25. British scandals, global recession, and Elvis
The Rest Is Politics 
Open in Clue About this episode
Join Rory and Alastair as they discuss British scandals, moments of madness, civil service interventions, Starmer on Brexit, technocracy, global economic recession, tech bubbles, China and Taiwan, Xi Jinping, Britain's dwindling military, Lebedev, Elvis, Jimmy Carter and a tribute to Peter Brook. Reading list: Xi Jinping: The Most Powerful Man in the World - Stefan Aust and Adrian Geiges Starmer is right to say Brexit won’t be reversed (The Times) - William Hague Mozart in Motion - Patrick Mackie The State We're In: Alastair Campbell Meets Rory Stewart (Men's Health) - Alastair Campbell Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Producer: Dom Johnson Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport The New European Offer: theneweuropean.co.uk/trip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Listen to this episode in English to learn English
Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. 25. British scandals, global recession, and Elvis from The Rest Is Politics gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.
In the Clue app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.
Episodes to Learn English
- 542. Starmer Loses His Defence Secretary: What Next? Jun 11, 2026
- 541. Trump’s World Cup Mess and Kushner’s Albania Deal Jun 10, 2026
- 540. The Untold Iran Crisis, Henry Nowak, and Farage’s Politics of Rage Jun 9, 2026
- 539. Embezzlement, the Mandelson Texts, and Hasan Piker's UK Ban Jun 3, 2026
- 538. The Pope’s AI Warning and Alastair Reacts to Blair’s Attack Jun 2, 2026
- Who Funds Reform? The Missing Millions May 28, 2026
- 537. Indicting Trump, Israeli Prisons, and Rory vs. Ed Miliband May 27, 2026
- 536. Is Trump’s Corruption Machine Reaching New Extremes? May 26, 2026
- Struggling or Snowflakes? The Gen Z Mental Health Story May 21, 2026
- 535. The Ebola Outbreak and the British Far-Right’s Next Move May 20, 2026
- 534. Is Wes Streeting Trying to Sabotage Andy Burnham? May 19, 2026
- 533. Andy Burnham's Big Gamble: Can He Beat Reform? May 14, 2026
- 532. The Trump-Xi Showdown and Putin’s Conscription Con May 13, 2026
- 531. Starmer on the Brink: What Next? May 12, 2026
- Enraged or Engaged? Angela Rayner on The Gen Z Story May 11, 2026
- Divided or Dependent? The Real Gen Z Story May 9, 2026
- 530. Is Starmer the Next Joe Biden? Rory and Alastair React to Local Elections May 8, 2026
- 529. Antisemitism, Polarisation, and How the King Outplayed Trump May 6, 2026
- 528. Trump vs. Germany and Farage’s £5m ‘Gift’ May 5, 2026
- Lucky or Left Behind? The Gen Z Money Story Apr 30, 2026
- 527. Are American Tech Billionaires Threatening British Democracy? Apr 29, 2026
- 526. Trump's Orwellian Maths and the King's Special Relationship Mission Apr 28, 2026
- 525. JD Vance vs. the Pope and the Far-Right Funding Machine (Question Time) Apr 22, 2026
- 524. Starmer’s Mandelson Mess and the Iranian Nuclear Threat Apr 21, 2026
- 523. The Starmer-Mandelson Scandal: Lying or Incompetence? Apr 17, 2026
- Beating Populism: How To Fight Back Apr 16, 2026
- 522. Has Hungary Shown Britain How to Beat Farage? (Question Time) Apr 15, 2026
- 521. Trump’s Naval Blockade: Is America Becoming a Rogue State? Apr 14, 2026
- 520. Orbán Ousted: Is The Tide Turning Against Far-Right Populism? Apr 13, 2026
- 519. Trump's NATO Threat & a Critical Election in Hungary (Question Time) Apr 8, 2026
