Corbyn! Trump! Brexit! Politics has never been more unpredictable, more alarming or more interesting. Talking Politics is the podcast that tries to make sense of it all. Every Thursday, David Runciman discusses pressing political questions – and their longer-term causes and effects – with a panel of guests: Diane Coyle (University of Cambridge and Festival of Economics Director), Rana Foroohar (global business columnist and associate editor for the Financial Times) and Carl Frey (University of Oxford).

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Panel

Professor David Runciman became Head of the University of Cambridge’s Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) in October 2014. He gave his Inaugural Lecture on “Political Theory and Real Politics in the Age of the Internet” on Tuesday 24th February 2015, which can be viewed online here. His research interests are in twentieth century political thought, particularly ideas of democracy and crisis, and the role of technology in contemporary politics. David’s new book is How Democracy Ends, published by Profile. His recent Darwin lecture on Trump as conspiracy theorist can be seen here. David also writes regularly about politics for the London Review of Books.

Diane Coyle is the inaugural Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, joining the Department of Politics and International Studies. She runs Enlightenment Economics and programmes the annual Festival of Economics in Bristol, which started in 2011. Prior to her appointment at Cambridge, she was a professor of economics at the University of Manchester. She is a fellow of the Office for National Statistics and a member of the Natural Capital Committee. She was the vice-chair of the BBC Trust until April 2015, a member of the Migration Advisory Committee from 2007-2012, and a member of the Competition Commission from 2001-2009. She is the author of several books, including GDP: A Brief But Affectionate History (2014), The Economics of Enough (2011), The Soulful Science (2007), Sex, Drugs and Economics (2002), Paradoxes of Prosperity (2001), Governing the World Economy (2000) and The Weightless World (1997). She has also published numerous book chapters, reports and articles, and was formerly a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Analysis. She was previously Economics Editor of The Independent and before that worked at the Treasury and in the private sector as an economist. She has a PhD from Harvard and was awarded a CBE for services to economics and the public understanding of economics in January 2018. Follow her on Twitter @DianeCoyle1859

Rana Foroohar is global business columnist and associate editor for the Financial Times, and CNN’s global economic analyst. Previously, Foroohar was the assistant managing editor in charge of business and economics at Time, as well as the magazine’s economic columnist. She spent 13 years at Newsweek, where she was awarded the German Marshall Fund’s Peter R. Weitz Prize for transatlantic reporting. Foroohar’s first book Makers and Takers was shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year in 2016. Her new book is Don’t be Evil: The Case Against Big Tech.

Carl Frey is Co-Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Technology and Employment at the Oxford Martin School, and Economics Associate of Nuffield College, both University of Oxford. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Programme on Employment, Equity and Growth at the Institute for New Economic Thinking in Oxford, and the Department of Economic History at Lund University. His research focuses on the transition of industrial nations to digital economies, and subsequent challenges for economic growth, labour markets and urban development. Over the course of his career, he has also worked with governments, such as the Digitalisation Commission of the Swedish Government, and acted as a Specialist Advisor to the Digital Skills Select Committee at the House of Lords. He has further engaged as an external consultant to various international organisations (including OECD and UN agencies) and leading corporations (Deloitte and PwC). His work has been widely covered by the BBC, CNN, The Economist, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, New York Times, Washington Post, Der Spiegel, Scientific American, TIME Magazine, Forbes, and many others.