The Rest is Politics

The Rest is Politics is a British podcast hosted by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart.[1][2]

The Rest is Politics
Presentation
Hosted byAlastair Campbell
Rory Stewart
GenreTalk
Format
LanguageEnglish
Length30-50 minutes
Publication
Original release2 March 2022 (2 March 2022)

It launched in March 2022,[3] and has since become one of the leading political podcasts in the United Kingdom.[2] The podcast is produced by Goalhanger Podcasts.[3][4] Campbell and Stewart generally discuss contemporary news and politics.

Background

Both Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart are former political figures, and both have been expelled from their respective parties for their opposition to more extreme elements in them. Their podcast is aimed at "disagreeing agreeably", seeking a more temperate and informed political debate.[5]

Campbell is a journalist, political strategist, and mental health activist, known for his work as communications chief for Tony Blair. A former member of the Labour Party, Campbell was expelled after having voted for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 European elections.[6]

Stewart is a diplomat, author, soldier, and politician. He served as Conservative international development secretary and prisons minister under Theresa May. He represented Penrith and The Border in the House of Commons for around nine years. In 2019, after Boris Johnson was elected leader of the Conservatives, Stewart resigned from the cabinet. Subsequently, having rebelled against Johnson's approach to Brexit, he was expelled from the parliamentary party. He later resigned his party membership as well.[7]

Goalhanger is owned by former England footballer Gary Lineker, and also produces the podcasts The Rest is History, hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland,[8] Battleground (Saul David, Patrick Bishop) and We Have Ways Of Making You Talk (Al Murray, James Holland)

Format

The podcast ordinarily releases two episodes every week: a "main" episode and a "question time" episode. The main episodes last around 30 to 50 minutes, and involve Campbell and Stewart discussing contemporary events and news stories, mostly from the United Kingdom. During the question time episodes, they answer questions from listeners. The questions are not limited to topics formerly discussed on the podcast, and include news stories not discussed on the main episodes as well as the hosts' political careers. The theme music that starts and ends each episode is 'A Diabolical Caper', written by composer Luke Richards.

On some occasions, the podcast releases "emergency" episodes, reacting to major news events, such as the resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid[9] and the dismissal of Kwasi Kwarteng.[10]

Special guests
See also: Leading (The Rest is Politics)

The podcast hosts special guests, interviewing active and retired politicians on their careers and current events. In January 2023, Goalhanger began a new podcast series, Leading, for Campbell and Stewart to interview their special guests and to invite non-political figures as guests. Since Leading released, The Rest is Politics did not invite any special guests, with the exception of Israeli public intellectual Yuval Noah Harari and Palestinian ambassador Husam Zomlot during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

The following public figures have been interviewed on the podcasts' special episodes:

No.Guest(s)Running timeOriginal air dateLink
1Tony Blair54:59June 29, 2022 (2022-06-29)link at Apple Podcasts
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair discusses UK's international stature after Brexit, the future of the NHS, technology, Labour after Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
2Keir Starmer47:29July 20, 2022 (2022-07-20)link at Apple Podcasts
Leader of the opposition and UK Labour leader Keir Starmer discusses his Labour leadership, his economic policy post-Brexit, the Conservative party leadership election, electoral reform in the UK and the UK constitution.
3William Hague50:53August 3, 2022 (2022-08-03)link at Apple Podcasts
Former UK foreign secretary and Leader of the opposition William Hague discusses his tenures as leader of the opposition and as foreign secretary, Boris Johnson's resignation, House of Lords reform, Brexit, and retiring from politics.
4Mark Drakeford47:38September 16, 2022 (2022-09-16)link at Apple Podcasts
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford discusses Welsh Labour, Welsh and Scottish nationalism, devolution, and his proficiency in Latin.
5Edi Rama55:51September 23, 2022 (2022-09-23)link at Apple Podcasts
Albanian prime minister Edi Rama discusses the European Union, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, English Channel migrant crossings and his career as an artist, sportsperson, and politician.
6François Hollande41:34October 27, 2022 (2022-10-27)link at Apple Podcasts
Former French president François Hollande discusses Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, the importance of political parties, and the far right in France.
7Julia Gillard53:08November 4, 2022 (2022-11-04)link at Apple Podcasts
Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard discusses women in government, her Misogyny Speech, Australian political system, monarchy, and compulsory voting.
8Helen Clark01:00:17December 2, 2022 (2022-12-02)link at Apple Podcasts
Former New Zealand prime minister and UNDP administrator Helen Clark discusses populism, her tenure as prime minister and UNDP administrator, and New Zealand's monarchy.
9Yuval Noah Harari48:27October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13)link at Apple Podcasts
Israeli public intellectual Yuval Noah Harari discusses the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Harari has also appeared on Leading separately.
10Husam Zomlot01:03:14October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13)link at Apple Podcasts
Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zamlot discusses the 2023 Israel–Hamas war and Israeli–Palestinian peace process.

References
  1. Sturges, Fiona (28 March 2022). "Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell's odd-couple podcast". www.ft.com. Financial Times. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  2. Marriot, James (21 December 2022). "The 25 best podcasts of 2022: from The Rest is Politics to The News Agents". www.thetimes.co.uk. The Times. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  3. Sawyer, Miranda (6 March 2022). "The week in audio: Paperless; Weekend; Ukrainecast; The Rest Is History – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  4. Turvill, William (8 December 2022). "The News Agents podcast hits 10 million downloads". pressgazette.co.uk. Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  5. Duggins, Alexi; Verdier, Hannah; Richardson, Hollie; Lindlar, Charlie (29 December 2022). "Best podcasts of the week: The rise and fall of the Silicon Valley brand that made antidepressants 'cool'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  6. "Labour expels Alastair Campbell from party". The Guardian. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  7. Bloom, Dan (4 September 2019). "Tory Rory Stewart sacked by text while he accepted politician of the year award". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  8. White, Peter (17 June 2022). "Gary Lineker's Goalhanger To Expand Podcast Output After Signing With WME". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  9. Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart (5 July 2022). "SPECIAL:SUNAK AND JAVID RESIGN". Acast (Podcast). Goalhanger Podcasts. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  10. Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart (14 October 2022). "TRUSS DOWN, KWARTENG OUT". Acast (Podcast). Goalhanger Podcasts. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
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