Giles chats to the former leader of the Canadian Liberal Party and now rector of the Central European University, Michael Ignatieff, about how his family went from Russian nobles to Canadian refugees, why the Brexit debate was good for the UK's

Jonathan Aitken's Confessions — Parliament, prison and prayer

Apr 27th, 2020 49m 22s

Giles chats to former MP and convict and now ordained chaplin, Jonathan Aitken, about the importance of diversity in politics, the power of forgiveness and how a tweet led him to become ordained.

Nicky Gumbel's Confessions — Family, faith and finding God

1 Apr 10th, 2020 1h 5m

In a Good Friday special, Giles chats to Anglican priest and pioneer of the Alpha Course Nicky Gumbel about the moment he changed from atheist to a Christian, why his father never talked about his being Jewish and doubting God after tragically

Mervyn King's Confessions — Crises, capital and coronavirus

Mar 30th, 2020 1h 6m

Giles talks to former Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King about why economists don't understand human nature, what caused the 2008 financial crisis and the mistake both sides made in the Brexit referendum.

Johnathan Sacks's Confessions — Capitalism, community and covenant

Mar 16th, 2020 57m 36s

Giles talks to former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks about the power of community, antisemitism in the 21st century and the 72-hour bus journey across America that changed his life.

Richard Layard's Confessions — History, happiness and mental health

Jan 20th, 2020 1h 13m

In a 'Blue Monday' special, Giles talks to economist and happiness expert Richard Layard about his journey from the humanities to science, why individualism is making us depressed and how we can be more happy.

Charles Moore's Confessions — Thatcher, theology and the Tories

Jan 13th, 2020 48m 17s

Giles talks to Margaret Thatcher's biographer and former Telegraph editor Charles Moore about becoming a Catholic, how the BBC licence fee is dividing 'somewheres' and 'anywheres' and why he's never liked the Conservative Party.

Jonathan Sumption's Confessions — Rights, rhetoric and rationalism

Jan 6th, 2020 1h 12m

Giles talks to historian and former Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption about leaving academia behind for a career in law, the problem with human rights and the art of persuasion.

Helen Thompson's Confessions — Elections, economics and Euroscepticism

Dec 30th, 2019 57m 45s

Giles talks to Professor of Political Economy Helen Thompson about not fitting in at Warwick University Labour Club, why Margaret Thatcher would have voted Leave and what to look out for in politics in 2020.

Susan Hill's Confessions — Christmas, children and coping with grief

Dec 23rd, 2019 59m 22s

In a Christmas special, Giles chats to novelist Susan Hill about writing ghost stories, the coffin maker who taught her how to whistle and losing her 5-week-old daughter.

Patrick Deneen's Confessions – Wendell Berry, working class Tories and why liberalism failed

Dec 16th, 2019 59m 11s

Giles talks to political theorist Patrick Deneen about why liberalism has failed, how the Conservatives became the party of the working class and the revolution yet to come.

Jonathan Rowson's Confessions — Chess, concentration and climate change

Dec 9th, 2019 1h

Giles chats to philosopher and chess grandmaster Jonathan Rowson about the beauty of chess, the importance of spirituality and why the political spectrum is fake news.

Andrew Sullivan's Confessions — Catholicism, coming out and Jeremy Corbyn

Dec 2nd, 2019 1h 5m

Giles talks to author and political commentator Andrew Sullivan about his troubled home life, how moving to America liberated him and why Jeremy Corbyn is the real 'Britain Trump'.

George Monbiot's Confessions — Boarding school, the BBC and Extinction Rebellion

Nov 25th, 2019 54m 25s

Giles chats to environmental activist and "professional troublemaker" George Monbiot about the horrors of boarding school, why he's a eurosceptic Remainer and how he escaped a near-death experience in Indonesia.

Yoram Hazony's Confessions – Nationalism, Imperialism, and Israel

Sep 30th, 2019 56m 30s

In a special episode recorded in Jerusalem, Israeli philosopher Yoram Hazony tells Giles about the time he almost quit working for Benjamin Netanyahu, why the English are most parallel to Israelis and what he is most theologically afraid of.

Elif Shafak's Confessions – Populism, polarities and post-truth fiction

Sep 16th, 2019 54m 53s

Giles chats to Turkish author Elif Shafak, whose latest novel is shortlisted for the Booker Prize, about being a citizen of the world, the dangers of populism and why fiction is more important now than ever.

Alan Johnson's Confessions - London, Labour and leadership

Sep 9th, 2019 55m 37s

Giles chats to Alan Johnson, former Labour MP and Shadow Chancellor about growing up, being a postman and Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.

Jesse Norman’s Confessions – Capitalism, Conservatism and proroguing parliament

Sep 2nd, 2019 39m 7s

Giles chats to Jesse Norman MP about the compatibility of conservativism and capitalism, what we get wrong about Adam Smith and if the proroguing of parliament really is a coup.

Larry Siedentop's Confessions – Liberalism, localism and populism

Aug 26th, 2019 48m 49s

Giles talks with Sir Larry Siedentop, Oxford philosopher and author of 'Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism', about being taught by Isaiah Berlin, how Brexit is going to federalise the UK and why liberalism isn't dead ye

Julia Hartley-Brewer's Confessions – Brexit, burqas and bad parenting

Aug 19th, 2019 58m 15s

Giles talks to broadcaster and journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer about being an atheist, working in a nightclub at 14 and why she doesn't agree with Margaret Thatcher.

Kate Hoey's Confessions – Labour, Leave.EU and life after Parliament

Aug 12th, 2019 53m 20s

Giles talks to Labour MP for Vauxhall and long-standing Brexiteer, Kate Hoey, about the future of the Labour Party, meeting Nigel Farage on a boat and her plans for retirement.

Reverend Richard Coles's Confessions – Punk, pop and priesthood

Aug 5th, 2019 52m 49s

Giles chats with former member of 80s pop band The Communards turned Vicar Richard Coles about finding faith, facing the black dog and being a curate in the highest voting Leave constituency.

Simon Heffer's Confessions – Boris Johnson, the Brexit Party and the Battle of the Somme

Jul 29th, 2019 54m 11s

Giles talks to journalist and historian Simon Heffer about inventing the 'Essex man', why he voted for the Brexit Party and what it's like to work with Boris Johnson.

Katharine Birbalsingh's Confessions – Discipline, diversity and the danger of mobile phones

Jul 22nd, 2019 55m 56s

Giles chats to the education reformer and headteacher dubbed "Britain's strictest headmistress", Katharine Birbalsingh, about knife crime, bad education, and why ethnic minorities should be swing voters.

Andrew Doyle's Confessions - Free speech, the far-Right and Titania McGrath

Jun 11th, 2019 58m 27s

Giles talks to the man behind Twitter's woke queen Titania McGrath about coming out at 18, being a hero of the far-Right and why individualism is more important than identity politics.