Telegram Podcast: Recent Episodes
Telegram Podcast
Maria Miller has resigned. After the public's patience ran out, David Cameron finally pulled the plug on his Culture Secretary – only to write a letter of condolence saying that he hopes some day she'll return to frontbench politics. The voters may feel different. We ask Charles Moore what the scandal tells us about Mr Cameron's quixotic leadership style, which Charles says suffers from a lack of Thatcher-style vision. John McTernan, a former Blairite enforcer, tells us how a crisis should be handled by Number 10. And Iain Martin ponders if the PM is out of touch.
Also: it's our birthday! After one year of podcasts, we try to look back at some of the highlights of the last 12 months, but instead argue about Doctor Who, Pope Francis and Nigel Farage.
As of this Saturday, British gay couples will be able to get married. Finally, they've won the right to be as miserable as the rest of us. In this week's Telegram we ask why this extraordinary social change has come about with so little protest. Graeme Archer, Father Andrew Cain and Peter Williams discuss what this means for both society and religion.
We also ask crime writer Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls and The Killer Next Door, why we find murderers more interesting than detectives.
In this week's Telegram Lord Tebbit and Tom Chivers debate the moral and practical realities of allowing an individual to decide when their life should end. Lord Tebbit foresees an explosion of financially motivated "suicides", while Tom Chivers insists that with the right safeguards, people should be allowed to die with dignity.
Also: Ed Miliband's euro gamble. Dan Hodges and John McTernan argue whether it's Labour or the Tories who are now confused about Europe.
Power corrupts and it has corrupted Vladimir Putin absolutely. As the drama in Ukraine continues, we examine the mind and motivations of the man responsible.
Ian H Robertson, Professor in Psychology at Trinity College Dublin and author of The Winner Effect: How Power Affects Your Brain, explains how over time the need for power messes with the synapses and induces megalomania. The Professor tells us that the only way the West can get under Vladimir Putin's skin is through practical sanctions.
Benedict Brogan and Con Coughlin discuss what those sanctions might look like, and if Britain even has the interest or clout to help resolve this dangerous crisis.
Nigel Farage is in hot water for lobbying the EU Parliament over e-cigarettes – without revealing that Ukip had taken £36,000 in donations from a leading manufacturer.
But the YouTube video in which he extols their virtues isn't the only time he's gone on the record with his support for fake fags. Back in November, we invited him and Peter Oborne - both nicotine addicts in long standing - on to the Telegram to discuss whether e-cigarettes could ever replace the real thing. You can hear what he had to say for himself below.