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Politics

Mid-term prime ministers – Episode 1: Preparing for change

Mid-term prime ministers – Episode 1: Preparing for change melissa.ittoo Thu, 06/08/2026 - 16:34 Special guests Lord O'Donnell, Mark Sedwill, Helen MacNamara, Simon Case and others share the behind the scenes of the preparation for an incoming PM. 1 Podcast Institute for Government No Parliament and the constitution Ministers Civil service Cabinet Leadership election Government reshuffle Civil servants Conservative Labour Prime minister Special adviser Cabinet secretary Major government Blair...

United Kingdom
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Politics

Mid-term prime ministers: transitions of power between elections

Mid-term prime ministers: transitions of power between elections melissa.ittoo Thu, 06/08/2026 - 16:00 Project Institute for Government Ministers Civil service Parliament and the constitution Cabinet Leadership election Government reshuffle Civil servants Labour Conservative Prime minister Special adviser Cabinet secretary Major government Blair government Brown government May government Johnson government Sunak government Number 10 Becoming prime minister is a job like no other. The arrival ...

United Kingdom
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Politics

What are the possible effects of changing birthright citizenship rules on families and communities?

President Trump plans to sign two executive orders Thursday seeking to narrow birthright citizenship in several circumstances and intensify the federal crackdown on commercial "birth tourism," Axios has learned. Trump also is seeking to deny birthright citizenship for children born of some foreign diplomatic staff in the U.S. and, potentially, U.S. territories in the future. Why it matters: It's Trump's second attempt to curb birthright citizenship in the U.S. and is sure to be challenged in court as a violation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born in America. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 shot down a broader executive order Trump signed on Inauguration Day to deny automatic citizenship to those born of noncitizens in the U.S. Zoom in: Trump's administration argues that the ruling still grants him the authority to limit birthright citizenship under long-standing exceptions recognized by the court. The executive orders apply only to future births tied to four categories: Children born of foreign diplomatic staff working on behalf of another government while in the U.S. The 14th Amendment doesn't confer automatic citizenship to ambassadors' families, and this order would expand that category to other noncitizen employees.Children of people who are classified as alien enemies, including those who belong to federally declared terrorist groups. The 14th Amendment doesn't apply to invading armies, and this designation would expand that category.Those born in U.S. territories — but only if Congress changes the law to end automatic citizenship there. A bill seeking to do that was introduced last month but isn't expected to pass. This would apply most notably to those in Puerto Rico.Children born of mothers who expressly and deceptively enter the U.S. for the sole purpose of having a child here, namely at a birth-tourism center. The order seeks to limit the use of surrogate mothers for this purpose as well. Between the lines: The ad

United States
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Environment

The Truth About Climate Migration – It's More Complicated Than You Think

To hear the whole episode and catch up on the rest of the series, which includes a deep dive into food security, water scarcity and the suppressed national security report, sign up at therestispolitics.com Are people really migrating because of changes in the climate? Who pays when a nation is destroyed by a crisis it didn't cause? And what does it cost, financially and emotionally, to leave home for good? Join Caroline Lucas, Alex Randall and Aminath Shauna as they discuss all of these quest...

Global
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Politics

Democracy and Encounter

Democracy and Encounter Pope Francis’s call in Fratelli tutti for a “culture of encounter” marked by respectful engagement across difference has received little attention outside Catholic circles. Political theorists have taken up similar ideas, insisting on the need for civil discourse and constructive disagreement if we are to address our deep democratic divides. This past February, with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at G...

Global
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Culture

A Fairy Tale Ending?

A Fairy Tale Ending? In Venice Observed, her cultural history of that enchanting city, Mary McCarthy quotes a sixteenth-century German prince’s assessment of the Venetian character. Venetians were “conspiring the ruin of everyone,” the prince complained, and he urged resistance to “the insatiable cupidity of the Venetians and their thirst for domination.” Venice was, of course, not just a city of wealthy art patrons, but first an avaricious commercial empire. Venetians were “religious about b...

Italy
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Healthcare

Back to the Lab Again

Back to the Lab Again I’ve been to the lab so many times that it has started to feel like home. In the twelve years I’ve been coming, not much has changed. This time, the buzzer was out of commission at the back entrance—the door used by the test subjects. Ushered in by a woman wearing maroon scrubs, I took in the smell of gauze, the room’s sterile palette of beige and gray, scrubs in every color. There was a certain warmth associated with this facility, even if the temperature always hovered...

United States
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