Politics On the Couch

Politics On the Couch

Love politics? And psychology? And relationships? Then lie back and listen to Politics On the Couch, where broadcaster and psychotherapist Lucy Beresford chats to senior figures from the world of politics and international current affairs, for a deep dive into the relationships making the headlines today and to explore the psychology of political life.

Episodes

May 2, 2024 24 mins
On this episode, Lucy Beresford speaks to Steve Baker MP about his mental health, the current dangers facing MPs in their constituencies and what the government can do to improve the nation's mental health.
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Lucy speaks to Ali Miraj, financier and political commentator, about 2023, what went wrong for Rishi Sunak and why he needs to stand up to the right of the party. 
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December 7, 2023 23 mins
On this episode, Lucy speaks to Dawn Neesom, GB News presenter and former editor of the Daily Star, about the Covid inquiry and the stories we tell ourselves about what happened during the pandemic. 
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November 23, 2023 20 mins
Lucy speaks to Jill Rutter about the psychology of economics, the competing narratives around the Autumn Statement and whether Jeremy Hunt is listening to voters or Tory MPs.
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November 9, 2023 34 mins
Lucy speaks to Kim, Lord Darroch about how Sunak and Starmer are seen to be handling the Israel-Hamas conflict.
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October 26, 2023 19 mins
On this episode, Lucy speaks to broadcaster and journalist Rachel Johnson about sexual harassment in Westminster and how to change the culture. 
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October 13, 2023 22 mins
Lucy speaks to Londoners' Diary columnist Robbie Griffiths about the role gossip plays in politics, and especially at Party Conferences. 
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October 5, 2023 31 mins
This week, Lucy speaks to Baroness Altmann CBE, leading UK pensions expert and former pensions minister, about why it's so hard to get people to focus on pensions, and why nudge theory has been proven to help.
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September 28, 2023 26 mins
Lucy speaks to James Kirkup, partner of Apella Advisors (and conference addict of 20+ years) who interprets the mood music of party conferences, whether Conference Lurghie is psychosomatic, and the strange cognitive dissonance of the attendees. 
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September 21, 2023 21 mins
Lucy speaks to James, Lord Bethell of Romford, about stopping children accessing porn and how more hours in the UK are spent watching PornHub than the BBC.
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September 7, 2023 19 mins
Lucy speaks to Stuart Andrew MP, parliamentary under secretary at the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and minister for loneliness, on whether the government is well-placed to address the mental health crisis. 
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Lucy speaks to journalist and photographer Laura Dodsworth and behavioural scientist Patrick Fagan, authors of Free Your Mind – the new World of manipulation and how to avoid it about how our politicians are manipulating us and how we can resist.
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July 5, 2023 22 mins
Lucy speaks to Kulveer Ranger, former advisor to Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London, about what it takes (and takes out of you) to work inside politics.
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June 23, 2023 20 mins
Lucy speaks to Henry Hill, deputy Editor of ConservativeHome, about how to get better people into politics. 
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June 15, 2023 32 mins
Lucy talks to Author and journalist Robert Hutton about why Boris is playing The Victim card, and whether we all colluded to create the cartoon figure of Boris. 
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May 31, 2023 35 mins
Lucy speaks to comedian Neil Mullarkey, about how to make politicians communicate better with voters. 
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May 18, 2023 26 mins
Lucy Beresford speaks to writer Ed West about the future of Conservatism.
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May 4, 2023 21 mins
Lucy speaks to royal historian and author Dr Tessa Dunlop, about the coronation, whether it is happening at the wrong time, and whether it will boost UK influence abroad. 
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April 27, 2023 25 mins
Lucy speaks to TalkTV Political Editor Peter Cardwell about the psychology of the latest bullying allegations within Westminster.
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April 19, 2023 30 mins
Lucy speaks to Tim Marshall, British journalist and leading authority on world affairs, about the psychology of China, what might solve the Arab-Israeli conflict, and how space will be the new political battleground.  
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