Evening Standard Column: Violent Protest Persuades No One
- 9 Jun 2020
“You’re looking at this through your own prism as a white man,” said Denise in Enfield during a phone-in on the Black Lives Matter protests on Wednesday on LBC. “Am, I?” I said. “Do tell me what my prism is!” Her reply really set me thinking about how I view race issues. ...
Reaction Life Media Column 6: Emily Maitlis, Newsnight and why newsrooms need more plurality
- 2 Jun 2020
This is the fifth of a new weekly column I am writing for Reaction.Life Back in the day it was clear what Newsnight’s role was. Put simply it was there to cover the day’s news stories in more depth than is possible on a news bulletin, to explain more complicated storie...
Reaction Life Media Column 5: Outlander, Eurovision, World at One & Never Mind the Barcharts
- 26 May 2020
This is the fourth of a new weekly column I am writing for Reaction.Life Outlander (Series 5), Amazon Prime Eurovision Night, BBC1 Prepare yourself for quote a big claim. Outlander is the best TV drama series I have seen in the last ten years Forget ‘Bodygua...
Cummings & (Not) Goings
- 24 May 2020
I write this as the Prime Minister has announced he's standing by Dominic Cummings and a lot of what follows is based on a Twitter thread that I posted last night. I've been in isolation for 67 days in Kent. I could have driven 158 miles to my house in Norfolk, where in the...
A Tribute to Peter Cropper
- 24 May 2020
Peter Cropper was a very great man, and I don't use the word 'great' about many people. I first met Peter in 1990 when Nicholas Finney and I started a new transport based public affairs consultancy, The Waterfront Partnership, and he joined us in the venture. Up to that po...
Who are the 100 Most Powerful & Influential People in British Politics?
- 22 May 2020
Twelve years ago I founded Total Politics magazine. It was a monthly magazine for people who were part of the political process. It wasn't a good time to start a magazine, seeing as the financial crash led to a bit of a collapse in the advertising sector. It was sent free of c...
What I Did to Mark Mental Health Awareness Week
- 22 May 2020
Over the ten years I have been on LBC I have hosted many programmes on a whole range of mental health issues, such as loneliness, anxiety, suicide, bereavement etc. Each time I do so I am humbled by the calls I get, many from people who have never discussed their mental he...
Reaction Life Media Column 4: US Documentaries, Steve Wright & Eamonn Holmes
- 19 May 2020
This is the fourth of a new weekly column I am writing for Reaction.Life Clinton, PBS America, Amazon Prime George W Bush, PBS America I’m a sucker for political and historical documentaries, but if I am honest, when I started to watch Amazon Prime’s CLINTON...
Reaction Life Media Column 3: The Killing Season, Radio Norfolk & The Politics of Sound Podcast
- 12 May 2020
This is the third of a new weekly column I am writing for the Reaction.Life website. It's published each Friday on Reaction. The Killing Season, ABC News It’s rare that you could describe a political documentary as ‘gripping’ but given this documentary is all about ...
The 50 Most Famous People I've Ever Met
- 7 May 2020
Celebrity is a weird thing. You recognise it when you see it. But what makes someone a celebrity, and why are so many people desperate to become one? I've never sought fame or celebrity, although I am happy to admit that it's sometimes nice to be recognised. I am certainly not...
It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 73: Isolation Station Podcast
- 6 May 2020
This is a 17 minute podcast interview I did for Radio Today's 'Isolation Station' with Tony Dibbin. We covered a lot of ground but concentrated on what it's like broadcasting my radio show from home each night, what reaction I'm getting from listeners and what it was like bre...
Reaction.Life Media Review Column 2: The Test, Sunderland Till I Die, Angie Greaves & Women with Balls Podcast
- 5 May 2020
This is the second of a new weekly column I am writing for the Reaction.Life website. It's published each Friday on Reaction. The Test, Amazon Prime Sunderland Til I Die, Amazon Prime Fly on the wall sporting documentaries have become a bit of ‘a thing’ with the ...
Reaction.Life Media Review Column 1: K-Drama, Feedback & Triggernometry Podcast
- 1 May 2020
This is the first of a new weekly column I am writing for the Reaction.Life website. It's published each Friday on Reaction. K-Drama Designated Survivor 60 Days - Netflix Crash Landing on You, Netflix If, a year ago, you’d have told me I’d have spent the ...
"Before she died she opened her eyes and smiled."
- 21 Apr 2020
This is an email I received last night from a listener called Simon. Earlier this evening I read it out on my show with his full permission. He has also said I can post it here. Dear Iain, You don’t know me, but I know you had a close bond with your mother. On Tuesd...
Long Read Interview with Mathew Hulbert on Coronavirus, the Media & Much More
- 18 Apr 2020
Last weekend I spent an hour doing a long interview over Whatsapp with LibDem blogger Mathew Hulbert. You can find his blog HERE and follow him on Twitter HERE. MH: Iain Dale, welcome to my blog. ID: Nice of you to invite me! MH: This must be a career highlight! ID...
Ten People With Whom I'd Like to Have Lunch
- 16 Apr 2020
I'm very lucky that in my personal and professional life I have met all sorts of interesting people - some famous, most not so much. I have had one on one lunches with people I would never have dreamed of meeting let alone breaking bread with. The older I get, the less intimid...
Ten Things I've Never Done (Some of Which You'll Be Horrified By...)
- 14 Apr 2020
I've never had a Kebab I've never seen an episode of The Simpsons or South Park I've never read any Charles Dickens I've never eaten Cod or Skate (or indeed most kinds of fish) I've never drunk a pint of beer I've never been to Asia (Two hour layovers in Bangkok o...
Iain Reads from 'The Magic Faraway Tree' by Enid Blyton
- 13 Apr 2020
When I was a child I was raised on the books of Enid Blyton. She has sold an incredible 600 million books. She was of my grandmother's generation and lived from 1897-1968. She was perhaps most famous for her series of books on Noddy, the Famous Five and the Secret Seven. A...
Boris is Back, Journos Disappearing Up Their Own Fundamentals & Why the Death Toll Needs More Explanation
- 13 Apr 2020
So there I was – broadcasting from home on Monday. It was about 8.10pm, and I had just finished interviewing the new Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds. I switched from my email to the Google document on which my producer writes instructions. There it was in bla...
A Reader Writes... My Struggle to Return to the UK From Thailand
- 29 Mar 2020
I've been getting a lot of emails from people telling me of their difficulties during this Coronavirus crisis. A lot of them are from British nationals struggling to get back to this country. On Wednesday on my show I talked to Peter in Peru who was having great difficulties. ...