Listener sentiment
Sentiment around The Rest Is Politics remains deeply polarised, with the newest ratings continuing to cluster around Michael Gove's guest turn filling in for Rory Stewart — a stand-in choice that listeners greeted with near-equal enthusiasm and revulsion, some branding him unsuitable or offensive, others (including self-described Labour voters) welcoming a well-argued centre-right counterpoint and asking for more. The show's loyal core still praises Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart as accessible, well-informed guides whose chemistry and big interviews (Carlo Rovelli, Yuval Noah Harari) make sense of an overwhelming news cycle. A sizeable contingent of long-time listeners, though, believes the show has drifted into predictable, left-leaning commentary — accusing Campbell of campaigning rather than analysing and Stewart of nodding along meekly instead of disagreeing agreeably. The single most recurring practical complaint, cutting across ideological lines, is commercialisation: heavier ad loads, paywalled miniseries, and subscription pushes inside the main feed, with even paying subscribers feeling the balance has tipped toward business first and politics second.
Apple3.2 · 882
Summary generated Oct 15, 2026
