republican candidate bloodied but defiant.However Trump supporters have been quick to point to Democrats' use of language - describing Trump as a "threat to American democracy", for example - as inciteful of violence.On this episode, Hannah Barnes is joined by the journalist and...
2024-07-1532 minPolitics UnpackedThe Handover of PowerIf polls are to be believed, the UK could be governed by a new political party before the end of the year - one that hasn't been in power for 14 years. What lessons can we learn from the last changing of the guard, when David Cameron's coalition entered Downing Street?Patrick speaks to Conservative and Liberal Democrat advisers who were there in 2010, and historian Phil Tinline looks at the potential lessons for Labour.Plus: Columnists Manveen Rana and Matt Frei discuss the shifting diplomatic sands over Israeli military action in Gaza, and whether Na...
2024-04-0442 min
The Prospect PodcastThe Americans defending democracy from TrumpAuthor and journalist Phil Tinline joins Ellen Halliday on the podcast to discuss the threat Trump poses to US democracy and the cross-partisan movement of lawyers, activists and politicians fighting to safeguard it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-04-0330 minThe Prospect PodcastThe Americans defending democracy from TrumpAuthor and journalist Phil Tinline joins Ellen Halliday on the podcast to discuss the threat Trump poses to US democracy and the cross-partisan movement of lawyers, activists and politicians fighting to safeguard it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-04-0330 min
The Global StoryFascinating finds from declassified docsWe look at how journalists get their hands on declassified documents, and how the release of these files can inform us about the true workings of government. BBC correspondent Sanchia Berg and Phil Tinline, a producer of historical documentaries for the BBC, tell us about some of the memorable documents they’ve come across, and how perusing the archives can offer valuable insight into the events of the past.The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC experts around the world, with Katya Adler. We’re keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world. #TheGlobalStory We want...
2023-12-2822 min
The Global StoryFascinating finds from declassified docsWe look at how journalists get their hands on declassified documents, and how the release of these files can inform us about the true workings of government. BBC correspondent Sanchia Berg and Phil Tinline, a producer of historical documentaries for the BBC, tell us about some of the memorable documents they’ve come across, and how perusing the archives can offer valuable insight into the events of the past.The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC experts around the world, with Katya Adler. We’re keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the worl...
2023-12-2822 min
Ipsos ViewsIpsos Views: The Attraction Of OppositesIs our world really as polarised as some commentators imagine? What kind of shape are we in to face the challenges of 2024? Could the polycrisis actually help to bring us together?
To accompany the new Ipsos Almanac, we invited Phil Tinline (author of "The Death of Consensus") to join us in discussing the defining events, themes, and trends of the year just gone - and to consider what they all mean for the year to come.
If you're on Spotify, this episode is also available as a video - the "Director's Cut" of the version...
2023-12-0744 minThe Politics Show100 years of British political nightmaresHow did the Great Depression’s spectres of fascism, bombing and mass unemployment force politicians to think the unthinkable, and pave the way to post-war Britain? How was Thatcher’s road to victory made possible by a decade of nightmares: of hyperinflation, military coups and communist dictatorship? And why, since the Crash in 2008, have new political threats and divisions forced us to change course once again?Freddie Hayward, political correspondent at the New Statesman, is joined in the studio by author and documentary maker Phil Tinline to discuss his book The Death of Consensus: 100 Years of Brit...
2023-11-2530 minPolitics UnpackedA Winter Of Political Discontent?As temperatures drop around the UK, Patrick Maguire and historian Phil Tinline look at how political problems can turn into a crisis during the winter months - from the industrial action and coal shortages of the 1970s to modern-day demands to help households pay their energy bills.Plus: Columnists India Knight and James Marriott discuss Keir Starmer's taste in classical music, whether people really care about politicians swearing, why we're still obsessed with posh people, and is it too early to put up your Christmas decorations? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...
2023-11-2444 minThe Last Best Hope?The Kennedy Assassination and Conspiracy CultureSixty years ago, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. It was quickly mythologised as an end-of-innocence moment, the death of "Camelot". It is natural to believe that big events must have big causes. Could such a shattering, shocking event really have been triggered--figuratively as well as literally--by one troubled man? The historians Phil Tinline and Steve Gillon join Adam to discuss how the assassination spawned the mother of all conspiracy theories and what that tells us about America.The Last Best Hope? is the podcast of the Rothermere American Insitute at the...
2023-11-1550 min
AfterWordsThe Death of Consensus with Dominic Sandbrook & Phil Tinline
Over Britain’s first century of mass democracy, politics has lurched from crisis to crisis. A Times Book of the Year, ‘The Death of Consensus’ by writer and documentary-maker Phil Tinline brings to life those times, past and present, when the consensus—or the great compromise holding democracy together—has come apart, and the political class has been forced to make a choice of nightmares.
In this episode, listen to Phil in conversation with historian Dominic Sandbrook about whether consensus has ever existed in British politics, how politics is transformed through fear, and the way in which apparent catastrophes can clear the...
2023-10-2036 minPolitics UnpackedPMQs: Patrick Maguire QuestionsIt's Wednesday, but with the House of Commons in recess we bring you the other PMQs - Patrick Maguire Questions. Patrick is joined by Red Box Editor Lara Spirit and political commentator Isabel Hardman to answer listeners' questions, including what happens if Labour doesn't win the next election, can Nadine Dorries be forced to stand down as an MP, and where did all the Corbynites go?Plus: Columnists Robert Crampton and Phil Tinline discuss whether there are political rewards for falling inflation, the origins of US deep state conspiracy theories, and whether some people still sneer...
2023-08-1647 minPolitics UnpackedWhy August Isn't Silly SeasonIt's a journalistic cliché that very little happens in politics while MPs are on holiday during the Parliamentary recess. But is it fair to describe August as 'silly season'? Historian Phil Tinline joins Patrick Maguire to debunk this myth and look at the biggest political moments of summers gone by.Plus: columnists Alice Thomson and Carol Midgely discuss toxic masculinity, Matt Hancock's TikToks, and whether Beyond Meat is past its best. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2023-08-0948 min
Politics UnpackedHow (Not) to Write a ManifestoPatrick Maguire is in for Matt, looking at Labour's 1983 manifesto - 'the longest suicide note in history' - 40 years on, with historian Phil Tinline. He also finds out how to write a modern manifesto with two people with first-hand experience, Ayesha Hazarika and Robert Colvile.PLUS: Timandra Harkness and Jimmy McLoughlin discuss Boris Johnson's WhatsApps, whether MPs who are under police investigation should be barred from Parliament, and whether AI is an existential threat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2023-06-0243 minPolitics UnpackedWhen to Hold a General ElectionWhen it comes to holding a general election, timing is everything. With Rishi Sunak reportedly hoping to pull off a surprise win late in 2024, Patrick Maguire is joined by historian Phil Tinline and former advisers Ayesha Hazarika and Giles Kenningham to discuss when to go early, and when to go late.Plus columnists Manveen Rana and Matthew Syed on Liz Truss' speech to a US think-tank, why a former Tory party chair has said Suella Braverman's rhetoric is racist, and Kirstie Allsop's call to cut stamp duty for the elderly. Hosted on Acast. See ac...
2023-04-1353 min
Seriously...The Privatisation of British GasHistorian Phil Tinline explores why, 37 years ago, the Thatcher government privatised British Gas, how what followed has shaped today's energy price crisis - and what should happen next. Contributors: Professor Michael Bradshaw, Derek Davis, Dr Amy Edwards, Mathew Lawrence, Tim Lefroy, Sir John Redwood
Producer: Phil Tinline
2023-02-2429 min
Politics UnpackedDo Protests Work?Twenty years on from the march against the Iraq War, Patrick Maguire is joined by historian Phil Tinline to ask whether protests ever actually work. They hear from some of the people who have organised the UK's biggest recent marches, including the ban on fox hunting, tuition fees and Brexit, to reflect on how effective their protests really were. Plus the New Statesman's Rachel Cunliffe and former Number 10 adviser Jimmy McLoughlin discuss whether women are routinely subjected to victim blaming after Lancashire Police released the health information of missing person Nicola Bulley, why Liz Truss is s...
2023-02-1744 minSeriously...Why Coups FailRecently, in both Europe and the United States, there have been serious attempts to overthrow elected governments by force.History is full of examples of coups d'etat succeeding, going all the way back to Ancient Rome. But these latest coup attempts failed. And they left a strange impression: of events that were part-horrific, part-absurd. In this programme, the novelist and classicist Natalie Haynes takes three examples of power grabs from Ancient Rome - one by the military, one by senators, and one conducted by stealth - and uses them to try to make sense of...
2023-02-0328 min
RSA ConversationsBONUS: Matthew's Pick of the YearIn this thought-provoking interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of leading thinkers on the spot - from writers to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future. In this special festive edition, Matthew selects his favourite conversations from 2021.Highlights include: Oliver Bullough exposes Britain’s major role in the world of corruption; Phil Tinline on why collective political nightmares can shape political horizons; Hannah Rose Woods, author of ‘Rule Nostalgia, on why yesterday’s events take a grip on today’s...
2022-12-2732 minPolitics UnpackedLessons from the Winter of DiscontentPatrick Maguire travels back to the late 1970s and the Winter of Discontent with author Phil Tinline. What caused this prolonged period of industrial unrest, how did it end and what can today's union leaders and politicians learn from it?Plus columnist Danny Finkelstein and the Mirror's John Stevens discuss whether public support for strikes will hold, whether the government should water down its house building targets, and whether it matters that Matt Hancock's pandemic diaries aren't really diaries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2022-12-0644 min
UnHerd DailyIs Rishi too rich to be PM?In today's episode, Phil Tinline explains how people may not accept austerity from a man with a heated pool, in an UnHerd exclusive essay titled Is Rishi too rich to be PM?
2022-10-2512 minRSA ConversationsCrisis? What Crisis?In this lively interview series from the RSA, Matthew Taylor, puts a range of practitioners on the spot - from scholars to business leaders, politicians to journalists - by asking for big ideas to help build effective bridges to our new future. In the last century of British mass democracy politics has lurched from crisis to crisis. So what can we learn by looking at periods of turmoil and misery instead of focusing on moments of consensus and harmony? Documentary-maker and writer Phil Tinline joins Matthew to explain how past political panic and chaos can help illuminate ou...
2022-10-0438 min
Dan Snow's History Hit100 Years of British Political NightmaresOver Britain’s first century of mass democracy, from the Great Depression to the pandemic, politics has lurched from crisis to crisis. How does this history of political agony illuminate our current age of upheaval?Phil Tinline is a leading producer and presenter of historical narrative documentaries for BBC Radio 4. Phil joins Dan on the podcast to reveal how politics is transformed through fear— providing answers to fascinating questions: How did the Great Depression’s spectres of fascism, bombing and mass unemployment force politicians to think the unthinkable and pave the way to post-war Britain? And, how wa...
2022-08-2229 min
UnHerd DailyThe nightmare haunting Boris JohnsonIn today's episode Phil Tinline writes about how we shouldn't be fooled by the spectre of the Seventies, in an UnHerd essay titled The nightmare haunting Boris Johnson.
2022-06-2512 minSeriously...The Unconscious Life of BombsHistorian and psychoanalyst Daniel Pick of Birkbeck College, University of London tells the story of how aerial bombardment - from Zeppelins to B52s, from H-Bombs to drones - has made the unconscious mind a field of battle.Daniel explores how, in the shadow of the First World War, Freud turned his analytical eye from desire to the 'death drive', and how psychoanalysts probed what might happen if another war came.Would survivors of mass aerial bombardment hold up psychically, or would they collapse into infantile panic? Or would they become uncontrollably aggressive?...
2017-12-1929 min
Feedback14/07/2017Roger Bolton investigates audience responses to BBC radio programmes.A number of listeners were shocked to hear description of an act of torture and murder on Radio 4's lunchtime series Cold War: Stories from the Big Freeze and considered it overly graphic for the time of day. Should listeners have been given more warning about the unsettling nature of the story? And was the station right to broadcast it at all? Producer Phil Tinline and Radio 4's Editorial Standards Editor Roger Mahony answer listener complaints.And, has radio become just a bit too fast? Radio 3...
2017-07-1427 minSeriously...1917: Eyewitness in PetrogradEmily Dicks visits St Petersburg to trace her grandfather's teenage memories of the excitement and fear of the 1917 Revolutions - as preserved on a never-previously-revealed tape.This extraordinary recording - kept in family archives - describes the lives of ordinary people caught up in the political turmoil between the two Russian Revolutions of 1917. Henry Dicks was the son of an Estonian-based Englishman, sent to school in Petrograd during the First World War. He recorded his memories in an interview with his son in 1967. The tape covers the period immediately after Rasputin's death and the fall...
2017-03-1000 min
AnalysisCorporate AmnesiaPhil Tinline finds out what happens when institutions lose their memory and how they can best capture and share the lessons of the past.
2016-03-2128 minAnalysisCreative DestructionIn the last few weeks a number of high street names have closed for good. In Analysis Phil Tinline asks whether, amid the gloom, there is a reason to celebrate.
The economist Joseph Schumpeter first coined the phrase "creative destruction" in the 1940s. Innovation he believed causes the death of established businesses and leads to new opportunities.
So, are company failures necessary for future growth? Or is "creative destruction" a comforting delusion, not a saving grace?
Producer : Rosamund Jones.
2013-02-1128 min
The BBC Academy PodcastRadio CommissionsSimon Smith is joined by four guests to talk about getting ideas commissioned for radio.
Caroline Raphael is a commissioning editor at BBC Radio 4, Nicky Birch is head of radio development at Somethin' Else and Phil Tinline and James Cook are executive producers in the BBC Audio & Music documentaries unit.
2011-10-2718 min
In Our TimeThe Cavendish Family in ScienceFrom the 1600s to the 1800s, scientific research in Britain was not yet a professional, publicly-funded career.So the wealth, status and freedom enjoyed by British aristocrats gave them the opportunity to play an important role in pushing science forwards - whether as patrons or practitioners.The Cavendish family produced a whole succession of such figures.In the 1600s, the mathematician Sir Charles Cavendish and his brother William collected telescopes and mathematical treatises, and promoted dialogue between British and Continental thinkers. They brought Margaret Cavendish, William's second wife, into their discussions and researches, and she went on to become...
2010-05-2042 min
In Our Time: ScienceThe Cavendish Family in ScienceFrom the 1600s to the 1800s, scientific research in Britain was not yet a professional, publicly-funded career.So the wealth, status and freedom enjoyed by British aristocrats gave them the opportunity to play an important role in pushing science forwards - whether as patrons or practitioners.The Cavendish family produced a whole succession of such figures.In the 1600s, the mathematician Sir Charles Cavendish and his brother William collected telescopes and mathematical treatises, and promoted dialogue between British and Continental thinkers. They brought Margaret Cavendish, William's second wife, into their discussions and researches, and she went on to become...
2010-05-2042 min
In Our TimeThe Cavendish Family in ScienceFrom the 1600s to the 1800s, scientific research in Britain was not yet a professional, publicly-funded career.So the wealth, status and freedom enjoyed by British aristocrats gave them the opportunity to play an important role in pushing science forwards - whether as patrons or practitioners.The Cavendish family produced a whole succession of such figures.In the 1600s, the mathematician Sir Charles Cavendish and his brother William collected telescopes and mathematical treatises, and promoted dialogue between British and Continental thinkers. They brought Margaret Cavendish, William's second wife, into their discussions and researches, and she went on to become a...
2010-05-2042 minIn Our TimeThe Cool UniverseThe Cool Universe is the name astronomers give to the matter between the stars.These great clouds of dust and gas are not hot enough to be detected by optical telescopes.But over the last few decades, they have increasingly become the focus of infrared telescopy.Astronomers had long encountered dark, apparently starless patches in the night sky. When they discovered that these were actually areas obscured by dust, they found a way to see through these vexing barriers, using infrared telescopes, to the light beyond.However, more recently, the dust itself has become a source of fascination.The...
2010-05-0642 minIn Our Time: ScienceThe Cool UniverseThe Cool Universe is the name astronomers give to the matter between the stars.These great clouds of dust and gas are not hot enough to be detected by optical telescopes.But over the last few decades, they have increasingly become the focus of infrared telescopy.Astronomers had long encountered dark, apparently starless patches in the night sky. When they discovered that these were actually areas obscured by dust, they found a way to see through these vexing barriers, using infrared telescopes, to the light beyond.However, more recently, the dust itself has become a source of fascination.The...
2010-05-0642 minIn Our TimeThe Cool UniverseThe Cool Universe is the name astronomers give to the matter between the stars.These great clouds of dust and gas are not hot enough to be detected by optical telescopes.But over the last few decades, they have increasingly become the focus of infrared telescopy.Astronomers had long encountered dark, apparently starless patches in the night sky. When they discovered that these were actually areas obscured by dust, they found a way to see through these vexing barriers, using infrared telescopes, to the light beyond.However, more recently, the dust itself has become a source of fascination.The picture...
2010-05-0642 minIn Our TimeThe Great Wall of ChinaMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Great Wall of China.The Great Wall is not a single Wall. It is not visible from space, contrary to popular belief, as it is much too thin. But it remains a spectacular architectural and historical phenomenon.The Great Wall's military importance, and its symbolic power, have varied widely in its long existence, as its place in Chinese life has shifted with the country's history. It was initially constructed at the command of the first Emperor, from 221 BC, and was a combination of the various protective walls that had been built by the smaller...
2010-04-2941 minIn Our TimeThe Great Wall of ChinaMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Great Wall of China.The Great Wall is not a single Wall. It is not visible from space, contrary to popular belief, as it is much too thin. But it remains a spectacular architectural and historical phenomenon.The Great Wall's military importance, and its symbolic power, have varied widely in its long existence, as its place in Chinese life has shifted with the country's history. It was initially constructed at the command of the first Emperor, from 221 BC, and was a combination of the various protective walls that had been built by the...
2010-04-2941 minIn Our TimeRoman SatireMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Roman Satire. Much of Roman culture was a development of their rich inheritance from the Greeks. But satire was a form the Romans could claim to have invented. The grandfather of Roman satire, Ennius, was also an important figure in early Roman literature more generally. Strikingly, he pioneered both epic and the satirical mockery of epic.But the father of the genre, Lucilius, is the writer credited with taking satire decisively towards what we now understand by the word: incisive invective aimed at particular personalities and their wrongs.All this happened under the Roman Republic...
2010-04-2242 min
In Our Time: CultureRoman SatireMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Roman Satire. Much of Roman culture was a development of their rich inheritance from the Greeks. But satire was a form the Romans could claim to have invented. The grandfather of Roman satire, Ennius, was also an important figure in early Roman literature more generally. Strikingly, he pioneered both epic and the satirical mockery of epic.But the father of the genre, Lucilius, is the writer credited with taking satire decisively towards what we now understand by the word: incisive invective aimed at particular personalities and their wrongs.All this happened under the Roman...
2010-04-2242 minIn Our TimeRoman SatireMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss Roman Satire. Much of Roman culture was a development of their rich inheritance from the Greeks. But satire was a form the Romans could claim to have invented. The grandfather of Roman satire, Ennius, was also an important figure in early Roman literature more generally. Strikingly, he pioneered both epic and the satirical mockery of epic.But the father of the genre, Lucilius, is the writer credited with taking satire decisively towards what we now understand by the word: incisive invective aimed at particular personalities and their wrongs.All this happened under the Roman...
2010-04-2242 minIn Our TimeThe Zulu Nation's Rise and FallMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise and fall of the Zulu Nation.At the beginning of the 19th century, the Zulus were a small pastoral community of a bare few thousand people in the eastern part of what is now South Africa. Their territory was limited to about ten square miles.But within a decade, led by their warrior king, Shaka, they had managed to carve out an empire with a population of many tens of thousands.Shaka was a skilled politician, successfully co-opting many neighbouring peoples into his kingdom as his conquests advanced its borders.He remains...
2010-04-1542 minIn Our TimeThe Zulu Nation's Rise and FallMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise and fall of the Zulu Nation.At the beginning of the 19th century, the Zulus were a small pastoral community of a bare few thousand people in the eastern part of what is now South Africa. Their territory was limited to about ten square miles.But within a decade, led by their warrior king, Shaka, they had managed to carve out an empire with a population of many tens of thousands.Shaka was a skilled politician, successfully co-opting many neighbouring peoples into his kingdom as his conquests advanced its borders.He remains best...
2010-04-1542 minIn Our TimeWilliam HazlittMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and works of William Hazlitt. Hazlitt is best known for his essays, which ranged in subject matter from Shakespeare, through his first meeting with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, to a boxing match. What is less well-known, however, is that he began his writing life as a philosopher, before deliberately abandoning the field for journalism. Nonetheless, his early reasoning about the power of the imagination to take human beings beyond narrow self-interest, as encapsulated in his 'Essay on the Principles of Human Action', shines through his more popular work.Hazlitt is a figure full of...
2010-04-0841 minIn Our TimeWilliam HazlittMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and works of William Hazlitt. Hazlitt is best known for his essays, which ranged in subject matter from Shakespeare, through his first meeting with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, to a boxing match. What is less well-known, however, is that he began his writing life as a philosopher, before deliberately abandoning the field for journalism. Nonetheless, his early reasoning about the power of the imagination to take human beings beyond narrow self-interest, as encapsulated in his 'Essay on the Principles of Human Action', shines through his more popular work.Hazlitt is a figure full...
2010-04-0841 min
In Our Time: PhilosophyWilliam HazlittMelvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and works of William Hazlitt. Hazlitt is best known for his essays, which ranged in subject matter from Shakespeare, through his first meeting with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, to a boxing match. What is less well-known, however, is that he began his writing life as a philosopher, before deliberately abandoning the field for journalism. Nonetheless, his early reasoning about the power of the imagination to take human beings beyond narrow self-interest, as encapsulated in his 'Essay on the Principles of Human Action', shines through his more popular work.Hazlitt is a figure full...
2010-04-0841 min