The Prospect Podcast
Join our deputy editor Ellen Halliday and senior editor Alona Ferber as they interview some of the brightest minds to discuss the ideas that matter most in politics, society and culture.The Prospect Podcast is produced by Prospect Magazine.Subscribe to Prospect and enjoy our…
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 13
- Latest publication
- Sep 16, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 8, 2026
Latest episodes
Ethan Zuckerman: Will artificial intelligence destroy us all? (opens the original)
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As tech insiders warn about an impending apocalypse, Ellen and Imaan are joined by Ethan Zuckerman, Prospect contributor and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to examine those claims. He discusses AI agents going rogue in the Hugging Face incident, as well as recent calls from tech leaders to slow down AI development. With Trump dismissing safety concerns, Ethan also discusses US competition with China, how global thinking around AI differs—and why he doesn't trust t
Prospect Lives: Unexpected lessons from my alcoholic father (opens the original)
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This month, Rural life writer Kiran Sidhu shares her love for her late father, who was an imperfect but brilliant parent. Meanwhile, Second life writer Vitali Vitaliev is reminded of his former, Soviet life when he reads about the hounding of Cambridge academic Jason Arday. Mindful life writer Sarah Collins extolls the benefits of embracing a beginner's mindset when approaching new hobbies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Elon Musk, space solar and eternal power (opens the original)
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Have scientists found the secret to eternal power? Engineers, inventors and sci-fi writers have long dreamed of harvesting the constant power of the sun. Now, plans to build solar panels in space are tantalisingly close to fruition. This week, Ellen is joined by Prospect contributing editor Isabel Hilton to explains why it could just work. From rocket launches to robots assembling solar farms in space, Isabel explains the vision and its main obstacles. She also discusses the role of private comp
Andy Burnham’s theory of power (opens the original)
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Who really runs the United Kingdom? Power is badly misallocated, argues journalist and author Phil Tinline, and Andy Burnham understands that better than most of his recent predecessors. But there is still a major gap in the prime minister’s analysis. This week, he joins Ellen and Alona in a wide-ranging conversation that covers the shift away from centralised state power in the 1980s and the weakening of local government, through to how the Hillsborough disaster and Burnham’s early political ca
Daron Acemoglu: How to save liberal democracy (opens the original)
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According to Nobel prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, liberal democracy made three promises: that prosperity would be shared equitably, that capable government would deliver public services and that citizens would have voice to express their opinions and participate in governance. But in recent decades, these promises have been broken across the world. This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by Acemoglu, who explains how the shift to a postindustrial, tech-driven economy—compounded by neolibe
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