Welcome to Peter York’s Culture Wars House Party. In this sixth episode, I’m joined by Graydon Carter—the legendary editor of Vanity Fair—a cultural powerhouse from 1992 to 2017—and now editor of the effortlessly chic digital magazine Airmail.

Charting Graydon’s journey from sensible Ottawa to the glittering heights of New York media, we examine the seismic shifts in publishing and unravel the complex tapestry of America’s culture wars. Has the coup already happened? Did the left go too far—and is there now an overcorrection? And has the “wanton brutality” of Trump’s administration given billionaires a bad name?

Graydon reflects on decades of tangling with Donald Trump—as a man ( are his fingers too short? does he have any friends?)—and as a businessman, as the “fourth tier of real estate families in New York”.

And we now have the definitive answer… or do we… on where to buy the best suede loafers in London.

“I’ve never seen Donald Trump in any living room ever in 50 years of being in New York, and nobody would invite him anywhere. I don’t think he has friends, I think he’s got associates, but I don’t think he has any true friends.”

Please do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table – available online and in all good book shops.

@peteryork.bsky.social

LinkedIn: Peter York's Culture Wars House Party podcast

Good Egg Productions

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Welcome to my new podcast, “PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY.” In this fifth episode, I’m joined by Peter Geoghegan former editor of Open Democracy, an investigative journalist and writer, who now runs “Democracy for Sale” https://democracyforsale.substack.com/about

Peter reveals how the Brexit campaign in Sunderland sparked his interest in exposing dark money and political fraud—and why he believes Britain is doing corruption on the cheap.

We explore how money quietly seeps into the bloodstream of British policy, the rise of think tanks that claim to be “neutral observers” but, in reality, act as “effectively corporate lobbyists”, blurring the lines between lobbying, media, and politics.

And there’s the international connections between - Tufton Street and K Street in Washington DC - and how “what we're seeing now is a manifestation something that has existed below the surface for a long time”.

Plus, we touch on the unexpected former friendship between George Soros and Sir Paul Marshall.

“The anonymity isn't just a hangover or something that one or two donors mightn't like. It's absolutely pivotal to be able to do this work.”

Please do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table – available online and in all good book shops.

@peteryork.bsky.social

LinkedIn: Peter York's Culture Wars House Party podcast

Good Egg Productions

https://goodeggproductions.uk/

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

Welcome to my new podcast, “PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY.” In this fourth episode, I’m joined by campaigning journalist George Monbiot.

We discuss George’s journey from his Conservative family background to his political awakening and his rise as one of our most prominent environmental and political activists. What exactly is a campaigning journalist – is it a contradiction in terms?

We explore the story of ‘neoliberalism’ and what it really means – less ‘liberal,’ but rather the disenchantment of politics through brute economic power. We explore how its tentacles have spread into think tanks, academia and the media – including the BBC. Can an alternative vision fight back – and how?

And has the BBC become a “timorous, cowering beastie”? We discuss this, along with George’s attire for his BBC Question Time appearance.

“The only way you're ever going to get significant change is - like John Maynard Keynes and Clement Attlee or many other figures through history - is pursuing systemic change and rolling over your opposition. That's the only way it's ever going to happen. But this timidity, which has kicked in since about 1980, where none of the formerly left or even centrist parties almost anywhere on Earth are prepared to ask for anything more than a few tiny tweaks to the system, that is a recipe for defeat. And that defeat is what we now witness everywhere.”

Please do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table – available online and in all good book shops.

@peteryork.bsky.social

LinkedIn: Peter York's Culture Wars House Party podcast

Good Egg Productions

https://goodeggproductions.uk/

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