Podcasts · News · Government
The Two Matts
The New World
300 episodes
Join The New World's Matt Kelly and Matt d'Ancona plus occasional guests for weekly chat on politics and media with a side of cultural stuff. A podcast in the spirit of the award-winning New World newspaper - irreverent, witty, surprising, argumentative ... and annoying all the right people.
More about the show
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Episodes page 2 of 6
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SPECIAL with Misan Harriman: Under attack from the UK’s right wing press
The Matts speak with Misan Harriman, the chair of Britain’s largest arts and culture institution, the Southbank Centre. Misan has been under persistent attack from much of the UK’s right wing media - all for something…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Farage and the five million plus Palestine Action trial scandal
The Matts answer listeners’ questions including: where is the outrage over Nigel Farage’s ethical void; why do people who think they were sold a pup on Brexit now vote for the puppy salesman; should the entire cabinet…
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SPECIAL EDITION: The most consequential by-election ever…
The Matts consider just how much is at stake in the Makerfield by-election, assuming Andy Burnham is allowed to stand. Who will Reform put up against him (we have one idea) and what will Zack Polanski’s move be? Take a…
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AND... THEY’RE OFF!
Join the Matts as they discuss the omnishambles in Downing Street. Exciting times as they receive the breaking news that Wes Streeting has resigned and the contest to be the next PM is afoot. Who now holds the upper…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Starmer timetable, a Telegraph smear and love for David Attenborough
The Matts answer listeners' questions, including the optimal timetable for a Starmer handover; whether Andy Burnham is trustworthy enough to be PM; if Banksy modelled his statue on Nigel Farage; how you can criticise…
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Election Special: Who will save Britain from Reform now?
The Matts reflect on a terrible day for both Labour and the Tories and ask what it is going to take to keep Nigel Farage from Downing Street. Three years ago they were mocked for suggesting Nigel Farage could be PM.…
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Special: Exploring the Ghosts of Iron Mountain with Phil Tinline
The Matts sit down with Phil Tinline to discuss his book The Ghosts of Iron Mountain - genuinely one of the most fascinating and consequential stories of our age. Phil tells how a 1967 hoax report into the desirability…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Kings good, zoos bad
The Matts answer listeners' questions, including whether or not the UK should use the King more; whether we bash Starmer too much; if zoos really are the front line of conservation; and what is the most astonishing…
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The Starmer Conundrum… with special guest Tom Baldwin
A special episode of the podcast today with real depth of thinking on where Keir Starmer has gone wrong… and why right now is NOT the right time to replace him. Tom Baldwin is the journalist who knows Starmer best.…
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“A KNIFE THROUGH MY SOUL"... pod special on Morgan McSweeney
Hot from the two-and-a-half hours of select committee evidence, the Matts digest the evidence of Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and his role in the Peter Mandelson affair. It was engrossing…
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The Two Matts Q&A: How to pay for the NHS and will robots rule?
The Matts answer listeners' questions including when Starmer should go; why we don’t vet our politicians; how to fund the NHS; why the news is relentlessly grim; whether banning social media for children is a good…
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Should he stay or should he go now?
Indecision’s bugging the Two Matts… should Keir Starmer stay or should he go? If he stays there will be trouble. But if he goes it will be double. What is the right timing for a deeply disappointing premiership to end?…
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Is a brave new world possible? With John Kampfner
Journalist and author John Kampfner joins the Matts to discuss his stunning new book Braver New World - a global travelogue of bold solutions to some of the world’s thorniest problems. Over three years of globetrotting…
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The Two Matts Q&A: The fall of Orbán, Corbyn and Kanye West
The Matts tackle listeners' questions, including how positive should we be about the fall of Orbán, why is Corbyn polling zero percent, is the collapse of the Wireless Festival a good thing, would they welcome Nicole…
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A New Hope from Hungary
The Matts assess Péter Magyar’s spectacular ousting of Viktor Orbán in Hungary and what it means for the fight against right-wing populism worldwide. It’s an encouraging moment but no time for complacency. In part two,…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Royal visit to the US, Roger Daltrey’s opinions and Italy’s football team
The Matts answer listeners’ Easter Sunday questions, including on whether or not the King should be visiting the States, whether the debate around joining the EU will be as divisive as 2016, if we can enjoy The Who…
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DARK SIDE OF THE MATTS: A spectacular row erupts over NASA’s moonshot
The Matts fall out spectacularly and unexpectedly over NASA’s moon shot, Artemis 2. How is this even possible, you ask? They’re not even sure… but the topic quickly descends into a brutal space war of words. In part…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Are we journalists or activists?
The Matts answer your questions in their regular Sunday Q&A show, including whether their mission to see Reform fail is blinding them to the full picture, how the war in Iran is going for Donald Trump, whether…
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Here’s how the UK joins the EU and sooner than you think
The Matts open with a war update - the signals from Washington point to an escalation which will be devastating for the world, yet the off-ramp (as it apparently must be called) is difficult to divine. In part two…
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Podcast special: THIS WAR IS NOT REAL
The Matts explore how French philosopher Jean Baudrillard was right about the nature of warfare in the 21st century - especially when applied to the unprecedented chaos unfolding in the Middle East. It is, we hope, a…
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The Two Matts Q&A: On Trump, GB News, Tony Blair… and playing the drums
The Matts answer listeners' questions including whether or not Donald Trump has lost control of the war in Iran, why the BBC isn't covering The New World’s GB News investigation, how Tony Blair can still believe war in…
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Inside the GB News scandal - with Alan Rusbridger
Alan Rusbridger joins the Matts to discuss The New World’s investigation into GB News’s persistent breaches of Ofcom’s code on impartiality and accuracy. Get the inside track on the story from an editor who has led…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Oscars, Oakeshott, China and centrism
The Matts answer listener questions including on Isabel Oakeshott’s hypocrisy, China’s century, the death of centrism, the rule of law, the future of the Telegraph and their tips for tonight’s big Oscar night in…
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The increasingly complex calculus in being the British Prime Minister
The Matts tackle a number of intersecting topics: can the Peter Mandelson affair damage Keir Starmer more than it already has? What did his stance on Iran do for Labour in the polls? How is Westminster geared for an…
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Trump’s Iran war could not be going more wrong
This Matts ad hoc pod episode takes stock of the first days of Operation Epic Fury and wonders if this is the war when it’s going well (as Donald Trump insists) what does it look like when it’s going badly? Oil through…
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This week's Two Matts Q&A: Is this the start of World War III?
The Matts again respond to your queries. They discuss whether we are on the verge of World War III, why Mark Carney endorsed Donald Trump’s actions and why Dubai-based expats don’t pay their own way home. Plus they…
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Who’s winning the Iran War... and how can you tell?
The Matts unpick the events of the past week and are intrigued by the internal Labour Party politics that created a sense of chaos around the UK’s response to the war. They are also staggered - and not a little bit…
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Trump’s War: The man with no plan bombs Iran
The Matts do their level best to make sense of the last three days - events which make little sense in isolation, but once a wider spectrum of factors comes into play, does a sinister strategy emerge? Donald Trump is…
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This week's Two Matts Q&A: Deference, Piers Morgan deepfake and Tracey Emin
The Matts answer questions from listeners, including whether or not the age of deference is dead; is Trump going flat; is Farage just like Thatcher; why doesn’t NATO repel Russia; what does a deepfake of Piers Morgan…
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The Two Matts by-election special: OK, is it clear enough yet Labour?
Maybe it’s sinking in now? The Matts agree that whatever mitigation there is, Keir Starmer’s Labour government does not have the cut-through with voters to win the next general election. The clock is ticking - just 175…
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ARGUMENT ALERT! The Matts clash over Tourette’s row
Before the Matts start kicking lumps out of each other, they enjoy the relative calm of a brief discussion on the smokescreen around the arrest of Peter Mandelson. Then it all kicks off as they explore the…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Nigel Farage, Jim Ratcliffe and assorted other nasties
The Matts answer listeners' questions, including whether Nigel Farage really is a man of the people, if Manchester United deserve an owner as odious as Jim Ratcliffe, how to deal with friends who turn bad, whether we…
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: The photo that says it all
The Matts sweep up an extraordinary 24 hours in British history. But first, they marvel at the power of a single photographic frame - currently splashed on every newspaper front page in the country. Is this the most…
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SPECIAL: ANDREW MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR ARRESTED!
The King’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested this morning by Thames Valley Police officers investigating allegations of misconduct in public office. It is an historic moment in British history. While he…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Starmer coup, Sadiq for PM and too much Dracula?
The Matts answer listeners' questions. This week: is Keir Starmer the new Joe Biden; why isn’t Sadiq Khan in the frame for next PM; how does Boris Johnson get off so lightly; should we keep calling Prince Andrew Prince…
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Re: Starmer - a little humble pie, a lot of conviction
The Matts reflect on the last week, and address their own fallibilities (and thank you, dear listeners, for pointing them out!). But the argument around Keir Starmer’s premiership remains solid. Also - is the Royal…
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Face it, Keir, it’s over. But you could still save the nation
The Matts digest the events of the past 24 hours. Will Morgan McSweeney’s departure delay or hasten the existential crisis facing Keir Starmer? Does Starmer’s plea bargain over Peter Mandelson’s appointment wash? How…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Mandelson rage, arrest Andrew Windsor and Zack Polanski on drugs
The Matts answer listeners' questions including: why has this Peter Mandelson scandal provoked such enormous fury, why is not-Prince Andrew still at large, can Zack Polanski be trusted, is the House of Lords really a…
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This is the end for Keir Starmer
The Matts assess the last 24 hours and reach an inescapable conclusion: Keir Starmer will not survive the Mandelson affair. He may limp on for weeks, even months. But the damage of this specific event has ignited such…
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The Mandelson affair destroys our delusions about power
Peter Mandelson’s disgrace, writ large in the latest dump of Jeffrey Epstein files, is the gravest challenge to the credibility of the British establishment in decades. And how Keir Starmer reacts to it in the next 24…
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The Two Matts Q&A: The Shamima Begum row - Round 2
The Matts respond to listeners’ reaction to their debate on the future of Shamima Begum - and, if anything, their respective positions have hardened. Get set for some fireworks. Also - was Keir Starmer weak in blocking…
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What does Trump’s Minnesota retreat add up to?
The situation in Minnesota has brought extraordinary political turmoil to the Oval Office. As Donald Trump continues his manic month of January - from Venezuela to Davos, Greenland to Iran - what does this domestic…
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Andy Burnham revisited
We thought you might enjoy relistening to an in-depth conversation we had last year with the man of the moment, Andy Burnham - mayor of Greater Manchester, former cabinet minister and, of course, a man who's had his…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Was Blair right to join Trump’s Board of Peace… and should Shamima Begum be allowed back to the UK?
The Matts answer your questions, including on Trump and Greenland, Blair and the Board of Peace, whether the Home Office is right to keep Shamima Begun out of the UK and, of course, the really big question of the week:…
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Trump Complacency Disorder abounds. Not here.
The Matts pick apart the most astonishing events of the past 48 hours and take an objective look at what it means. They are appalled at the complacency of many in the media in reporting what is a shakedown happening in…
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Special edition with Paul Mason: Decoding Trump’s madness
The last 72 hours have been extraordinary and historic. And we still don’t have a clue what it all adds up to. But there are things we now know. Trump is on a collision course with European nations over the future of…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Is Nato dead and why was 2016 actually a great year to be alive?
The Matts answer your questions, including what would happen if Nato collapsed, is there hope for Iran, how can we fix Britain’s sh*tty water companies, was 2016 a year to feel nostalgic about and did the Matts get it…
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Saul Klein: Britain can succeed - but a lot must change
Saul Klein is one of the UK’s top venture capitalists - he’s helped build some extraordinary businesses and he understands, as few do, just how our capitalist society really functions... or doesn’t. He describes…
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The Two Matts Q&A: Is Nato dead? Is Marty Supreme any good? And should old people vote?
The Matts answer your questions. including Trump’s kleptocracy, Laila Cunningham’s chances of becoming mayor of London, why The New World is still on X, an upper limit on the voting age, how good Timothée Chalamet’s…
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The new world order is revealing itself
The Matts pick apart the extraordinary events of this week and make sense* of what they mean for life on planet Earth in the second quarter of the 21st century. What is Trump up to? How can Europe react to a threat…
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