# The Rest Is Politics

The Rest Is Politics is a British podcast and television series hosted by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. It launched in March 2022, and has since become one of the leading political podcasts in the United Kingdom. The podcast is produced by Goalhanger Podcasts. 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.

## 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.
Campbell is a journalist, political strategist, and mental health activist, known for his work as communications chief for Tony Blair. A former member of the Labour Party, Campbell was expelled after having publicly stated that he had voted for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 European Parliament elections in the United Kingdom. Stewart is an academic, author, former diplomat and politician. A former member of the Conservative Party, Stewart served as international development secretary and prisons minister under Theresa May. He represented Penrith and The Border in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for around nine years. In 2019, after Boris Johnson was elected leader of the Conservatives, Stewart resigned from the cabinet. He was part of the 2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs for having rebelled against Johnson's approach to Brexit. He later also resigned his party membership.
Goalhanger Podcasts is owned by former England footballer Gary Lineker, and also produces the podcasts The Rest Is History, hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland, Battleground hosted by Saul David and Patrick Bishop, We Have Ways Of Making You Talk hosted by Al Murray and James Holland, The Rest Is Money, hosted by Robert Peston and Steph McGovern, The Rest is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, and The Rest is Entertainment, hosted by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde.

## Format

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, 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.

### The Rest Is Politics: Election Special

Ahead of the 2024 general election, The Rest Is Politics was announced in Channel 4's coverage line-up, presenting alongside Emily Maitlis.
| No. | Guest(s) | Running time | Original release date | Link |
| 1 | N/A | 46:00 | May 29, 2024 (2024-05-29) | Episode |
| 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. |||||
| 2 | N/A | 47:00 | June 4, 2024 (2024-06-04) | Episode |
| Alastair and Rory discuss a recent poll that looks particularly damning for the Tories, and look at both Sunak and Starmer's latest election pledges. |||||
| 3 | N/A | 47:00 | June 11, 2024 (2024-06-11) | Episode |
| Alastair and Rory ask what impact the D-Day fiasco will have on Rishi Sunak. |||||

### Special guests

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:
| No. | Guest(s) | Running time | Original release date | Link |
| 1 | Sir Tony Blair | 54:59 | June 29, 2022 (2022-06-29) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Sir Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, discusses UK's international stature after Brexit, the future of the NHS, technology, Labour after Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. |||||
| 2 | Sir Keir Starmer | 47:29 | July 20, 2022 (2022-07-20) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Sir Keir Starmer, the Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party, discusses his Labour leadership, his economic policy post-Brexit, the Conservative party leadership election, electoral reform in the UK and the UK constitution. |||||
| 3 | Lord Hague of Richmond | 50:53 | August 3, 2022 (2022-08-03) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Lord Hague of Richmond, the former UK foreign secretary and former Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, discusses his tenures as leader of the opposition and as foreign secretary, Boris Johnson's resignation, House of Lords reform, Brexit, and retiring from politics. |||||
| 4 | Mark Drakeford | 47:38 | September 16, 2022 (2022-09-16) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford discusses Welsh Labour, Welsh and Scottish nationalism, devolution, and his proficiency in Latin. |||||
| 5 | Edi Rama | 55:51 | September 23, 2022 (2022-09-23) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Albanian prime minister Edi Rama discusses the European Union, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, English Channel migrant crossings and his career as an artist, sportsperson, and politician. |||||
| 6 | François Hollande | 41:34 | October 27, 2022 (2022-10-27) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Former French president François Hollande discusses Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, the importance of political parties, and the far right in France. |||||
| 7 | Julia Gillard | 53:08 | November 4, 2022 (2022-11-04) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard discusses women in government, her Misogyny Speech, Australian political system, monarchy, and compulsory voting. |||||
| 8 | Helen Clark | 01:00:17 | December 2, 2022 (2022-12-02) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Former New Zealand prime minister and UNDP administrator Helen Clark discusses populism, her tenure as prime minister and UNDP administrator, and New Zealand's monarchy. |||||
| 9 | Yuval Noah Harari | 48:27 | October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Israeli public intellectual Yuval Noah Harari discusses the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Harari has also appeared on Leading separately. |||||
| 10 | Husam Zomlot | 01:03:14 | October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zamlot discusses the 2023 Israel–Hamas war and Israeli–Palestinian peace process. |||||
| 120 | Ahmed Al-Sharaa | 01:10:00 | February 10, 2025 (2025-02-10) | link at Apple Podcasts |
| Syrian transitional government president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, discuss the future of Syria, relations with the US and Post-Assad Syria, and other topics |||||