Bold Politics with Zack Polanski
| Bold Politics with Zack Polanski | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Zack Polanski |
| Genre | Political podcast |
| Language | English |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Video format | YouTube |
| Audio format |
|
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Publication | |
| Original release | 3 September 2025 |
| Provider | Acast |
| Related | |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2025–present |
| Subscribers | 29,900 |
| Views | 539,000 |
| Last updated: 27 October 2025 | |
Bold Politics with Zack Polanski is a weekly political podcast hosted by Zack Polanski,[1] Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. First released on 3 September 2025, a day after Polanski's victory in the 2025 Green Party leadership election, it is the first podcast to be hosted by a leader of a British political party.[2] Bold Politics takes on a conversational format, featuring guests including Ash Sarkar, Gary Stevenson and Owen Jones. It is usually recorded at Acast Studios in central London.[3]
Background
[edit]Prior to his election as leader, Polanski has stated that too much time was being spent "complaining about media coverage for the Green party, and I still think that's legitimate. But I also think at some point you've just got to step up, and you've got to go even if all the odds are stacked against us. The Green Party's role is to cut through and to be able to tell an alternative story."[4] On 2 September 2025, Polanski won the 2025 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election by a landslide.[2]
History
[edit]The first 35-minute episode of the podcast was released on 3 September 2025,[2] during Polanski's "media blitz" following his victory.[1] The New Statesman has argued that the podcast is "clearly intended as a left-wing counter to Nigel Farage’s prime-time daily GB News show, and the right-wing drift of so many 'podcast bros'."[5]
The first episode featured Polanski talking to journalist and activist Ash Sarkar on the topics of wealth taxes, the future of the Green Party, and why they believed UK Prime Minister “Keir Starmer is spectacularly shit at politics."[1] They also discussed their agreement on transgender rights and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict,[6] including the proscription of Palestine Action, as well as Zohran Mamdani.[2]
Guests Gary Stevenson and Zoe Gardner followed in subsequent episodes.[5] At the Green Party's annual conference, Polanski was scheduled to record a live episode of Bold Politics with journalist Owen Jones.[7]
As of 3 September 2025[update], future guests billed for the podcast included actor-director Jolyon Rubinstein.[2]
Reception
[edit]By 8 September, Bold Politics had reached fourth place in the UK news podcast charts.[4]
Conservative papers The Times and The Telegraph rated the first episode of the podcast negatively, both giving it 2 out of 5 stars.[6][2] The Times called it "nauseating left-wing populism", comparing it to the California governor Gavin Newsom's This Is Gavin Newsom podcast.[6] The Telegraph noted that Ash Sarkar's inclusion may have been a "courtship of Sarkar's base, and therefore anyone considering joining [Jeremy] Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's Your Party."[2] Both papers criticised the podcast for not sticking to conversation about the environment.[6][2]
The Guardian noted the podcast in a weekly review of the best podcasts of the week, describing it as part of Polanski's "impressive media blitz".[8]
Episodes
[edit]| No. | Episode title | Guest(s) | Running time | Original release date | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Future Of Left Politics | Ash Sarkar | 39 mins | 3 September 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Activist, commentator and author Ash Sarkar talks with Polanski about learning from the Jeremy Corbyn era, how the UK's imperial history shapes its foreign policy, and whether protesting works. | ||||||
| 2 | How To Beat The Anti-Immigration Playbook | Zoe Gardner | 25 mins | 10 September 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski speaks with migration expert and policymaker Zoe Gardner about building an argument against anti-immigration sentiment. They discuss the treatment of asylum seekers, and argue that regional inequality in Northern England is an effect of Conservative austerity rather than immigration. | ||||||
| 3 | How To Confront The Radicalisation Of Young Men | Jimmy The Giant | 44 mins | 17 September 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski talks to former Tommy Robinson supporter and YouTuber Jimmy the Giant about the attraction of disenfranchised young male adults to individuals such as Robinson, how the Greens could develop their communication skills around contentious issues, and being patriotic without promoting nationalistic views. | ||||||
| 4 | Why Rachel Reeves Is Obsessed With Growth At Any Cost | Grace Blakeley | 33 mins | 24 September 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski speaks to economics expert Grace Blakeley. They discuss growth, inflation and wages, the validity of measuring the health of the economy by GDP per capita, and how to improve living standards. | ||||||
| 5 | How Labour Sold Their Souls To Billionaires | Gary Stevenson | 52 mins | 1 October 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski talks to inequality campaigner Gary Stevenson about wealth taxes as well as Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer and the Labour brand, the storytelling strategies of the left, and whether Stevenson will endorse the Green Party. | ||||||
| 6 | The Death Of Two Party Politics | Owen Jones | 34 mins | 8 October 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski speaks with journalist and activist Owen Jones about why he left the Labour Party for the Greens, the arguments that third parties are “splitting the left vote” and the media conflation of protests against the Israeli government with anti-semitism. | ||||||
| 7 | Why We Should Want Our Politicians To Be Flawed | Chlöe Swarbrick | 33 mins | 15 October 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski and Chlöe Swarbrick, the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, discuss the interlinked nature of social and ecological justice, what the shared core values of the global Green Parties are, and whether politicians should really be striving for perfection. | ||||||
| 8 | Should We Return To The EU? | Mike Galsworthy | 33 mins | 17 October 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski and chair of European Movement UK, founder of the Bylines Network and scientist Mike Galsworthy discuss progressive arguments for rejoining or remaining independent from the European Union, a stated self-perpetuating narrative around "the rise of the far right across Europe" , and bolstering news on a local level. | ||||||
| 9 | Are We Looking At The Economy All Wrong? | Richard Murphy | 39 mins | 22 October 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski and economist, accountant and campaigner Richard Murphy speak about the movement of wealth from the public to billionaire owners of commercial banks facilitated by the Bank of England, the counter-argument to a wealth tax, and whether universal basic income is viable. | ||||||
| 10 | How Can We All Be Better Allies? | Tia Kofi | 27 mins | 24 October 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski speaks to RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World season 2 winner Tia Kofi about LGBTQ hate crime, protecting marginalised communities and the politics of drag. | ||||||
| 11 | How Grass Roots Can Turn Into Global Movements | Mikaela Loach | 45 mins | 31 October 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski talks to activist Mikaela Loach about a future Israeli-funded oil field in the North Sea and its emissions, the impact of Donald Trump's second term on climate change, and the use of social media in campaigning. | ||||||
| 12 | How A Mamdani Win Will Send Shockwaves Around The World | Hasan Piker | 54 mins | 31 October 2025 | link at Apple Podcasts | |
|
Polanski speaks to US politics livestreamer Hasan Piker about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's successes, how to neutralise culture war questions and focus on inequality, the US perspective on UK politics, and how average individuals could organise. | ||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Duggins, Alexi; Richardson, Hollie; Davies, Hannah J. (15 September 2025). "No other show gets as up-close-and-personal as this: best podcasts of the week". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bennion, Chris (3 September 2025). "The Green Party leader's new podcast forgets to talk about the environment". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ Wheeler, Caroline (27 September 2025). "Green Party leader 'open to pacts' if they stop Tories and Reform". The Times. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
- ^ a b Walker, Peter (8 September 2025). "'We have to tell an alternative story': Green leader Polanski chats to Nigel Farage's constituents". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ a b Kenyon, Megan (1 October 2025). "Zack Polanski: "We absolutely need to stop the boats"". New Statesman. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d Ditum, Sarah (10 September 2025). "Bold Politics with Zack Polanski review — nauseating left-wing populism". The Times. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
- ^ Charley, Will (4 October 2025). "Green Party membership overtakes Liberal Democrats under Polanski". Sky News. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ Duggins, Alexi; Richardson, Hollie; Davies, Hannah J. (15 September 2025). "No other show gets as up-close-and-personal as this: best podcasts of the week". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 October 2025.