Rachel Goldberg-Polin - Unholy Conversations

We’ve had many special conversations on Unholy over these last five years - but this is one of the most extraordinary open.spotify.com/episode/0DcU...

After the latest Mandelson revelations, Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn’t he supposed to be one? | Jonathan Freedland If only the PM had been the process-obsessed technocrat he was once painted as, this disaster wouldn’t have happened – and he wouldn’t be on the brink, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

This is very good from @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social

The problem is not that Starmer acts like a top lawyer but that he doesn't.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

After the latest Mandelson revelations, Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn’t he supposed to be one? | Jonathan Freedland If only the PM had been the process-obsessed technocrat he was once painted as, this disaster wouldn’t have happened – and he wouldn’t be on the brink, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

"He has managed to be both dull and incompetent; and that is nobody‘s idea of a winning combination.“

Absolutely brutal by @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social

And rather hard to argue with. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

After the latest Mandelson revelations, Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn’t he supposed to be one? | Jonathan Freedland If only the PM had been the process-obsessed technocrat he was once painted as, this disaster wouldn’t have happened – and he wouldn’t be on the brink, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

After the latest Mandelson revelations, Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn’t he supposed to be one? - ‘At an absolute minimum, he would have insisted on being informed of the vetting’s outcome’ Absolutely @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“If only Starmer had lived up to the billing of his detractors, reluctantly conceded by his allies, he wouldn’t be in the hole he finds himself this weekend”
@jonathanfreedland.bsky.social

‘Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn’t he supposed to be one?’ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

After the latest Mandelson revelations, Starmer needs to get a good lawyer. Wasn’t he supposed to be one? | Jonathan Freedland If only the PM had been the process-obsessed technocrat he was once painted as, this disaster wouldn’t have happened – and he wouldn’t be on the brink, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

Keir Starmer was meant to be a dull, managerial lawyer. If only. Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Always a pleasure to join Jonathan on Politics Weekly America!

Excited to say that the paperback of The Traitors Circle will be out in the UK on 4 June.

Ahead of that, I'll be doing a few events where early copies will be available - including this one hosted by Forum Books in Corbridge, Northumberland on 27 May www.ticketsource.com/forumbooks/f...

A ceasefire deal with Lebanon, a pivotal vote in the US Senate and defeat for Orban -- Yonit and I discuss it all in the latest Unholy linktr.ee/unholypod

Is blasphemy the last straw for Trump’s Maga base?

The anger of American Christians towards Trump is just one of several cracks appearing in the MAGA base. @nikkimcr.bsky.social and I take a deep dive for the latest Politics Weekly America open.spotify.com/episode/0EX6...

6pm 6 May @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social #TheTraitorsCircle www.campdenmayfestivals.co.uk/literature/e...

Netanyahu-ism has achieved nothing for Israelis – and come at a monstrously high price | Jonathan Freedland It is the voting public in Israel that will settle their PM’s fate later this year. But all they have heard are promises of ‘total victory’ that prove to be hollow, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Fr...

Even judged on his own terms, Benjamin Netanyahu is a monstrous failure. Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What would it take for Trump to be driven from office? Latest Politics Weekly America is a conversation with The Guardian's Washington Bureau Chief, David Smith open.spotify.com/episode/5ORZ...

The most beautiful coast in the world? Exploring New Zealand’s overlooked Nelson Tasman by sand and sea For years this region was regarded as little more than a gateway from the North Island to the South. But spend several days there and you’ll ache to tear yourself away

Need a break from the news? Here’s a look at a beautiful part of the world www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...

A midweek Unholy books special - two conversations with the authors of two fascinating books linktr.ee/unholypod

How Trump, Musk and Doge shattered the US government

What happened when the world's richest person had his hands on the US government? What was Doge's legacy?

@jonathanfreedland.bsky.social spoke to @sashaabramsky.bsky.social about his new book, American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE Butchered the US Government

open.spotify.com/episode/6WSV...

Strong recommend

What’s really behind Trump’s latest tantrums over Iran?

It was only two weeks ago that @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social and Kamala Harris’s former national security adviser, Philip Gordon, pondered what might happen if Trump followed through on his threats and pulled the US out of Nato. It seems pertinent today...
open.spotify.com/episode/06cq...

A treat for Unholy listeners: a deep dive into the ancient history of the Middle East with Tom Holland linktr.ee/unholypod

At last, David has landed a double punch on the tech Goliaths. Now to hit them even harder | Jonathan Freedland The US court verdicts declaring Meta liable for getting people addicted and ruining lives must be just the start of a global fightback, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

Excellent article from @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social

Let us hope that this week sees the start of the human fightback.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

An encouraging must-read from Jonathan Freedland

‘… it would only take a minuscule fraction of the US’s teenagers to combine in a successful class-action lawsuit to devastate #Meta. Haugen’s done the maths: 150,000 teenagers awarded $6m each would leave Meta with a trillion-dollar bill.’👇

At last, David has landed a double punch on the tech Goliaths. Now to hit them even harder | Jonathan Freedland The US court verdicts declaring Meta liable for getting people addicted and ruining lives must be just the start of a global fightback, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

“At last, a breakthrough in the long battle to tame the tech companies that shape so much of our daily lives – influencing what we know of the world, how we talk to others and how we feel about ourselves.” Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

For the latest Unholy, we talk to former White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Trump’s choices and the current state of the war - plus: daily life during wartime linktr.ee/unholypod

Is Trump losing it? (the war of course)

Is Donald Trump losing this war/his touch/parts of his base? Latest Politics Weekly America is a conversation with @sbg1.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/7ggs...

My copy of said book on a pub table with a pint of Black Isle nitro red next to it.

Finally finished @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social’s excellent The Traitors Circle, an account of a group of Germans who resisted the Nazis inside Germany. Maria von Maltzan in particular deserves to have songs sung about her.

Thank you, Mark - and legend is a good word

Sat reading ‘The Traitors Circle’ by @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social and the reveal of who the traitor is has made me so irrationally angry I want to travel back in time to kick said traitors ass.

Maria Von Maltzan is a legend though.

Published BEFORE the attack on the four ambulances....

Attacks on synagogues and Jewish shops in the UK, Europe and the US don’t hurt Netanyahu. They just hurt ordinary Jews | Jonathan Freedland Too many want to cast acts of violence and antisemitism as blows against Israel’s government. But the fear and terror land on real people, thousands of miles away, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Fre...

On antisemitism. Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Belatedly -- thanks so much for this, Simon