Podcast Review – Not Another One

There are a huge number of political podcasts available for fans of the genre. Every former politician, pundit, newspaper, and journalist seems to have joined a podcast, in a phenomenon that reached fever pitch during last year’s election. It was Christmas come early for those of us whose podcast listening time exceeds 100 hours a year. 

Humorously titled Not Another One in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the emergence of yet another podcast, and also to Brenda from Bristol’s reaction to the 2017 election. It sees four seasoned political pundits going head to head bi-weekly to discuss the issues of the day

One of the most popular formats (and one of my favourites) is the “disagreeing agreeably” format pioneered by the masters of the genre, Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell, and their record-breaking The Rest Is Politics. I used to be a big fan, but gradually became disillusioned over the lack of disagreement. With the exception of Campbell’s attacks on austerity and Stewart’s hearty defence of Theresa May, most of the podcast is general ‘centrist dad’ bonhomie of complaining about Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, and Brexit. 

In the flurry of new podcasts that emerged in the run up to the 2024 election, my favourite was humorously titled Not Another One in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the emergence of yet another podcast, and also to Brenda from Bristol’s reaction to the 2017 election. It sees four seasoned political pundits going head to head bi-weekly to discuss the issues of the day. The quad is comprised of Steve Richards, host of Rock and Roll Politics and self described ‘man of the left’, Miranda Green, Financial Times Deputy Opinion Editor and former Press Secretary to Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown, Iain Martin, respected journalist who represents the centre-right on the show, and Tim Montgomerie, founder of Conservative Home and, more recently, a member of Reform UK. 

Each of the contributors have different perspectives and strengths, which seems to be respected by the others

Conversation between the four flows freely and pleasant disagreement abounds; over Brexit, over the tactical challenges facing Britain’s major parties, over government spending, environment policy, and more. I particularly appreciate the balance between the weekly news cycle and deeper political questions such as “Do religion and politics mix?” and “Is Britain really broken?” which are explored in deep-dives weekly. Each of the contributors have different perspectives and strengths, which seems to be respected by the others – with Richards bringing the insider Labour reporting, for example. 

While some listeners may struggle with the lack of a radical leftist viewpoint, the quartet manage to do ‘agreeable disagreement’ better than any other podcast I have come across

While each of the largest four parties (in polling) are ‘represented’, this is the wrong podcast for those who are looking for robotic churning out of party lines. All of the four are interesting and unusual in their opinions. Both Martin and Montgomerie opposed Rishi Sunak’s tax cuts, preferring the money to be spent on defence spending, while Richards and Green are further detached from ‘their parties’. I particularly enjoyed a recent episode in which all four reflected on how their political views have shifted recently.

In all, Not Another One is a standout addition to the admittedly crowded field of political podcasts. While some listeners may struggle with the lack of a radical leftist viewpoint, the quartet manage to do ‘agreeable disagreement’ better than any other podcast I have come across, and engage with issues in an engaging and interesting way. Covering both recent news and big ideas, Not Another One is my go-to podcast and I highly recommend it.