Best of the Spectator

Damian Thompson is joined by Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, Hungary's ambassador to the Holy See. A member of one of Europe's most historically influential families, Eduard explains how his religious practices have adapted to the acceleration of new technologies, and tells Damian how the Habsburgs keep in contact. Holy Smoke is a series of podcasts where Damian Thompson dissects the most important an...

On this week's podcast, Lloyd Evans argues that the state should stop subsidising the National Theatre and start funding bingo halls (00:41). Then Lionel Shriver explains the trouble of taking back control (08:15). And finally, Will Heaven explores the dissolution of the Downside monastery (16:48).   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Book Club podcast Sam's guest is Annie Nightingale - Britain’s first female DJ, occasional Spectator contributor, and longest serving presenter of Radio One. Ahead of the publication of her new book Hey Hi Hello , Annie tells Sam about the Beatles’ secrets, BBC sexism, getting into rave culture, the John Peel she knew - and how when most people never get past the music they love in...

Governments around the world have adopted extraordinary powers to deal with coronavirus – but could they end up doing more damage than good? (01:00) Next, is the best way to deal with the threat of Scottish secession to negotiate a hypothetical Scottish exit deal? (16:04) And finally, are Britain's graveyards suffering a spate of indecent behaviour? (31:38) The Spectator's deputy political editor...

As the UK faces its worst economic contraction in 300 years, there have been growing calls to adopt a ‘green recovery’. But what does that mean? While renewable energy may be getting cheaper, can it really meet our energy demands? And has the Covid crisis set back the government on its path to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050? To answer all this and more, Kate Andrews, the Spectator’s ec...

Can human innovation stop climate change, or will it simply manage and delay the challenges it poses? In the second of this mini podcast series featuring Bjorn Lomborg and Matt Ridley, host Kate Andrews discusses with Bjorn and Matt whether their optimism is misplaced. Bjorn Lomborg is the President of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and author of False Alarm . Matt Ridley is a Conservative peer,...

You can’t get far doing serious business in China without having friends in powerful places. So when her husband’s company, Jardine Matheson (which once upon a time had smuggled opium into the country), was invited back into a liberalising China in the 1990s, Tessa Keswick had rare access to the country’s top leadership. On the podcast, she recounts seeing Bo Xilai, the disgraced Chongqing party s...

On this week's podcast, Freddy Gray explains how Trump could still pull his greatest trick yet (00:45) Emma Byrne considers whether she will be bankrupted by the next housing scandal (12:30) Lara Prendergast argues that wearing floral masks isn't worth the hassle. (19:11) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With protests in American cities continuing and the Democrat and Republican conventions drawing to a close - are there signs that Donald Trump could win again? (00:45) Plus, could planning reforms be the next Tory battle? (13:05) And finally, can daily commutes really be enjoyable? (25:45) With editor of the Spectator's US edition Freddy Gray; the Spectator's economics correspondent Kate Andrews;...

In this week's Book Club podcast Sam Leith talks to Paul Edmondson and Stanley Wells about their new book All The Sonnets of Shakespeare - which by collecting the sonnets that appear in the plays with the 154 poems usually known as 'Shakespeare's Sonnets', and placing them in chronological order, gives a totally fresh sense of what the form meant to our greatest poet-dramatist. They tell Sam what...

Can the conversation around climate change all too often get heated, hysterical, and panicked? Should we be appealing for more calm in the climate debate? In the first of this mini podcast series featuring Bjorn Lomborg and Matt Ridley, host Kate Andrews challenges Bjorn and Matt on their views over the best way to conduct what some say is the most important debate of our lifetimes. Bjorn Lomborg...

On this week's podcast, Lionel Shriver says that the real determinant of coronavirus isn't race - it's obesity (01:00) Simon Cooper asks whether the return of beavers to English rivers is really something to be celebrated (09:35) Gerri Peev asks why the European Union keeps backing Bulgaria's kleptocratic government (15:40) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Biden accepted the Democratic Party's nomination at their virtual convention last night, bringing his three-day coronation to an end with a well-received speech. Throughout this year's DNC, speakers have warned that America's political foundations are at stake in the upcoming election - Barack Obama urged voters not to let the Republicans 'take away your democracy'. Is the country on the brink...

While the government’s U-turn on A-level and GCSE results has been widely welcomed, universities are still in a dire state – why? (00:55) Plus, has Boris Johnson got the right approach in his war on fat? (15:00) And finally, are illegal raves during the pandemic socially irresponsible, or just young people sticking it to The Man? (25:45)  With academic and author Matthew Goodwin; chair of the Educ...

The virtual Democratic National Convention kicked off this week with an agenda packed full of the party's most well-known and experienced figures. But with a controversial appearance from Bill Clinton and a barnstorming speech from Michelle Obama, who is the convention really for? Matt McDonald, managing editor of the Spectator USA, speaks to Emily Larsen, political reporter at the Washington Exam...

In this week's books podcast, Sam's guest is that man of parts Loyd Grossman. Loyd's new book is An Elephant in Rome: Bernini, the Pope, and the Making of the Eternal City , which explores the titanic influence of Bernini on the Rome we see today, and his partnership with Pope Alexander VII. Loyd tells Sam why you couldn't bring Italian Baroque home to meet your parents, about Bernini's far from c...

We don't hear much about his wall with Mexico anymore, but Trump seems to be building a digital wall to shut out Chinese tech. WeChat and TikTok are the two victims to his latest ban. On the episode, Cindy Yu talks to Chinese business expert Duncan Clark, author of Alibaba , and Rui Ma, host of the TechBuzz China podcast. They tell Cindy about how WeChat has created a cashless society in China, an...

On this week's episode, Douglas Murray reads his column on how if everything is racist, then nothing is; Reverend Steve Morris campaigns for the return of the British holiday camp; and Toby Young on his new dating website for lockdown sceptics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poll after poll is showing the surge in support for Scottish independence - so what can Boris Johnson do about it? (00:35) Plus, how many more pandemics does nature have in store for us? (13:20) And finally, is it time to bring back the British holiday camp? (28:00). With our Scotland Editor Alex Massie; commentator Angela Haggerty; author of The Pandemic Century Mark Honigsbaum; ecologist Peter D...

In this week's Book Club podcast I'm joined by the philosopher, scientist and broadcaster Sam Harris - host of the hugely popular Making Sense podcast. Sam's new book is a selection of edited transcripts of the very best of his conversations from that podcast with intellectual eminences from Daniel Kahneman to David Deutsch, and explores some of the issues that preoccupy him most: to do with consc...

Annie Gray is a historian, cook and writer who specialises in food from 1600 to present day. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Olivia about a childhood of eating 'frisbee-like' omelettes, why male hares are inedible, and how an episode of Antiques Roadshow nearly jeopardised the release of her new book. Annie Gray's Victory in the Kitchen: The Life of Churchill's Cook , is out now. Table Talk is...

The polls are tightening, meanwhile Joe Biden is on the back foot over another gaffe about African American voters. Is the Democratic challenger blowing the election? Editor of the National Interest Jacob Heilbrunn joins Freddy Gray, editor of Spectator USA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's edition, Joanna Lumley recalls her meeting with Mongolia’s former champion wrestler – now the country’s president – and reflects on the joys of eating birdseed (01:14). Lionel Shriver argues that the true novelty of coronavirus is just how scared it's made us all (07:14). Andrew Doyle suggests that the SNP's hate crime bill could lead to the criminalisation of the bible (15:34). And...

Next month, the Vatican will talk to Beijing about renewing its 2018 deal with the Chinese Communist Party that effectively allowed President Xi to choose the country's Catholic bishops. He has used this power to force Catholics loyal to Rome to join the puppet Catholic church set up by Chairman Mao in the 1950s. They can no longer refuse on the grounds that they recognise only the Pope's Church b...

London is the motor to Britain’s economy, so how can it rebuild after the pandemic? (00:55) How can the new Tory leader in Scotland, Douglas Ross, keep the United Kingdom together? (17:50) And why the looming conflict between India and China isn’t in Kashmir, but rather in the Bay of Bengal. (29:33)  With economist Gerard Lyons; historian Simon Jenkins; The Spectator’s Scotland editor Alex Massie;...