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Reality Check
by The Spectator
Today: #100 in News, United Kingdom on our combined chart.
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Ranking history · United States
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Latest episodes
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‘Devolution is not a growth plan’: Andy Haldane on Burnham, Badenoch & the Budget
October 22, 2026 · 43 minAndy Burnham’s first Budget as Prime Minister is approaching – but higher borrowing costs have already made the sums more difficult. Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane joins Michael Simmons to warn that Britain has little…
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Fraser Nelson exposes Britain's welfare pipeline
October 14, 2026 · 48 minIs Britain’s welfare state still a safety net or has it become a pipeline for long-term dependency? Almost one in ten six-year-olds are now categorised as disabled through the benefits system and, on current trends, that figure would rise…
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LIVE: Why aren't Britain's young people working? | with Laura Trott
October 10, 2026 · 39 minFor this special edition of Reality Check, economics editor Michael Simmons hosts a panel from Conservative Party conference on Britain’s growing NEETs crisis: the hundreds of thousands of young people not in education, employment or…
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A history of the bond markets – with Robin Wigglesworth
October 7, 2026 · 36 minWill the next debt crisis arrive as a sudden market rout – or is Britain already in the foothills of a slower one? Bond markets are back in the headlines, with every move in gilt yields read as a verdict on Westminster. Michael Simmons…
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LIVE: ‘Taxpayers are subsidising crappy jobs’ – TUC boss Paul Nowak
September 30, 2026 · 24 minMichael Simmons is joined live at Labour conference by TUC general secretary Paul Nowak to discuss the state of Britain’s labour market. Are higher wages and stronger employment rights making it harder to hire, or are taxpayers subsidising…
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Labour doesn’t HAVE to raise taxes at the Budget
September 25, 2026 · 18 minWhat is fiscal ‘headroom’ – and why does it matter? Michael Simmons explains how Britain’s fiscal rules really work, why changes in borrowing costs can wipe billions off the Chancellor’s buffer, and why losing headroom does not…
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The AI apocalypse is just good marketing
September 16, 2026 · 17 minSome whistleblowers from the AI industry claim there is a more than 10% chance that artificial intelligence could wipe out humanity within a few years. A group of mostly Labour MPs has written to Andy Burnham calling for action on…
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Wealth tax debate LIVE: Arthur Laffer vs Aaron Bastani
September 11, 2026 · 33 minArthur Laffer, the economist, former adviser to Ronald Reagan and architect of the Laffer Curve, goes head-to-head with journalist and left-wing author Aaron Bastani over one question: should Britain introduce a wealth tax? Chaired by The…
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Budget 2026: who is left to tax?
August 30, 2026 · 9 minWith two months to go until Andy Burnham and John Healey’s first Budget, speculation about tax rises is already beginning. But how much should we believe? Michael Simmons looks at five facts about Britain’s tax system that should shape the…
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The ADHD boom: are we medicalising normal behaviour?
August 25, 2026 · 15 minThe backlash to Channel 4’s The Great ADHD Myth has reignited a fierce debate over how we diagnose ADHD – and whether that debate itself is becoming impossible to have. Michael Simmons looks at the extraordinary rise in diagnoses, the gap…
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Heatwave: the truth about Britain’s water crisis – and what it means for net zero
August 18, 2026 · 17 minBritain is in the grip of another hot, dry summer, with hosepipe bans in force and fears growing about the country’s water supply. But are we really running out of water? Michael Simmons is joined by Reality Check reporter John Power to…
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Britain’s AI problem isn’t data centres – it’s electricity
August 12, 2026 · 25 minBritain wants to become an AI superpower – but does it have the electricity to power one? Data centres underpin everything from online banking and streaming to artificial intelligence, and demand for them is exploding. The government has…
About the show
Reality Check cuts through the spin and explains the numbers behind the noise. In each episode, The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons and in-the-know guests will make a data-driven case on a story hogging the headlines.
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