Category
Enrichment
Has the press lost its power?
BBC Newsnight looks at arguments that the mainstream newspaper media is losing political influence. Lionel Barber, the editor of the FT believes that, relatively speaking, newspaper influencing is...
The Rise of Strongman Politics
Lionel Barber, editor of the FT, and Gideon Rachman discuss the major political events of 2016 - the year of illiberal democracy.
Half Term Political Fun
If you are looking for your political fix over the half term then why not look to Netflix? There are plenty of political series available for you!
Your fantasy Cabinet
Here's a fun lesson idea to teach students about Cabinet at the same time as building some knowledge about former politicians, based on the BBC's Fantasy Cabinet concept.
Can working together reduce polarisation of ideologies?
Here's a TED talk suitable for students taking the Ideologies option and the US Politics options at A2. Arthur Brooks suggests that 'working together' can reduce the "ghastly holy war of ideology"...
Historic Moments from the Six O'Clock News
As the News is vital to studying politics, I really love this clip archive from BBC Radio 4 of historic moments from the Six O'Clock News. From the death of Margaret Thatcher to the Invasion of...
How the White House is embracing entrepreneurship
Here's a great 15 minute TED talk from Haley Van Dyck, who is working in a start-up company inside the White House looking at ways to make the delivery of government services more entrepreneurial...
Emma Watson on feminism
Emma Watson (aka Hermione from Harry Potter) is a UN Goodwill Ambassador. Here's what she had to say on feminism and gender inequality at the UN back in 2014:
How to predict if you are conservative or not
As a closet psychologist, I've spent hours in recent weeks watching the fascinating Brain documentary series with Dr David Eagleman, and one story in Episode 4 really caught my eye. Scientists have...
How does the EU affect you?
Much of the EU Referendum analysis focuses on some of the "highbrow" issues of economic growth, trade barriers and migration - but the EU affects each of us at a much more down-to-earth level on a...
Vernon Bogdanor - lecture on the UK's 1975 EU Referendum
Here's an enrichment lecture from the venerable Vernon Bogdanor on the 1975 EU Referendum in the UK, when votes were 2 to 1 in favour of being in the EU - not quite as close as polls currently...
Democracy vs Autocracy - trends and impacts
There are some fascinating time-series charts and graphs from the Systemic Peace website, based on Polity 4 data, tracking trends in types of political systems. I've included some charts below that...
Parliament's lobbies
The Parliament YouTube channel is a treasure trove of fascinating videos and insights into the workings of Parliament. I've been exploring many of the virtual tours of Parliament that are available...
To what extent does climate change threaten human rights?
Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland) argues in this wide-ranging TED talk that people living in poverty are more likely to have their human rights threatened as a result of climate change,...
Vietnam - Communist or not?
Is Vietnam full of "red capitalists"? I've read quite a lot of analysis recently suggesting that Vietnam is both an authoritarian socialist state and also a state swimming in the unfettered...
Winston's War-Winning Words
Winston Churchill realised the importance of great speeches and even greater oratory - many of his words from WW2 are still quoted today. Churchill wrote his own speeches, and was his own...
Measuring the impact of political advertising on TV in the US
This week's Economist contains an impressively-researched data chart, showing the relationship between the number of political TV ads (both positive and negative adverts) and the impact that those...
Political biographies
The first biography of Jeremy Corbyn, Comrade Corbyn, has just been released -take a look at this short, fun BBC report on whether the general public wants to read such political biographies.
Will capitalism destroy democracy?
TED talks are always worth watching, and this one from Yanis Varoufakis entitled "Capitalism will eat democracy - unless we speak up" is no exception. The transcript is here, and you can watch his...
35 Years on from the SDP - Could the Labour Party Split Again?
Labour loses badly in an election and moves decisively to the left in choosing a new leader. Sound familiar?