Jeffrey Archer's 'First Among Equals' part 1, with Shane Whaley (#14)

Mark and Cory conclude their discussion of the classic TV series State of Play. Mark reports back on his correspondence with a cast member and also auditions for a role as a defence counsel, whilst they also talk about which elements of the plot remain realistic today and which are complete MacGuffins. The Guardian article Cory refers to can be read here and the previous podcast episode, covering State of Play episode 1, is here. Next time, Sam Freedman joins us to talk about The Thick Of It specials The Rise of the Nutters and Spinners and Losers, both of which you can watch on BBC iPlayer. Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters. Subscribe to our newsletter for some additional bonus content and to get alerted whenever a new episode comes out. Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

Mark and Cory begin their two-part series on the classic TV series State of Play by discussing episode one. It begins with Mark recoiling in horror at the low score Cory intends to give it, almost causing an irreparable rift in Political Fictions Towers. Thankfully, they manage to repair the relationship by talking about what the show tells us about politics in the early 2000s, praise the excellent cast (especially those who are able to stand awkwardly in the background very effectively) and undertake some seriously impressive letterbox-based investigative work. You can view more about State of Play, including details of where it's currently streaming, here. Next week, we'll be returning to talk about the rest of the series. Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters.

Mark and Cory discuss The Lives of Others, a modern classic about Stasi surveillance in 1980s East Germany. They start off talking about how to cope with a terrible dictatorship and how the film is about the power of art. However, they quickly get sidetracked with some suspicious behaviour of the Stasi officers including keeping bottles of tomato sauce in the sink and drawing floorplans of flats a little too quickly. (A note of caution: this episode does contain discussion of themes including suicide and sexual assault where this is relevant to the film's plot.) Anna Funder's article on the film which Cory references can be found here, and the more academic article on suicide can be found here. Timothy Garton Ash's The File is highly praised by both Cory and Mark in the episode, whilst you can also buy tickets for the play here.

Mark and Cory talk about a giant of American political drama for the first time this week, as they tackle The West Wing. They talk about Let Bartlet Be Bartlet, the nineteenth episode of series one. In it, Mark wonders if The West Wing is actually the epitome of the "Boris Johnson school of politics", Cory outmanoeuvres Mark into confirming we will record a Christmas Special about Love, Actually and they debate whether the central message of this episode has been misunderstood. Next time, we're discussing The Lives of Others. Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters. Subscribe to our newsletter for some additional bonus content and to get alerted whenever a new episode comes out. Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod/incompetech.com and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

Mark and Cory talk about Armando Iannucci's 2017 black comedy The Death of Stalin. You can watch the film for its exploration of the nature of evil, think about whether the license that is taken with the truth is completely appropriate, or just wait for the amazing memes to appear on screen. The Guardian article on the film's accuracy which Cory mentions can be found here, whilst the academic critique that Mark was looking forward to reading so he could disagree with it can be found here. After last week's emergency episode on The Absence of War, we're returning to fortnightly episodes. In two weeks' time we are talking about The West Wing episode "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet", which is the 19th episode of series one. Cory’s email newsletter is Paperback Rioter and Mark has a family of email newsletters. Subscribe to our newsletter for some additional bonus content and to get alerted whenever a new episode comes out. Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).