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Alas Vine & Hitchens

Alas Vine & Hitchens

Written by: Daily Mail
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What's the Big Idea? Finally, Sarah Vine (once memorably described as being ‘like and loathed in equal measure, divisive, but never indecisive’) and Peter Hitchens (a man whose writing a critic was called to compare to a Guardsman’s boot: ‘as highly polished and potentially lethal’) meet once a week to look at the world and mutter, alas… Acclaimed columnist and journalist Sarah Vine and best-selling author and broadcaster Peter Hitchens discuss and dissect social, economic, and pop cultural flotsam and jetsam that have risen out of the dark waters of that week’s news.


Taking one big idea each episode and pulling it apart with élan, imagine Vine and Hitchens respective columns brought to life and then skewered, scoffed at, debated, and given the full weight of Vine and Hitchens impenetrable gaze. Though an accord might not always be reached, it’s the journey that matters.


Whether it’s the tech bros gone rogue – Meta tearing up its own rule book on fact checking, Musk attempting to influence governmental policy, or the knotty subject on society’s ever-increasing reliance on anti-depressants to treat what might just be the modern malaise and not depression at all. Or, evil, nature or nurture? Does evil actually exist or is it an idea that hangs over us, or do we just sometime embody it and the actions themselves are evil, not the individual? All this and more are to be pored over, one towering topic each week discussed with humour, insight, and real understanding.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Mail Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Playing War Games and Paris is Burning

    Playing War Games and Paris is Burning
    Oct 19 2026

    On this week’s show, Peter would like to ask why British troops are playing wargames in support of Ukraine, and escalating the chance of war with Russia, while Sarah wants to know why Paris and huge swathes of France are on fire.


    And we’ll be opening our mailbag to discuss the Unionist from Northern Ireland taking issue with something Peter said (who knew?). Why the Lib Dems aren’t half as bad as our presenters painted them. Divorce dos and don’ts. And more stories of a hapless WWII mission.


    On our reading, listening and watch list this week:


    • The Bombing War: Europe 1939-1945 – Richard Overy
    • Bomber Command – Max Hastings
    • How Not To Be A Political Wife – Sarah Vine


    Please do get in touch, email: Alas@dailymail.co.uk you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.


    Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

    Producer: Philip Wilding

    Editor: Chelsey Moore

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Executive Producer: Jamie East


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

    To get in touch email alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'alas'


    Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

    Producer: Phillip Wilding

    Editor: Chelsey Moore

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Executive Producer: Jamie East


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • Proportional Representation and Apocalypse Now

    Proportional Representation and Apocalypse Now
    Oct 12 2026

    On this week’s show, Peter would like to talk about proportional representation (he’s not a fan), and as the government launches its ‘Prepare’ campaign, Sarah is busy preparing for the apocalypse.


    And we’ll be opening our mailbag to discuss American politicians playing the fake Irish card. Why Peter did not get to fulfil his dream of being the captain of a Royal Naval destroyer. What did the sexual revolution ever do for us? And the pair discuss buildings that are built to move us. All human life is here, etc.


    On our reading, listening and watch list this week:


    • Take A Girl Like You – Kingsley Amis
    • The Children Of the New Forest - Frederick Marryat
    • The Drowned World – J.G. Ballard
    • Old Filth – Jane Gardam
    • What Happened to the Corbetts – Nevil Shute
    • Too Big To Fail – Andrew Ross Sorkin


    Please do get in touch, email: Alas@dailymail.co.uk you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.


    Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

    Producer: Philip Wilding

    Editor: Chelsey Moore

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Executive Producer: Jamie East


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

    To get in touch email alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'alas'


    Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

    Producer: Phillip Wilding

    Editor: Chelsey Moore

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Executive Producer: Jamie East


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
  • Capital Punishment and the Hijab Handout

    Capital Punishment and the Hijab Handout
    Oct 5 2026

    On this week’s show, Sarah would like to know why the government is handing out hijabs to channel migrants, and Peter would like to talk about capital punishment, especially in the USA.


    And we’ll be opening our mailbag to discuss what might happen should we lose the Falklands, the slow erosion that is state surveillance, and even though Peter’s shed a lot of weight, why won’t his old trousers fit him?


    On our reading, listening and watch list this week:


    • East Of Eden – John Steinbeck
    • Dispatches: Cameron: Toff At The Top
    • 12 Angry Men – Dir: Sidney Lumet


    Please do get in touch, email: Alas@dailymail.co.uk you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.


    Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

    Producer: Philip Wilding

    Editor: Chelsey Moore

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Executive Producer: Jamie East


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

    To get in touch email alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'alas'


    Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

    Producer: Phillip Wilding

    Editor: Chelsey Moore

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Executive Producer: Jamie East


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    45 mins
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