10. Alastair Campbell

Young Again

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.6 • 651 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2024

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kirsty Young talks to the former spin doctor Alastair Campbell about what he’s learned from his life so far. From the bagpipes to New Labour, geopolitics to Burnley FC, Alastair Campbell is passionate about his interests and deeply tribal in his allegiances. But does he ever allow these passions to cloud his judgement? Having been a key figure in Tony Blair’s government and now the co-host of a hit podcast, Alastair explores how events in his childhood have shaped his outlook on the world and whether he regrets any of the tough decisions he has taken.

If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you tell them? In Young Again Kirsty takes her guests back to the pivotal moments in their lives. Reflecting on what they wish they’d known at the time, and what they’ve learned along the way, she discovers the honest – and surprising – advice they’d give their younger selves.

Producer: Laura Northedge Content Editor: Richard Hooper Executive Editor: Alice Feinstein Senior Technical Producer: Duncan Hannant Presenter: Kirsty Young

A BBC Audio Production

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before this BBC podcast kicks off, I'd like to tell you about some others you might enjoy.
0:05.1	My name's Will Wilkin and I Commission Music Podcast for the BBC.
0:08.7	It's a really cool job, but every day we get to tell the incredible stories behind songs,
0:13.5	moments and movements, stories of struggle and success, rises and falls, the funny, the ridiculous.
0:19.1	And the BBC's position, at the heart of British music
0:21.7	means we can tell those stories like no one else.
0:24.5	We were, are and always will be right there at the centre of the narrative.
0:28.6	So whether you want an insightful take on music right now
0:31.3	or a nostalgic deep dive into some of the most famous and infamous moments in music,
0:36.1	check out the music podcasts on BBC Sounds.
0:40.3	BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.
0:44.2	Hi, I'm Kirsty Young, and this is Young again, my podcast for BBC Radio 4.
0:52.5	What conversations would you have with your younger self?
0:56.6	How do you reflect on the big decisions you've made?
0:59.6	What have you learned from your life so far?
1:02.3	In this edition of Young Again,
1:04.2	I'm in discussion with someone who's lived the last 30 years
1:06.9	at the sharp end of our national conversation.
1:10.2	In fact, it would be fair to say there have
1:11.9	been prolonged spells when he's dominated it. As a massive cog in the new Labour wheel of the 90s,
1:18.1	his media-savvy strategising was central to the party's success. A political animal but not a
1:24.8	politician, a backroom boy who time and again made the front pages. A hard man prepared to reveal his often vulnerable mental health. On the day we spoke, he was brimming with Bonamy and talk of disagreeing agreeably. Quite a contrast from the furrow, proud tough nut that I encountered the first time I interviewed his boss, Tony Blair,
	...

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