Rory Stewart on Politics, Ambition, and Making a Difference

Rory Stewart may be the most interesting person you’ve never heard of. He’s an adventurer, writer, politician, and non-profit leader. He walked across Afghanistan - alone - in the months after 9/11 and wrote a book about the experience that the New York Times called a “flat-out masterpiece”; he served as a deputy governor in Iraq, held a chair at Harvard, and was elected to British Parliament. Now he’s out with a new memoir called “How Not to Be a Politician.” It’s a funny, candid, and somewhat shocking chronicle of the decade he spent in office. It’s also a book about why our political system feels so broken and what we can do to repair it.
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“How Not to Be a Politician” is available on Amazon: amzn.to/45eeAKt
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:56 🌍 Rory Stewart's adventurous journey across post-9/11 Afghanistan.
01:19 📚 Stewart's roles in Iraq and his nonprofit work in Afghanistan.
02:15 🇬🇧 Stewart's surprising conservative political run.
03:05 🔀 Shift in politics from centrism to populism.
03:32 🤔 Exploring the cynicism and potential for change in politics.
46:11 🌐 Embrace centrism, avoid polarization, and respect citizens.
47:06 🧐 Address past mistakes, inequalities, and develop local policies.
47:59 😇 Rediscover morality and ethics to counter populism.
48:28 😄 Inject humor into centrist politics to connect with people.
51:45 💰 GiveDirectly's success in providing unconditional cash transfers to the extreme poor.
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[@rossm2102]

Rory Stewart is the person we need in politics but absolutely not the politician wee deserve given how stupid we've corrupted the system.

[@juliasalmon5858]

I really do understand Rory's explanation as to why he doesn't want to go back into politics, for the sake of his own wellbeing.
But there's a sizeable portion of the UK population wishes he could and would. If only there was a new Liberal party. The existing party systems are appalling and dysfunctional.

[@Bailiol]

Great interview, but what is with the weird music that comes in half way though? Very distracting.

[@NextBigIdeaClub]

Thanks for your feedback. We appreciate you watching the interview and taking the time to share your thoughts.

[@alexrees7652]

I agree, it really ruined the flow of the interview (great interview on the whole though!)

[@juliehannam5226]

Its me Im not stalking you Rory promise you just my technology being out of my control and God making sure I share you

[@NextBigIdeaClub]

Thank you so much for your support! We appreciate you sharing our content.