Podcasts from The Bigger Picture

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University believes a coming reckoning for social media will be accelerated by the events in America's Capitol Building. He asks what the pandemic tells us about the evolution of science and how Britain has improved its early poor performance in the response to Covid-19. And he looks at the significance of the Strong Horse Theory in Political Science, particularly with regard to Keir Starmer and Labour and possibly Donald Trump too.

President John F. Kennedy's inauguration speech, 20 January 1961

Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the Capitol Hill rioters and asks what can possibly be done to defend the principles of democracy in America. As the UK is locked down for the third time since the pandemic started he wonders why more hard questions are not being asked about its efficacy and whether the right people are being prioritised for vaccination. And with the UK finally out of the EU, he looks at the details of the trade deal and what Britain managed to negotiate.

In the second of two end-of-year Bigger Picture specials, we look back at some of topics discussed in 2020 by Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University. In one of his last discussions of the year, he wondered if a new, cultural Iron Curtain is splitting Europe into east and west. In other programmes, he mused on political psychology and the degrees of openness across the political spectrum, the Government's planning system reforms, whether China's Belt and Road Initiative is the success it is perceived to be and he lamented the loss of one of Britain's great thinkers.

In his final live interview of 2020, Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University explains how we live in a world of ever-increasing information - rather than physical - warfare and how the United Nations Human Rights Council has become a proxy battleground for the world powers. He argues that the United Kingdom is an ideal trade partner for the United States, whatever its new President's views on Brexit. And, after the death of John Le Carré, he muses on the British obsession with spies from Bond to Smiley.

Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the progress of the last-ditch attempts to reach a Brexit agreement, asking who is responsible for the statemate. As the Covid vaccine begins its roll-out, he asks if 2021 shouldn't be seen as a chance to assess the way government, institutions and society works in the UK and make some big changes. And, picking perhaps an unlikely political Star of the Year, he looks across the Atlantic at what might happen when President Biden becomes the new occupant of The White House.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University considers whether there is light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel or whether there's another - economic - tunnel just ahead that we're about to plunge into. He also asks if a new, cultural, Iron Curtain is descending on Europe, splitting the grouping into east and west. And he ponders whether the World's Central Banks' policies have set us up for a catastrophic fall.

Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the politics behind the end of the second lockdown and the transition into a revised tier system, with its Christmas exemption. He delves into Rishi Sunak's Spending Review and the accompanying OBR figures, lamenting the lack of imagination in the directions the money spigot is spraying. And he looks across the Atlantic, where Donald Trump has finally given way and authorised the transition towards President Biden.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University takes a look at what is going on in No. 10 Downing Street, what it could mean for government policy and why a "narrative" is desperately needed. Casting his eyes across the Atlantic, he explains why Joe Biden will rule as a Purple President. And he takes a look at Big Pharma, much reviled in many quarters but a great scientific success during the pandemic.

Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the victory of Joe Biden in the US Presidential election and Donald Trump's response. He considers the importance of Kamala Harris as the incoming Vice-President. He speculates on what Biden's presidency will mean for the United Kingdom and what effect it might have on the UK Internal Market Bill. With a Christmas vaccine looking possible, he discusses the tensions in Downing Street after the departure of communications chief Lee Cain and asks if Dominic Cummings can survive.