The New Statesman | UK politics and culture

The author of Orbital says Elon Musk's "individualistic" future is "problematic in all sorts of ways".

Samantha Harvey, winner of the 2024 Booker Prize for fiction speaks to Nicholas Harris in this episode of Culture from the New Statesman.

She discusses how her novel portrays the politics and powers of the world from orbit, and why the de-orbiting of the ISS marks the end of an era of "peaceful co-operation between nations".

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Nicholas Harris's write up of this conversation

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2024/11/samantha-harvey-booker-prize-2024-winner-interview-orbital

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Where you live could drastically impact how long you live.

According to the Office for National Statistics, a person in South Kensington, one of London’s wealthiest areas, can expect to live up to 16 years longer than someone in a more deprived area, like Blackpool.

In this episode, host Sarah Dawood is joined by a panel of guests to discuss the stark health inequalities across the UK.

-      Jennifer Dixon DBE, CEO of The Health Foundation

-      Jonathan Ashworth, CEO of Labour Together, former Shadow Secretary for Health, and former Labour MP

-      Steve Brine, former Conservative MP, former Minister for Public Health and Primary Care, Chair of Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee, and host of Prevention Is The New Cure podcast

The panel discusses the social determinants, or building blocks of health, that shape health outcomes and life expectancy. They discuss the need for a cross-government approach to address these inequalities and highlight the urgency of meaningful, coordinated action to improve public health.

We also hear from Dr. Ronny Cheung, Consultant General Paediatrician at Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Officer for Health Services at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

And what can Keir Starmer learn from Theresa May's relationship with Trump? (keep hands firmly in pockets)

As Starmer contends with a fraught political landscape, he has increasingly turned to figures from the Blair administration: Jonathan Powell, Liz Lloyd, Peter Mandelson, Alan Milburn. What will this means for the factions within the current Labour government?

We are also midway through COP29 which is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan. Keir Starmer was only one of two G7 leaders to appear at the conference (where he announced new plans for the UK to cut its emissions by 81% compared to 1990 levels by 2035. How are Labour going to stick to their pledge of going green?

Last month Russia gained the most Ukrainian territory since March 2022 when the war was in its infancy. At least 10,000 North Korean troops have also joined the fight, which will do little to replace the roughly 1,500 Russian soldiers killed or injured daily. And among all that Donald Trump was re-elected as US President. 

Kate Lamble is joined by Chris York, Wolfgang Munchau, Angela Stent, and Mex Bergmann.