Rory Stewart Episode - Shamefully negative
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“I looked forward so much to hearing this broadcast – as I have enjoyed Gyles Brandreth in his podcast with Susie Dent and also very much admire Rory Stewart. The premise of the podcast was intriguing and potentially very interesting.
However, I very soon began to feel uncomfortable with the nature of Mr Brandreth’s questioning. It became increasingly unpleasant and I felt very unnecessarily negative in a totally unwarranted way. Asking Mr Stewart when he first realized he was not liked? This question sounded as though it was some sort of universal conclusion - that he is disliked! Whereas in fact, judging by the popularity of his podcast, the sell-out events throughout the country, and the opinion of the most well-respected politicians and international figures, to say nothing of his extraordinary work in Afghanistan and the Middle East– he is hugely applauded and revered as one of the most honest, conscientious and thoughtful men to have been in politics and the public domain for many years.
The questioning went on in this cruelly negative way – what has been your biggest failure? Why did you fail? I may have got the exact wording wrong, but I really cannot bear to listen to it again to be sure. But I can assure you – that by the end of this podcast I felt I had listened to a planned systematic squashing down by one man to another.
He asked very personal questions about his image, the death of his father etc. – all of which would have been fine if it had had the sense of being asked in a genuinely interested and sensitive way – but what emerged instead was a sense that Mr. Brandreth wanted to grind
Mr. Stewart down, push and ridicule him. Perhaps Mr. Brandreth is jealous? Has a sense of inferiority? Certainly Mr. Stewarts well-placed refusal of not talking about his personal experience with the two young Princes should be a lesson in proper diplomacy to the often unattractively name-dropping, social-climbing Mr. Brandreth.
In spite of all that, the fact that Mr. Stewart answered every question with thoughtfulness, dignity, grace and honesty only amplified the difference of their natures.
If Mr. Stewart reads this, I am sure he has weathered worse confrontations – in fact, in reading his excellent book, Politics On the Edge - he has most definitely faced a great deal of toxic negativity and met it with humour, philosophical equanimity and courage. (Which brings me to also comment on the fact that at the time of the interview with Mr. Brandreth, the latter had not yet read the book. This is quite a shortsighted and rather insulting fact in itself – given the podcast was to delve into such personal questions)
I had been looking forward to listening to further episodes of the podcast., but now I am not sure I really want to. I am tempted to listen to maybe one more to just see if this negative-chasing attitude was a one-off – or if it is going to be a pattern. I am guessing that Mr. Brandreth would not dare to question Dame Judy Dench in the same way.”
melifair33 via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
09/24/23
More reviews of Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth
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“I look forward to this podcast every week! Sometimes I find myself laughing along, sometimes choking back tears. I particularly enjoyed Gyles’ stifling laughter during the Merlin Holland episode😂🥹😂”
RoryKiwi via Apple Podcasts ·
New Zealand ·
04/21/24
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“Have loved each and every one of these pods. Giles manages to balance his listening with appropriate self disclosure. Keep them coming please!”
profch via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
09/22/23
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“Giles has such an engaging yet gentle manner which brings out the best in his guest. Judi Dench was the perfect choice snd now i cannot wait for the next episode.”
Are yoga via Apple Podcasts ·
Great Britain ·
09/06/23
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