Episode released: 03/06/2026
| Resource Name & Type | Creator | Why it was mentioned |
| Magnifica Humanitas (On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence) | Pope Leo XIV | Alastair and Rory explore this landmark 235-page papal encyclical on artificial intelligence, celebrating its moral and political framework for human dignity and technical oversight. |
| Claude | Anthropic | lastair mentions querying this AI platform to analyze the left-of-centre European values underpinning the Pope’s document. |
| The Rest is Politics: Leading (Jack Clark Interview) | Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart | Rory highlights this specific podcast episode featuring Anthropic’s co-founder to help listeners understand the intricate moral and technical questions confronting AI creators. |
| Rerum Novarum | Pope Leo XIII | Mentioned as a foundational 1891 encyclical addressing industrial capitalism and workers’ rights, which Alastair notes reads remarkably like an old Labour Party manifesto. |
| Der Spiegel Article on Papal Neologisms | Der Spiegel | Alastair references an analysis in this German publication outlining the massive global reach of the encyclical and the need to invent new Latin translations for digital terms. |
| The Labour Party Is Playing With Fire Over Its Future and the Future of the Country | Tony Blair | The hosts dissect a highly controversial, 5,600-word essay written by Blair that delivers a sharp strategic critique and policy warnings to the current UK government. |
| Report on NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) | Alan Milburn | Alastair references this strategic report on youth unemployment to illustrate how severe the current UK economic inheritance is compared to 1997. |
| This is Fascism | Rosanne Hertzberger | Alastair reads several excerpts from this translated book by a Dutch journalist to demonstrate how contemporary populist movements can erode democracy from within. |
| Ende der China-Illusion. Wie wir mit Pekings Machtanspruch umgehen müssen (The End of the China Illusion) | Andreas Fulda | Alastair spotlights this German-language book written by a Nottingham University lecturer when looking closely at foreign policy scenarios involving a potential crisis over China. |
| On Xi Jinping: How Xi’s Marxist Nationalism is Shaping China and the World | Kevin Rudd | Alastair highly recommends this massive, newly released tome exploring the Chinese leader’s political worldview, highlighting its humorous “cheat’s guide” layout in the introduction. |
To explore the themes of the encyclical further, watch Pope Leo XIV’s AI Encyclical and Democracy, which offers a detailed analysis of the political economy, corporate monopolies, and democratic challenges raised within the Pope’s landmark text.