Episodes

  • Ukraine Vibe Shift?

    Ukraine Vibe Shift?
    Jul 9 2026


    After more than four years of destruction and slaughter, is the corner being turned in the Ukraine war? Kyiv is able to strike deep within Russia now and the pace of Moscow’s advance is slowing to the point of invisibility. But there’s no sign of an end to fighting - if anything, the scale of the conflict has increased. So is the ‘vibe shift’ being widely talked about, just wishful thinking? Is there still no effective way to end the war? Phil and Roger ask Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham, and co-founder of Navigating the Vortex

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    40 mins
  • Paid-For Politics?

    Paid-For Politics?
    Jul 1 2026
    How corrupt is our politics? Is a £5 million gift from a supporter to a politician - when he wasn't an MP - anyone's business but his own? Is it fine for a sitting MP to accept free gifts from a betting company, provided it's all declared? Does it matter if a minister who awarded a contract to a company, joins that company's board, once he's left office? Dan Hough, Professor of Politics at Sussex University, talks to Phil and R.oger about corruption among those in power, and how our system compares to the rest of the world.

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    45 mins
  • The Mancunian Candidate

    The Mancunian Candidate
    Jun 25 2026
    Andy Burnham seems poised to be the UK's seventh prime minister in ten years. Keir Starmer was widely seen as honourable but dull and ineffective - can Burnham take the Labour government in any better or even different direction? Is being a better communicator enough? Phil and Roger ask Professor Mark Wickham-Jones, Professor of Political Science at the University of Bristol and an expert on Labour politics

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    38 mins
  • Cuba Revisited

    Cuba Revisited
    Jun 17 2026
    Could Cuba be the victory Donald Trump is looking for? Phil and Roger discussed this back in March, but after the messy and fragile deal with Iran, could bringing the Caribbean island back into America’s embrace be about to happen? Joe Gonzalez, Associate Professor of Global Studies at Appalachian State University, and a historian of the Cuban-American relationship, is back on WhyCurve.com with an update after his latest visit, with evidence that many Cubans would like a US intervention to save them from a collapsing economy.

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    35 mins
  • Big Storm Coming?

    Big Storm Coming?
    Jun 11 2026
    The next El Nino could be the biggest in history. The Pacific atmospheric pattern that regularly disrupts global weather, is set to cause floods in some areas and droughts in others, on a larger scale than ever before, because of climate change. So how worried should we be? And what can we expect? Phil and Roger ask Manoj Joshi, Professor of Climate Dynamics at the University of East Anglia.

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    33 mins
  • Trump/Iran - Madman or Genius?

    Trump/Iran - Madman or Genius?
    Jun 5 2026
    Three months of US efforts to tame Iran, and Donald Trump is in a bind - there's still no deal, and Iran has a stranglehold on the Straits of Hormuz. Oil price rises mean the cost of filling up the car is painful for many Americans, and that could spell trouble for the Republicans in the upcoming mid-term elections. But the US stock market is buoyant and Trump seem unperturbed - so is he far more in control of all this than he seems? Is he using 'madman theory' to keep his enemies guessing? Phil and Roger ask Dr James Boys, senior research fellow at UCL's Centre on US Politics, and author of "US Grand Strategy and the Madman Theory"

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    43 mins
  • Too Real TV?

    Too Real TV?
    May 28 2026
    Has reality TV become too toxic? A number of scandals have shown the dark side of formats that put ordinary, vulnerable people in challenging situations - and let us be amused by the disastrous results. Whether it's Married At First Sight or Love Island, is there something wrong and damaging about this sort of entertainment? Helen Wood is Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Aston University, and has led research into the effect of reality TV on participants, crew and audiences - she tells Phil and Roger about the costs of all this

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    39 mins
  • Ready For The Next Pandemic?

    Ready For The Next Pandemic?
    May 21 2026
    As Hantavirus and Ebola grab the headlines, how prepared is the world for the next pandemic? Have we learned from COVID both how to stop the spread and deal with a panicking population? Are we ready for the new animal-origin viruses that emerge as humans encroach on their habitats? Phil and Roger ask Dr Jeremy Rossman, senior lecturer in virology at the University of Kent.

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    42 mins