The Times and The Sunday Times are launching a new weekly political podcast, The State of It, hosted by four of Westminster’s most respected journalists.
Patrick Maguire, Gabriel Pogrund, Steven Swinford and Caroline Wheeler will lead the show, combining agenda-setting scoops, insider knowledge and analysis from inside Britain’s political corridors of power.
With wit and a touch of mischief, the series promises to make politics both entertaining and essential listening.
Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator at The Times, said: “At The Times and The Sunday Times we hear every conversation that matters in British politics – including the ones they don’t want you to know about. With The State of It, you can hear them too.”
Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor at The Sunday Times and Press Awards political journalist of the year, added: “Patrick and I decided it was time to do something other than talk all day. We’re now going to do so publicly, and in the company of two of the finest political editors in Britain.”
Steven Swinford, political editor of The Times, described the podcast as “a unique insight into life in Westminster and the people who wield power in Britain today,” while Caroline Wheeler, political editor of The Sunday Times, said it would reveal “the conversations and thinking that is shaping the political narrative in No10 and beyond.”
The first episode will be recorded live at the Labour Party Conference and released on Tuesday 30 September, with the second episode following from the Conservative Party Conference the next week.
Dan Box, head of podcasts for The Times and The Sunday Times, said the show will stand out because its hosts are “in the trenches daily, reporting back on what’s happening and what it means for people outside Westminster.”
The State of It will be available to listen or watch on all major podcast platforms.
