The Prospect Podcast

Ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ellen and Alona are joined by researcher Maksimas Milta. Maksimas is the Ukraine Country Director at The Reckoning Project, which trains journalists to document war crimes and human rights violations.

He talks about the mood in Ukraine as the civilian casualty rate surges—as well as the difficult process of seeking justice: from collecting testimonies from Russian prisoners of war, to working with the media.

And as the third round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks take place in Geneva, brokered by the United States, what are Ukrainians hoping for? What does Europe need to do? And will anything change?

To read more “What makes a traitor?”, Jen Stout’s piece on The Reckoning Project in Ukraine, click here.
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This week, Ellen and Alona are joined again by Prospect editor and former Labour speechwriter Philip Collins to unpack the government’s ongoing crisis.

With Peter Mandelson currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, Starmer’s premiership came close to collapse. He appears to have clung on for now—but how long can he survive as prime minister? And why, in his moment of peril, did no other contenders for PM come to the fore?

Philip discusses what surprised him about Wes Streeting’s WhatsApp messages to Mandelson, and whether the departure of Morgan McSweeney from 10 Downing Street will have any impact on the government’s direction. He also analyses the implications of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s call for Starmer to resign. Will it harm his chances in the upcoming Holyrood elections?

Plus, beyond Mandelson, they explore whether political culture is now too close to money—and if politicians, in general, are too vulnerable to the wealthy.
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This month, Anglican priest Alice Goodman observes that Jesus would not be considered manly enough by today's far-right, while actor and writer Sheila Hancock ditches The Traitors in favour of a programme about Irish dancing. Sarah Collins, who lives with OCD, faces a collapse in her emotional geography after a year of travel, while Kiran Sidhu swaps The News at Ten for Postman Pat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More of the Epstein files have been released—but why now, and what do they really tell us? This week, Ellen and Alona are joined by investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan, editor of the Democracy for Sale newsletter, to unpack what the documents reveal about power, money and impunity.

Peter discusses the ways powerful figures protect themselves, and the latest political fallout in Britain—from renewed scrutiny of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

He discusses what shocked him despite his experience investigating corruption, how this story goes to the heart of the British constitution, and why the truth seems stranger than fiction.

Peter also explains what this flood of documents means for journalism and truth, as unvetted claims spread rapidly online. And the three discuss the stakes for democracy—and what needs to change. Could this moment finally lead to justice for survivors of abuse? And what else is happening that we don’t know about?

This episode contains discussions of exploitation and abuse.
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Britain needs new infrastructure and housing—and devolution could be a help or a hindrance.

Will giving a greater say to local communities through devolution increase the legitimacy of infrastructure and housing plans and accelerate their delivery? Or does it add complexity and aid the ‘blockers’ not the builders? This podcast explores the issues, explains how to address the risks and charts an optimistic way forward.

Picking up themes from a roundtable on this topic held by Prospect and sponsored by Mott MacDonald at the 2025 Labour party conference, Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, along with industry experts from United Utilities, SSE and Mott MacDonald, draw on their vast experience to discuss how to harness local knowledge to make sure devolution supports the creation of the 21st century infrastructure and housing that the UK needs.
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