“The world is a casino”: polling, politics & Palantir w/ Galen Druke
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What is the controversy surrounding Tom Watson’s move to Palantir and its implications for UK politics?
Welcome to EurooppaMarkkinat.fi. Hotel Mats in Espoo is more than a hotel. Here you are like at home. From a compact studio to a room with your own kitchen, barbeque and even sauna. So you were on your way to work, a longer stay or a mini holiday. Here you are like at home, with hotel services. Hotel Mats in Espoo's Matinkylä is timelessly stylish. Always modern.
Hi, I'm Nick Eshukla. I'm an author and screenwriter and host of The Good Immigrant podcast. Back in 2016, I edited a collection of essays called, you guessed it, The Good Immigrant. It brought together stories of what it meant to be an immigrant at that time. To celebrate 10 years since its publication, I'm speaking to some of the contributors about everything that has happened since then. People like Nish Kumar.
Marcus Rashford wearing the St George's cross is a palpably different thing from it being daubed on a wall of a migrant hotel.
Coco Kahn.
You're a creative of colour. You must always be propagandising or manifesto-ing at any given moment when that's not real.
And many, many more. The Good Immigrant podcast is out every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi, this is Pod Save the UK. I'm Coco Kahn.
And I'm Nish Kumar.
The revolving door of politics still spins as former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson skips off to join Palantir, everyone's favourite US spy tech firm.
Very cool. And let's make 2026, 2016 again, the year of Boaty McBoatface, Pokemon Go, the mannequin challenge and the release of the Good Immigrant essay collection. Ten years on in a post-Brexit, post-COVID world. We'll take a look back at what's changed.
Plus, 100% of Pod Save the UK hosts are wondering about the role of the poll in today's political landscape. So, as we mentioned in the intro, the revolving door between British politics and big tech shows no sign of stopping, with Tom Watson the latest to pass through.
You might remember the former Cabinet Minister and Labour Party Deputy from the Jeremy Corbyn days, keeping with the theme that this episode is in 2016. But since stepping down from Parliament and being admitted to the House of Lords, garnering the title Baron Watson of the Wire Forest, he's now just landed a job as Senior Vice President of Palantir.
So Palantir, this is the company that's helped ICE hunt down immigrants in the US, that's been accused by the United Nations of profiting from genocide in Gaza, and has increasingly been playing a worrying role in the UK's critical infrastructure, from the NHS to the Ministry of Defence, and even managing British nuclear weapons agencies.
The company is, as so many of these companies are, reassuringly named after something evil from science fiction or fantasy. So Palantir is actually an evil, all-seeing magic stone from the Lord of the Rings. It's also been hoovering up dozens of experienced public officials in Britain, according to recent investigations.
But what could Palantir possibly want with Watson? He's not just a top bloke. His contact book might be something to do with it. So Andy Burnham's government is facing pressure to axe Palantir's £330 million contract. That's with the NHS. not unreasonable to suggest it might have something to do with that.
Look, let's talk about who heads up Palantir because it's important to understand that this is not just any other tech company. It's one with a very clear political identity and it's increasingly gaining more influence within the British state and the British infrastructure. So Tom Watson in the UK is actually going to be working alongside Louis Moseley, who's the senior executive VP of Palantir. for the UK and Europe. And if that name sounds familiar, it's because he is the grandson of Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists from the 1930s. He has over political affiliations. Okay, I understand people might listen to this and think I wouldn't want to be judged by the things that my grandfather did.
He in of himself has very, very specific and open political affiliations. So last year, he appeared at the right wing Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference, where he joined speakers, including Nigel Farage, Jordan Peterson, and the funder of the forum and GB News co-owner, Paul Marshall.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the controversy surrounding Tom Watson’s move to Palantir and its implications for UK politics?
0:00–11:30
2
How does the revolving‑door between government and big‑tech affect lobbying and public policy?
11:30–21:33
3
Why are polls still relevant and what can we learn from the latest UK polling data?
21:33–33:51
4
What are the main methodological challenges in modern polling and how do pollsters address them?
33:51–45:21
5
How might AI change the polling industry and the reliability of public opinion data?
45:21–56:35
6
What do recent European election polls reveal about the rise of far‑right parties?
56:35–1:08:30
7
Why was *The Good Immigrant* created and how has its impact evolved over the past decade?
1:08:30–1:21:16
8
What are the hosts’ hopes for the future of activism, community building, and the podcast itself?
1:21:16–1:33:18
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Pod Save the UK
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