Peter York's Culture Wars House Party
“PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY” podcast is all about Peter’s cultural preoccupations which range from how political Culture Wars are waged, to the reputational currency of clever celebrities, to the best sources of suede loafers in St James’s. He’ll be hosting people he admires and people he wants to argue with and people who like to natter about the correct placement of buttons. Peter York is the author of “Dead Cat – Culture Wars and how not to lose them.” However, his influence extends back to the 1970s, where he pioneered the role of ‘style editor’ at Harpers and Queen magazine, alongside co-author Ann Barr. Together, they penned the era-defining sensation, “The Official Sloane Ranger’s Handbook,” which became the bestselling trade book of the 1980s. Throughout the decades, Peter has continued to leave his mark on the cultural landscape. He’s authored numerous books and presented several TV programs, including the nostalgic gem “Peter York’s Eighties” in the 1990s. More recently, Peter has shifted towards more serious subjects, tackling issues such as “The War Against the BBC,” co-authored with Professor Patrick Barwise, and the thought-provoking “Authenticity is a Con.” Join us as we explore the multifaceted world of Peter York and his enduring contributions to cultural discourse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Jolyon Maugham KC, founder of the Good Law Project, is one of the UK’s most prominent—and provocative—legal campaigners. Jolyon reveals how, as a high-flying tax barrister, “I knew where the bodies were buried often, because it was my clients who had dug them in,” and why he traded big money for bigger causes. He explains the origins of the Good Law Project, his mission to fight the “decay in our public life,” and candidly addresse...
On this week’s episode, Angus Hanton, author of Vassal State: How America Runs Britain, explains why his book emerged from one simple question: “How much of the UK is controlled by the Americans?”
In seeking the answer, he uncovers shocking numbers that reveal the extent to which American capital, corporations, and influence permeate the UK economy and society. Remarkably, Hanton’s analysis anticipated ...
Katherine Stewart is the investigative journalist who’s spent twenty years following the money, myths, and masterminds behind America’s new right — from Bible Belt Sunday schools to Silicon Valley boardrooms and shadowy donor networks that span continents. Her new book, Money, Lies and God, exposes the billionaires, strategists, and true believers who, she argues, are reshaping not just America, but democracy itself.
W...
Sir Martin Sorrell is the man who turned a plastics shell company, WPP, into the world’s biggest ad and marketing empire, snapping up the old Mad Men giants of Madison Avenue. By the time he left WPP in 2018, it was the world sector leader.
Transformed by the internet, is this now the “golden age” of a “trillion-dollar” advertising industry? Are the “nation state”-sized big tech companies to be regulated — and should we be more ...
Gina Miller, the financial whiz and legal warrior who took on Brexit's biggest beasts. From challenging May and Johnson in court to facing death threats as a woman of colour, Miller unpacks the messy world of populist politics, tech bros, and the rise of snake oil salesmen.
"What I'm going to say may sound very odd..." — and indeed it does. Gina calls for the return of one of those very 'snake oil salesmen'. She shares h...
Welcome to Peter York’s Culture Wars House Party. This episode, I’m joined by Matthew d’Ancona—former Spectator editor, Guardian columnist, and early prophet of the post-truth age. He left The Spectator, as he puts it, “when the world was falling apart,” and when “politics suddenly became downstream from culture.”
We trace his career—and his defence of identity politics, along with the “big fat mess...
Last Friday, I was joined by Carole Cadwalladr—former Guardian journalist and, depending on who you ask, either a democratic heroine or the original “mad cat lady.” From exposing Cambridge Analytica and the Mercers to taking on Brexit, big tech, and Aaron Banks personally, Carole’s journalism has shaped how we think about power, influence, and the quiet dismantling of democracy through data.
We discuss the Observer’s recent chan...
Welcome to Peter York’s Culture Wars House Party. This episode, I’m joined by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown—journalist, author, and broadcaster. Her journey from Uganda to Oxford, and into journalism in her 30s, has shaped one of the most distinctive and provocative voices in British media.
We explore why Yasmin says she’s moved further to the left over time, and how she sees the media playing a “double game”—deplatformin...
Welcome to Peter York's Culture Wars House Party. In this episode, I’m joined by Dylan Jones—a defining figure in British media. He spent over two decades editing GQ and later ran the London Evening Standard, helping shape the national conversation around style, politics, and culture.
From ‘literally no experience, and couldn’t actually write very well’, we trace Dylan’s journey from art school m...
Welcome to Peter York's Culture Wars House Party. In this seventh episode, I'm joined by Iain Dale—the prolific broadcaster, author, and political commentator. A fixture of the British media landscape, he currently hosts LBC’s evening show and was briefly a possible Conservative Party candidate in 2024.
We explore Iain's journey from party insider to media provocateur, his mission to rebuild the Conservative Party, the rise of...
Welcome to Peter York’s Culture Wars House Party. In this sixth episode, I’m joined by Graydon Carter—the legendary editor of Vanity Fair—a cultural powerhouse from 1992 to 2017—and now editor of the effortlessly chic digital magazine Airmail.
Charting Graydon’s journey from sensible Ottawa to the glittering heights of New York media, we examine the seismic shifts in publishing and unravel the complex ta...
Welcome to my new podcast, “PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY.” In this fifth episode, I’m joined by Peter Geoghegan former editor of Open Democracy, an investigative journalist and writer, who now runs “Democracy for Sale” https://democracyforsale.substack.com/about
Peter reveals how the Brexit campaign in Sunderland sparked his interest in exposing dark money and politic...
Welcome to my new podcast, “PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY.” In this fourth episode, I’m joined by campaigning journalist George Monbiot.
We discuss George’s journey from his Conservative family background to his political awakening and his rise as one of our most prominent environmental and political activists. What exactly is a campaigning journalist – is it a contradiction in terms?
We explore the story of ‘neoliberalism...
Welcome to my new podcast, “PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY.” In this third episode, I’m joined by Gabriel Gatehouse, the former international editor of Newsnight and a seasoned BBC foreign correspondent. He’s also the author and presenter of the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 series "The Coming Storm," which unpacks the deep roots of American paranoia and conspiracy theories—from the Clintons in the ‘90s to QAnon and the January 6th ...
Welcome to my new podcast, “PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY.” In this second episode, I’m joined by James O'Brien, the outspoken LBC talk radio host with a million and a half listeners who has been on air for over 22 years. We cover all sorts of topics - from the concept of the "Metropolitan Liberal Elite" and the risks of a far-right government to the capture of the BBC. We also discover James’ early career in retail wh...
Welcome to the first episode of my new podcast, “PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY.” There’s some serious stuff here, but we’re also having a bit of fun along the way. This podcast is all about my cultural preoccupations, from how political Culture Wars are waged—and yes, do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table — to the reputational currency of clever celebrities, and, of course, the eternal quest f...
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