The Wonkhe Show

This week on the podcast MI5 has warned universities that UK higher education has become a "prime target for foreign states and hostile actors" – so what are the risks and how should the sector respond to growing concerns about security and defence?
Plus what a potential Labour leadership change could mean for higher education, and Reform's threat to withhold funding from Welsh universities over free speech.
With Paul Kett, Group CEO and Vice Chancellor at London South Bank University, Ben Vulliamy, Executive Director at the Association of Heads of University Administration, Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief at Wonkhe.
Intelligence agencies provide briefings on foreign interference
Jacqui Smith’s secret service
Was there a freedom of speech breach at Bangor?

This week on the podcast student finance has exploded into the headlines – but is the English student loan system really doomed? Backbench Labour MPs are pressing the chancellor to act, polling has revealed widespread antipathy for above-inflation interest rates, and Rachel Reeves has clashed with Martin Lewis over the freeze to repayment thresholds.
Now former OfS access tsar John Blake has launched The Post-18 Project, our Wonkhe think tank, by arguing that a review of higher education funding is unavoidable and that a graduate tax should be one of the options. So is the government going to act, or will it be bounced into action?
Plus UKRI has found itself in a perfect comms storm over the future of curiosity-driven research funding, and Michael Salmon sits down with Welsh minister Vikki Howells to discuss the challenges facing tertiary education.
With Ben Ward, CEO at University of Manchester Students' Union, Smita Jamdar, Partner and Head of Education at Shakespeare Martineau, Michael Salmon, News Editor at Wonkhe, Vikki Howells, Minister for Further and Higher Education in the Senedd and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.
The Post-18 Project: A review of higher education funding is inevitable
Five challenges faced by the Welsh tertiary sector
Maybe a graduate tax wasn’t such a bad idea after all
Welsh higher education is running out of wriggle room
Wales refuses to implement Westminster’s stealth graduate tax raid
Who should pay for our failing student loan system?

This week on the podcast we examine what a rise in UK university applicants really tells us about the future demand for higher education.
With UCAS reporting a 4.8 per cent increase in applications at the January deadline, driven largely by a demographic peak in 18-year-olds, we explore whether this represents a genuine resurgence in demand or a temporary population effect.
Plus we discuss new evidence on disabled students’ experiences in higher education, including concerns that pandemic-era accessibility is being rolled back, and the implications of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill — from pressure on NHS training places to uncertainty for students studying medicine abroad through UK-linked programmes.
And Jim Dickinson is is in Canada with Wonkhe's Editor Debbie McVitty taking to Canadian HE expert Alex Usher.
With Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief, Wonkhe, Alex Stanley, Vice President for Higher Education at the National Union of Students, Dani Payne, Head of Education and Social Mobility at the Social Market Foundation, David Kernohan, Deputy Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor-in-Chief, Wonkhe.

This week on the podcast the government has finally unveiled its new International Education Strategy – but with no headline target for international student numbers and a clear shift towards education exports, what does it mean for the sector?
Plus the latest UCAS end of cycle data and what it reveals about entry qualifications at high tariff providers, and a new NUS campaign on student maintenance that’s turning the spotlight on parents.
With Mike Ratcliffe, Senior Advisor at UWE Bristol, Richard Brabner, Visiting Professor of Civic Engagement at Newcastle University, Jen Summerton, Operations Director at Wonkhe and presented by Jim Dickinson, Associate Editor at Wonkhe.
UCAS End of Cycle, 2025: access and participation
UCAS End of Cycle, 2025: provider recruitment strategies
Graduates are paying more and getting less
A new international education strategy

This week on the podcast new polling suggests over a third of students think Reform UK should be banned from speaking on campus – a higher proportion than previous surveys found for the BNP or English Defence League. So what does this tell us about free speech in higher education?
Plus Scotland's budget settlement and legislative changes, and unpacking what "Mickey Mouse courses" really means.
With Andy Long, Vice Chancellor at Northumbria University, Jess Lister, Director of Education at Public First, and Debbie McVitty, Editor at Wonkhe and presented by Mark Leach, Editor in Chief at Wonkhe.
41 per cent of Reform-voting undergraduates don’t think Reform should be allowed to speak on campus
So you’ve been accused of harbouring “Mickey Mouse” courses at your institution… now what?
Identifying “mickey mouse” courses
Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027