Prospect Interview News Today

The Prospect Interview #179: What makes a good political leader? Discerning the qualities that makes some politicians swim—and others sink In this special episode of the Prospect Interview, listen to audio from the magazine’s latest Editor’s Club call with Andrew Adonis on writing political biography and effective leadership. Andrew Adonis joins editor Tom Clark to discuss his upcoming biography of Tony Blair, the difference between campaigning and governing, and why extroverts make for ...

The Prospect Interview #174: The real Stephen Hawking, with Philip Ball Recognising the humanity of a deified public figure Photo: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro / Alamy Stock Photo A new biography of Stephen Hawking argues that the celebrated scientist was shamelessly self-promoting and his reputation overrated. Philip Ball joins the Prospect Interview to discuss Charles Seife’s Hawking Hawking: The Making of a Scientific Celebrity and talks to arts and books editor Sameer Rahim about humanisi...

The Prospect Interview #171: Scotland’s land revolution Inside a movement to give everyone a stake in the ground under their feet March 17, 2021 Scotland is currently seeing a radical experiment in land ownership. Currently, fewer than 500 individuals are estimated to own more than half of the nation—but there’s increasing drive to give everyone a stake in the ground beneath their feet. David McAllister joins the Prospect Interview to discuss Scotland’s ...

The Prospect Interview #164: Post-human landscapes, with Cal Flyn Understanding life in the worlds most deserted places January 26, 2021 What happens to vast landscapes when the humans who live there suddenly leave? Cal Flyn set about to answer that question in her new book, Islands of Abandonment, visiting the forests of Chernobyl, the post-industrial bings of Scotland and abandoned factories in New Jersey to document the new forms of wildlife that have cropped...

The Prospect Interview #159: Who was the real Jesus? A timely discussion about an influential figure December 16, 2020 His teachings have been transmitted, interpreted, and some may say misappropriated for centuries. But what did Jesus Christ really believe? And, as organised religion declines in popularity, does he have anything to teach our secular age? Author Nick Spencer, who recently wrote an essay for Prospect on the secularisation of Jesus, joins the Pro...

The Prospect Interview #155: Radical attention, with Julia Bell Finding focus in an age of infinite distraction November 17, 2020 What has the attention economy done to our attention spans—and our democracies? Writer and academic Julia Bell joins the Prospect Interview to discuss her latest book, Radical Attention, an essay on the many hidden, and not-so-hidden, costs of today’s technological giants. In an age of infinite distraction, Julia makes a case for...