• Could Scotland have become Singapore-on-the-Clyde in 2014 had it voted for independence?
• Is Boris Johnson possibly Britain's worst ever Prime Minister?
• Does structural reform only happen in times of crisis and how deep is the economic rot that has set in?

The British economy is far more centralised and state-run than most people realise. I recently sat down with Ewen Stewart who is the Director of the Institute of International Monetary Research at the University of Buckingham. He sits on the UK Growth Commission and is also a director of the think tank, Global Britain. He believes we have one shot to turn around Britain's malaise and revive areas such as healthcare, defence, and manufacturing.

As recently as the Falklands War, Britain was able to deploy 23 frigates and destroyers - roughly one third of its surface fleet. Today it is defenceless in the North Atlantic. Most European countries offer healthcare which is free at the point of need. Whereas Britain tops the quartile rankings in terms of health spending, it sits at the bottom in terms of service.

With an immigration policy that Charles Ponzi would be proud of, well over 50% of GDP government spending and a brain drain is underway with more tax rises on the horizon.

We discuss what needs to be done to turn things around from a policy perspective to revive a sense of dynamism and energy.

You can find out more about the IIMR and the Growth Commission here:
https://mv-pt.org/
https://www.growth-commission.com/

This podcast was produced by @Mattjcooper with music composed by @lovermanxoxoxo .

Professor Bryan Caplan coined the Ideological Turing Test which measures whether a person truly understands an opposing political or ideological viewpoint.

To help us pass the test when it comes to conservatism as a school of political thought, Ed West takes us from St Augustine to today whilst making some challenging observations from a position of both deep knowledge and ideological humility. We cover many subjects including:

The Broken Age Curve: Why, contrary to historic beliefs, people born from the mid-1970s onward are entering middle age without adopting traditional conservative voting habits or lifestyles.

Human Nature & The Blank Slate: Exploring the ultimate divide between the progressive belief in human perfectibility and the darker, Augustinian view of mankind as inherently flawed.

The Media, Academia, and Status: How conservatism became a "low-status" viewpoint in the arts, media, and universities, and why academia breeds such bitter ideological battles.

The Post-Christian Right: The rise of secular right-wing subcultures, the "Manosphere," and how the collapse of traditional religious frameworks is leading to political sectarianism.

Unintended Consequences: A look at how well-meaning regulations—from rent controls to modern slavery legislation—frequently backfire in the real world.

Ed's substack, The Wrong Side of History is an entertaining, funny, and educational forum which he describes as "political-commentary-with-history." The latter being his great passion which shines through in his posts.

You can find him it here https://www.edwest.co.uk/ or on X https://x.com/edwest.

This podcast was produced by Matt Cooper (https://linktr.ee/thisismattcooper) with music composed by Loverman (https://open.spotify.com/artist/6mH930VvONxn76Kqpnixjy).

Gemma Herbertson is the founder of Neuro Frontiers an online learning platform dedicated to empowering individuals to understand and harness the power of Neuroplasticity therapies.

These powerful tools, if properly uses, can maintain, restore, improve, and even create brain function.

In 2012 Gemma invented the Exchange Breathing Method to help tackle her baby boy who was suffering from relentless seizures. Up to 500 a week.

Our conversation covers her journey into the field of Neuroplasticity driven by a relentless pursuit of making her son's life better. She gives some practical advice on how to improve brain function and I'm also the beneficiary of some on-air therapy! Gemma's story of turning adversity into a lifelong commitment to learning and public service is one for us to admire and emulate.

You can learn more about Neuro Frontiers here: https://neurofrontiers.org/

This podcast was produced by Matt Cooper (https://linktr.ee/thisismattcooper) with music by Loverman (https://open.spotify.com/artist/6mH930VvONxn76Kqpnixjy).