The cover star of this year’s XCity magazine is satirist, editor and TV star Ian Hislop. Hislop became editor of Private Eye in 1986 aged 25 – when the magazine was printed in black and white, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and today’s party leaders were at school or university. Still firmly ensconced in the editor’s chair, he has recently celebrated the Eye’s 50th birthday, and has seen its circulation hit a 25-year high.

In this exclusive audio slideshow featuring some of XCity’s favourite Private Eye covers, Hislop reflects on how politicians – and those who lampoon them – have changed over his career. He reveals how he used to cancel readers’ subscriptions, why the economic crisis maybe helping his sales, and why Tony Blair is like an American televangelist.

To read the full five-page interview with Ian Hislop, pick up a copy of XCity magazine – out this week.

Photos courtesy of The Guardian. Private Eye covers used with kind permission of Ian Hislop.