The man who could be Britain’s next prime minister remains a mystery to many. What drives Keir Starmer? Where does that combination of bland amiability and ruthlessness towards the Left come from? And can he prove that competence matters more than charisma?

Michael Crick talks to two people who knew Starmer well – Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy and barrister Prof Bill Bowring – to delve into his past in the legal profession. What makes Keir Starmer tick?

• “He’s had to resurrect from the grave a party that was annihilated… Of course people are going to be unhappy with how he’s done it.” – Helena Kennedy
• “He was always ambitious… If you’d told him in 1987 that he’d become a KC, former DPP, leader of the Labour Party and a potential Prime Ministers, he wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.” – Bill Bowring
• “He’s someone who’ll know what’s going on in every department… He’s a details man.” – Helena Kennedy

Written and presented by Michael Crick. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production

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“Rich, powerful, ruthless…” Once named Britain’s richest man, billionaire Jim Ratcliffe built his chemical empire Ineos from nothing into a £65bn business. He’s aggressively pro-Brexit and pro-fracking, he humiliated the Unite union in the Grangemouth industrial dispute… and now he wants to buy Manchester United. What drove the lad from a Failsworth council estate to become so powerful? How did he turn Ineos into a giant? And what can Man United expect from him if his bid is successful?

Michael Crick talks to some people who know the tycoon’s methods well: former Scottish First Minister Sir Alex Salmond, Labour’s former leader in Scotland Richard Leonard MSP, and former Dean of the London Business School Prof Sir Andrew Likierman, who taught Ratcliffe.

• “The INEOS site represents 10% of Scotland’s GDP in one man’s hands – and that man’s a tax exile in the South of France with his HQ in Switzerland.” – Richard Leonard
• “This was clearly somebody who was ambitious and capable and who was going to get on… We just didn’t realise just how capable he was.” – Andrew Likierman
• “I found Jim quite a straightforward ruthless capitalist… You mustn’t expect him not to be hard-nosed – but my feelings towards him are quite positive.” – Alex Salmond
• “For Manchester United fans, I’m not sure whether Jim Ratcliffe is the Devil or the deep blue sea.” – Richard Leonard

Written and presented by Michael Crick. Produced by Neil Fearn. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production.

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Once a Trump loyalist, Florida’s combative governor Ron DeSantis is now favourite to take the Republican Presidential nomination from his former patron. Running on an explosive cocktail of culture war issues and hardline governance, he could become the first Florida-born President. But what does DeSantis want? Could he defeat Trump and then Biden? And would a President DeSantis abandon Ukraine?

Michael Crick talks to Peter Feaman, a Republican lawyer who represents Florida on the RNC; Professor Michael Binder of the University of North Florida; and Ryan Wiggins of the anti-MAGA Republican group The Lincoln Project about what make DeSantis run – and how far he could go.

• “De Santis is Trump on steroids… He’s not the brightest ball in the box but his wife is driving this train – and she’s very good at it.” – Ryan Wiggins
• “If you want to be the man, sometimes you’ve got to beat The Man.” – Michael Binder
• “He’s refusing to denounce antisemitism, encouraging white supremacists, taking rights away from people of colour and LGBTQ… I don’t think it’s a stretch to call it fascism.” – Ryan Wiggins
• “DeSantis is Donald Trump 2.0. He has the same aggression and fighting spirit but a little less rough round the edges.” – Peter Feaman

Written and presented by Michael Crick. Produced by Neil Fearn. Additional research by Mathilda Walters. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production.

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A rising star among young Tories, Kemi Badenoch has made a name on the Tory Right as an aggressive culture warrior by stoking controversy on race and trans rights. But she’s a mystery too, an ambitious player with powerful sponsors. How did Badenoch’s Nigerian childhood, her time in banking, and her early days in the Tory Party shape her? And where is Kemi Badenoch going next?

Michael Crick talks to Tory insiders – peers Stephen Greenhalgh and Tony Sewell and backbencher Danny Kruger – about the irresistible rise of a woman who relishes a fight.

Written and presented by Michael Crick. Produced by Neil Fearn. Additional research by Mathilda Walters. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production.

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Michael Crick profiles the people who shape our world. This time: Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has unmasked him as a paranoid autocrat and a probable war criminal. But for much of his career the Russian leader was an unreadable mystery. The West thought it could manipulate this former KGB/FSB officer… yet he ended up manipulating them. What made Putin so effective? And where will his brutal adventures end?

Michael Crick looks at the making of a tyrant with former NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson, former British ambassador to Russia Laurie Bristow and intelligence expert Mark Galeotti.

• “Russia is not going to stand in a queue with a bunch of other countries that don’t matter.” – George Robertson
• “Once Putin is in the top job, he very quickly makes it clear that he’s not planning on being anyone's factotum.” – Mark Galeotti
• “There isn’t a great deal of mystery about what Mr Putin thinks about Russia and the world. There’s quite often a lot of doubt about what he'll actually do.” – Laurie Bristow
• “Putin doesn’t want to kill you unless you force him to.” – Mark Galeotti

Written and presented by Michael Crick. Produced by Neil Fearn. Additional research by Mathilda Walters. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production.

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Michael Crick profiles the people who shape our world. This time: Charismatic, relentless and sometimes eccentric, manager Jürgen Klopp transformed Liverpool FC’s fortunes, bringing the club its first title in 30 years and restoring it reputation. But the team has stumbled badly this season. Can Klopp turn it around?

Michael Crick explores the mind and motivation of one of football’s greatest managers with journalists James Pearce and Raphael Honigstein, and former Liverpool chief executives Peter Moore and Ian Ayre.

• “Every great winner is a bad loser” – James Pearce
• “He doesn’t live behind the walls of a fortress. You can see him in the local pub and walking his dog on the beach.” – Peter Moore
• "I wouldn’t expect him to walk away from a challenge. I think he’s probably at his best when things aren’t perfect.” – Ian Ayre

Mugshots was written and produced by Michael Crick and Jet Gerbertson. Additional research by Mathilda Walters. Audio production by Robin Leeburn and Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor for Podmasters is Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production.

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Michael Crick profiles the people who shape our world. This time: Angela Rayner overcame horrendous poverty to become Labour’s Deputy Leader and now a potential future Prime Minister. Pregnant and thrown out of the family home at 16, she nevertheless fought her way to the Labour’s commanding heights. What built Angela Rayner’s formidable personality? And what does she want? Michael Crick speaks to friends and colleagues from her early days up to her Shadow Cabinet years to uncover a remarkable story of tenacity against the odds.

• “Angela’s parents gave her no hugs, kisses or love… the family couldn’t even afford hot water.” – Michael Crick

• “When her childhood friends went home for dinner, she’d be sitting outside on her own… because there was no dinner.” – Elise Wilson

• “She had no legal training yet she was handling two or three union cases a day. A lawyer would struggle to do that.” – Andy Verdeille

• “When Rayner entered Parliament in 2014, the woman from a chaotic home thrived in a chaotic Party.” – Michael Crick

• “A lot of people underestimate her out of sexism, class prejudice and her relative youth.” – Andrew Fisher

• “I personally would not want to make an enemy of Angela Rayner.” – Geri Scott

Angela Rayner ‘Scum’ audio, Labour Party Conference, The Mirror, September 2021

Mugshots was written and produced by Michael Crick and Jet Gerbertson. Additional research by Mathilda Walters. Audio production by Robin Leeburn and Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor for Podmasters is Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production.

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In-depth profiles from award-winning journalist Michael Crick, formerly of Newsnight, Panorama and Channel 4. In our first edition: Few newspaper editors wield as much power as the Daily Mail’s Paul Dacre. Feared and courted by politicians, he has imposed his singular vision of Britain on successive governments – while sometimes stretching the law in pursuit of justice. What makes Dacre tick? What does he want? And how might this epic career end?

WARNING: Contains explicit language.

• “The problem for the political classes is that the Mail is better at what it does than they are at what they do.” — David Yelland
• “Tony Blair once said that the problem with Britain is, everyone’s a bit Daily Mail before they’ve had their breakfast.” — Adrian Addison
• “The Daily Mail frightens people, in politics, sport, entertainment and business. They don’t want to get on the wrong side of Paul Dacre.” — David Yelland

Mugshots was written and produced by Michael Crick and Jet Gerbertson. Additional research by Mathilda Waters. Audio production by Robin Leeburn and Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor for Podmasters is Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production.

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How much do we really know about the people who make the headlines? In a provocative new podcast series, the acclaimed BBC, C4 and Newsnight journalist Michael Crick delves into the backgrounds of major figures ranging from Paul Dacre to Angela Rayner to Gary Neville. He talks to the people who know them best to find out what shaped them, what they believe… and what they really want.

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