In this Writers’ Week event, former UK Labour Party communications director Alastair Campbell and former Conservative Party cabinet minister Rory Stewart discuss the genesis of their viral podcast The Rest is Politics, professional camaraderie, and the fine art of ‘disagreeing agreeably’ through the people they admire. 

Hosted by 7.30’s multi-award-winning host Sarah Ferguson, the veteran politicos pinpoint where the rot set in (2008), explain why populism shouldn’t be elevated (it has no manifesto and exploits people’s misery on both sides of the political divide) and unpack the threatening opaqueness of TikTok and other social media platforms in a media-illiterate world.

Stewart regales a full house at the Adelaide Town Hall with his ridiculous encounters with former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss (who sounds very like Australia’s own former Prime Minister, Scott Morrison). Yes, this era really feels like a race to the bottom and it’s no wonder people have disengaged from politics: how can we take Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn seriously? And yet good politics needs an educated population. This pair made a commendable effort to educate an engaged and eager Adelaide audience; maybe there’s hope for the world yet. 

The Rest Is Politics, Adelaide Town Hall, run ended.