Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness

  In PoliticalOD 22, The Dissenter and I discussed Rishi Sunak's budget. It seems to be a holding budget, as the chancellor waits for the end of lockdown to really take action that will restore the economy and the public finances.  Speaking of lockdown, we talked about the Executive's laughable 'roadmap' out of  the current Covid restrictions. A document that ducked decisions and dodged discussing data. This week, there were a few tentative commitments to ease people's house imprisonment and get children back to school. After Easter, non-essential retailers may even be able to provide click and collect services. It's all very underwhelming , as Covid cases fall and the vaccine reaches ever younger age groups. The Dissenter has discussed the repercussions for SMEs , which are facing the effects of a double-whammy of lockdown and the Northern Ireland Protocol.   You can stream the podcast in the window above, or find it at your favourite podcast service. We're

  It's a fact that life entails risk. However, different cultures and institutions sometimes take a very different approach to risk. At The Dissenter, David discusses the 'absolutist legal hold' that leads the EU to consider an M & S ready meal a risk to its single market. At the same time, coronavirus cases are falling, while the people most vulnerable to the disease receive vaccines. The data suggests that they are working. So, why isn't there a clear route out of lockdown? Stream above, or find at the usual sites. 

  By Julius Schorzman - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107645 Last week, British and Irish tweeters' fixation on American politics reached something of a frenzy, as Joe Biden was elected president of the United States. I've already written about the downsides of this obsession . On the podcast, we discuss whether the new US leader is likely to heal deep divisions that have affected politics in Britain and across the West. One thing's for sure, the government will have to be alive to Irish American lies about the Belfast Agreement, on an ongoing basis. We look again at the coronavirus debacle. What is the plan to get out of a cycle of lockdowns? It seems that now, even the vaccine doesn't offer a definite way out of the lockdown ideology . Speaking of ideology, we examine claims that Northern Ireland will be wrenched from the UK by the unstoppable force of Irish nationalism. The latest evidence seems to have something to do with