On this week’s episode, Sarah and Peter are asking why new trials for puberty blocking drugs in children have been announced after a government decided to ban it last year? And they’d really like to know why David Lammy would like to take our juries away from certain cases after once tweeting that the jury was the one of the pillars of our judicial system.

Plus, which countries did Covid well? Why did the former BBC DG go around Sarah’s house once to ask about the future of the corporation and then totally ignore her advice? And would either consider turning vegetarian? You can probably guess the answer to that one.

On our reading and watch list this week:

· 12 Angry Men – Dir: Sidney Lumet

· Rumpole Of The Bailey – John Mortimer

· The Abolition Of Liberty – Peter Hitchens

· A Man For All Seasons – Fred Zinnemann

Please do get in touch, email: Alas@dailymail.co.uk you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.

Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

Producer: Philip Wilding

Editor: Chelsey Moore

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, Peter, once described as ‘godless Trotskyist’ by The Guardian, will be ruminating on the legacy of one Leon Trotsky while Sarah will be asking if it’s ever okay to call someone piggy, no matter if you are the leader of the free world or a so-called alternative comedian with a national newspaper column.

Plus, debating Ann Coulter, Welsh authors you must read and why Peter’s literary avatar is Mr Badger while Sarah leans more towards Alice drifting through Wonderland.

On our reading and watch list this week:

· The Man Who Loved Dogs - Leonardo Padura

· Bronshtein in the Bronx - Robert Littell

· The Revolution Betrayed – Leon Trotsky

· The Great God Pan – Arthur Machen

· The Devil Rides Out – Dennis Wheatley

· Mr Burton – Dir: Marc Evans

Please do get in touch, email: alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.

Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

Producer: Philip Wilding

Editor: Chelsey Moore

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, Peter and Sarah ask why crazed ideologies seem to have taken root at the heart of both the BBC and the publishing world as we examine the corporation’s latest missteps and the scandalous case of author Kate Clanchy’s cancellation.

Plus, being berated on social media over shots of your bookshelf, trying to take the train to Glasgow on a Sunday (a schoolgirl error) and why novels need more vivid descriptions of food and drink.

On our reading and watch list this week:

· Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me – Kate Clanchy

· The War Game – Dir: Peter Watkins

· Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime 1919-1924 – Richard Pipes

· The Death Of Faith – Donna Leon

Please do get in touch, email: alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.

Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

Producer: Philip Wilding

Editor: Chelsey Moore

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, Peter wants to know if the government really going to strip Andrew of his Falkland campaign medals and, in the light of this week’s attack, Sarah will be asking what kind of security do our transport systems need to make us feel safe?

Plus, don’t get them started on parking permit portals, underwired bras, and the awfulness of some architects, but do ask them what historical biographies you should read.

On our reading and watch list this week:

· Elysium – Dir: Neill Blomkamp

· The Deluge – Adam Tooze

· All The King’s Men – Robert Penn Warren

· Young Stalin - Simon Sebag Montefiore

· Scum Of The Earth - Arthur Koestle

Please do get in touch, email: alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.

Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

Producer: Philip Wilding

Editor: Chelsey Moore

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, Peter will be asking why Britain’s infrastructure is so very awful and why are we concreting over so much over the countryside and then sticking ugly new buildings all over it. While Sarah is dumbfounded by the fact that the Home Office costs £23billion and spends it time blundering from one debacle to another.

Plus, Sarah reveals what ministers really fight over. And the pair really can’t find any common ground when it comes to Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here.

On our reading and watch list this week:

· Pink Floyd – The Wall (Dir: Alan Parker)

· Peter Hitchens - The Rage Against God

· Christian Wolmar - On the Wrong Line: How Ideology and Incompetence Wrecked Britain's Railways

· Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Micah Clarke

Please do get in touch, email: alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.

Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

Producer: Philip Wilding

Editor: Chelsey Moore

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, Peter is rejoicing in the news that the clocks revert to true time on Sunday, whatever that might mean, and Sarah is asking why the hell we closed down schools during the Covid 19 pandemic and what long-term damage it’s done to our kids.

Plus, why does Sarah think politics in its current form is beyond saving, and why her dad had many, many accents. While Peter wonders if we’re seeing the monarchy’s endgame.

On our reading and watch list this week:

· P.G. Wodehouse – Big Money

· Peter Hitchens – Now Is Not The Time

· Edmund Burke – The Evils Of Revolution

Please do get in touch, email: alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.

Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

Producer: Philip Wilding

Editor: Philip Wilding

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, on what would have been Margaret Thatcher’s hundredth birthday, Peter and Sarah tussle over the former PM’s legacy, charisma and what she did or did not do for this country. Elsewhere, Sarah asks why should King Charles solve the problem that is Prince Andrew when the King’s brother should admit he’s a liability and retire from the public eye?

Plus, where do our hosts like to holiday (Peter is not a beach bum for those who were curious)? What was Peter doing with the paparazzi staring at Princess Di? And why we should think long and hard about the repeal of the Corn Laws.

On our reading and watch list this week:

· Donna Leon – Death at La Fenice

· Don’t Look Now – Director: Nicolas Roeg

· Robert Browning – A Toccata of Galuppi’s

· Not for Turning, and Everything She Wants - Charles Moore

Please do get in touch, email: alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.

Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

Producer: Philip Wilding

Editor: Chelsey Moore

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode, Peter and Sarah ask why parks shit down at the first sign of inclement weather? Why do under twenty-five-year-olds feel the need to rail against something, but not bother to read up on it first (we’ve all been there)? Elsewhere, Peter recalls chasing a bicycle thief while hitting him about the head with a bag of dirty laundry. Not to be outdone, Sarah admits to punching her brother in the face with her car keys, which should teach them both something about bringing up politics at a restaurant table.

On our reading and watch list this week:

· Anshel Pfeffer - Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu

· E.H. Gombrich - A Little History of the World

· Roy Strong – The Story Of Britain

· Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall - Our Island Story: A History of Britain for Boys and Girls from the Romans to Queen Victoria

Please do get in touch, email: alas@mailonline.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on Whatsapp – on 07796 657512, start your message with the word ‘alas’.

Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens

Producer: Philip Wilding

Editor: Chelsey Moore

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.