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Rafael Behr talks to Meg Russell, Director of the Constitution Unit and the co-author of a new book entitled: 'The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit', a detailed account of the extraordinary way the Brexit process played out in parliament. This episode looks at what it was about Brexit, that put our system of parliamentary democracy under so much strain; whether the referendum opened up a pandora's box of populism that was difficult to contain; and whether the political body is still living with the consequences. People Meg Russell is Professor of British and Comparative Politics and Director of the Constitution Unit at UCL. She is particularly known for her work on parliament, having published books on the House of Lords, the legislative process and parliament's policy influence. She co-authored the book with Lisa James, a Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit, where she focuses on the UK parliament. From 2019-22 she worked on the ESRC-funded 'Brexit, Parliament and the Constitution' project. Background Since the 2016 referendum, the hotly contested issue of Brexit has raised fundamental questions about the workings of British democracy. Nowhere was this more true than regarding the role of parliament. This book addresses important questions about parliament's role in the UK constitution, and the impact on this of the Brexit process. While initially intended to re-establish 'parliamentary sovereignty', Brexit wrought significant damage on the reputation of parliament, and the wider culture of UK democracy. This book is published as part of the ‘Brexit, Parliament and the Constitution’ project, funded through Constitution Unit Director Meg Russell's Senior Fellowship with the ESRC-funded UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) programme. For more about the book (and a 30% discount code) see this link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/parliamentary-battle-over-brexit This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Host Rafael Behr talks to Prof. Tim Bale about why people join political parties and how the members impact democracy. Topics covered inlcude: what people get from joining a political party; what parties get from their members; why membership of parties has declined; in particular why so many Conservative women joined, and then left in their droves; how membership differs between the two major parties; how the role of members has changed; and members impact on the democratic health of the nation Tim Bale is Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London. He's the author of several books on British and European party politics, including, Footsoldiers: Political Party Membership in the 21st Century, the research for which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and generated the website http://esrcpartymembersproject.org. His most recent book, The Conservative Party after Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation is out on 30 March 2023. Tim's also a frequent contributor to broadcast and print media in the UK and abroad. This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Ahead of the first bilateral summit between the two countries' leaders for five years, Rafael Behr talks to Georgina Wright, from the Institut Montaigne in Paris, about what the French really think about us Brits, and what we often get wrong about French discourse, customs and political culture. Quite a lot, as it happens. Georgina Wright is Senior Fellow and Director of Institut Montaigne’s Europe Program. She is also a Visiting Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, associate of the Institute for Government in London and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Britain and Europe at the University of Surrey. Before joining Institut Montaigne, she was senior researcher at the Institute for Government (2019-2020) and research associate at Chatham House (2014-2018). She has also worked for the European Commission and NATO in Brussels. Georgina regularly represents Institut Montaigne on national and international news media, and has written widely for foreign policy outlets. She studied at the University of Edinburgh and the College of Europe (Bruges). https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/experts/georgina-wright This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

In this edition, Rafael Behr talks to England's most prodigious political screenwriter and playwright - James Graham. He's probably most well known for writing the recent BBC1 hit drama 'Sherwood', which aired on BBC One in 2022 to rave reviews, and will return for a second series. James also wrote Quiz (ITV) in 2020, which was one of the most watched UK television dramas of the year; and Brexit: An Uncivil War, which garnered huge public attention and critical acclaim in 2019. It was broadcast on Channel 4 and HBO, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie, and a BAFTA for Single Drama. In this episode James talks to Rafael about how narratives are fundamental to political storytelling, what they are, why recently parties on the right seem to be better at them, where James draws his inspiration from for writing, and what his next play is about. News update For Apple podcast listeners we're now trialling a subscription service - where once a week you'll get an exclusive bonus episode which will either be: Raf ruminating on the week's politics or looking forward to what's coming up; or Some bonus chat with Raf's guest of that week; or Raf answering any questions you have about politics, writing, art, life etc The first bonus episode is Rafael and James chatting about their shared love of Star Wars, and its many political and democratic themes and metaphors. And you should be able to find here with a two week free trial. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/politics-on-the-couch/id1507787935 Why are we doing this? We're doing this because it takes a huge amount of work to put these epsiodes together, and Phil the Producer's wife is starting to complain that he's never about, plus he's also missing out on paid work. So, if you enjoy these free episodes do help us to make this a sustainable endeavour i.e. keep it going on a regular basis! **Why are we doing this just on Apple? We'd like to make these episodes available on all platforms and we're doing just on Apple for now because (in theory) the infrastructure is all in place, it should be a frictionless process and about 60% of our audience listen on this platform. ** How else can you help? Longer term, we'll probably look for a show sponsor - if any listeners are interested or know any colleagues or friends might be interested do get in touch. Also, let us know whether you can access Apple or have any questions about the show, or have a guest suggestion. philip@larchmontfilms.com More about James For theatre, James’s play Best of Enemies, about the political debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr., opened at the Young Vic in 2021, and is currently playing on the West End. It has been nominated for an Olivier for Best New Play, and won a Critics’ Circle Theatre Award. His new musical, Tammy Faye, with music from Elton John and lyrics from Jake Shears, opened at the Almeida in 2022. Ink - about the early days of Rupert Murdoch - opened to huge praise at the Almeida before transferring to the West End in September 2017, where it played in the theatre next door to James’ other new play – political romantic comedy Labour of Love - creating theatre history. James's breakout play This House premiered at the National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre in September 2012 and transferred to the Olivier in 2013 where it enjoyed a sell-out run. It garnered critical acclaim and a huge amount of interest and admiration from current and former MPs for his rendition of life in the House of Commons. The play went on to have an Olivier-nominated sell-out revival in...

Host Rafael Behr talks to Fuschia Sirois, Professor of Social and Health Psychology at Durham University, and co-Editor-in-Chief at the British Journal Of Health Psychology, about procrastination. In this free-flowing conversation, Fuschia and Rafael talk about what procrastination is, how it impacts politics and public policy, what we can do about it, and why Rafael may have incorrectly compared himself to Brad Pitt when he was a lot younger (Raf that is) For more on Rafael Behr, and to order his eagerly anticipated first book: https://rafaelbehr.com Fuschia Sirois’ latest book Procrastination: What It Is, Why It's a Problem, and What You Can Do About It Some of her other recent publications Biskas, M. Sirois, F. M., & Webb, T. L. (2022). Using social cognition models to understand why people, such as perfectionists, struggle to respond with self-compassion. British Journal of Social Psychology, 61, 1160-1182. Open access Sirois, F. M., & Owens, J. (2021). A meta-analysis of loneliness and use of primary health care. Health Psychology Review. Open access Baird, H. Webb, T. L., Sirois, F. M., & Gibson-Miller, J. (2021). Understanding the effects of time perspective: A meta-analysis testing a self-regulatory framework. Psychological Bulletin, 147 (3), 233-267. Link Sirois, F. M., & Owens, J. (2021). Factors associated with psychological distress in health-care workers during an infectious disease outbreak: A rapid systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry. Open access. Neff, K., Tóth-Király, I., Yarnell, L., Arimitsu, K., Castilho, P., Ghorbani, N., Guo, H., Hirsch, J., Hupfield, J., Hutz, C. S., Kotsou, I., Lee, W. K., Montero-Marin, J., Sirois, F. M., de Souza, L., Svendsen, J., Wilkinson, L., & Mantzios, M. (2019). Examining the Self-Compassion Scale in 20 diverse samples: Support for use of a total score and six subscale scores. Psychological Assessment, 31, 27-45. Link This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

One year on from Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, host Rafael Behr talks to Anne Applebaum about why so many US Republicans and conservatives are still seduced by Putin’s anti-West rhetoric and tropes. Anne, a Pullitzer-prize winning historian, is particularly well positioned to discuss this, and associated issues, given that her most recent book Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism looked at why some of her contemporaries had abandoned liberal democratic ideals in favor of strongman cults, nationalist movements, or one-party states. Anne Applebaum Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Agora Institute, where she co-directs Arena, a program on disinformation and 21st century propaganda. A Washington Post columnist for fifteen years and a former member of the editorial board, she has also worked as the Foreign and Deputy Editor of the Spectator magazine in London, as the Political Editor of the Evening Standard, and as a columnist at Slate as well as the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs. From 1988-1991 she covered the collapse of communism as the Warsaw correspondent of the Economist magazine and the Independent newspaper. She has lectured at Yale, Harvard, Stanford and Columbia Universities, as well as Oxford, Cambridge, London, Heidelberg, Maastricht, Zurich, Humboldt, Texas A&M, Houston and many others. In 2012-13 she held the Phillipe Roman Chair of History and International Relations at the London School of Economics. She received honorary doctorates from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and Kyiv-Mohyla University. Anne Applebaum was born in Washington, DC in 1964. After graduating from Yale University, she was a Marshall Scholar at the LSE and St. Antony’s College, Oxford. This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

In this episode host Rafael Behr talks to Prof Anand Menon about what the latest polling on 'bregret' means for identity politics, Starmer's strategy on future EU relations, and the economic and democratic health of the UK. Anand Menon is Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London in the United Kingdom, and was appointed in January 2014 as director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative. Prior to arriving at King's College, London, Menon lectured at Birmingham University. Previously he was Lecturer in European Politics at Oxford University for ten years and a Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford for five. Bibliography His publications include European Politics (Oxford University Press, 2007), co-edited with Colin Hay and Europe: The State of the Union (Atlantic Books, 2008), and he has written for popular publications including the Financial Times, the London Review of Books and Prospect.[2][4]Anand was a Professor of West European Politics, and founding Director of the European Research Institute at the University of Birmingham. For more information on Professor Menon: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/anand-menon For more information on the UK in a changing Europe https://ukandeu.ac.uk/ For more on Rafael Behr, and to order his new book visit https://rafaelbehr.com

Anil Seth is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex alongside other eminent roles in the field of advanced research into the nature of consciousness and perception. His bestselling book ‘Being You: A New Science of Consciousness’ is a masterpiece of making complex scientific issues accessible to the non-expert reader. Anil demonstrates that same skill in this relaxed and free-flowing discussion with Politics on the Couch host Rafael Behr. They talk about the essence of what it means to be a conscious being, whether we can ever be said to experience objective reality, whether our present self is really the same as our past self and some of the moral, philosophical and political issues provoked by those questions. For more information on Professor Seth and ‘Being You’, visit https://www.anilseth.com/ Here's the perception census he mentions in the podcast: https://perceptioncensus.dreamachine.world For more on Rafael Behr visit https://rafaelbehr.com

In this episode host Rafael Behr talks to Dr Karen Stenner, the political psychologist & behavioral economist best known for long ago predicting the rise of Trump-like figures uner the kinds of conditions we now confront. Her research on authoritarianism and 'Far Right' politics uses psychological theories and methods (in particular, Randomized Controlled Trials) to explain human behavior. She also use those same theories and methods (particularly RCTs) to shift human behavior via communications and campaigns (of every kind), including designing and embedding messages that de-activate authoritarianism and diminish expressions of intolerance and racism in a society. We also discuss the recent Labour victory in the Australian general election and the part that 'independent teals' played. If you'd like to find out more about Dr Stenner and work please visit her site: https://www.karenstenner.com And you may find her articles below of particular interest. For Hope Not Hate on how to help authoritarians live in peace with liberal democracy. https://hopenothate.org.uk/2020/11/01/authoritarianism Her recent piece with Jessica Stern for Foreign Policy on how liberal democracy must treat authoritarianism as a chronic condition to be managed. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/11/capitol-insurrection-trump-authoritarianism-psychology-innate-fear-envy-change-diversity-populism/ This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Rafael Behr talks to pollster and political strategist James Johnson about what's next for Labour, a matter of minutes after PM Johnson announced his resignation.

This week, Rafael Behr and Professor Helen Thompson discuss her new book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. The book, which was released on the day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, recounts three histories—one about geopolitics, one about the world economy, and one about western democracies. She explains how a confluence of different crises, building over many years, has created the current mood of global, epoch-defining disorder. It shows how much of this turbulence originated in problems generated by fossil-fuel energies, and it explains why, as the green transition takes place, the longstanding predicaments energy invariably shapes will remain in place. In light of her new book and the war raging in Ukraine, in this edition of Politics on the Couch Rafael and Helen discuss a wide-range of ideas and issues: Topics discussed: Was the Russian invasion of Ukraine an inflection point in history and how do we know if we're living through one? Do individuals and charismatic personalities shape history or merely express longer-running trends and bigger forces? Does Johnson have any ideology? If so, what is it? Can the year we're born can shape our optimism about the future? Has the pandemic affected the way citizens view making big sacrifices for a greater good? How can strong political identities be forged from adversity? Do Western liberal democracies have the capacity to drive through the change needed to make the green transition? Is China as an authoritarian state at an advantage? What lessons has the Ukrainian war taught us about energy policy and green transition? Helen's new book: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/disorder-hard-times-in-the-21st-century/9780198864981 Helen's Cambridge University page: https://www.polis.cam.ac.uk/Staff_and_Students/dr-helen-thompson Politics on the Couch has been chosen by Feedspot as one of the Top 25 UK Psychology Podcasts and Top 25 Political Science Podcasts on the web. https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_psychology_podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/political_science_podcasts

Human beings routinely make terrible choices but humanity still achieves amazing things. How does this paradox work? And is it still working when technology seems to amplify the worst in us. In this episode, Politics on the Couch host Rafael Behr talks to Professor Steven Pinker about the constant struggle between evidence and emotion for control of the political agenda; whether truth and fact are winning the long war against superstition and falsehood, and why rationality always has the last word. Professor Steven Pinker is Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and the author of a number of highly acclaimed and prize-winning books about psychology, cognitive science, linguistics and history. His latest book Rationality: What it is; why it seems scarce; why it matters was published in September. https://stevenpinker.com/publications/rationality-what-it-why-it-seems-so-scarce-and-why-it-matters More about Steven Pinker: https://stevenpinker.com/biocv Other books by Steven Pinker mentioned in episode The Better Angels of our Nature https://stevenpinker.com/publications/better-angels-our-nature Enlightenment Now https://stevenpinker.com/publications/enlightenment-now-case-reason-science-humanism-and-progress A couple of references in this episode that might be useful as further reading. Michael Ignatieff’s book Fire and Ashes, about a failed career in politics https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/27/michael-ignatieff-fire-ashes-review Jonathan Rauch’s book The Constitution of Knowledge, about the crisis of trust in institutions https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/26/the-constitution-of-knowledge-review-jonathan-rauch-trump Politics on the Couch has been chosen by Feedspot as one of the Top 25 UK Psychology Podcasts and Top 25 Political Science Podcasts on the web. https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_psychology_podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/political_science_podcasts This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

In this episode Rafael Behr talks to Cambridge University political psychologist Dr Lee de-Wit about the problem with progressive arguments over patriotism, and Labour's constant struggle to connect with socially conservative voters. Links mentioned in this episode: Dr Lee de-Wit's Cambridge University homepage https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/lee-de-wit Arnold Kling's book https://cdn.cato.org/libertarianismdotorg/books/ThreeLanguagesOfPolitics.pdf Haidt and Moral Foundations Theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory Tariq Modood's site http://www.tariqmodood.com YouGov poll on immigration https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2019/09/13/what-policy-do-british-voters-want-on-eu-immigration-is-there-a-hidden-consensus/ Dr Lee de-Wit's book http://eandtbooks.com/books/whats-your-bias/ Dr Lee de-Wit's recent article in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/11/politics-left-right-tories-advantage-labour Politics on the Couch has just been selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 25 UK Psychology Podcasts on the web. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 25 UK Psychology Podcasts on the internet and we're honored to have been selected! https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_psychology_podcasts This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Britain's vast colonial project, amassed over centuries and covering a quarter of the world at its height, is unavoidable in any discussion of race and identity in modern Britain. Or, at least, it should be, but the nation has, until recently, done a remarkable job of avoiding the subject. In this episode, Rafael Behr talks to Sathnam Sanghera about Empireland, his recent book that delves into that Imperial legacy, how it shapes our nation, our culture and defines so much of our politics to this day. Sathnam Sanghera has won multiple awards for his journalism in the Financial Times and the Times. His 2009 memoir, The Boy with the Topknot, was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award, as was his 2014 novel, Marriage Material. Empireland: How Imperialism has Shaped Modern Britain was published earlier this year to much acclaim. This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Rafael Behr talks to Cognitive Scientist of Political Violence, Nafees Hamid, about what makes extremists tick and how to change their minds. Nafees discusses the conditions that push people towards extremist ideologies and whether a martyr's mind is wired differently to the rest of us. Along the way, Rafael and Nafees explore identity, sacred values, devoted actors, and how extremists can be walked back from acts of violence. Nafees Hamid is a Fellow at ARTIS International (https://artisinternational.org) and an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (https://icct.nl) in The Hague. His research focuses on the psychology of radicalisation and social fragmentation in Western countries. His methods include ethnographic interviews, survey studies, social network analysis, and psychology and neuroscience experiments with mostly Western members of extremist organisations, their friends and family, supporters of such networks, and the general communities from where they originate. This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Rafael Behr talks to Matt d'Ancona about his new book: 'Identity, Ignorance, Innovation: Why the Old Politics is Useless - and what to do about it.' https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Identity-Ignorance-Innovation-by-Matthew-DAncona-author/9781529303995 They discuss why the 'liberal left' needs to adapt to a new politics that is being shaped much more by digital networks and identity politics than the older institutional forces. Matt joined The Sunday Telegraph in 1996 as deputy comment editor and columnist, before becoming deputy editor. He wrote a weekly political column in The Sunday Telegraph for a decade. He succeeded Boris Johnson as editor of The Spectator. In January 2015, d'Ancona joined The Guardian as a weekly columnist. He left the paper in 2019 to become an editor and partner at https://www.tortoisemedia.com He also writes columns for the Evening Standard, GQ and The New York Times. He is chairman of the liberal Conservative think tank, Bright Blue, a trustee of the Science Museum and a Visiting Research Fellow at Queen Mary University of London.

Rafael Behr talks to neuroscientist and author Tali Sharot about the optimism hard-wired into our thought processes, how it affects the way we look at the world – and what it means for politics. The conversation also covers the relationship between emotion and reason, how we should respect some of the more primitive parts of our brains, what messages work best to encourage people to act on climate change, and what connects sourdough and the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine. Tali Sharot is a professor at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, where she is Director of the Affective Brain Lab, and Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/research/experimental-psychology/person/dr-tali-sharot/Sheis the author of The Optimism Bias: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Optimism-Bias-were-wired-bright/dp/1780332637 and The Influential Mind: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Influential-Mind-Reveals-Change-Others/dp/0349140634/ This podcast is hosted by wwww.zencast.fm

Rafael Behr talks to author and comedian David Baddiel about his book “Jews Don't Count” – a closely argued polemic about the failure of progressive-left politics to treat antisemitism with the same moral rigour as is applied to other kinds of racism. The frank and at times raw conversation deals with the social and cultural dimensions of one of history's oldest prejudices, as well as the individual emotional and psychological components of a secular Jewish identity. They also talk a little bit about football. David Baddiel's book is published by TLS Books https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/jews-dont-count-david-baddiel-tls-books-extract/

Rafael Behr explores the causes of resistance to vaccine science and its links with far-right propaganda with Imran Ahmed, founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. The chat ranges from the emotional vulnerabilities that lead people to take comfort from conspiracy theories to the political obligations on social media companies to help defend democracy from malevolent, weaponised lies. Along the way, Rafael and Imran touch on politics, psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, the scientific method, Hugo Boss's Nazi tailoring and some practical advice for dealing with toxic falsehood online. The two reports mentioned in the episode are Don't Feed the Trolls: https://www.counterhate.com/dont-feed-the-trolls And the Anti-Vaxx Playbook: https://www.counterhate.com/playbook Imran also mentions Ashli Babbit who was killed in the Washington DC Capitol riot: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/09/ashli-babbitt-capitol-mob-trump-qanon-conspiracy-theory And a Guardian report about the Tuskegee Study Imran discusses: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/08/guatemala-victims-us-syphilis-study Our podcast was recently chosen by Feedspot as one of the best 15 English-speaking political science podcasts in the world. https://blog.feedspot.com/political_science_podcasts This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Host Rafael Behr answers some listeners' questions and looks ahead to the challenges facing the main political parties in 2021 as they try to navigate their way through a pandemic, levelling up, calls for Scottish independence and the reality of Brexit. Plus, reflections on the future for remainers and the prospects for a campaign to re-join the EU. Also features one book recommendation and a very extended metaphor about coral. Cultural Amnesia by Clive James https://uk.bookshop.org/books/cultural-amnesia-notes-in-the-margin-of-my-time/9780330481755 This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm