Best of the Spectator

Thousands of protesters took to the streets this weekend as part of the Black Lives Matter movement. In Bristol, a statue of the slaver Edward Colston was toppled and thrown into the city's docks. But are we now seeing a change in the government's response? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth. Get a subscription to The Spectator as well as a copy of Lionel Shriver's book, all for...

Fraser Nelson reads his cover piece campaigning for the British government to offer citizenship to the Hong Kong Chinese; Douglas Murray asks - why do the Black Lives Matter protestors get to be exempt from the lockdown? And Tanya Gold reviews : Monster Munch. Get a subscription to The Spectator as well as a copy of Lionel Shriver's book, all for free here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Sunetra Gupta is Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford. An expert in the fight against infectious diseases, she is the lead scientist behind the Oxford study that disputed Imperial College's dire coronavirus predictions. She is also a novelist and translator. On the podcast, she talks to Katy about her writing and how it was inspired by her intellectual father; her disp...

As China looks to push through its national security law, is it time to offer Hong Kongers a way out? (01:00) And with the Black Lives Matter protests continuing to rage in America, can they unseat Donald Trump? (15:30) And last, do animals have culture? (29:10) With Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson; Hong Kong expert Jeffrey Wasserstrom; Spectator USA Editor Freddy Gray; our Economics Correspondent...

Is there life, as David Bowie wondered, on Mars? In this week's Book Club podcast my guest is the astrobiologist Kevin Peter Hand, author of a fascinating new book Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space. Kevin explains how and where we're currently looking for extraterrestrial life in our own solar system - and why on the basis of sound science he's optimistic that we'll find it....

Rhik Samadder is an actor and columnist for the Guardian, where his column Wellness or Hellness? reviews kitchen gadgets and life hacks. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Livvy about his mother's adventurous dinner table, his teenage battles with anorexia, and the worst kitchen gadgets he ever reviewed (including a mug which had a biscuit compartment).  Click here to try a month of the Spectato...

Vanity von Glow is one of the UK's most in demand drag queens. She's a singer, pianist, and comic, and also hosts a new political talk show The Vanity Project . On the episode, she talks to Andy and Ben about flirting in a pandemic, why the word 'unprecedented' is unprecedentedly insufferable, and why Lana del Rey is her person of the month. That's Life is a sideways look at the events, people, wo...

Hear Katy Balls on the long term impact of the Cummings affair; Dr John Lee on the problem with the way we are counting Covid deaths; and Lionel Shriver on how life isn't worth living without a little risk. Get a month's free trial of The Spectator and a free wireless charger here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Book Club podcast we're talking about Brideshead Revisited. Evelyn Waugh's great novel is 75 years old this week, and I'm joined by our chief critic Philip Hensher, and by the novelist's grandson (and general editor of Oxford University Press's complete Evelyn Waugh) Alexander Waugh. What made the novel so pivotal in Waugh's career, what did it mean to the author and how did he revi...

It's not just coronavirus, but the government is keen to have a new approach to China. We discuss what this entails and whether or not it's a good idea (00:50). Plus, what will be the lasting impact of the Cummings affair on the government? (17:16) And last, the way to deal with noisy neighbours now that people are working from home (34:00). With our Political Editor James Forsyth; former Cabinet...

My guest for this week’s Book Club podcast is the great Michael Frayn, talking about his new book of sketches Magic Mobile , lockdown life, the joys and perils of technology, adapting Spies for the screen - and how his muse has changed as he gets older. The Book Club is a series of literary interviews and discussions on the latest releases in the world of publishing, from poetry through to physics...

With Amber Athey, Spectator USA's Washington Correspondent. Americano is a series of in-depth discussions on American politics with the best pundits stateside. Presented by Freddy Gray, editor of Spectator USA. Click here to listen to previous episodes. Get a month's free trial of The Spectator and a free wireless charger here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Audio Reads, Douglas Murray advises Labour to get a new attack line, now that the Conservatives have become the party of the NHS. Professor Paul Dolan, a behavioural scientist at the LSE, ponders what would have happened had the pandemic started in Sweden, rather than China. And Andrew Watts says - if Brexit talks are scuppered because of fish, shouldn't Brits at least eat more of i...

Kate Forbes is an SNP MP and the Scottish Finance Secretary. She stepped in at the last minute when her predecessor, Derek MacKay, was suspended from the party on the day of the Budget. On the podcast, she talks about her international upbringing and how that relates to her nationalism, what it was like to step in for the Budget on that day, and how she squares her faith with politics. Get a month...

Brexit is back on the agenda, but this time, talks are even more difficult than the last phase (00:45). Plus, what do we understand about immunity, and how should that inform the lockdown policy (16:45)? And for a nation that bangs on about fish, do we eat enough of it (28:00)? With the Spectator's Political Editor James Forsyth ; former Adviser on Europe to Theresa May Raoul Ruparel ; Crick Insti...

John Williams is the ebullient Executive Chef at the Ritz. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Livvy about breaking into the London fine dining scene as a boy from Tyneside, how the Ritz is as far from rustic as you can get, and his friendship with Margaret Thatcher, when she lived at the hotel in her last years. Click here to try a month of the Spectator for free and get a free wireless charger....

In this week's episode, the panel discuss the merits of treatment vs vaccine, American red tape, Hong Kong's fairly relaxed stance on new infections, and Italy running out of money. With Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli in Rome, former Italian Correspondent for Politico; Jennifer Creery in Hong Kong, Managing Editor of the Hong Kong Free Press; Nick Gillespie in New York, Editor at Large for Reason magaz...

In this week’s Book Club podcast Sam's guest is the writer and human rights lawyer Philippe Sands. His new book The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive describes his painstaking quest to track down the real story of a Nazi genocidaire who fled justice into the murky underground society of postwar Italy. Philippe tells Sam about the strange world of shifting allegiances...

On this week's Audio Reads, Swedish economist Fredrik Erixon reads his cover piece explaining how European nations are all flying blind in the pandemic. James Forsyth advocates a complete rewiring of the British state. And Leaf Arbuthnot, whose novel Looking For Eliza  is released this week, extolls the joys of Zoom raves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's books podcast Sam is joined by Mark O'Connell, a writer whose latest book Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back sees him investigate doomsday preppers, wannabe Mars colonists, the Ayn Rand billionaires buying up New Zealand, and the tourist route through Chernobyl. Why, he asks, is the apocalypse something we seem to fantasise about as much as...

European countries all seem to be doing something different, so what are the lessons from the continent (00:45)? Plus, how the West's lockdown impacts the developing world in a very real way (13:05). And last, rediscovering the joy of driving on the country's empty roads (24:55). With economist Fredrik Erixon, the Economist's Anne McElvoy, Stanford Professor Jayanta Bhattacharya, Indian economist...

With Matt Mayer, President of free market group Opportunity Ohio and contributor to Spectator USA. Americano is a series of in-depth discussions on American politics with the best pundits stateside. Presented by Freddy Gray, editor of Spectator USA. Click here to listen to previous episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, the Coronomics panel discuss Hong Kong's reopening, lockdown confusion in the UK, the American unemployment nightmare, and the growing divides between northern and southern Italy. With Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli in Rome, former Italian Correspondent for Politico; Jennifer Creery in Hong Kong, Managing Editor of the Hong Kong Free Press; Nick Gillespie in New York, Editor at...

Rory MacLean is a historian and travel writer. His latest book, Pravda Ha Ha , is out now. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Livvy about how his mother was the inspiration for Ian Fleming's Miss Moneypenny, singing a duet with David Bowie, and the time he was taken to lunch by a Vietnamese drug lord. Table Talk is a series of podcasts where Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts talk to high profile...

This week, Douglas Murray writes on why we shouldn't be hugging China any closer; Nigel Farndale writes on why there's nothing morbid about obituaries; and Susan Hill on the lessons she's re-learnt from the pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.