The Rest Is Politics is a British podcast and television series hosted by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart.[1][2] It launched in March 2022,[3] and has since become one of the leading political podcasts in the United Kingdom.[2] The podcast is produced by Goalhanger Podcasts.[3][4] Campbell and Stewart generally discuss contemporary news and politics, with a strong focus on UK politics, but also international developments, such as foreign elections and humanitarian catastrophes. An American edition was launched in April 2024 with Anthony Scaramucci and Katty Kay hosting.[5]
Background
Both Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart are former political figures, and both left their respective parties because of their opposition to more extreme elements in them. Their podcast is aimed at "disagreeing agreeably", seeking a more temperate and informed political debate.[6]
The podcast ordinarily releases two episodes every week: a "main" episode and a "question time" episode. The main episodes last around 30 to 50 minutes, and involve Campbell and Stewart discussing contemporary events and news stories, mostly from the United Kingdom. During the question time episodes, they answer questions from listeners. The questions are not limited to topics formerly discussed on the podcast, and include news stories not discussed on the main episodes as well as the hosts' political careers. The theme music that starts and ends each episode is "A Diabolical Caper", written by composer Luke Richards. On some occasions, the podcast releases "emergency" episodes, reacting to major news events, such as the resignations of Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak,[13] which sparked the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis that culminated in the resignation of Boris Johnson; the October 2022 United Kingdom government crisis which resulted in the dismissal of Kwasi Kwarteng and resignation of Liz Truss; and the first 2024 United States presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.[14]
In the first episode, Alastair and Rory dissect the results of their exclusive poll, which shows Labour's lead is narrowing, and discuss Rishi Sunak's national service policy.
The podcast hosts special guests, interviewing active and retired politicians on their careers and current events. In January 2023, Goalhanger began a new podcast series, Leading, for Campbell and Stewart to interview their special guests and to invite non-political figures as guests. Since Leading released, The Rest Is Politics did not invite any special guests, with the exception of Israeli public intellectual Yuval Noah Harari and Palestinian ambassador Husam Zomlot during the Israel–Hamas war. The following public figures have been interviewed on the podcasts' special episodes:
^Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart (5 July 2022). "SPECIAL:SUNAK AND JAVID RESIGN". Acast (Podcast). Goalhanger Podcasts. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.