Capx Presents Free Exchange

Is Britain a racist society?After a year where prejudice, privilege and protest have never been far from the headlines, it's a question that continues to provoke the fiercest debates – not least after the recent publication of the Government's recent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.For the latest instalment of The CapX Podcast, editor John Ashmore spoke to Dr Rakib Ehsan, an independent researcher and author who covers ethnicity and cultural issues in the UK. Rakib is a regular contributor to the site and one of his pieces, on social outcomes for white working class children, is quoted at length in the Commission's report.In a wide-ranging interview, we discussed the nature of discrimination in Britain, whether we are importing a US-style culture war, the importance of family structure for people's life chances and the acute difficulties now faced by Keir Starmer's Labour Party in negotiating between its metropolitan base and its socially conservative former heartlands.  See acast.com/priv

Deep rifts are tearing societies apart and shredding old political allegiances: across the Western world, regions are rebelling against cities, the working class against the elites and the young against the old. For far too many, contemporary capitalism simply isn't delivering the goods. For Sir Paul Collier, one of the world's leading development economists, the response to this profound crisis is as much ethical as technical. His proposals for a capitalism based on both prosperity and morality have appeal beyond the traditional left-right divide – and he has a pragmatic plan to put them into action. He joined CapX and an online audience for a fascinating conversation that ranged from 19th century Bradford, to his own experiences growing up in post-war Sheffield to the morality of modern media influencers.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Right now All the Government’s efforts are focussed on coronavirus, but what about the fundamental mandate it was elected on?As the vaccine roll-out continues apace, backbench MPs could be forgiven for raising their eyes to the horizon and starting to think about their prospects for re-election in 2024. By far the biggest Conservative cohort in parliament is the so-called 109 group of MPs newly elected in 2019.These guys are the cavalry, who stormed the red wall with promises of delivering Brexit and levelling up those parts of the country that had been overlooked by Labour for generations. They’re fiercely loyal to Boris Johnson while recognising that their jobs depend on sticking up for their voters – many of whom aren’t traditional Tories.CapX spoke to four of them – Dehenna Davison, MP for Bishop Auckland, James Sunderland, MP for Bracknell, Virginia Crosbie, MP for Ynys Môn and Alexander Stafford, MP for Rother valley – to find out how they feel about the future now that Britain has left the EU with a tr

For our final CapX Pocast of the year, it’s time to take a look back at this absolute car-crash of a year.Rather than the usual tête-à-tête, we decided to make this a bit more of a panel show format, with each of our guests choosing their hero, villain, moment, policy and idea of the year, before rounding off with some reflections on what’s ahead in 2021.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Not many economists have trekked through lawless jungles, visited shops and restaurants world’s most entrepreneurial refugee camp or hung out with inmates in a Louisiana mega jail.For his book, Extreme Economies, Richard Davies went to some of the most desperate places on the planet, but found incredible stories of human resilience. People with nothing had created businesses and currencies from scratch - proving that even in dire circumstances, the free market finds a way.In this episode of the podcast we discuss what a world ravaged by the global pandemic can learn from disaster zones, displaced societies and failed states.Visit www.extremeeconomies.com/signed and enter the code CapX to get a signed copy of Richard's book for the special price of £7.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Few have opposed the Government’s handling of the pandemic with as much eloquence and authority as Lord Sumption. The former supreme court judge, medieval historian and Reith lecturer doesn’t just dispute the scientific evidence, he questions the legal and constitutional justification for these restrictions on our liberty.He’s claimed that the Government has a habit of deliberately avoiding parliamentary scrutiny and is using fear as an instrument of coercion. That, he says, is how democracy dies.As England was put back under stay-at-home-orders he spoke to CapX about the ethics and efficacy of lockdown.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our guest this week is Matt Forde - one of Britain's foremost stand-ups, satirists and impressionists. He's a highly successful stage comedian, the voice of Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and Donald Trump on the revamped version of Spitting Image and, as of a few weeks ago the author of a new memoir, Politically Homeless,. It covers his youth in a working class area of Nottingham, teen years of hard left activism and a long, often thankless stint working for the Labour Party - including dressing up as a fluffy chicken to harangue a prominent Lib Dem on the campaign trail.As you'd expect from a comedian, this was great fun to record, but Matt can certainly do the serious stuff too, and his insights on working in a party machine are well worth tuning in for, even if you really tuned in to hear his eerily accurate impressions of Boris and Donald Trump.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Not many podcast guests start by telling you they are in pain. Even fewer that the source of their discomfort is the scars inflicted by North Korean prison camp guards. Then again, not many podcast guests have seen what Timothy has.This remarkable man has escaped the Kim regime, not once but twice and lived o tell his extraordinary tale. His is a story of tireless courage, resilience and, in his account, a great deal of luck. Timothy now has a new life here in the UK, working for a charity called Open Doors that helps Christians facing persecution all over the world, including the 300,000 toiling under the vengeful eye of the Kim regime. He joined us down the line for what was one of the most moving, humbling episodes of Free Exchange we've ever recorded.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Stats! What we need is stats!If Dickens' hard-nosed utilitarian Thomas Gradgrind was around today he'd probably be knee-deep in SAGE briefings and ONS data bulletins, trying to work out what the heck is going on with this virus. In the absence of a fictional Victorian schoolmaster, who better to lead us through the numerical mire than Tim Harford - the economist, author, broadcaster and TED-talker - whose new book 'How To Make The World Add Up' is an invaluable guide to seeing through the statistical fog. It's much more than just a handy Spark Notes for numeracy though, as Tim delves into the deeply held psychological biases that lead us down the wrong path. This was a great discussion about a book packed with insights and wonderful nuggets, such as: what do the inner workings of a toilet tell us about political polarisation?   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What do Ancient Rome, Muslim Spain and Song era China have in common?Military might, sophisticated legal systems or, perhaps, intellectual brilliance?All of these things played their part in creating the great empire of the past, but the answer is something a little more abstract.In his latest book the Swedish historian Johan Norberg argues that that every truly successful civilisation is defined by one key ingredient – openness. To new ideas, new people and new technology.At a time when much of that life-enhancing, economy-expanding openness seems under threat from pandemic panic and populist demagoguery, his optimistic message feels particularly urgent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Not many organisations can claim to have had Adam Smith, Edmund Burke and Karl Marx as members. Then again, not many organisations are anything like the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce – better known today as the RSA. For over 260 years Its mission has been nothing short of improving an entire nation – funding inventions, encouraging trade, planting millions of trees, putting on the Great Exhibition and creating Britain’s first exam board. And int hat time it has been a hotbed of utilitarianism, a home to conservatives, radicals and even the founding father of communism.Who better to discuss this fascinating, intensely colourful history than Anton Howes, the RSA’s house historian, whose history of the Society, Arts and Minds, was released in May.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the final instalment of our Illiberalism in Europe series we’re going to the furthest boundary of the continent, beyond the Black Sea to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Our guest is Jamila Mammadova, a native of Baku and now a researcher at the foreign policy thinktank the Henry Jackson Society. She sat down with CapX editor John Ashmore to discuss Caucasian foreign policy, Putin's territorial ambitions and the possibility of a new state in eastern Europe.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brendan Simms is one of Britain’s leading historians. Professor of the History of International Relations at Peterhouse College, Cambridge, Brendan has published extensively on Britain’s role in the world, European grand strategy, and the rise of fascism in the C20th. His books are widely acclaimed and include Europe: The Battle for Supremacy, Britain’s Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation, and his latest, Hitler: Only the World was Enough.Our Deputy Editor, Frank Lawton, sat down with Brendan for discussion that ranged from the Holy Roman Empire to the future of Europe (with the odd trip down a Brexit byway for good measure).But first, Frank began by asking if there was such a thing as ‘historical thinking’ and whether it was of any use to policy makers.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week is the latest instalment in our Illiberalism in Europe series, exploring the many different challenges to freedom on the continent – our topic is the way the UK approaches drugs: should we legalise them, decriminalise them or keep the status quo? If we do, which substances would be allowed, and which would remain prohibited? What have countries that have changed their drug laws experienced, and what might the UK learn?   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we’re stepping back into antiquity for a look at political life in Ancient Rome. Our guest is the Daily Telegraph’s political journalist and Classics enthusiast Asa Bennett, who has just written a book entitled Romanifesto looking at how our current crop of politicians could learn from the travails of their ancient forebears.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Whether it’s interfering in Syria, Venezuela or Iran, Vladimir Putin is rarely out of the headlines. But what’s life like for the opposition activists trying to take the fight to the Russian president on his home turf? To find out, we spoke to Vera Kichanova, the first ever Libertarian Party candidate elected to public office in Russia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lord David Willetts has been an intellectual titan on the centre right for the past 30 years. Having worked in Margaret Thatcher’s policy unit, Willetts was an MP between 1992 and 2015, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the coalition government. He is President of the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation, and the author of a number of books, including The Pinch: How Baby Boomers took their children’s future – and why they should give it back.The book caused quite a stir on publication in 2010, and its thesis has proved remarkably prescient in the years since. So to mark the release of the second edition, our Deputy Editor Frank Lawton sat down with him to discuss the broken social contract and how to fix it.Frank began by asking him when – as a Baby Boomer himself – he first realised he was to blame for everything.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s the Brexit Election – at least according to some broadcasters – yet we’ve had relatively little scrutiny of what ‘getting Brexit done’ actually means if Boris Johnson does win his cherished majority.To shine a light on the next phase of negotiations, I caught up with one of the key players involved in putting together the Withdrawal Agreement. Raoul Ruparel spent two years as Special Adviser to then Brexit Secretary David Davis, followed by a year in 10 Downing St as Theresa May’s Special Adviser on Europe.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With the general election just two weeks away we wanted to get the inside track from three party political experts on how their side’s campaign has gone so far, and what they expect to happen on December 12. From the Lib Dems we welcomed Mark Pack, the Editor of Liberal Democrat Newswire. From Labour, Sienna Rodgers, the Editor LaboutList, and completing the line-up was the regular CapX contributor and Assistant Editor of ConservativeHome, Henry Hill.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Throughout 2019, CapX has been working with the anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on a project about rebalancing Britain - looking at how to tackle the longstanding issues in the British economy such as the gap between towns and cities, rural and urban areas and the different regions of the UK.A big focus of that project has been how to improve the lot of low-income voters. So to discuss that this week, we brought together JRF’s Executive Director Claire Ainsley; pollster extraordinaire James Kanagasooriam; and CapX's Deputy Editor Frank Lawton. I began by asking Claire about just how important low-income voters will be in the coming election.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.