In this podcast Mackenzie France sat down with Paul Gross, Senior Fellow at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, to discuss the recent developments and likely prospects of the war in Gaza, tensions within the government, Netanyahu's popularity, and the role the Palestinian Authority and the Arab states may play in the eventual solution for Gaza.

Pinker Centre policy fellows Dan, Jonathan and Calista consider the challenges to free speech on UK university campuses and assess the effectiveness and implications of the 2023 Freedom of Speech Act.

They debate whether it is the university or government that should regulate freedom of speech on campuses and discuss the ongoing discourse on Israel and Gaza from the perspective of freedom of speech.

In this episode, our Policy Fellows Matthew and Ellie talk about the role of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the Israel-Hamas war and its position in the West Bank.

They outline the challenges the PA faces in the West Bank, including its rivalry with Hamas, and discuss whether the PA can be a legitimate governing force in Gaza in the future.

In this podcast, our Policy Fellows Baran, Orla and Lucas discuss how the Israel-Hamas war has affected Israel's relationship with regional partners, particularly with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, and what role the US plays and should play in the conflict, considering its military involvement in the region and the security threat of Iran.

They also outline different scenarios of post-war resolution for Gaza and what they could mean for Israel's domestic politics and international reputation.

In this episode of People Talk...Politics, our policy fellows Alex, David and Lucy compare the Trump and Biden Administrations' approaches to relations with Israel, discuss how Israel's stance on the Ukraine war may affect the US-Israeli partnership and evaluate the impact the judicial reform will have on US-Israel relations.

They point out that Israel is looking beyond the US and the West and is building new security and military cooperations with countries like Turkey and India.

In this podcast episode, our policy fellows discuss the implications of new technological developments for security, arguing that the separation between the physical and the digital realms of war is shrinking.

They discuss the use of AI in defence, question its ability to make moral judgements, debate how states should regulate technological development, and emphasize the importance of digital literacy and critical thinking in modern society.

Our policy fellows Olivia Peterson, Ryan Wee and William Rome discuss whether anti-Zionism is antisemitism. They argue that anti-Zionism is often used as a cover for antisemitism, discuss whether the anti-Israel bias in international institutions amounts to antisemitism and note that anti-Zionism has become socially acceptable and even trendy, particularly on university

Tune in for the next episode of People Talk…Politics! Our policy fellows Abigail Darwish, Sam Brummer and Oliver Udy debate how British schools should teach history. They discuss the importance of representation in history, the emphasis on the British Empire and the relevance of the history curriculum in the contemporary world.

They evaluate the merits of ‘decolonising History’ and argue that teaching history through this lens to 14-year-olds who may drop History in their further studies risks oversimplifying and misrepresenting history by over-scrutinising Britain while giving little critical attention to other empires, colonial powers and conquerors.

Tune in for our Coronation Special podcast episode! Our policy fellows William Rome, Ryan Wee and Olivia Peterson discuss the role of the monarchy in contemporary Britain, the economic value of the monarchy and the royal family's role in diplomacy and representing Britain abroad, especially in the context of rising republicanism in the Commonwealth.

They also consider how the traditional role of the monarch in politics and policy may be changing with King Charles III.

Is free speech in academic institutions under attack? In the latest podcast episode, Policy Fellows Ely, Romy and Nolan highlight the changing culture in academic institutions, whereby, far from being places for free debate and exchange of ideas, academic institutions are increasingly becoming echo chambers, characterised by restrictions of free discussion, lack of diversity of perspectives and desire to silence the other side on the grounds of “offensive” or “hate speech”.

They address the question: should academic institutions have the right to limit free speech and deplatform speakers?

In our recent podcast episode, Mackenzie France interviewed Paul Gross, a Senior Fellow at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, discussing the judicial reform and its implications for Israel. Paul outlines and explains the four main proposals incorporated into the judicial reform, arguing that the reform aims to weaken the judiciary and change the governmental system of Israel.

Mackenzie and Paul further discuss whether Netanyahu’s support for the reform is ideological or pragmatic, and what benefits various coalition members hope to derive from it. Paul also noted that the judicial reform is hurting Israel’s reputation abroad, not only among the critics of Israel but also among her friends.

How has the Labour Party changed under Keir Starmer? Policy Fellows Lucy, David and Alex discuss how Kier Starmer has transformed the Labour Party, moving away from Corbynism and distancing himself from the far left of the party.

They further discuss whether Labour still represents the values of the working class and whether "Starmerism" can be considered an extension of Blairism. Finally, they compare and contrast the Labour and Conservative campaign promises

As the Midterms have passed, and the Presidential campaigns are picking up steam, where is US politics heading? In this episode of People Talk...Politics Policy Fellows William, Ryan and Olivia analyse the recent trends and developments in American domestic politics, such as increasing political polarisation, the cost of living crisis, Trump's influence in the Republican Party and DeSantis's ambitions.

They also discuss foreign policy, questioning whether support for Ukraine will remain bi-partisan, and evaluating how the Biden administration approaches the relationships with America's adversaries like China and friends like Israel.

In this episode, Mackenzie France interviewed Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation and a former aide to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Mackenzie and Nile discussed the US midterms, the success of De Santis in Florida and changes in the Latino vote, recent Ukrainian advances, Russian failures and Putin’s plans and reflected on the recent developments in the Conservative party and how Britain is viewed abroad.

In this episode of People Talk… Politics, Pinsker Policy Fellow Mackenzie France interviews Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi. Sarit is the founder and president of Alma – a nonprofit independent research and education centre specialising in Israel’s security challenges on the Northern border.

Following the conversation about Alma, its focus, mission and recent work, they discuss security threats facing Israel and how these should be addressed. Sarit and Mackenzie also discuss the implications of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and reflect on the August 2022 operation Breaking Dawn, evaluating its successes and failures.

With the ongoing protests in Iran and stalled nuclear negotiations, issues around policies towards the Iranian regime and the national security threat that Iran poses have come to the fore.

This episode of People Talk… Politics, unpacks the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran with a focus on how this impacts Israeli foreign policy and national security. They also discuss the historical basis of the modern rivalry between these two players in the Middle East.

In this episode of People Talk… Politics Policy Fellows Alex, Elliot and Ojel analyse the short-term impacts of the war in Ukraine for Britain as well as longer-term geopolitical consequences from the war for Europe as a whole.

Relatedly, they debate what Britain’s role in the war should be and how Britain can best aid the Ukrainian war effort. The fellows also touch on the prospect of conflict resolution and what a ‘victory’ for Ukraine could look like.

In this episode of People Talk… Politics Policy Fellows Oliver, Thomas and Avishai assess the nature of the threat posed by domestic and international terrorism.

The fellows cover the rise of far-right extremism in the UK as well as how the Covid-19 pandemic may have led to a rise in online extremism and ‘lone-wolf’ attacks. Lastly, they debate how terrorism is covered in mainstream British media, with a particular focus on terrorist attacks carried out in Israel.

With A-level students recently receiving their results, higher education and future career prospects will be on young people’s minds.

In this episode of People Talk… Politics Policy Fellows Alex, Elliot and Ojel debate the importance of the humanities to higher education and the value of higher education itself. They also highlight the failings of the education sector to adapt to the needs of the modern economy and other issues, such as funding courses, that have arisen from increasing student numbers.