The Political Editors: Roland Watson
Politics Unpacked
Anna Covell
4.1 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 25 August 2023
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After covering the US for the Times in the aftermath of 9/11 - and interviewing President Bush in the White House - Roland Watson returned to the "goldfish bowl" of Westminster, becoming the paper's political editor in time for the 2010 election. He tells Matt about Gordon Brown's prickly relationship with the press, making contacts in the coalition, and how David Cameron sowed the seeds of Brexit.
The Political Editors is half a century of politics told by the people who wrote the first draft of history for the Times.
Plus: Columnists India Knight and Gaby Hinsliff discuss Donald Trump's historic mugshot, who does and doesn't suffer from impostor syndrome, and Matt attempts to answer some GCSE maths questions.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, this is the Webbox Podcast. I'm Matt Surely bringing the rest of my Times |
| 0:07.5 | Radio show. You can listen live Monday, Friday, 10-0-1 on your DAB radio, on your smart |
| 0:12.7 | speaker, or download the Times Radio app. Coming up on today's podcast, part five of |
| 0:18.0 | the political editors. Really good chat with Roland Watson, although I've got to say |
| 0:20.8 | that, because he's now my editor on the comment desk. But he talks about being political |
| 0:25.3 | editors with the Times for the fall of Gordon Brown, the formation of the Coalition, and |
| 0:30.0 | the first whiff that something might be going on with David Cameron, and Europe also |
| 0:34.5 | an amazing story about interviewing George W. Bush in the Oval Office. That's coming |
| 0:38.2 | up in just a moment. But first, as over, let's kick off with the Colourmists. |
| 0:45.4 | The Colourmists on Times Radio. Yeah, no James Mamiat today. He is elsewhere, |
| 0:54.6 | bashing away at his Colourm. However, we have got Indian hype on him yet. Morning, Matt. |
| 0:59.7 | Guys, tell me with us, and from the Guardian Colourmists, Gabby Hensliff. Morning, Gabby. |
| 1:03.9 | You're good morning. No, I tell you both here. Now, I suppose we should start with the |
| 1:10.2 | extraordinary mugshot of Donald Trump, because it's so Donald Trump. It's like it's an advert |
| 1:17.2 | for a slightly naft TV show that he's doing. But here is the Times New York cosmoner, |
| 1:23.5 | Will Pavia trying to describe it. Donald Trump is sort of glaring slightly towards |
| 1:28.8 | the camera. His hair is sort of catching the light. His eyebrows are sort of knit together. |
| 1:37.2 | He's sort of staring straight down the barrel of the camera and sort of frowning at the guy |
| 1:41.2 | taking them all, whoever it was, taking mugshot. Now, is this going to become the most famous |
| 1:47.4 | mugshot since Hugh Grant, India? Yes, I'm afraid it is, because, you know, the thing about |
| 1:54.7 | photo grasses, lots and lots and lots of words are produced all the time about Donald Trump. |
| 1:58.8 | But people aren't going to read the paperwork of the various indictments, or necessarily |
... |
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