Palaces or Parliaments? Keeping score of Democracy's losses.

Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith and special guest, data scientist Christina Pagel, discuss the Afghan data breach, the confusion over resettlement schemes, misinformation and its role in the rise of the far right. And in Part II, we delve into Christina's project, charting the (at last count 707) anti-democratic actions of the Trump administration. Plus 'Wokey Dokey' and 'Grin and Share It'. ***SPONSOR US AT ⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD⁠⁠*** - “Farage is demanding Parliament is recalled to be addressed by Trump. Trump says he’s not that bothered.” - “Of course he’s not bothered. Trump likes Palaces, not Parliaments.” “I think Trump is betraying the office of the Presidency and there is a massive risk in normalising what he is doing. I am pragmatic about diplomacy, but this is a unique situation, where America is on the precipice of a very dark place, and I don’t think we are doing anyone any favours by pretending it is not.” “Since 2003 the percentage of people living under autocratic regimes has gone from 50% to 72%. Democracy is losing and I don’t think people realise it. So when you have the world’s most famous liberal democracy becoming authoritarian, we have to sound the alarm and we have to shout about it.” “I’m not sure the Trump regime is as chaotic as it seems. An independent organisation tracking Project 2025 says that, six months in, 46% of it has been achieved. There is a plan and they are following it. They may not be doing it perfectly competently, but it is working.” ***SPONSOR US AT ⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD⁠⁠⁠*** GRIN AND SHARE IT Read about a bumper year for vaccine health here. Read more about the HPV vaccine's success over cervical cancer here. Buy something from our bookshop here. CALLS TO ACTION: Use this government portal to the industrial strategy to make sector-specific contributions. Subscribe to and support Christina Pagel's substack here. Email us at ⁠⁠quietriotpod@gmail.com⁠⁠. Or visit our website ⁠⁠www.quietriotpod.com⁠⁠. With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell – in cahoots with Sandstone Global. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices