The team behind chart-topping current affairs podcast The Rest Is Politics has launched a new show focused on the philosophies of leadership.
Leading, which debuted on Monday, is hosted by Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell, and interviews various figures in key leadership positions from the worlds of sport, politics and more.
The first episode, which features a conversation with former Conservative deputy Prime Minister and Haymarket owner Michael Heseltine, went straight in at number one in Apple Podcasts’ UK chart on the day of its release.
The topic of leadership is one that Campbell has expressed significant interest in previously, and has already interviewed figures including former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and Labour leader Kier Starmer.
He told PodPod about his desire to broaden out the subjects of his interviews beyond the world of politics.
“I think I'd have people in sport,” Campbell told PodPod. “I mean, Rory's not very interested in sport, which is a bit of a problem. But I would have people in sport, to talk about leadership.”
“I remember when Jurgen Klopp, for example, when he said something a while back, he said, I just, I love this country, but I don't understand how you keep putting people like Farage and Johnson in positions of power. I'd love to talk to him about that and about how he relates his own upbringing and character to his own leadership.”
As with The Rest Is Politics, the show is produced by Goalhanger Podcasts and hosted on Acast, with Goalhanger co-founder Gary Linekar calling it “a fascinating series of major interviews”.
“We've had a fantastic response each time we've included a major interview on the main feed and it's become clear there's a massive appetite among listeners for long-form heavyweight interviews with really interesting people,” said Tony Pastor, executive producer and co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts.
“Between them, Alastair and Rory know just about everyone you'd ever want to invite to dinner, so we felt it was a brilliant opportunity to get into their contacts books and get some big names on the show.”
