Politics, As Usual
Despite wide-spread scepticism about politics and politicians, in every country around the world there are many representatives and officials driven by purpose and principle. Their stories are rarely heard, but talking to such individuals about how politics actually works in practice, and making change happen, is invariably interesting, insightful and enlightening.
The purpose of this new podcast is to capture some of those stories from people working in and around politics, in some very different contexts, about what motivates them, why politics matters and what we might learn about the process of change.
Politics, As Usual is a Global Partners Governance podcast. The book ‘Politics, As Usual’ by Greg Power, will be published later this year.
Music: ‘Ikeja Roads’ by Tony Allen
Episodes
Episode 15: Saber Chowdhury
Broadcast: 4th March 2020
Saber Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi politician and former President of the Inter Parliamentary Union. The conversation between Greg and Saber was recorded at the UN, New York in February 2020. This discussion details Saber’s utterly fascinating journey into politics and the changes he was a part of over the course of his career. If you […]
Episode 14: Parliaments and Populism
Broadcast: 19th February 2020
We have something different for you this week on Politics, As Usual. The rise of populism has reshaped politics in countries around the world in recent years. Although criticism of parliaments is not new, populist movements pose particular challenges. Appealing directly to citizens, populists have called into question the fundamental role and responsibilities of established […]
Episode 13: Alistair Burt
Broadcast: 5th February 2020
Alistair Burt is a British politician and former Foreign Office Minister who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Bedfordshire from 2001 until 2019 having previously served as MP for his native Bury North in Greater Manchester from 1983 until 1997. Alistair was one of the 20 people to have the Conservative whip removed in […]
Episode 12: Stephen Twigg
Broadcast: 22nd January 2020
This week’s episode features former MP and Government Minister Stephen Twigg. In a wide-ranging interview Stephen tells us about how he first became politically engaged, the role being gay played in defining his political beliefs, the famous election in 1997 in which he beat Michael Portillo right up to his decision to resign at the […]
Episode 11: John Alderdice
Broadcast: 8th January 2020
Lord John Alderdice was the first Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly between 1998-2004. A pivotal figure in the search for peace in Northern Ireland during the 1990’s, he served as Leader of the Alliance Party and in that role did much to encourage talks with Sinn Féin when many were still resisting. In this […]
Episode 10: Gordana Čomić
Broadcast: 18th December 2019
Gordana Čomić is a politician in Serbia. She has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since 2001 as a member of the Democratic Party and is currently a deputy speaker of the assembly. Čomić was also a member of the Assembly of Vojvodina from 1996 to 2004.
Episode 9: Ala Talabani
Broadcast: 4th December 2019
Ala Talabani is the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan bloc in the Iraqi Parliament and a three-time member of the Council of Representatives of Iraq. This interview, recorded over a year ago, focuses mainly on Ala’s journey into politics as well giving us a fascinating insight into the recent political history of Iraq.
Episode 8: Baroness Valerie Amos
Broadcast: 20th November 2019
Valerie Amos has had an extremely interesting and diverse political career. Working in local councils, becoming Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission and being made a life peer in 1997, becoming the Leader of the House of Lords in 2003. In this episode Valerie talks about her journey from moving to the south of […]
Episode 7: Helen Clark
Broadcast: 6th November 2019
The Politics, As Usual podcast is back for its second run of shows. This series will have a new episode every two weeks, so be sure to review, subscribe and share as we’ve got some great episodes coming up that you won’t want to miss. Helen Clark served as the 37th Prime Minister of New […]
Episode 6: London Recruits (Live)
Broadcast: 10th August 2017
In the late 1960’s a man named Ronnie Kasrils recruited a number of young people from the UK to travel to conduct covert missions in Apartheid South Africa. Posing as tourists, they smuggled in banned literature and pamphlets, distributing them in public places to deliver the message that the African National Congress was alive and […]