Best of the Spectator

On this week’s  Spectator Out Loud : Tina Brown explains her bafflement at how Jeff Bezos destroyed the  Washington Post ; Travis Aaroe warns against Britain putting its hopes in military man Al Carns MP; Genevieve Gaunt explores survival of the fittest as she reviews books by Justin Garcia and Paul Eastwick; and finally, Deborah Ross declares herself a purist as she reviews Em...

James Macintyre joins James Heale to discuss his new biography of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown:  Power With Purpose . While the book has been years in the making, little did James know that it would end up published at the same time that its themes and subjects could never be more relevant. James tells our deputy political editor about the relationship between Brown and Blair,...

‘Authority is like virginity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone’ – that's just one of the damning quotes about Keir Starmer that Tim Shipman has extracted from sources inside the Labour government. Much of Starmer's bad luck this week is arguably of his own making, so why is he seemingly so bad at being the Prime Minister? For this week's Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by political editor Tim Sh...

In this week’s  Book Club  podcast Sam Leith's guest is Eric Schlosser, the investigative journalist whose  Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal  is being reissued as a Penguin Modern Classic 25 years after its first publication. He tells Sam what’s changed and what hasn’t since he first published this groundbreaking exposé of fast food’s effects on so many...

To hear to this week's episode in full, search 'Quite right!' wherever you are listening now. This week: Michael and Maddie examine the crisis engulfing the Labour party and ask whether Keir Starmer is facing a Boris-style collapse of authority. They explore what could be to come in the continued fallout from the Peter Mandelson affair, the rebellion over the release of government files, and what...

The midterm elections in November is shaping up to be one of the most expensive elections yet. Freddy Gray and Ryan Girdusky, author of  National Populist Substack to discuss how inflation, crime, and immigration are shaping voter patterns, whether the Trump coalition remains as strong as he claims, and what impact Trump's recent focus on international affairs will have with his American vote...

Morgan McSweeney resigned yesterday as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and – while it was not a surprise, given his role in appointing Peter Mandelson – the news that the Prime Minister has now lost his closest aide and political fire blanket is a huge shock. The repercussions are numerous: Starmer loses the man widely regarded to have won him his large majority and someone who was popular in No. 10...

On this week’s  Spectator Out Loud : Piers Morgan reveals what Donald Trump told him from his hospital bed; Melanie McDonagh ponders the impermanence of email, amidst the Peter Mandelson scandal; Matt Ridley argues that polar bears – which are currently thriving – pose problems for climate enthusiasts; and finally, Rachel Johnson attends the memorial service for Dame Jilly Cooper – and says s...

What did you most recently use Artificial Intelligence for? For most people, the answer would be as a glorified search function, using services like Chat GPT to ask questions, draft text and even produce images – like the Chat GPT generated thumbnail image for this episode. The capability of AI far exceeds this most though. Sean Thomas joins Damian Thompson for this episode of Holy Smoke to talk a...

On this special edition of Coffee House Shots , Tim Shipman is joined by Jonathan Hinder – a rising star of the back benches and a blue Labour acolyte – for a candid discussion about the state of the Labour party and the security of its leader. They discuss the Peter Mandelson scandal and the impact it has had on backbench support for the Prime Minister, as well as the implications it may have reg...

Is Britain ready for Artificial Intelligence? Well, bluntly, 'no'; that's the verdict if you read several pieces in this week's Spectator – from Tim Shipman, Ross Clark and Palantir UK boss Louis Mosley – focused on how Britain is uniquely ill-placed to take advantage of the next industrial revolution. Tim Shipman's cover piece focuses on how the Labour government is approaching AI – there are som...

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Caroline Moorehead, whose new book A Sicilian Man: Leonardo Sciascia, the Rise of the Mafia and the Struggle for Italy’s Soul tells the remarkable story of one of Italy’s best-known writers – who used the pulp detective novel to shine a light on the social and political rot of his native land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To hear this week's episode in full, search 'Quite right!' wherever you are listening now. This week: Michael and Maddie examine the fallout from the Epstein files and ask how a story of questionable judgment became a far more serious test of trust at the top of British politics. As new revelations emerge about Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, has a tawdry association escalated into a q...

Freddy Gray speaks to the documentary maker Fernando Sulchin – who was behind the making of Melania Trump soon to be released on Amazon Prime – to discuss the First Lady, how the ten days leading up to the inauguration unravelled, her relationship with Donald Trump and whether she was sidelined by the fashion industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s  Spectator Out Loud : Sean Thomas explains how an AI-generated goth girl became a nationalist icon; Mary Killen argues we should all regret the loss of the landline; Owen Matthews says that banning Russian art only weakens Ukraine; and finally, Patrick Kidd makes the case for letting children experience alcohol.   Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast....

When Andy Burnham put forward his bid to stand in the Gorton & Denton by-election, the bond markets wobbled. What does this say about the state of Labour and their reputation with the markets? Michael Simmons speaks to former Treasury and Downing Street advisor James Nation about Labour leaders and fiscal policy, why Rishi Sunak was right on inflation and what he has learnt in the private sector s...

As Keir Starmer's visit to China draws to a close, Sam Olsen – who runs the States of Play substack – and Times columnist Cindy Yu join Patrick Gibbons to discuss how the UK should manage its relationship with China. Starmer's visit has drawn criticism from various China hawks – and from President Trump – but is there a way for the UK to balance legitimate security concerns with the need to trade...

Who really runs Britain: the government, foreign courts or international lawyers? This question is at the heart of Michael Gove’s cover piece for the Spectator this week, analysing the role of those at the centre of Labour’s foreign policy. Attorney general Lord Hermer, national security adviser Jonathan Powell and internationally renowned barrister Philippe Sands may seek to uphold international...

Is centrism back? This week a group of former Tory heavyweights – including Ruth Davidson, Andy Street, Amber Rudd and David Gauke – have launched a new group aimed at reclaiming the centre ground and dispelling the myth that politics in 2026 is a straight shooting match between increasingly diffuse left/right poles. They say that there are seven million voters in the centre who feel ‘politically...

To hear this week's podcast in full, search ' Quite right!' wherever you are listening now. This week: Michael and Maddie ask whether Keir Starmer’s grip on the Labour party is beginning to slip. After the party machine moved to block Andy Burnham from returning to Westminster, is Starmer governing from a position of strength – or fear? Does the decision expose a deeper crisis of authority at the...

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud : Gavin Mortimer reports on the battle between the EU and farmers; John Campbell explains Lord Haldane’s significance to politics today; reviewing Polar War by Kenneth R, Rosen, Mark Piesing ponders who will rule the arctic; and, Daisy Dunn celebrates the history of poems on the underground.   Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See ac...

Post-holiday depression, failed New Year’s resolutions and battered bank balances: January’s Blue Monday has long been branded as the most miserable day of the year. Headlines warn of ongoing war, political turmoil and economic gloom – but could they be mistaken? Join  The Spectator  and special guests as they defy the doomsters to deliver an optimist’s guide to 2026. Almost three-quarte...

When was the last time you visited your local parish church? Historian and social media influencer Daniel Wilson joins Damian Thompson to encourage more people to visit their local churches – not just as a centre of worship but as a historical treasure trove. Daniel takes us through some of his favourite examples of medieval architecture, as he emphasises the importance of being a 'tourist in your...

With the Conservatives on watch for further defectors, academic Richard Johnson and Conservative peer Danny Finkelstein join James Heale to discuss whether British politics rewards traitors or faithfuls. Richard points out that often personal success is dependent on whether the party goes on to be a major or minor player in British politics; Winston Churchill and Shaun Woodward fared better, while...

Another week, another foreign policy crisis – this time over Greenland. America's European allies watched as Trump increased the tension over the Arctic territory, only to announce he 'won't use force' in a set-piece speech in Davos. For the Spectator 's cover this week, Paul Wood examines the strategic role of the Arctic, both against Russia and China and from nuclear energy to the space race. Wi...