Episodes

  • Sunday School: Revolting Reform

    Sunday School: Revolting Reform
    Jan 12 2025
    Naomi and Alex look at the week's news, focussing on the market turmoil and pressure on Reeves, Trump's felony conviction, and Farage under increasing pressure from his own members for - WAIT FOR IT! - being too moderate. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “Trump did this before his 2017 inauguration. He threatens lots of stuff. He is manipulating markets. Causing a volatile period with negative movement. He then gets sworn in and tones it down. Everything resets and he comes out and says: Look at Wall Street. Even in my first week everything is going gangbusters.” "An enormous number of [Reform voters] are aspirationally wealthy, golf-playing, what I would call "red corduroy trouser guy". They do not like the working classness of a man like Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. They don't want him invading their club. And I think that's true of Farage.” “The government needs to pursue a policy of dynamic beneficial alignment with the EU. Most of us do not work for a large corporation that can box and cox around regulatory changes in our largest trading market. Lots of SMEd and sole traders just can't do it.” “There are unilateral things that gov’t could be doing right now to boost the economy and the reason it’s not is because it’s chicken. They are letting the perceived political price, of being seen to get closer to the EU, dictate policy choice. It is a discredit to them. These lost months, you ain’t getting them back.” Reform UK trying to introduce a bill - the video is here. CALL TO ACTION: Tell your MP to attend the debate on Youth Mobility. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    44 mins
  • EMERGENCY RIOT: Why are markets jittery?

    EMERGENCY RIOT: Why are markets jittery?
    Jan 10 2025
    Alex Andreou talks to top economist Vicky Pryce, to get to the bottom of what is behind market volatility and high gov't borrowing rates, how much of it is inherited, how much of it international, how much down to the gov't, what can be done to fix it, and why it isn't being done. Much of it not as you might expect. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England missed a trick. The confidence of central banks was impacted quite badly when they were seen to be too slow in moving rates up, so now they’re being a little bit too cautious about moving rates down.” “There is a serious issue. Right now in most countries there’s fiscal retrenchment [gov’t measures to reduce debt]. With tight monetary policy too, you’re almost stuck with low growth.” USEFUL READING Vicky Pryce's blog on inflation is here. The FT's round-up of analyst views is here. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    30 mins
  • Musk is grooming Europe for Trump 2.0

    Musk is grooming Europe for Trump 2.0
    Jan 9 2025
    Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith with special guest Dame Emily Thornberry try to decipher the incoherent tweets of Musk, the incoherent strategy of Badenoch, and the incoherent ramblings of Trump. Plus 'Wokey Dokey' and 'Grin and Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** "The idea that they can just play political games on the bodies of these girls, whose lives would have been turned upside down by what happened, to have it all raked over again and again for petty point scoring. The stakes for the victims are very high.” “The next few years is going to be all about realignment on the right. Who's going to eat whom? In our current system there's only really space for two big political parties.” “I don't really know what's happened to the leadership of the Tory Party. They have so profoundly lost their way.” "The one thing we should take very seriously about Donald Trump is that he is completely unpredictable. It's like the whole table has been thrown over and we're picking up the pieces trying to see how to put it back together." "The way forward is essentially to work out what are his interests and how to align what's in our interest with it. On Ukraine, Trump doesn't want to be seen as a loser. He wants to win the Nobel Peace prize. We can be there saying, here is a way to do that, just sign your name and have your photo taken." GRIN AND SHARE IT You can read the story of Bear, the hero dog, on the BBC website. CALLS TO ACTION LINKS: Find out how to write to your MP here. Details of how to contribute to the Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry on Soft Power. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    56 mins
  • Midnight Mass: A Line Has Been Crossed

    Midnight Mass: A Line Has Been Crossed
    Jan 8 2025
    Naomi and Alex give their instant reaction to the rapidly spiralling Musk breakdown, Starmer's strong response, the Tory Party's weak response - and Justin Trudeau's resignation. "One thing that UK gov't could do straight away, is to move all of its departments and ministries off X. What are they still doing there? What are official gov't accounts still doing on X, while the PM is saying that it is now a site dedicated to disinformation?" ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Stephen Bush's FT article on calls for an inquiry into grooming gangs. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • Sunday School - Musk hearts Tommy; Nigel, not so much.

    Sunday School - Musk hearts Tommy; Nigel, not so much.
    Jan 5 2025
    In the words of Jon Snow, "winter is coming". Naomi and Alex look at the cold winds blowing in from the East, as Ukraine cuts Europe off its Putin habit, from the West, as Musk goes too far right even for Farage's taste, and from the South, where Suella Braverman can be found admiring the Italy-Turkey border. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Statista's monthly figures on boat crossings. Click here for your Quiet Riot Bluesky Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • The Future is "AND" - not "OR"

    The Future is "AND" - not "OR"
    Jan 3 2025
    Alex chats to eminent scenario planner, futurologist, and best-selling author Richard Watson about whether there is any point predicting anything in such a volatile environment and finds that scenario planning is not a passive pursuit but about shaping the future. A wide-ranging, illuminating, and inspirational conversation. Stay tuned to the end for a goodies giveaway! ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “I’m not trying to be right about things. I’m trying to help people be less wrong. What I’m trying to do is get people to think and my experience is that most people are putting out fires dealing with quarterly results, annual results, four- or five-year election cycles. There are very few people thinking a generation ahead.” “The thing that’s problematic at the moment for a lot of people running organisations is not so much the speed of things, the volatility, or the unexpected events, but the sheer amount of information. I can’t pay attention to everything, so to what do I pay attention? How do I pick?” “The one trend organisations should be paying more attention to than anything else is societal ageing and declining fertility. Related to that is ‘the war for talent’. You have a shrinking workforce and moving into a more protectionist era. The fight to attract and retain talent will intensify.” “People tend to think of the future in binary terms. That something new will happen that will kill something that’s been around for a while. But the future is ‘and’ not ‘or’. Look at Ukraine, you have First World War trenches on one level, but also drones and satellites.” “I think the future has always been open and we should spend more time thinking what we want it to be, rather than only what it will be.” Richard Watson's books can be found here. Richard Watson's bookshelf can be found here. Richard Watson & Lavie Tidhar's children's book can be found here. Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod. On Bluesky click here for our Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • A Quiet Riot Happy New Year

    A Quiet Riot Happy New Year
    Jan 1 2025
    Alex, Naomi, and Kenny discuss the most important trends of 2024 and what they might augur for 2025. PLUS their most out-there predictions! ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Alex: “The reaction to progress is not an attempt to stand still, to remain the same, but an active attempt to reverse progress. Progress is not some axiomatic force that will do its thing without our shoulder to the wheel.” Naomi: “Big Tech enjoying access will continue and end up crossing every conflict of interest boundary. It’s not going to be about kickbacks or corruption. What we will see is the capture of whole sectors of the economy by Big Tech.” Kenny: “The power play between Trump, Musk, and Putin is going to be fascinating to watch in 2025. The world’s three most powerful narcissists feeding off one-another.” Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod. On Bluesky click here for our Starter Pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    44 mins
  • Poll The Other One: A polling pilgrimage from the Red Wall to Waterloo, and from 2024 to 2025

    Poll The Other One: A polling pilgrimage from the Red Wall to Waterloo, and from 2024 to 2025
    Dec 29 2024
    Attention polling geeks, politics geeks and students of the world ... what can Taylor Swift tell us about the world of politics? How about Beyoncé? And, sticking with a pop theme, how about Waterloo? Naomi Smith returns with the second part of her festive Poll The Other One special, this time with Focaldata chief research officer James Kanagasooriam who, as well as being heroically knowledgeable about all things polling, also coined the phrase Red Wall. Yes, *that* Red Wall. This episode is absolutely chocka with fascinating insights and, as a bonus, it will equip you to drop the following phrases into your political discourse: race depolarisation; zero-sum thinking; culture-nomics. If that's too geeky-sounding, there's also stuff about Waterloo Station's liberal clientele, the Democrats' religious vacuum and Keir Starmer's sandcastle. I know, the sandcastle has hooked you. ‘Across the West, no political parties seem to do what they say on the tin.’ 'Zero-sum thinking was a really interesting trend that came out of this year … if I do well, you do badly.‘ ‘It’s a very powerful tool, optimism.’ ‘The Lib Dem vote just follows a trainline out of London.’ ‘Politicians now know, irrespective of their ideology, that at the end of their four or five years they have to have grown the economy.’ Show Notes Subscribe to James's splendid Substack, The Political Whiteboard Check out Foundations: Why Britain Has Stagnated, a recent paper co-authored by Works In Progress founder Ben Southwood Want more Quiet Riot? Find us on Facebook and Twitter as @quietriotpod and on Bluesky. Click here for your Bluesky starter pack. Email us at quietriotpod@gmail.com. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com . ***If you can afford to, please sponsor us at ko-fi.com/quietriotpod ... it means a lot to us :-) *** With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    56 mins