The Talk Diaries is a fortnightly no nonsense discussion about current affairs
Episode 19
The Anatomy of Opposition. How a new party leader overthrew Hungary’s autocratic leader Viktor Orban after 16 years in power.
Episode 18
How is the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz feeding through to inflation? US Economist Enrique Escalante talks price rises from the perspective of the consumer.
Episode 17
Iran’s Air War : insights from former fighter pilot Justin Hughes as to how the military engages in conflict from the sky
Episode 16
Four years into the war in Ukraine President Zelensky is having to work rework his narrative to keep ally countries engaged. Should he talk a different game? Communications expert Simon Haselock talsk through the alternatives.
Episode 15
Documentary maker David Baillie unravels the mysteries of shipping routes through the Arctic and why President Trump has become so focussed on taking control of Greenland.
Episode 14
America’s uneven economy and why K is not OK. With US economist Enrique Escalante.
Episode 13
Professor Seijiro Takeshita explains what is meant by Japan’s carry trade and why unwinding it would unsettle the global economy.
Episode 12
A warning from the head of NATO that Europe could face war with Russia has send waves of anxiety across the continent. It has also refocussed attention on whether Europe’s economies are in any shape to fund a prolonged conflict. Veteran commentator Georges Ugeux is a professor at Columbia Law School and founder of investment bank advisory Galileo.
Episode 11
2025 has been a tumultuous year for geopolitics. The global order has shifted under President Trump and there have been multiple attempts to end the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. What does 2026 hold for peace?
With Distinguished Fellow at think tank RUSI: Karen von Hippel.
Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 10
The UK budget took place on November 26th and has been mired in controversy. Eminent economist Vicky Pryce talks through the consideration face by the Chancellor as she prepared to readjust the nation’s finances.
Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 9
Why is there so much talk about grey zone conflict and should be we concerned? Rear Admiral Nick Lambert explains why some European countries describe themselves as being already at war with Russia.
Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 8
How are Trump’s trade and immigration policies playing out on the performance of the economy? With an economics professor in Texas: Enrique Escalante.
Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 7
This years’s rises on Wall Street have led to worries that the market is ripe for a sell off.
Are the fears overblown and how do seasoned investors make such assessments?
Veteran investor Ian Morley gives his view.
Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 6
The war in Yemen has raged for over a decade with seemingly no end in sight. Widely acclaimed Yemen expert Elisabeth Kendall speaks from Cambridge University on why the conflict has become embroiled with the war in Gaza and what underlies the impetus to keep it going.
Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
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Episode 5
How can Labour and the Tories push back against the challenge of Reform? With Paul Mason and Guto Harri.
.Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 4
Dr Simon Stringer talks Artificial Intelligence 2.0 and the concept of neural spiking.
Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 3
Why is President Trump attacking the US Central Bank and telling its boss to bring down interest rates?
Harvard Professor, renowned economist and author of 'Our Dollar Your Problem' Ken Rogoff teams up with commentator, columnist and author Paul Mason to demystify the role of the Federal Reserve.
Producer and Host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 2
An in depth look at the growing real life impact of Trump's tariff uncertainty, his underlying political agenda and the UK Labour Party's dilemma over UK finances.
Hosted by Tanya Beckett with writer, commentator and strategist Paul Mason and economist Cornelia Meyer.
Producer and host: Tanya Beckett
Episode 1
The Talk Diaries launches its first episode with a look at Trump's communication style and Labour's struggle with welfare reform.
Tanya Beckett is joined by special guests: Guto Harri, broadcaster, communications consultant and former Director of Communications to Downing Street and Paul Mason author, columnist, author, broadcaster and architect of Labour's industrial defence policy.