Never Mind The Bar Charts

The one in which I get compared to Terry Pratchett

Rather than a normal episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, this time I’m running an episode of the excellent Not Enough Champagne podcast, including an improbable comparison between me and Terry Pratchett.
You might recall me mentioning Not Enough Champagne as one of my favourite podcasts. I like it so much despite – or rather because – it’s done by two Labour Party activists, Cory and Steve, and therefore gives a rather different take on the world from mine.
Different enough to be thought-provoking and a guard against insular thinking without being so different as to cause me to hit stop in disgust.
And the reason for picking this particular episode that they’ve kindly let me re-run here?
Well, in it they talk about my book, Bad News. See what some non-Lib Dems make of it and enjoy listening, including hearing – if you listen right to the end, their cracking theme tune by Dave Depper.
Hope you enjoy their show and do subscribe to their podcast too.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Terry Pratchett's footnotes were glorious.
The Not Enough Champagne podcast.
The Not Enough Champagne team on Twitter: @paperbackrioter and @acousticradical.
Bad News: what the headlines don't tell us.
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Protecting our privacy is key to fighting coronavirus: interview with Jim Killock

It's crucial that apps designed to help us battle coronavirus also protect our privacy as otherwise their take-up and so public health will suffer.
That's the key point made by the Open Rights Group's Jim Killock in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts as we discussed the potential risks to our civil liberties from the different attempts to track who people have been in contact with. Such contact tracing is essential to tackling coronavirus, but how can it be done best? Listen to find out...
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
How Australia is legislating for a contact tracing app in ways that protect people's rights.
The German approach to protecting civil liberties while tracking people to tackle coronavirus.
Problems with the British approach.
Join the Open Rights Group.
Jim Killock on Twitter.
Photo credit: Rieo from Pixabay.
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What do the experts say about coronavirus? With Dr Ben Johnson

In the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I talked with Ben Johnson, a former Liberal Democrat councillor in Southwark with a PhD on the influenza virus from Public Health England and the University of Reading, and now working for Nature, one of the world’s most famous and respected scientific journals.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Sunder Katwala interview on coronavirus.
Bicester Village train station signs.
Phil Cowley on why Hong Kong reacted so quickly to coronavirus.
IFS data on key worker salaries.
My book Bad News, including a section on how different types of death get very different levels of media coverage.
How cats took over the world.
Find Ben on Twitter at @DrBenJohnson.
Photo credit for episode image: Brian McGowan on Unsplash.
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The Project: how the Conservatives were beaten last time

In the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I talk with Duncan Brack, the closest thing the party has to an official historian, about the lessons for the Liberal Democrats from the last time that a Conservative government was defeated.
A key part of that was cross-party cooperation so we dive into what then party leader Paddy Ashdown's plans were, what worked, what didn't work and what lessons apply to this Parliament.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Lessons from the Ashdown-Blair ‘Project’ - Duncan Brack's book chapter on the topic.
The Cook-Maclennan talks.
Ways for parties to cooperate without making seat deals.
Never Mind The Bar Charts on Paddy Ashdown's legacy.
Never Mind The Bar Charts on what it's like working with Dominic Cummings.
Coalition Diaries by David Laws - Amazon / Waterstones
Who Killed Kitchener? The Life and Death of Britain's most famous War Minister by David Laws - Amazon / Waterstones
Duncan Brack on Twitter.
The Liberal Democrat History Group.
Photo credits.
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Our bias toward pessimism - Sunder Katwala on reactions to coronavirus

In the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I talk with Sunder Katwala from the British Future think tank. Along with discussing civil rights in the age of coronavirus and the impact on BAME communities, he raised the important issue of the human bias towards pessimism and its impact on our reactions to the coronavirus crisis.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Sunder on how the Liberal Democrats can improve their diversity.
The University of Leicester study into who has caught Covid-19.
Research into our pessimism bias.
Sunder on Twitter.
British Future.
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow: Amazon / Waterstones.
John Maynard Keynes by Robert Skidelsky: Amazon / Waterstones.
Image by Jasmin Sessler from Pixabay.
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What does coronavirus mean for public policy? Interview with Polly Mackenzie

In the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I talked with the chief executive of Demos, Polly Mackenzie, about the impact of coronavirus on public policy. We got a bonus bit of background music courtesy of one of her children and a piano.
As with the other shows since coronavirus, this one was recorded over video call so apologies for the occasional blip in sound quality.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
The Demos website, including the old content being re-released as discussed in the show.
The previous show with Phil Cowley and that Martin Kettle piece.
Nervous States: how feeling took over the world by William Davies - Amazon / Waterstones.
Georgette Heyer's books - Amazon / Waterstones.
Polly's previous appearance on Never Mind The Bar Charts.
Follow Polly on Twitter.
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Like the show? Do follow on Twitter or Facebook. It's a great way to hear more about the podcast - and to let your friends and colleagues know about it too.

Special joint episode with Lib Dem Podcast: Leadership election postponed / should we cancel Brighton conference?

In a special tie-up with the Lib Dem Podcast, I'm interviewed by Cllr John Potter about the decision to postpone the Liberal Democrat leadership election and whether or not the party's autumn federal conference should be cancelled.
Show notes
Leadership election postponed
The Lib Dem Podcast: Twitter / Instagram / iTunes

Coronavirus: the Hong Kong experience and what next for British politics? With Phil Cowley

In the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I speak with Professor Phil Cowley, one of Britain’s leading political scientists, co-author for several general elections of authoritative Nuffield study and someone who casts the net so widely in his research that I occasionally appear in his footnotes.
Phil’s been on my list of possible guests for a while, but I particularly wanted to talk to him now as he’s currently living in Hong Kong, somewhere that’s been much in the news here in the UK for comparisons over how coronavirus is being tackled in each place.
We also talk about what this all means for British politics, and Phil's picks for books to read at the moment.
Show notes
Martin Kettle's piece on the possible (non-)impact of coronavirus on politics.
Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World by Laura Spinney - Amazon / Waterstones.
Agent Jack by Rob Hutton - Amazon / Waterstones.
Electoral Shocks: The Volatile Voter in a Turbulent World - Amazon / Waterstones.
Phil Cowley's excellent books - Amazon / Waterstones.
Phil Cowley on Twitter.
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How you can figure out which news stories to trust: the story behind Bad News

Before the coronavirus crisis hit, I recorded a podcast with my published, Biteback Books, about my new book, Bad News.
Listen to find out how you can make sense of the news all around us, the problem with news coverage on gun control, the (lack of a problem) with news echo chambers and filter bubbles, why I look back on my daily commute in years past with amazement and how I came to write Bad News.
Show notes
Biteback Chats Books podcast.
Buy Bad News from Waterstones, Amazon, Biteback or Hive.
Music: Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod / Link / License.

What does the polling data say about the future for the Lib Dems? Interview with Paula Surridge

In the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I welcomed back to the show academic Paula Surridge. We talked about what the British Election Study is and what its polling data from the 2019 general election shows, including its implications for the future for the Liberal Democrats.
Show notes
Paula Surridge on Twitter.
Is politics still about left versus right? - the previous show with Paula Surridge.
The British Election Study (BES).
Sign up for more polling news with Polling UnPacked.
Find Never Mind The Bar Charts on social media
Like the show? Do follow on Twitter or Facebook. It's a great way to hear more about the podcast - and to let your friends and colleagues know about it too.