Best of the Spectator

Romy Gill is a British-Indian chef, food-writer and broadcaster who was awarded an MBE in 2016 for her services to hospitality. She is the author of three cookbooks including her newest, Romy Gill's India , which will be published on 12th September.  On the podcast, she tells Liv and Lara about the joys of long train journeys across India, the state of Indian cuisine in the UK and how you can make...

This week: Gus Carter reports from Rotherham (01:10), Paul Wood asks whether anything can stop full-scale conflict in the Middle East (05:55), Jonathan Aitken takes us inside Nixon's resignation melodrama (16:55), Laura Gascoigne reviews Revealing Nature: The Art of Cedric Morris and Lett-Haines (26:08), and Flora Watkins reads her notes on ragwort (31:24).  Produced and presented by Oscar Edmonds...

This week: The Spectator ’s Gus Carter was in Rotherham and Birmingham in the days after the riots. Locals tell Gus that ‘violent disorder isn’t acceptable but people from down south don’t know what it’s like up here’. A retired policeman in Birmingham adds that ‘it’s just yobs looking for an excuse – and yobbos come in all sorts of colours’. You can hear Gus’ report on the podcast. (02:25) Next:...

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Nathan Thrall, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book A Day In The Life of Abed Salama – which uses the story of a terrible bus crash in the West Bank to describe in ground-up detail the day-to-day lives of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Speaking to me from Jerusalem, Nathan tells me why he believes it's right to call Israel an 'aparth...

The Chinese middle class can now be very discerning about the food that they eat, and who can blame them? In the last twenty years, there seems to have been a steady stream of food safety and hygiene scandals – most infamously melamine-laced milk powder in 2008, which poisoned tens of thousands of babies. Since then, we’ve heard about pesticides being put into steamed buns to improve their texture...

In the short time since Joe Biden has stepped aside for Kamala Harris's candidacy, the Democratic party has totally switched on the gears for 'Kamalamania'. On this episode, Freddy Gray talks to Kate Andrews about the disingenuousness of the hype, how social media drives it (and in particular, TikTok), and whether the enthusiasm for Kamala really has or will cut through to voters. Produced by Nata...

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud : James Heale interviews Woody Johnson, the former American Ambassador to the UK, about a possible second Trump term (1:19); Lara Prendergast reflects on the issue of smartphones for children and what lessons we could learn from Keir Starmer’s approach to privacy (6:35); reviewing Patrick Bishop’s book ‘Paris ’44: The Shame and the Glory’, Patrick Marnham argues t...

Women with Balls will be back in the Autumn with a new series. Until then, here's an episode from the archives, with the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves.  On the podcast, she talks to Katy about being a teen chess champion, going to a school where her mum worked and what Labour needed to do to turn its losing streak. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Keir Starmer’s plan to soften Brexit Katy Balls writes this week’s cover piece on Labour’s plans to establish close ties with the EU. Every member of Starmer’s cabinet voted Remain, and the government is trying to ‘reset EU relations through a charm offensive’. Brussels figures are hopeful: ‘There was no real goodwill for the Conservative government.’ There are tests coming: the first d...

My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is the writer and comedian David Baddiel, talking about his new book My Family: the Memoir . He talks about childhood trauma, what made him a comedian, and how describing in minute detail his mother’s decades long affair with a slightly crooked golfing memorabilia salesman is an act not of betrayal but of loving recuperation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

Fred Smith is Head of Beef at Flat Iron. Having trained at several of London's top restaurants, he later became Head of Food at Byron. He then joined the Flat Iron series of restaurants in 2017.  On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about how his love of steak developed, how he got into cooking, and what his comfort food is. His passion for the world-famous Angus breed is evident, but why is Brit...

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud : Damian Thompson argues that Papal succession plotting is a case of life mirroring art (1:26); Paola Romero reports on Venezuela’s mix of Evita and Thatcher, Maria Corina Machado, and her chances of bringing down Nicolas Maduro (11:39); reviewing Richard Overy’s book ‘Why war?’, Stuart Jeffries reflects that war has as long a future as it has a past (17:38); Ysen...

Freddy Gray is joined by political consultant Alex Castellanos to discuss the candidacy of Kamala Harris as the Democrats' nominee for President and why, at this moment, she is the biggest threat to Donald Trump – but how long will that last? This was originally recorded for Spectator TV .  Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Kamala takes charge. Our cover piece discusses the rise of Kamala Harris, who has only one man standing in her way to the most powerful position in the world. Her's is certainly an unexpected ascent, given Harris’ generally poor public-speaking performances and mixed bag of radical left and right-wing politics. Does she really have what it takes to defeat Trump? Kate Andrews, author of...

Sam Leith's guest on this week's Book Club is the writer and film director Neil Jordan, who joins the podcast to discuss his new book Amnesiac: A Memoir. He talks, among other things, about writing for the page and the screen, the uses of myth, putting words into the mouths of historical figures, seeing ghosts in aeroplanes, being ripped off by Harvey Weinstein, and failing to persuade Marlon Bran...

‘Swifties’, as Taylor Swift’s fans are known across the world, are extremely dedicated to the cause, and often estimated to drive up local economies wherever they flock, and Chinese fans are no different. Swift didn’t perform in China on the latest global tour, but that didn’t stop more wealthy fans flying to Singapore to see her; or the less wealthy, going to cinemas in China to watch the Taylor...

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud : Kate Andrews argues vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance is more MAGA than Trump (1:27); Adam Frank explains how super-earths could help us understand what life might look like on another planet (5:15); David Hempleman-Adams recounts his attempt to cross the Atlantic on a hydrogen ballon (14:31); from Ukraine, Svitlana Morenets reports on the battle to save Khar...

In this week's Holy Smoke episode Damian Thompson welcomes back Eduard Habsburg, Hungary's Ambassador to the Holy See and also, to give him his family title, Archduke Eduard of Austria. Last year he published The Habsburg Way: 7 Rules for Turbulent Times , which offered advice on how to live a good life based on the panoramic history of his dynasty.  One reason it was such a success is that Eduard...

This week: bulletproof Trump. The failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump means that his supporters, more than ever, view him as America’s Chosen One. Joe Biden’s candidacy has been falling apart since his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate last month. Trump is now ahead in the polls in all the battleground states. The whispers in Washington are that the Democrats are alr...

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Roger McGough, whose new The Collected Poems: 1959-2024 anthologises a poetic career 65 years long and counting. Roger tells me about revisiting his old work and making it new, why he's 'not being serious' about the future of Poetry Please, and how he narrowly missed being on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Journalist Christopher Caldwell joins Freddy Gray to discuss Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance. Once 'never Trump', now a close ally of the former president; what's JD Vance's route into Trumpian politics? Freddy and Christopher also ask who is JD Vance, what's Hillbilly Elegy, and what's the strategy behind Donald Trump's choice?   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freddy Gray is joined by writer Roger Kimball. With the dust beginning to settle from the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, they look at how this could have happened, and what's gone wrong. They also take a look at how important Donald Trump's Vice President pick will be, and who might be in the running. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former US President Donald Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt while speaking at a Republican rally in Pennsylvania. Freddy Gray speaks to The Spectator's economics editor Kate Andrews about what we know so far, and where the Presidential campaign goes from here.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud : James Heale analyses the state of the Conservative leadership race (1:09); Svitlana Morenets reports from the site of the Kyiv children’s hospital bombed this week (5:56); Philip Hensher examines the ‘Cool Queer Life’ of Thom Gunn (12:13); Francis Beckett reviews ‘The Assault on the State’ arguing in favour of bureaucracy (21:20); and, Rupert Christiansen reveal...

The Spectator’s Freddy Gray sits down with author and professor of politics Eric Kaufmann. They discuss the dangers of DEI, why Eric blames the bleeding heart liberals for the woke contagion and why it is possible much worst than originally thought. You can also watch this episode on SpectatorTV .  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.