“PETER YORK’S CULTURE WARS HOUSE PARTY” podcast is all about Peter’s cultural preoccupations which range from how political Culture Wars are waged, to the reputational currency of clever celebrities, to the best sources of suede loafers in St James’s. He’ll be hosting people he admires and people he wants to argue with and people who like to natter about the correct placement of buttons.
Peter York is the author of “Dead Cat – Culture Wars and how not to lose them.” However, his influence extends back to the 1970s, where he pioneered the role of ‘style editor’ at Harpers and Queen magazine, alongside co-author Ann Barr. Together, they penned the era-defining sensation, “The Official Sloane Ranger’s Handbook,” which became the bestselling trade book of the 1980s.
Throughout the decades, Peter has continued to leave his mark on the cultural landscape. He’s authored numerous books and presented several TV programs, including the nostalgic gem “Peter York’s Eighties” in the 1990s.
More recently, Peter has shifted towards more serious subjects, tackling issues such as “The War Against the BBC,” co-authored with Professor Patrick Barwise, and the thought-provoking “Authenticity is a Con.”
Join us as we explore the multifaceted world of Peter York and his enduring contributions to cultural discourse.
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Joe Uscinski and Hugo Drochon: Who’s Afraid of the Great Replacement?
Joe Uscinski and Hugo Drochon started looking at conspiracies before they became de rigueur in 2016 and asked whether there are any links to democratic outcomes. Joe is a professor of political science at the University of Miami, and who says that conspiracy theories are "often for losers" (but let him explain ….) Hugo is an associate professor of political theory at the University of Nottingham, and he once bought a ticket to a David Icke show in the name of research. Before Brexit, his Cambridge team was already polling Britain's appetite for conspiracy, and the results made uncomfortable reading.
We trace the Great Replacement theory from a French château to Charlottesville to Parliament Square, and ask why one idea fits so many countries. Who is supposedly being replaced, by whom, and why? Who believes it, and who has thought it through? We also ask whether anyone can be argued out of it, or whether these beliefs sit in "a little black box" that facts never reach. And we reveal what 23% of respondents on both sides of the pond firmly believe in.
And I get some podcast advice to up my numbers – apparently David Icke can teach me a thing or two.
Please do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table – available online and in all good book shops.
@peteryork.bsky.social
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
14 Jul 2026
Sarah Churchwell: American Myths, British Nostalgia and the Far Right
Sarah Churchwell is an American cultural historian who has spent years unpicking the stories the United States tells about itself — from Gone with the Wind to The Great Gatsby — and noticing, with growing unease, how those myths echo in today’s politics. A professor of American literature and public understanding of the humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, she argues that the American Revolution is “unfinished business” and for the last 40 years America has been running “an undeclared political experiment” and Donald Trump is “a symptom of what’s going wrong with America.”
We trace the history from slavery to widespread segregation – not just in the south – and laws which the Nazis thought “went a little bit too far for them”, and on to judicial coups.
So, what of us? Did America learn its white supremacism at our knee? Are we now following their playbook wrapping our imperial fantasies in Union Jacks, poppies and Dunkirk. And are we now learning “the lesson of Hungary”?
Please do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table – available online and in all good book shops.
@peteryork.bsky.social
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
6 Jul 2026
Kate Ferguson: Before the Violence Starts
Kate Ferguson co-founded Protection Approaches after working on genocide prevention in Rwanda — and noticing, with some alarm, that the warning signs looked oddly familiar back home. She's a foreign policy strategist working to stop mass violence before it starts, by raising the alarm on how identity grievance is weaponised to cause harm.
She's just finished consulting 250 security and defence experts across Europe on the threats we face, and she comes bearing a dread trio — a homegrown far-right which has "breached thresholds of concern" including a "pogrom in Belfast"; Russian aggression; and a third that would have been unthinkable even a year ago — the United States itself, now "demonstrably practising from an authoritarian playbook."
So what can be done? Should social cohesion be part of our critical infrastructure rather than a "nice to have"? Is the "hollowing out of the BBC" damaging to that cohesion? And is the point of politics to change the world — or is that an old trope?
Please do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table – available online and in all good book shops.
@peteryork.bsky.social
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
14,831
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 20 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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