Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p04z203l.rss
2.7K Followers 307 Episodes
Nick Robinson talks to people who shape our political thinking about what shaped theirs. Each episode of Political Thinking features an in-depth conversation with someone who is shaping our politics. The people who run our country (and those who want to), campaigners, business and union leaders, and people who run other countries. All of them join Nick in the studio, not for a news-y interrogation, but for an extended and relaxed conversation, delving into their past and how it shaped their...
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Episode List

From Sky boss to Number 10: Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith

Mar 13th, 2026 6:00 AM

Andrew Griffith on why government sometimes has to say 'no' and why Rupert Murdoch was the "best boss".The Shadow Business Secretary was once the youngest Chief Financial Officer of any major British company, when he worked at Sky, before becoming an MP an joining Boris Johnson's team in Downing Street. Senior Producer: Daniel Kraemer Producer: Flora Murray Editor: Giles Edwards

'We cannot have chaos': Emily Thornberry on the law of war and Labour's struggles

Mar 6th, 2026 6:00 AM

The Foreign Affairs Committee Chair on Iran, Trump's 'asteroid of awfulness' and the 'grief' she felt after being dropped by Starmer.Emily Thornberry tells Nick about how her father's career as a UN peacekeeper helped shape her commitment to the ideals of international law.She also has frank views about what her party needs to do to stem the rise of the Green Party.Senior Producer: Daniel Kraemer Producer: Flora Murray Sound: Jack Wilfan Editor: Giles Edwards

'This is Iran's Berlin Wall moment': Omid Djalili, comedian and actor

Feb 27th, 2026 6:00 AM

The British-Iranian comic on revolutions, Kensington, 9/11 jokes, King Charles and Iran's future.Omid Djalili has become one of the loudest voices in the Iranian diaspora calling for the overthrow of the regime in Tehran, in favour of US military action.While the world waits for Trump's next steps, Djalili talks to Nick about growing up in a hub of London's Iranian community, chasing history from Berlin to Czechoslovakia, deciding to perform in Saudi Arabia and turning down Game of ThronesProducers: Daniel Kraemer and Flora Murray Sound: Jack Wilfan Editor: Giles Edwards

'We're appeasing the tech bros': Beeban Kidron, from film-maker to lawmaker

Feb 20th, 2026 6:00 AM

What links Bridget Jones to social media regulation?The answer: Baroness Beeban Kidron. In 2004 she directed the Bridget Jones sequal. 20 years later, she became one of the most vocal campaigners for regulation of social media and tech in the UK.She joins Nick in the Political Thinking studio to tell her story, from joining Marxist dinner parties in her childhood home, to filming and living with the protesters of Greenham Common in the 1980s.Today, she has strong words for Keir Starmer's government, and is pushing for law-changes from her seat in the House of Lords.Producers: Daniel Kraemer and Flora Murray Editor: Giles Edwards

Nigel Farage: 'Broken Britain', national identity and lessons from Trump

Feb 13th, 2026 6:00 AM

A frank conversation with the leader of Reform UK.Nigel Farage has put his party on a "general election war footing" and says he is preparing for power.What has his party still got to learn before they're ready? Who is he referring to when he talks about putting "our own people first"?And what made him change his mind and return to politics?Senior Producer: Daniel Kraemer Producer: Flora Murray Editor: Giles Edwards Sound: Ged Sudlow

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