Politically

The former Chancellor reflects with James Naughtie on tough choices and political resurrection.
Jeremy Hunt held four Cabinet jobs - including almost six years as Health Secretary, and then Foreign Secretary under Theresa May. After he was defeated by Boris Johnson in their battle for the Conservative leadership, he thought his ministerial career was over, only to be called back by Liz Truss after her mini-budget.
In this episode of Reflections he discusses all that with James Naughtie, as well as a famous radio moment the two shared.
Producers: Giles Edwards and Joel Massey.

The former Governor of California oversaw the world's fifth largest economy for sixteen years, ran three times for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and over the course of his public life has known every president from John F. Kennedy to Donald Trump.
In this interview with James Naughtie, Jerry Brown reflects on the importance of limits in the Jesuitical and Buddhist traditions, and how he took that idea into politics; on how his views on forgiveness informed his decisions to commute the sentences of people on California's Death Row; and on why if, in his words, you believe that inclination of the soul is to sin "you have to be somewhat sceptical about politics".
Producer: Giles Edwards.

There’s no doubting just how divisive Brexit was. Whatever side of the debate you sat on, the strength of feeling ran high. It split opinion, ruptured political parties and toppled Prime Ministers. In the years after the referendum the country watched while Westminster was dominated by intense wrangling , and much of Whitehall’s bandwidth was focused on Brexit. New political identities emerged - leavers and remainers - and in 2019, an entire General Election was dominated by Brexit.
Alex Forsyth speaks to Paula Surridge, Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Bristol and Rob Ford, Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester, about the political climate pre and post-Brexit, and what we can learn about how it continues to shape our politics today.
Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio engineer and sound mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley

In the decade since the Brexit referendum, much has been said about the effect the decision to leave had on the UK. But what is the view from Europe? What did the EU make of Britain's decision to leave the European Union, and how have they adapted in the years since?
Alex Forsyth speaks to Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group, and Jannike Wachowiak, a Research Assistant at UK in a Changing Europe, about the EU's relationship with Britain today and their appetite for reintegration.
Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio engineer and sound mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley

The UK's fishing and farming industries were at the core of Brexiteer's arguments for regaining British sovereignty over our land and produce. For many in the industries and the areas where they worked, the EU's fishing and farming frameworks had long been a source of frustration and a symbol of wider disillusions with the EU project. Why did the two industries resonate so deeply with voters? And how have they fared in the years since Brexit?
Alex Forsyth speaks to Jill Rutter, senior fellow at the Institute for Government, and Joel Reland, senior researcher at UK in a Changing Europe, about the impact Brexit had on UK fishing and farming.
Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio engineer and sound mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley