Each week Phil Dobbie and Roger Hearing get to grips with one issue that impacts our lives. It could be economic, social, technological or geopolitical. Whatever the subject, they'll talk to the experts who can give help explain what's really going on. And Phil and Roger back it up with their own research and opinions. It's half an hour to get across one of the key issues of the time, and they promise, it'll never be boring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes
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44 min
Unfriending America
Is it time for the UK, Europe, Canada and others to stop trying to keep up with the latest irrational policy change from the White House? If the US is an unreliable ally, is it tim…
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43 min
Social Media Fading
Is social media on the way out? Are interactions with AI replacing the connections with friends and followers through Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok? New data suggests passive u…
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44 min
Zionism
The Greens have caused outrage by voting that Zionism is racism. Three years after the October 7 attacks in Israel, opinion is sharply polarised, and antisemitism is on the rise, w…
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38 min
Burnham Still Bouncing?
Andy Burnham can deliver speeches, and TikToks - but can he deliver on his promises? Will people outside Labour's conference still find hope, after what looks likely to be a hard b…
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42 min
More War, No Oil
The conflict in the Gulf is now extending to the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia is being attacked by the Houthi rebels from Yemen, and risks losing its other main oil shipping route. Meanwh…
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43 min
Deep In the Red
Government debt around the world is at unprecedented levels - and so is the cost of borrowing, which means there's less to spend on hospitals, school and defence. So why is the deb…
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42 min
What’s In A Name?
Lake America - Donald Trump has decided to rename Lake Ontario, and the Gulf of Mexico, and even the state of New Mexico. It seems a ridiculous distraction from more pressing probl…
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39 min
A Right Mess?
As Reform UK hold their party conference, their polling numbers are dropping and the party leadership is beset by financial scandals and leadership arguments. Meanwhile Restore Bri…
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38 min
The Russian Threat
Moscow is warning of consequences for the UK's support of Ukraine, but - short of all-out war - what could they be? There's already a level of hybrid war, with sabotage of major in…
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43 min
Jail Fail - Why Do We Have Too Many Prisoners?
The UK is running out of cells, but there’s an outcry that convicts are being let out early. We already lock up more people for longer than most comparable European countries, so a…
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40 min
Football For Sale
The head of FIFA is clinging to his job because he announced a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity firms - resulting in cries of outrage about the commercialisat…
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42 min
Homing In on Homelessness
Why do we still have people rough-sleeping in our cities? How can an advanced economy like ours allow people to slip through the net so far, they have to live on the street? Andy B…
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43 min
Why Can't We Do High Speed Rail?
Japan has the bullet train, Spain, France and Italy have fast connections across the country, China has a huge high-speed network...... and we have the shrunken remains of HS2. Why…
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50 min
Money for Nothing?
As Andy Burnham vows to tackle the cost of living, could a Universal Basic Income be part of his reset of the economy? He’s supported pilots of the scheme, which would give every c…
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40 min
Turning Off? UK Broadcasting In Trouble
The BBC licence fee is a busted flush, ITV's in the hands of an American media giant - what is the future of public-service broadcasting? Can the BBC find a way of getting people t…
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40 min
Ukraine Vibe Shift?
After more than four years of destruction and slaughter, is the corner being turned in the Ukraine war? Kyiv is able to strike deep within Russia now and the pace of Moscow’s advan…
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45 min
Paid-For Politics?
How corrupt is our politics? Is a £5 million gift from a supporter to a politician - when he wasn't an MP - anyone's business but his own? Is it fine for a sitting MP to accept fre…
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38 min
The Mancunian Candidate
Andy Burnham seems poised to be the UK's seventh prime minister in ten years. Keir Starmer was widely seen as honourable but dull and ineffective - can Burnham take the Labour gove…
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35 min
Cuba Revisited
Could Cuba be the victory Donald Trump is looking for? Phil and Roger discussed this back in March, but after the messy and fragile deal with Iran, could bringing the Caribbean isl…
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33 min
Big Storm Coming?
The next El Nino could be the biggest in history. The Pacific atmospheric pattern that regularly disrupts global weather, is set to cause floods in some areas and droughts in other…