About this podcast
The EXPERT FACTOR is the podcast for people who haven’t had enough of experts. Each week the directors of three leading and respected think tanks – Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Hannah White of the Institute for Government, and Anand Menon of UK in a Changing Europe – get together to discuss, debate and explain the big questions and themes that will shape the upcoming General Election, and the political landscape for years to come.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 62 episodes
- The Expert Factor Live · 1 h 16 minBack by popular demand, Hannah White, Paul Johnson and Anand Menon reunited on stage to record a special live episode of The Expert Factor – the podcast for people who haven’t…
- Trump, tariffs and EU trade negotiations: what can Keir Starmer do? · 36 min · Season 1 Episode 61A week is a long time in politics, but it is even longer in international relations. Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the US and Americas programme at Chatham House, joins Paul and…
- The Expert Factor on tour: Five years since Brexit · 24 min · Season 1 Episode 60To mark the fifth anniversary of the UK’s departure from the EU, Anand, Paul and Hannah took a trip to Oxford of the Expert Factor. So how has the Brexit worked out for the UK?…
- How will Keir Starmer's AI plan change government (and your lives)? · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 59The robots are taking our jobs, we’re going to be a nation run by chatbots, and an all-seeing, all-powerful computer is set to know everything about all of us. Well, not really…
- How can the social care crisis be fixed? · 38 min · Season 1 Episode 58Why is the social care challenge so complicated? Why can’t the nation’s politicians find a way forward? What is a possible solution? And what could Baroness Casey do to succeed…
- How can Keir Starmer meet his milestones? · 35 min · Season 1 Episode 57We’ve had missions. We’ve got foundations. We had some first steps. And now we have milestones. So what are they? Are targets a sensible way to go about governing? How do they…
- Assisted dying: What are the problems with Private Members’ Bills? · 41 min · Season 1 Episode 56With the assisted dying bill dominating discussions and debates in Westminster, former House of Commons clerk David Natzler joins Hannah and Paul to explain how private members’…
- What does Donald Trump’s election really mean for the UK? · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 55What does Donald Trump’s plan to make America great again mean for everyone else? What do tariffs actually achieve and who feels the pain or reaps the benefits? Will Trump’s…
- What difference will Rachel Reeves’ Budget really make? · 36 min · Season 1 Episode 54It is nearly a week since Rachel Reeves set out her Halloween Budget – the first from a Labour government in 14 years. So who are the winners? Who are the losers? Do the numbers…
- Beyond Brexit: How can UK/EU relations be reset? · 36 min · Season 1 Episode 53Remember the days when Keir Starmer used to campaign for a second Brexit referendum? Since the general election we hear rather more about the Labour government wanting to reset…
- The Budget and the debt: What happens if Rachel Reeves borrows more money? · 38 min · Season 1 Episode 52Nobody wants to be in debt? To find themselves owing money? Or to end up paying back high levels of interest? But it has been reported that Rachel Reeves is looking to adjust the…
- Expert Factor: Policy Festival 2024 Special · 49 min · Season 1 Episode 51How does power work in government? Where does power really sit in government? And how can power best be given away from government? The Expert Factor team aren’t exactly known…
- Has the Conservative Party worked out why it lost the general election? · 29 min · Season 1 Episode 50Hannah, Paul and Anand – with some snazzy new remote podcast recording equipment – met up at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham to record a special episode of the…
- Is there a better way for government to approach benefits? · 34 min · Season 1 Episode 49How many people claim benefits in this country? Who should be allowed to claim benefits? How much money does the government spend on benefits? Questions about benefits are back…
- Starmer’s freebie row: How can we fix standards and ethics in public life? · 31 min · Season 1 Episode 48How angry should people be about Keir Starmer’s free gift list? How does a confusing set of rules governing standards and ethics in public life actually work? Whatever happened…
- How do National Wealth Funds really work? · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 47What exactly is a National Wealth Fund? Lots of other countries have one - or something similar. In fact, there are 179 of them - holding up to $12.4 trillion in assets. And now…
- What happens next in British politics? · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 46Parliament has returned. MPs are back in Westminster. And the government is gearing up for a busy autumn, with the budget and some big legislation in parliament coming down the…
- Deliberative democracy: Is it time to let citizens decide policy? · 31 min · Season 1 Episode 45Are the right people making the right decisions about your future? How do politicians really know what you are thinking about the big questions facing the country? And is a tick…
- What lessons should the government learn from the riots? · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 44The country is reeling from the worst civil unrest in the UK since the London riots of 2011. So why did violence break out across England in recent weeks? How well has the…
- Can the government really deliver clean power by 2030? · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 43One of the Labour government’s big missions is to deliver clean power by 2030 – so what is its plan for getting there? Nick Butler, a top energy consultant and economist, joins…
