The Reaction Podcast
Reaction is an online magazine dedicated to commentary and analysis on politics, geopolitics, economics and culture. The Reaction Podcast, hosted by Iain Martin, will feature some of the world's leading writers and thinkers about a variety of subjects ranging from politics and philosophy to economics and culture. Become a Reaction subscriber (https://reaction.life/subscribe/) to receive Iain Martin's weekly newsletter, the Reaction Daily Briefing, columns from Tim Marshall, Adam Boulton and Maggie Pagano, and much more.
Episodes
April 18, 2024 • 44 mins
On this episode, Max Mitchell (standing in for Iain Martin) speaks to author and journalist Kapil Komireddi about the upcoming Indian elections. They discuss the domineering figure of Narendra Modi, the rise of Hindu nationalism, the tumultuous history of modern India and Kapil’s book, Malevolent Republic: A Short History of the New India, which has just been released in a new and revised paperback edition.
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April 11, 2024 • 45 mins
In this conversation hosted by Reaction, Political Reporter and Podcast Editor Max Mitchell speaks to author and journalist James Kaplan about his new book 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool. They discuss the genius of Miles Davis, how these musicians came together to create the best-selling jazz album of all time, the economic and social conditions that affected mid-20th cent...
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March 28, 2024 • 26 mins
On this episode, Reaction’s Executive Editor Maggie Pagano sits in for Iain Martin and is joined by commentator and founder of ConservativeHome Tim Montgomerie. They discuss whether Rishi Sunak will survive till the next election, who might take over the party, why Labour is courting the corporate world and what it means for a potential Labour government, the state of the economy and why DEI has gone too far.
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March 20, 2024 • 34 mins
On this episode, host Iain Martin speaks to historian and author Jade McGlynn about the Russian myths and propaganda powering the war in Ukraine. Calling in from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, Jade talks about her two important books on modern Russia, Russia’s War and Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia. The discussion also touches on Ukrainian morale, the ethical catastrophe engulfing an ever more chaotic R...
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March 13, 2024 • 40 mins
In this episode, host Iain Martin speaks to geopolitical expert and Reaction columnist Tim Marshall about the state of global conflict. They touch on the recent developments in the Israel-Hamas war, the future of the Middle East, how the growing Axis of Resistance is enabling Putin’s war in Ukraine, European rearmament and deterrence with or without the US and the end of the end of history.
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February 28, 2024 • 40 mins
On this episode, host Iain Martin talks to Merryn Somerset Webb, Bloomberg columnist and author, about her prescient book Share Power. The discussion touches on the origins of ESG, how huge amounts of money poured into sustainability funds, its vague and subjective definitions, how ESG could only exist in a low interest rate environment, what Jeremy Hunt will do in the Spring Budget and the failure of central banks.
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February 9, 2024 • 53 mins
On this week’s podcast, host Iain Martin speaks to Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at Atlantic Council and author of the new book Goodbye Globalisation.
Since the end of the Cold War, many saw the adoption of market economies by previously communist countries as a sign that a liberal democratic system of government had prevailed definitively over authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. Those who argued for globalisatio...
Since the end of the Cold War, many saw the adoption of market economies by previously communist countries as a sign that a liberal democratic system of government had prevailed definitively over authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. Those who argued for globalisatio...
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January 31, 2024 • 69 mins
Host Iain Martin talks to Ed Conway about his book Material World. From the extraction processes to treatment, through the supply chains and on to the consumer, Ed’s new book follows the stories of the key substances that have built the modern world: sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. We are heavily reliant on these substances but often ignorant of where they come from, how they are made and how civilisation would crum...
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January 26, 2024 • 53 mins
This week, host Iain Martin talks to Francis Hoar, barrister and legal commentator, about the disaster of political decision-making during the pandemic. The discussion ranges from the fallacy of zero Covid to the embarrassment of politicians standing in the way of an honest reckoning with the mistakes made. Francis argues that society has to reassess its relationship with risk, health and liberty.
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January 17, 2024 • 35 mins
On this episode, host Iain Martin interviews Lord Arbuthnot, Post Office scandal campaigner, about the heroic role he played, helping to pave the way for justice. They discuss the history of the scandal, the groupthink of Post Office and Fujitsu employees, the fallacy of blind faith in machines, the scandal's similarities to the 1994 Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash and potential governmental and judicial reforms.
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January 12, 2024 • 55 mins
On the first episode of the new year, host Iain Martin sits down with Tim Montgomerie to look at the year ahead in politics. With almost two billion people in 60 countries heading to the polls in 2024, it is sure to be a year of geopolitical shifts. Iain and Tim discuss what the Tory party can do to salvage the election, the rise of the Labour party and its potential style of governance, the seeming inevitability of Donald Tru...
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December 13, 2023 • 53 mins
Host Iain Martin speaks to Gerry Baker, editor-at-large of the Wall Street Journal, about his new book American Breakdown: Why We No Longer Trust Our Leaders and Institutions and How We Can Rebuild Confidence. They talk about the loss of legitimacy in American politics, hyperpartisanship, inequality, how American democracy can be saved, what next year's presidential election means for global politics and Henry Kissinger.
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December 8, 2023 • 43 mins
Host Iain Martin and guest Paul Goodman, editor of Conservative Home, discuss the crisis facing Rishi Sunak and long-term Tory problems.
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November 24, 2023 • 40 mins
Host Iain Martin and guest Tim Montgomerie on the Autumn Statement, immigration numbers and the rise of Reform, the party that with Nigel Farage could turn Conservative defeat into a rout.
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November 14, 2023 • 50 mins
This week, Iain Martin speaks to Helen Thompson about the geopolitics of energy. They touch on why the Ukraine war hasn’t sparked a European awakening on energy security, the energy picture around Israel and the Middle East, why Trump 2.0 could be bad news for European security and her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century which is now out in paperback.
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November 10, 2023 • 41 mins
On this episode, Iain Martin talks to Maggie Pagano, executive editor of Reaction, about the Suella Braverman debacle, the state of the economy ahead of the Autumn Statement, the potential of electoral reform, the influence of social justice activism on businesses, the coming year of elections and a potential Biden-Trump re-run.
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November 3, 2023 • 36 mins
This week, Iain Martin speaks to David Petraeus, retired four star US Army general and former director of the CIA, about a new age of global conflict. They discuss his book Conflict, co-authored with Andrew Roberts, the danger of the Gaza ground invasion, what the Middle East looks like post-war, his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, China's geopolitical goals and the war in Ukraine.
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October 26, 2023 • 52 mins
What's going wrong at the Covid inquiry? This week on the Reaction Podcast, host Iain Martin is joined by Robert Dingwall, emeritus professor of sociology at Nottingham Trent University and Alastair Benn, deputy editor of Engelsberg Ideas. They discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, the revelations from the inquiry and whether we have learned any lessons for next time round.
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October 19, 2023 • 47 mins
This week on the Reaction Podcast, Iain Martin is joined by Maggie Pagano, executive editor and columnist at Reaction, to discuss the Middle East crisis, the death of corporate Britain and the Covid inquiry. They touch on the geopolitical consequences of escalation in the Middle East and what it means for US-Iran relations, how the pro-Palestinian protests have turned sour across the West, why Britain's pensions and capital ma...
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October 12, 2023 • 40 mins
This week on the Reaction Podcast, Iain Martin is joined by Tim Marshall, leading geopolitical expert, best-selling author and Reaction columnist to discuss the Middle East crisis. They discuss the geopolitical consequences of the Hamas attack on Israel, how Israel was caught off-guard, the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the geographical complications of Israel’s potential war on several fronts and Israeli Prime Min...
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