Best of the Spectator

On this week's episode, we'll hear from Nick Moar on Twitter’s decision to suspend Politics for All. Next, Tanya Gold on the importance of chicken soup. And finally, Cindy Yu who has reviewed The Kingdom of Characters, a book on Chinese language. Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher: www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

Freddy Gray and Lionel Shriver discuss Joe Biden's first year at the helm of the United States, and whether he is capable of tackling the challenges poised by Vladimir Putin, rampant inflation and his own capacity for gaffes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode: Will the Red Wall crush Boris Johnson?  In this week’s Spectator, our political editor James Forsyth and our deputy political editor Katy Balls report on the plot to oust the Prime Minister by Red Wall MPs, and No.10’s battle to save Boris. They join the podcast to give their up to date diagnosis.  (00:43) Also this week: How to save the BBC? This week Nadine Dorries announ...

In this week's Book Club podcast, my guest is the gallerist James Birch - whose new book Bacon In Moscow describes how he achieved the seemingly impossible: taking an exhibition of Francis Bacon's work to Moscow in the late 1980s. James tells me how he negotiated between the volatile artist and the implacable Soviet bureaucracy with the help of a suave but menacing KGB middleman; and how, along th...

Ed Smith is a food writer and chef who started his acclaimed blog Rocket and Squash while he was working as a solicitor. On today’s podcast, he tells Liv and Lara about how his passion for good food started, why he left the world of law, the changing nature of the London food scene, and the ingredients for the perfect restaurant review.  Since 2017, he has authored On the Side and The Borough Mark...

On this week's episode, we'll hear from Katy Balls on who may take Boris Johnson’s place if he resigns.  (00:49) Next, Nicholas Farrell on the potential return of Silvio Berlusconi. (06:21) And finally, And Lisse Garnett on what’s it like to date and influencer.  (18:00) Produced and presented by Sam Holmes Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher: www.spectator.co.uk/vou...

Michelle Donelan was elected in 2015 as a Conservative MP for Chippenham. Since then, she has been re-elected twice and has risen in her political roles. Starting as a member of the education select committee and becoming a whip, to then being appointed a minister, first of children and families, and then in the latest cabinet reshuffle, becoming minister of state for higher and further education....

In this week’s episode: Is Boris Johnson done for?  In this week’s Spectator cover story, our political editor James Forsyth and our deputy political editor Katy Balls write about Boris Johnson’s perilous position in the aftermath of the Partygate scandal. They join the podcast to predict the Prime Minister’s fate. (00:40) Also this week: Is there a dangerous side to self-improvement? The hashtag...

This week's Book Club podcast addresses one of the most misunderstood and vilified concepts in the culture wars: postmodernism. How did this arcane theoretical position escape from academia to become a social media talking point? What the hell is it anyway? What does Jeff Koons have to do with Foucault? Is postmodernism out to destroy capitalism, or is it capitalism incarnate? And what comes after...

'If table tennis set the stage for China’s international diplomacy, then volleyball rebuilt the nation’s confidence', ran one article in the People's Daily around the time of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Sports has had a long political history in China, Cindy Yu's guest in this week's Chinese Whispers tells her. She is Dr Susan Brownell, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri. She has b...

On this week's episode, we’ll hear from Douglas Murray on why he thinks that the Coronavirus is over. (00:51) Next, Nyrola Elimä on her family’s experiences as Uighurs living under the rule of the CCP. (08:27) And finally, Theo Hobson on why the different factions of the Church of England need to come together. (16:54) Produced and presented by Sam Holmes Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a...

2022 has only just begun but a lot of minds in American politics are already looking towards the next presidential election in 2024. For the Republicans, the big question is will Donald Trump be their nominee and if he isn't who will fill that very large hole? Freddy Gray sits down with the editor of Modern Age, Daniel McCarthy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode: Is it time to rip up the idea of vaccine passports?  In The Spectator ’s cover story this week, our economics editor Kate Andrews writes about her disdain for the idea of vaccine passports after being exposed to their flaws first hand. She joins the podcast along with Professor Julian Savulescu from the University of Oxford. (01:01) Also this week: Is Covid putting a spotli...

It's been one year since a large number of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC to try and prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election. There are still many questions surrounding that infamous day and to look for some answers Freddy Gray talks with John Daniel Davidson, a senior editor at the Federalist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Sam's guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Natalie Livingstone – whose new book The Women of Rothschild: The Untold Story of the World's Most Famous Dynasty gives the distaff dish on the banking family's long history. She discovers that the Rothschild women have been just as remarkable as the men – from early modern matriarchs to jazz-club butterflies.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Poppy O'Toole (known online as Poppy_Cooks) is a Michelin-trained chef who lost her job in March of 2020 due to Covid. To pass the time during lockdown she started posting cooking videos on TikTok. Her potato series made her a viral sensation, garnering millions of views. This success has led to her publishing her first cookbook, Poppy Cooks: The Food You Need. On the podcast Poppy talks to Lara a...

Camilla Tominey is known on both sides of the pond as one of the world's go-to Royal correspondents. She began her career in journalism at the Hemel Hempstead Gazette before moving to cover the Royals for the Daily Express and is now the associate editor at the Telegraph. On the episode, she talks to Katy about how studying law ended up inspiring her to get into journalism, the differences between...

Had Covid-19 not continued to dominate the headlines this year, there's little doubt that the outcomes of the Brexit deal would have been at the forefront of our policy discussions. Britain has left the EU with a bespoke trade agreement, but it's far from perfect, as the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to cause problems, especially for trade flow between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Wha...

Pope Francis renewed his campaign against the Latin Mass this month, permitting his liturgy chief Archbishop Arthur Roche to issue all manner of threats to clergy celebrating the ancient liturgy. This 'clarification' has been greeted with horror by bishops around the world, including many who aren't keen on the old rite.  This episode of Holy Smoke puts this outrage in the context of what one dist...

What are the greener solutions for heating Britain's homes? The government estimates that heating residential homes accounts for around 15 per cent of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, many households are concerned about the future of their gas boilers and energy bills. The government laid out its heat and building strategy this October, but do their plans address these worries?...

Everyone knows somebody who has asthma. 5.4 million people in the UK are currently receiving treatment and 200,000 of them have severe asthma. A form of the condition that doesn’t typically respond well to medication. For many, asthma is a severe and debilitating condition but there exists a disconnect between its severity and the organisation of resources to treat it. When it comes to treating an...

Beatrice ‘Bee’ Wilson is an acclaimed food writer and journalist, who has authored several books on topics from how bees make honey to the history of the sandwich. On the podcast, Bee discusses the fad of clean eating, how the internet has changed food culture, working with her charity TasteEd, her time as a contestant on Masterchef, and the experience of working on her first cookbook, The Secret...

The world economy is bouncing back from the economic impacts of Covid 19. It has been bumpy year of recovery with labour shortages and consistent inflationary pressures. But it hasn't been all doom and gloom.  Kate Andrews, the Spectator's economic's editor reviews this financial year. She is joined by Martin Vander Weyer, the Spectator's business editor and Paul Abberley, chief executive of Charl...

On this week's very special Christmas episode, we'll hear from Lara Prendergast on why she’s planning to party hard this Christmas. (00:57) Next, Christopher Howse on those helping to preserve the UK’s medieval churches.  (06:31) Then it's, Lionel Shriver on the Covid heretics she admires most. (16:41) Followed by, Peter Hitchens on Christmas in Russia during the last days of the Soviet Union. (25...

Douglas Murray joins Freddy Gray for a look back at yet another tumultuous year in American politics. They discuss the irreconcilable divide between left and right, the origins of Covid-19, the war in Afghanistan, the fallout from the 2020 election and much more, including the temptations of a bottle of Glenmorangie whiskey.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.