Show overview
Alas Vine & Hitchens launched in 2025 and has put out 65 episodes, alongside 1 trailer or bonus episode in the time since. That works out to roughly 45 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence, with the show now in its 2nd season.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 35 min and 43 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language News show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 days ago, with 19 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 46 episodes published. Published by Daily Mail.
From the publisher
What's the Big Idea? Finally, Sarah Vine (once memorably described as being ‘like and loathed in equal measure, divisive, but never indecisive’) and Peter Hitchens (a man whose writing a critic was called to compare to a Guardsman’s boot: ‘as highly polished and potentially lethal’) meet once a week to look at the world and mutter, alas… Acclaimed columnist and journalist Sarah Vine and best-selling author and broadcaster Peter Hitchens discuss and dissect social, economic, and pop cultural flotsam and jetsam that have risen out of the dark waters of that week’s news. Taking one big idea each episode and pulling it apart with élan, imagine Vine and Hitchens respective columns brought to life and then skewered, scoffed at, debated, and given the full weight of Vine and Hitchens impenetrable gaze. Though an accord might not always be reached, it’s the journey that matters. Whether it’s the tech bros gone rogue – Meta tearing up its own rule book on fact checking, Musk attempting to influence governmental policy, or the knotty subject on society’s ever-increasing reliance on anti-depressants to treat what might just be the modern malaise and not depression at all. Or, evil, nature or nurture? Does evil actually exist or is it an idea that hangs over us, or do we just sometime embody it and the actions themselves are evil, not the individual? All this and more are to be pored over, one towering topic each week discussed with humour, insight, and real understanding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest Episodes
View all 65 episodesVoting for Beginners and the End of the PM
2000 Days of Lucy Letby and the Badenoch Bounce
The Recurring Assassin and Falkland Sovereignty
Risible Renters’ Act and Disguised Privilege
The Madness of King Donald
S1 Ep 59Driverless Cars and Unused Trains
On this week’s episode, Sarah’s wondering if it really is a good idea to introduce driverless cars to London’s streets, and sticking with transport, Peter would like to know why a new 40-mile train line, and brand spanking new station, are yet to see one single passenger train.And the pair pore over our latest mailbag to talk about Crispin Blunt’s assertion that he should have been acquitted over his use of controlled substances as charges for drugs should not exist at all. The best Adam Curtis' documentaries to watch and which four people from history that Peter would like to sit in total silence with.On our reading and watch list this week: · Trauma Zone - Dir: Adam Curtis· Station: A journey through 20th and 21st century railway architecture and design – Christopher Beanland · Autonomy: The Quest to Build the Driverless Car—And How it Will Reshape Our World - Lawrence D. Burns & Christopher ShulganPlease do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 58The King’s State Visit and Visibility Day
On this week’s episode, Peter will be asking why the King and Queen have decided to go visit Donald Trump at the White House after his series of insults aimed at our country. And Sarah is asking do we really need a visibility day? And why are there so many of them?And the pair pore over our latest mailbag to talk about the role of Christianity and why this modern version might be waning. The allure of ghost stories, the less appealing driverless cars, and the state of modern Italian TV. Bellissimo!On our reading and watch list this week: · Ghost Stories of an Antiquary – M.R. James· The Great God Pan – Arthur Machen· Gomorrah - Dir: Matteo Garrone· The Wizard of The Kremlin - Giuliano da EmpoliPlease do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 57Burning Down of the BBC and Illegal Assassins
On this week’s episode, Peter would like to know why we suddenly think it’s okay to assassinate people again and Sarah is asking why would anyone want to clasp the poisoned chalice that is DG of the BBC? And the pair pore over our latest mailbag to talk about the unblinking horror of war, the justice system and Lucy Letby and dead guests at dinner parties (don’t hold your breath waiting on an invitation from Peter, no-one’s getting in his house).On our reading and watch list this week: · A Variety of Lives: Biography of Sir Hugh Greene - Michael Tracey· Rogue Male - Geoffrey Household· Black Lamb and Grey Falcon - Rebecca West· Orderly and Humane: The Expulsion of the Germans After the Second World War – R.M. Douglas · A Woman In Berlin – Marta HillersPlease do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 56British Bombs and Student Bodies
On this week’s episode, Peter’s getting behind Ed Davey’s call for an independent British nuclear bomb. And Sarah wants to know why some university students don’t want to share accommodation with their Jewish counterparts. And the pair pore over our latest mailbag to talk foreign plug sockets – electricity may or may not be green in communist countries, it’s not an exact science – the scourge of sourdough and the demise of the classic loaf, acts of faith and Peter’s quickfire quiz! On our reading and watch list this week: · The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri· Zoolander – Dir: Ben Stiller· The Power Game: How Washington Works – Hedrik Smith· The Epistle of JamesPlease do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 55Labour’s Thought Police and the Case for Capital Punishment
On this week’s episode, Sarah wonders if Labour’s plans to change the definition of Islamophobia is actually a threat to free speech? And, in light of Ian Huntley’s death, Peter would like to ask whether the death penalty might be better than unofficial execution by another criminal? And the pair pore over our mailbag to mull over the case for paying MPs more (there’s no accord there), who’s to blame for The Irish Potato Famine? Who would call a military operation 'Epic fury'? And we return to the perennial subject of Peter’s borrowed leather biker jacket.On our reading and watch list this week: · Beyond Evil - Inside the Twisted Mind of Ian Huntley – Nathan Yates· Motorcycle Jackets: A Century of Leather Design – Rin Tanaka· Escape From New York – Dir: John CarpenterPlease do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 54Terror in Tehran: The End of an Era
On this week’s episode, Sarah, and Peter clash over what the future of Iran should be after the extraordinary aerial assault by the US and Israel has plunged the territory in to war. And, on a much lighter note, the pair discuss tribal loyalties in contemporary politics, what do we think of our Australian countries and in motorcycle news (we have some!), why the cost of a motorbike might be boosting the popularity of the e-bike and why Peter should invest in a Honda Valkyrie when he reaches eighty and gets back on a bike.On our reading and watch list this week: · A Hymn to Life: The Secret War with Iran: The 30-year Covert Struggle for Control of a Rogue State Paperback – Ronen Bergman· Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House - Michael Wolff· Easy Rider – Dir: Dennis Hopper Please do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 53Gisele Pelicot and Performative Policing
On this week’s episode, Sarah is asking if the horrendous case of Gisele Pelicot is more than just an isolated incident and Peter wants to know why our boys in blue have settled on performative policing. Plus, why has it taken Sarah over a year to realise she’s been wearing her contact lenses in the wrong eyes? The parlous state of children’s fiction in the modern age and why Peter will be getting a motorbike (and leather biker jacket) as soon as he reaches eighty. On our reading and watch list this week: · A Hymn to Life: Shame Has To Change Sides - Gisele Pelicot· Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell· The Bonfire Of The Vanities – Tom Wolfe· Never Trust Dragons – Sheila K. McCullagh Please do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular To get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 52End E-Bikes and Anti-Vaxxers
On this week’s episode, Peter will be asking when new legislation to curb the plague of e-bikes on our streets will finally come into effect. And Sarah wants to know why parents are opting NOT to vaccinate their children against measles. Plus, how being bullied in school can change you for ever. Football and flag flying, something neither of our presenters can really get behind. The right to bear arms in the UK, or maybe not. And the joys of driving a steam train, sadly, this is not yet Peter’s story.On our reading and watch list this week: · Heathers – Dir: Michael Lehmann· The Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle· A Brief History Of Crime - Peter Hitchens· Clueless – Dir: Amy Heckerling Please do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular To get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 51The UK’s Risible Reading Age and Bloody Books
On this week’s episode, Sarah is asking is the English literature curriculum really being dumbed down or are we simply not reading as a country anymore or simply shifting our allegiance to audiobooks? And Peter, as if to prove otherwise, will be bandying a copy of Lord of the Flies around and poring over the latest BBC adaptation. Plus, why was Stephen Fry stalking Peter at a memorial for his late brother? Why we should eat even if the Queen has done with her meal, royal protocol be damned! Why neither wants a coat of arms, divorce etiquette and why the Suez Crisis reminds Peter of his father getting on his bike.On our reading and watch list this week: · The Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster· Lord Of The Flies – William Golding· A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess· The Box Of Delights - John Masefield· Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene· Heart Of Darkness – Joseph ConradPlease do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 50Ducking KGB Bullets and Inside the Epstein Files
On this week’s episode Peter will be going back 35 years to a moment in time where he stood and watched the KGB murdering people in Vilnius. And I’ll be asking why did Sarah Ferguson take her children to see Jeffrey Epstein just days after he was released from prison? Plus, we find out the truth about magnetised train tracks (all lies!), why both 1976 and 1979 are vying for the best of all possible years for two of our listeners, the rise of the extreme right wing and the night the Queen wore rhinestone. On our reading and watch list this week: · Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh · Eyeless in Gaza – Aldous Huxley· Hamlet – William Shakespeare· Short Breaks In Mordor – Peter Hitchens Please do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 49Pitiful Policing and Ballroom Beckham
On this week’s episode, Sarah is asking what can Brooklyn Beckham possibly mean when he accuses his mother of dancing ‘on him’ at his wedding? Both Sarah and Peter have a few wedding horror stories of their own to share too. Also, Peter wants to know if proposed mega police forces will just mean more constabulary cockups? His guess is yes.Plus, what do the pair make of the new ‘super’ Chinese Embassy in London? Was Peter really in a secret MI5 file? Annoying train announcements and remembering Tony Benn.On our reading and watch list this week: · A Small Town In Germany – John Le Carre· Tony Benn: A Biography - Jad Adams· The House of Beckham: Money, Sex and Power - Tom Bower Please do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Alex GrahamProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular To get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 48Team America and Ten Years After
On this week’s episode, Peter and Sarah are asking what were you doing ten years and why is social media suddenly transfixed by 2016? And why has America decided to turn into the world’s bully? Plus, why is Australia’s economy at such a low ebb? What the hell’s happened to civility? Why does Sarah’s fridge keep shouting at her? And when it comes to transporting coal, what’s better, the canal barge or railway track? You can guess which side Peter landed on…On our reading and watch list this week: · North By Northwest – Dir: Alfred Hitchcock· Going South: Why Britain will have a Third World Economy by 2014 – L. Elliott & D. Atkinson· Brothel In Pimlico – Roy Brooks Please do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Alex GrahamProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 47Kissing Cousins and an Iranian Uprising
On this week’s episode, Peter and Sarah Welcome are asking why is Sir Kier Starmer choosing not to condemn marriage between first cousins in some cultures? And what it might take for the Iranian people to be heard as civil unrest and revolution spread throughout the country? Plus, why America is ruining the English language, the idea that Russia is a military world power is complete piffle, Trump’s Golden Fleet, Heated Rivalry (no, really) and the food that neither Peter or Sarah will eat. On our reading and watch list this week: · Rules For Radicals – Saul Alinsky· The White Cliffs - Alice Duer Miller· Dictionary Of Modern American Usage – Bryan A. GarnerPlease do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Alex GrahamProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular To get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 46Why Are We Firing Up the UK’s War Machine?
On this week’s episode, Peter and Sarah look to the year ahead, as Peter wonders why this nation’s leaders and heads of the armed forces are rattling their sabres as they attempt to put the country on a war footing. Plus, our duo on Conservatism (just what is it?) Christianity, the legacy of John Smith MP, the superiority of Japanese trains - any trains in comparison to our dilapidated ted rail network, and Custard Creams; all the colours of the rainbow.On our reading and watch list this week: · The Phoney Victory – Peter Hitchens· Winnie -The-Pooh – A. A. Milne· John Smith: Life and Soul of the Party - Gordon Brown & James Naughtie· Tokyo Express - Seicho Matsumoto Please do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously PopularTo get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 Ep 45An American Powerplay and the Freedom of the Press
On this week’s episode, Peter is poring over the latest US national security strategy and being rather surprised by what he finds there. While Sarah is looking at why some people are calling for a resumption of the cancelled Lord Leveson Inquiry and therefore suggesting we blinker the free press. Plus, our duo on the Arkansas Razorbacks (again), the legacy of Roy Jenkins, what happened to independent newspapers in Kazakhstan and what it feels like to move your family across the Atlantic Ocean.On our reading and watch list this week: · Dangerous estate: The anatomy of newspapers – Francis Williams· Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life - John Campbell· The Godfather-in-law: the Real Documentation – Rakhat Aliyev Please do get in touch, email: [email protected] 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 HitchensProducer: Philip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular To get in touch email [email protected], 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 HitchensProducer: Phillip WildingEditor: Chelsey MooreProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive Producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.