Best of the Spectator

Globalisation's obituary has been written many times before but, with the turmoil caused over the past few weeks with Donald Trump's various announcements on tariffs, could this mark the beginning of the end for the economic order as we know it? Tej Parikh from the Financial Times and Kate Andrews, The Spectator's deputy US editor, join economics editor Michael Simmons to make the case for why globalisation will outlive Trump. Though, as the US becomes one of the most protectionist countries in the developed world, how much damage has been done to the reputation of the US? And to what extent do governments need to adapt? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Petroc Trelawny reads his diary for the week (1:14); Gareth Roberts wants us to make book jackets nasty again (6:22); Tom Lee writes in defence of benzodiazepines (13:44); Leyla Sanai reflects on unethical practices within psychiatry, as she reviews Jon Stock’s The Sleep Room (19:41); and, Iram Ramzan provides her notes on cousin marriages (24:30).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: Trump’s tariffs – madness or mastermind? ‘Shock tactics’ is the headline of our cover article this week, as deputy editor Freddy Gray reflects on a week that has seen the US President upend the global economic order, with back and forth announcements on reciprocal and retaliatory tariffs. At the time of writing, a baseline 10% on imports stands – with higher tariffs remaining for China, Mexico and Canada. The initial announcement last week had led to the biggest global market decline since the start of the pandemic, and left countries scrambling to react, whether through negotiation or retaliation. China announced a second wave of retaliatory tariffs – to 84% – and Trump, while softening his stance towards other countries, appeared to lean in to a trade war with China by announcing a further hike to 125%. As Freddy writes, for Trump and his supporters ‘China is America’s chief enemy.’ ‘President Trump just took a massive punch at Xi, right in the chops,’ said Steve Bannon. ‘The overlords of easy money, the sociopathic overlords that run Wall Street, the globalist corporatists and the apartheid state of Silicon Valley – all of them combined are the partners of the Chinese Communist party.’ But, as Freddy asks in the magazine, is there method in the madness? Freddy joined the podcast to discuss alongside the financial journalist and Spectator contributor Michael Lynn. (1:35) Next: should cousin marriages be banned? Cousin marriage has been back in the news since the Conservative MP Richard Holden proposed banning the practice. Much of the debate has focused on the British Pakistani community where marriage between cousins is less taboo than other communities within the UK. But, as Iram Ramzan writes in the magazine this week, marriage between cousins has been legal in the UK stretching back to Henry VIII. The dictator Saddam Hussein, the musician Jerry Lee Lewis and even the father of evolution Charles Darwin are surprising examples of people who married their first cousins. Iram writes that it was to her horror that her family suggested she marry her second cousin. To what extent is the law the right recourse to deter cousin marriage? And what are the cultural, ethical, as well as genetic, considerations? Iram joined the podcast alongside Dominic Wilkinson, professor of medical ethics at the University of Oxford. (18:09) And finally: restaurant thefts are rising – why? The Spectator’s food columnist Olivia Potts explores how restaurants are facing a rising problem of theft. Gordon Ramsay’s latest restaurant suffered a £2,000 loss in one week for example. from theft. And, as many as 17 million Britons say they have stolen from a pub or restaurant. Why do they do it? And why is restaurant theft a particular problem now? Liv joined us to discuss further, alongside an anonymous contributor who agreed to share their own experience of stealing from restaurants. (29:57) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is Fara Dabhoiwala, whose new book What Is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea looks not just at the origins of free speech as an idea, but also its uses and misuses. Fara tells me the bizarre story of how he found himself ‘cancelled’, gives us the scoop on who actually invented free speech and explains how to think more deeply about free speech as a global as well as a local question – by tracing how we got into our current predicaments.

Global financial markets are experiencing significant declines following the announcement of new tariffs by President Trump. These tariffs led to widespread panic among investors and sparked debates about their potential impact on the economy.​ In this episode of Americano, host Freddy Gray is joined by Joe Weisenthal, co-host of Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, to discuss the ramifications of these tariffs. They delve into the immediate market reactions, including a brief $4 trillion surge driven by a misinterpreted news clip, and analyse the underlying motives and potential consequences of the administration's trade policies. 

Gok Wan is a renowned stylist and television presenter. Over the years, Gok has transformed the way we think about style and body image with his much-loved series How to Look Good Naked and Gok’s Fashion Fix – his focus on body positivity was the antidote to the crash-dieting fads which dominated the 2000s. Later in his career, Gok drew upon his Chinese heritage to author books on Chinese cooking. On the podcast he tells Liv and Lara about growing up in a Chinese restaurant, why hosting is more like ‘theatre’ and why he always abides by the five-second rule.

** Chinese Whispers is coming to an end. Later this year, Cindy Yu will be joining The Times and The Sunday Times to write a regular column on China. To stay abreast of her latest work, subscribe to her free Substack at chinesewhispers.substack.com ** The term ‘old friend of the Chinese people’ might seem a colloquial, almost sentimental, phrase to appear in official diplomatic language, but in the Chinese context, those words have a very specific meaning. Most often, they refer to high profile foreigners whose actions have helped the Chinese Communist Party in one way or another. The most famous of these is Henry Kissinger, who led the way for American rapprochement with China. That the CCP gives various foreigners this honour is revealing of China’s priorities over the decades, but also of its attempts to co-opt foreign forces to its cause. Think back to the United Front strategy, which we looked at on the podcast earlier in the year. To discuss this honorific, Cindy is joined Professor Anne-Marie Brady, a China expert at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, who was among the first to look at China’s old friends as a serious political concept some 20 years ago, and Ryan Ho Kilpatrick, a journalist based in Hong Kong.

Katie Lam was elected as a new Conservative MP, for Weald of Kent, at the 2024 election. While studying at Cambridge she was president of the Cambridge Union and chairman of the Conservative Association, and she was later a special advisor – first under Boris Johnson in the business unit at Number 10, and then later working on counterterrorism with Suella Braverman. In between university and politics, she worked at Goldman Sachs and at AI-specialists Faculty, and she is also an accomplished lyricist and scriptwriter having co-written five musicals. She was appointed a Tory assistant whip last year when Kemi Badenoch took over as leader.   On the podcast, Katie talks to Katy Balls about attending Tory party conference with her dad, what Katy calls the ‘chief prefect vibes’ of her CV and whether investment banking or politics is more cutthroat. Having started at Number 10 in 2019, she also talks about the highs and lows at the end of the Brexit negotiations and why the pandemic will probably be the hardest moment of her professional career – plus a mention of that incident with Dilyn the dog. Having a great-great grandfather who was a socialist politician and fierce critic of the Nazis, and who had to flee persecution, she also opens up about her family’s influence on her politics and her values.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Gavin Mortimer looks at how the French right can still win (1:48); Colin Freeman interviews Americans who have fought in Ukraine and feel betrayed by Trump (11:01); Lawrence Osborne details his experience of last week’s earthquake, as he reads his diary from Bangkok (18:38); Lionel Shriver defends traditional, monogamous marriage (24:07); and, Anthony Cummins examines media satire and settled scores as he reviews Natasha Brown’s Universality (31:13).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Marine Le Pen, president of Rassemblement National (National Rally) was found guilty this week of embezzling EU funds to boost her party’s finances. The guilty verdict was widely expected, however her sentence was far harsher than even her strongest critics expected – part of which saw her banned from standing for office for five years, with immediate effect. Le Pen had been the favourite to win the next French presidential election in 2027. Pursuing Donald Trump through the courts was widely seen as backfiring as he went on to win the presidential election, and many have argued that there is a double standard with many more figures and parties facing investigation from the right than from the left. Is this a case of justice served, or another example of creeping lawfare across the West? Deputy political editor James Heale discusses with our deputy editor Freddy Gray and French journalist and writer Anne-Elisabeth Moutet.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new tariffs, including a 10 per cent duty on all UK exports to the United States, as part of his 'Reciprocal Tariffs' plan aimed at addressing trade imbalances and bolstering American manufacturing. This move is expected to impact approximately £60 billion worth of UK exports, with sectors such as automotive and Scotch whisky facing significant challenges. The UK government, while relieved to have avoided higher tariffs imposed on other nations, is now navigating the potential economic repercussions and exploring avenues for negotiation. ​ Freddy Gray speaks with William Clouston, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), to analyse the implications of Trump's tariff announcement on the UK economy.

This week: Starmerism’s moral vacuum ‘Governments need a mission, or they descend into reactive incoherence’ writes Michael Gove in this week’s cover piece. A Labour government, he argues, ‘cannot survive’ without a sense of purpose. The ‘failure of this government to make social justice its mission’ has led to a Spring Statement ‘that was at once hurried, incoherent and cruel – a fiscal drive-by shooting’.  Michael writes that Starmer wishes to emulate his hero – the post-war Prime Minister Clement Atlee, who founded the NHS and supported a fledgling NATO alliance. Yet, with policy driven by Treasury mandarins, the Labour project is in danger of drifting, as John Major’s premiership did. Starmerism’s policy vacuum is being filled so rapidly by HMT that we are embarking on an era of ‘cruel Labour’.  Michael joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside John McTernan, former private secretary to Tony Blair. (1:37) Next: have the Church’s sacred spaces become community clubs? From yoga classes to drag shows, and even a helter-skelter, the Revd Dr Jamie Franklin, host of the podcast Irreverentand author of The Great Return, writes in the magazine this week about what he argues is the ‘tragic misuse of its sacred spaces’ by the Church of England. This new reality may be symptomatic of a wider issue with the leadership of the Church, currently pondering its future. The journalist Quentin Letts provides his own manifesto for the next Archbishop of Canterbury in this week’s diary.  So do diverse uses of space broaden the Church’s appeal or does it run the risk of diluting its holiness? Quentin, whose new book NUNC! Is out now, joined the podcast alongside Jamie to discuss. (20:52) And finally: is Clandon Park a visionary restoration or a catastrophic precedent? Calvin Po addresses the ‘conundrum of conservation’ in the Arts lead for the magazine this week: how much of a building can be restored before it becomes a different building entirely?  Plans have moved forward for the 18th century Palladian mansion Clandon Park, managed by the National Trust, to be preserved in a half-charred form, following its gutting by fire in 2015. The Trust says this ‘approach combines careful conservation, scholarly restoration and sensitive contemporary design’. And The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), founded by William Morris, has hailed the plans, arguing that a full restoration would amount to a ‘feeble and lifeless forgery’ and the ‘Clandon of the future will offer a markedly different visitor experience to that of the past, but one that will have its own interest’. Calvin, however, worries that this sets a ‘catastrophic precedent’ for restorations of the future, and The Georgian Group actively opposed the Trust’s proposal, arguing that the building’s merit comes in its original design ‘not in burnt bricks’.  To discuss further we were joined by The Georgian Group’s director Dr Anya Lucas, and the architectural historian – and former Chair of SPAB – Gillian Darley. (35:17) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

Freddy is joined by James Fishback – writer, investor and chief executive of investment firm Azoria – on ‘Liberation Day’, when Donald Trump is set to announce a raft of new tariffs (at 9 p.m. UK time). They discuss the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the market, whether this marks the upending of the neoliberal economic world order, or if Donald Trump is just a tough negotiator.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the poet and novelist Joe Dunthorne, who is here to talk about his new non-fiction book Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance. In it, he describes how he criss-crossed Europe in search of the truth about his great-grandfather, a Jewish scientist who found himself working on chemical weapons for the Nazis. Joe talks to me about historical guilt, the accidents of fate and human psychology – and making comedy out of tragedy.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is back in the news following his interview this week with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg. The interview – his first since he resigned last November – was clearly Welby's attempt to draw a line under the abuse scandal that cost him his job.  The 2024 Makin report concluded that the Church of England missed many opportunities to investigate the late John Smyth, one of the most prolific abusers associated with the Anglican Church. However, the biggest headline from the interview was that Welby would 'forgive' John Smyth were he alive today. Albeit unintentionally, the former Archbishop of Canterbury ended up cementing his reputation as an inflexible micro-manager with a tin ear for the views of abuse survivors and his own clergy.  Where does the interview leave the Church of England? The appointees to the Crown Nominations Committee, the body which will consider the successor to Welby, will soon be known. How should this scandal influence them? And, with mounting reports that Pope Francis has shielded Catholic sexual predators, how does the handling of abuse allegations by Canterbury and Rome compare? The Rev Fergus Butler-Gallie, Vicar of Charlbury in Oxfordshire and the editor-at-large of The Fence magazine, joins Damian Thompson to discuss the abuse crises that seem to be engulfing all the mainstream Churches.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Spectator's columnist Douglas Murray joins Freddy Gray to discuss his recent column on why the JFK conspiracies just won't die. They also discuss the moon landing, the emergence of American self-hatred, and the return of the post-truth era.

Kim Leadbeater has been an MP since winning the Batley & Spen by-election for Labour in 2021. She was elected to the constituency that her sister, Jo Cox, had served until she was murdered during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign. Having pursued a career in health and fitness, Kim hadn’t initially intended on a life in politics, but she went on to champion social and political cohesion through the Jo Cox Foundation and the More in Common initiative. More recently, she has led the campaign to legalise Assisted Dying. The Bill is currently making its way through Parliament and has been described as the biggest social reform in a generation.  On the podcast, Kim talks to Katy Balls about finding common ground with other Yorkshire MPs (including one former Prime Minister), why she thinks the growing popularity of Reform is a worrying sign of disillusionment in politics, and how she is more likely to retire than pursue a third career. The debate around Assisted Dying has been more ‘unpleasant’ than expected but she has no regrets, and thinks that – most importantly – the national conversation around death has moved on. Despite a proposed extension, Kim hopes the Bill – if passed – will be implemented within 2-3 years. Produced by Patrick Gibbons. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Owen Matthews argues that Turkish President Erdogan’s position is starting to look shaky (1:19); James Heale examines the new party of the posh: the Lib Dems (7:51); Francis Pike highlights the danger Chinese hypersonic missiles pose to the US navy (13:54); Christian House highlights Norway’s occupation during the Second World War, as he reviews Robert Ferguson’s book Norway’s War (22:01); and, Mark Mason provides his notes on coins (28:18).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

An MP for 35 years, Michael Heseltine served as Environment Secretary and then Defence Secretary in Margaret Thatcher’s government. Following his well-publicised resignation in 1986, he returned to government under John Major and was Deputy Prime Minister for the last two years of Major’s premiership. Once seen as a potential successor to Thatcher and Major, he has sat in the Lords since stepping down as an MP in 2001, and in recent years has been an outspoken critic of Brexit. Lord Heseltine sits down with James Heale to discuss his thoughts on the current Labour government, how to fix Britain’s broken economy and why devolution should go further. ‘Deeply depressed’ by attacks on the civil service – Britain’s ‘rolls royce’ – he provides his thoughts on various political leaders: Starmer is handling Trump well, Reeves is handling the economy badly, Badenoch is being overshadowed by foreign affairs, and Boris Johnson demonstrated he has ‘no integrity’. And on Thatcher, he says new information has vindicated him over the Westland affair and demonstrated her ‘complicity’. His new book, From Acorns to Oaks: An Urgent Agenda to Rebuild Britain, is out now. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

A greatly enfeebled Pope Francis is now living in enforced isolation in a suite at his Santa Marta residence that has been converted into hospital accommodation. He won't be resuming public duties for two months, we are told – and even his senior advisors have limited access to him. As a result, it's really not clear who is in charge of the Catholic Church. And, as Damian Thompson reports in this episode of Holy Smoke, it's by no means clear when this paralysis will end; it's significant that there has been so little talk of the Pope making a full recovery. Meanwhile, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State who isn't bothering to hide his ambition to succeed Francis, is continuing to forge alliances... Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Join Katy Balls, Michael Gove, Lord Glasman, Lord Frost and pollster James Kanagasooriam as they unpack the highly anticipated Spring Statement and its implications for national policy and global security. Listen for: Michael’s plan for how to deal with the Donald, and why the Treasury is not fit for purpose; Maurice on his influence in the White House, and what's wrong with the current political class; David’s reflections on why Brexit was ahead of its time; and James’s explanation for Britain’s lost sense of community.

This week: welcome to the age of the strongman ‘The world’s most exclusive club… is growing,’ writes Paul Wood in this week’s Spectator. Membership is restricted to a very select few: presidents-for-life. Putin of Russia, Xi of China, Kim of North Korea and MBS of Saudi Arabia are being joined by Erdogan of Turkey – who is currently arresting his leading domestic political opponent – and Donald Trump, who ‘openly admires such autocrats and clearly wants to be one himself’. ‘This is the age of the strongman,’ Wood declares, ‘and the world is far more dangerous because of it.’ Despite their bombast, these ‘are often troubled characters’, products of difficult childhoods. But ‘the real danger’ lies in their ‘grandiose plans’ and ‘wish to secure their place in history by redrawing the map’ whether over Ukraine, Taiwan or even Greenland. What drives them, and how worried should we be? Paul joined the podcast alongside the Financial Times journalist, and author of The Age of the Strongman, Gideon Rachman. (1:01) Next: Tesla owners, beware! Jonathan Miller writes in the magazine this week about the phenomenon of Tesla cars being defaced, damaged, and even set fire to. The brand’s association with its owner Elon Musk has made it an ‘accessible but indefensible’ target for activists. And, despite Musk’s role in the Trump administration, this issue isn’t confined to the US. Jonathan joined the podcast from his hamlet in the south of France to talk about how local Tesla-owners are preparing to fight back. A representative from the activist group Tesla Takedown did initially accept an invitation to join the podcast…  (15:50) And finally: are theatre matinees experiencing a revival? Playwright Jonathan Maitland highlights the resurgent popularity of theatre matinees in the arts lead of the magazine. Matinees have a long history within theatre and now offer a greater convenience for diverse audiences in a post-pandemic age. Jonathan’s new play, Wilko: Love and Death and Rock n Roll, is a good example of this. At London’s Southwark Playhouse until the 19th April, they’ve put on extra matinee performances to cope with demand (a small number of tickets are still available).  Jonathan joined the podcast alongside Nica Burns, the theatre producer and co-owner of the Nimax Theatres group which runs six West End theatres including the Palace, the Apollo and the Garrick. (22:25) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

My guest in this week’s Book Club is Francesca Simon. Best known for her Horrid Henry series of children’s books, Francesca has just published her first novel for grownups, a haunting reworking of a Welsh folk tale called Salka: Lady of the Lake. She tells me how she came to shift direction, what myths offer in terms of storytelling possibility – and why she never tired of her best-known creation.

Jeffrey Goldberg’s story in the Atlantic is so mind-blowing it’s hard to know what to say in response. It defies belief that Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, appears to have accidentally added a top journalist to a Signal messaging group with senior government officials – including the Vice President, Secretary of State, Defence Secretary and the Director of National Intelligence – to discuss top-secret military action. It boggles the brain that the people running the most powerful country on the planet, the Principals Committee of US national security no less, use childish emojis to discuss a bombing campaign which they helped co-ordinate in order to kill 53 people. It’s another painful reminder that, whether Trump or Biden is in the White House, the free world is not being led by serious people. Deputy and US editor Freddy Gray is joined by Ben Domenech, editor-at-large of Spectator World, to discuss. You can watch this episode on YouTube! Click here.

Loyd Grossman is a man of many talents: from appearing on our screens as the host of MasterChef and Through the Keyhole, to crafting a beloved line of pasta sauces. Loyd has left his mark on both the culinary and cultural worlds. On the podcast, Loyd talks to Lara about hazy memories of ‘sipping a Shirley Temple cocktail aged 6 or 7’, the secret behind his pasta sauces, and why he loathes school meals. 

** Chinese Whispers is coming to an end. Later this year, Cindy Yu will be joining The Times and The Sunday Times to write a regular column on China. To stay abreast of her latest work, subscribe to her free Substack at chinesewhispers.substack.com ** It’s easy to forget that, as recently as the start of this century, the US was China’s biggest ally. Washington saw Beijing as a necessary bulwark against Moscow, and consistently supported China’s entry into the world economy ever since rapprochement in the 1970s, including its accession to the World Trade Organisation. These days, the relationship couldn’t be more different. Why have relations cooled quite so fast? When was the turning point? And can we now say that rapprochement was a strategic mistake from the US? Bob Davis is a former senior editor at the Wall Street Journal, who was posted to China between 2011 and 2014. In recent years, he has been conducting a long running series of interviews - with dozens of high level officials over successive American administrations - for the online magazine, The Wire China. He has interviewed defense secretaries, ambassadors, national security advisors, treasury secretaries and more. Now, these interviews have been collated into a new e-book released by The Wire China: Broken Engagement. Through these interviews, we can see the changing direction of US-China relations through the eyes and words of those at the very heart of America’s decisions. Bob joins this episode.

Caroline Lucas was elected as the first ever MP for the Green Party and served as their leader three times. Having completed a PhD in English, worked for Oxfam, and been involved in local Green Party politics, she went on to serve in the European Parliament for a decade. In 2010, she was elected to Parliament as the MP for Brighton Pavilion and, during her 14 years in Westminster, the Green Party went from 0.9% of the national vote to 6.4%. Although she stepped down, a record 4 Green Party MPs were elected at the 2024 election. On the podcast - the 150th episode of Women With Balls - Caroline tells Katy Balls about growing up with different politics to her Conservative-voting parents, why her views on nuclear weapons haven’t changed, and whether the left can be patriotic. She also talks about being a peer of Nigel Farage in Brussels, what it’s like being the sole parliamentary party representative, and why she never considered joining the Labour Party. She argues that there is a political urgency for the left to discuss ‘Englishness’, as outlined in her bestselling book Another England: How To Reclaim Our National Story, which is available now in paperback.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Henry Jeffreys looks at the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs on British drinkers (1:31); on the 400th anniversary of Charles I’s accession to the throne, Marcus Walker explains what modern Britain could learn from the cavalier monarch (7:10); Angus Colwell provides his notes on beef dripping (13:55); Nicolas Farrell reveals he refused to accept the local equivalent of an Oscar (16:40); and, Rory Sutherland makes the case for linking VAT to happiness… with 0% going to pubs, Indian restaurants and cheddar cheese (24:08).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

On 23 March 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the unprecedented decision to put the UK into lockdown. To mark the 5th anniversary of that announcement this weekend, we have brought together our editor Michael Gove – then a cabinet minister under Boris – and our associate editor Toby Young – an ardent critic of the decision – to answer the question, was the government right to lock down? Was the decision a necessary and reasonable health measure based on the available evidence at the time, or a significant and avoidable violation of civil liberties by a government that was meant to champion liberal freedoms? You decide. Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Russia and Ukraine have launched air attacks on each other, hours after Vladimir Putin told Trump that Russia would stop targeting Ukrainian energy sites. Has Putin outplayed Trump? And will Trump regret bringing Europe's militaries back to life? Deputy and US editor Freddy Gray is joined by Americano regular and author Jacob Heilbrunn to discuss.

This week: why is economic growth eluding Labour? ‘Growing pains’ declares The Spectator’s cover image this week, as our political editor Katy Balls, our new economics editor Michael Simmons, and George Osborne’s former chief of staff Rupert Harrison analyse the fiscal problems facing the Chancellor. ‘Dominic Cummings may have left Whitehall,’ write Katy and Michael, ‘but his spirit lives on.’ ‘We are all Dom now,’ according to one government figure. Keir Starmer’s chief aide Morgan McSweeney has never met Cummings, but the pair share a diagnosis of Britain’s failing economy. Identifying a problem is not, however, the same as solving it. As Rachel Reeves prepares her Spring Statement, ministers are bracing themselves for cuts in day-to-day spending as the public finances deteriorate. Is austerity back? Michael and Rupert joined the podcast to discuss further. (1:02) Next: survival of the fittest vs seduction by the hottest Biologist and Conservative peer Matt Ridley writes about the concept of sexual selection in the magazine this week, explaining that evolution might not just be driven by survival of the fittest but also by section by the hottest. This, he says, would explain some of nature’s most colourful oddities, particularly within birds, as outlined in his new book Birds, Sex and Beauty. Charles Darwin proposed this as a later part of his evolutionary theory, but it caused a rift amongst his contemporaries – why is it a controversial concept? And could it be true for other species such as humans? Matt joined the podcast alongside David Puts, Professor of Anthropology and Psychology at Penn State University. (19:13) And finally: what makes historic murders so fascinating? Historian and author Hallie Rubenhold’s new book, Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress and Dr Crippen, retells the famous murder case from the perspective of the women involved. Lisa Hilton declares it an ‘intellectual adventure’ in the lead book review in the magazine this week. But why do these cases continue to capture our imaginations, decades and even centuries later? And, whether as victims or as accomplices, what makes women such compelling subjects in historic cases like these? Hallie joined the podcast alongside the historian and broadcaster Alice Loxton, author of Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives. (30:40) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the novelist and journalist John Lanchester, one of the contributors to Michael Lewis’s very timely new anthology of reportage on the United States federal government, Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service. Can the public learn to love a bureaucrat? John tells me why he thinks the workings of government are misunderstood and under appreciated, why we should marvel at the making of the consumer price index, and why he thinks Elon Musk has ‘the wrong handle of the shopping bag’.

Miatta Fahnbulleh was elected as the Labour MP for Peckham at the 2024 general election.  Born in Liberia, her family fled west Africa as the region descended into civil war, eventually settling in north London when she was just 7 years old. Trained as an economist, having studied at Oxford and the LSE, she went on to work in the civil service and at various think-tanks. After serving as the CEO for the New Economics Foundation, she became a senior economic adviser for Labour working with Ed Miliband during his time as leader of the Labour Party. Ed is now her boss again – at the department for energy.  On the podcast, Miatta talks to Katy Balls about how the value of public service was instilled early in her life, how politics weighs heavier in west Africa than in the UK, and what it’s like to be considered a rising star in British politics. She also talks about the tough decisions this Labour government has had to make, from international aid to energy. She says that while the politics around energy are tough, the topic is intrinsically linked to Labour’s success – bills must come down before the next general election.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Colin Freeman explains how Islamic State tightened its grip on the Congo (1:23); Harry Ritchie draws attention to the thousands of languages facing extinction this century, as he reviews Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages by Lorna Gibb (8:00); Max Jeffery highlights the boxing academy changing young lives (13:20); Michael Gove reflects on lessons learned during his time as education secretary (20:30); and, Catriona Olding introduces the characters from her new Provence-based memoir club (29:27).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Slashing the winter fuel allowance, maintaining the two child benefit cap, cutting international aid, cutting the civil service, axing NHS bureaucracy, possibly slashing welfare expenditure... you'd be forgiven for thinking the Conservatives were in power. But no, these are all policies pursued by the current Labour government. So on today's Saturday Shots Cindy Yu asks Michael Gove and James Heale, is Keir Starmer a Tory? While Michael admits to giving Starmer a 'painful' two cheers, he does say there is historic precedent for Labour governments enacting right-leaning measures: from Jim Callaghan's migration policies to the economic ones of Ramsay MacDonald. How has Starmer got away with it? And what does his premiership of pragmatism tell us about the future direction of Labour? Michael sets out a number of tests to judge Starmer's success by: the tests of Fraser Nelson, Robert Jenrick, Ernie Bevin, Denis Healey and Bob Mellish...  Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu.

Freddy Gray is joined by Fox News broadcaster Deroy Murdock to discuss Trump's America. They cover what could be the real reason behind Trump's tariffs, how concerned Americans should be about a recession, the Ukraine-Russia peace plan and what the Democrats can do to recover from the election defeat. 

This week: sectarian persecution returns Paul Wood, Colin Freeman and Father Benedict Kiely write in the magazine this week about the religious persecution that minorities are facing across the world from Syria to the Congo. In Syria, there have been reports of massacres with hundreds of civilians from the Alawite Muslim minority targeted, in part because of their association with the fallen Assad regime. Reports suggest that the groups responsible are linked to the new Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani). For some, the true face of the country’s new masters has been revealed. Whether the guilty men are punished will tell us what kind of country Syria has become since the fall of Assad’s dictatorship. Speaking to those on the ground, Wood reports of fathers who were shot in front of their families, victims made to howl like dogs as they crawled through piles of corpses, and of state security forces trying to prevent survivors from photographing or talking about what had happened. But to what extent is al-Sharaa responsible? And could other minorities, like the Syrian Christian minority – one of the oldest in the world, be next? Paul and Fr Benedict joined the podcast to discuss. (1:02) Next: this century’s ‘unstoppable process of language extinction’ There are around 7,000 languages currently spoken across the world, but by the end of the century only 500 are expected to survive. Thus, documenting endangered languages has never been so important and this is the starting point of Lorna Gibb’s new book, Rare Tongues: The Secret Stories of Hidden Languages, reviewed by Harry Ritchie in the books section of the magazine this week. What are some examples of the languages facing extinction? And should we accept this as an inevitable cultural rise and fall, or should we be working to combat this? Harry joined the podcast alongside Dr Oliver Mayeux, a sociolinguist at Cambridge, who also speaks Louisiana creole – a language spoken by fewer that 10,000 people. With special thanks to the Endangered Language Alliance, for allowing us to use a clip of the Garifuna language, who are working to document and preserve languages facing extinction across the world. (18:06) And finally: what is ‘Boom Boom’, Gen Z’s favourite aesthetic trend? Out are boring converse and dirty t-shirts beloved by millennial tech bros and in are high-fashion double-breasted suits and loafers, or so says Arabella Byrne who writes about the aesthetic trend defining Gen Z. American trend analyst Sean Monahan – who also coined 2013’s ‘normcore’ – coined the term ‘Boom Boom’ to encapsulate the look and feel of the trend. Think 1980s yuppies updated for 2025 – so why exactly is it popular, and what does it tell us about today’s twentysomethings? Arabella and Sean joined the podcast to discuss. (27:50) Plus: Matthew Parris, Stephen Fry, Rory Sutherland, Rachel Johnson, Philip Hensher, Sean Thomas and Petronella Wyatt reveal the worst insults they ever received from a teacher. (13:59) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

James Orr was living the life of a young, high-flying lawyer when, after a few drinks at a New Year's Eve party, he asked for signs that God existed. The signs came; among other things, he narrowly avoided a fatal skiing accident. Now he is a passionate Christian and a conservative culture warrior who helped defeat an attempt to impose the tyranny of critical race theory on Cambridge University, where he is an associate professor of the philosophy of religion. He's also an intellectual mentor to the vice president of the United States; Politico describes him as 'J.D. Vance's English philosopher king'. Dr Orr says Vance is 'extremely articulate, but he takes no prisoners'. As you'll hear in his conversation with Damian Thompson, that's an observation that could easily apply to the man the vice president calls his 'British Sherpa'.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the publisher Anthony Cheetham, one of the biggest figures in British publishing through the second half of the twentieth century and into this one. In his new book A Life in Fifty Books: A Publisher's Memoir, he looks back on his career. He tells me why he had a soft spot for Robert Maxwell; how he launched Ken Follett's career on the top deck of a bus; how losing a press-up competition changed the landscape of publishing (and upset his then wife); how publishing has changed – and how it hasn't; and why Confessions of a Window-Cleaner has a special place in his heart.

Ash Sarkar is a journalist, academic and political activist known for her commentary on social justice and democratic socialism. She is a senior editor at Novara Media, and her work has been published extensively. Ash’s debut book, Minority Rule: Adventures in the Culture War, examines how ruling elites exploit cultural divisions to maintain power. On the podcast, she tells Liv and Lara about early memories of her grandmother’s paratha, why she is not a vegetarian and why she prefers to think of herself as a ‘Cava communist’ as opposed to a Champagne socialist. Photo credit: Jonathan Ring

Walking around Taipei a couple of years ago, I spotted a familiar sight – a bronze statue of a moustachioed man, cane in his right hand, left leg striding forward. The man is Sun Yat-sen, considered modern China’s founding father. I recognised the statue because a larger version of it stands in the city centre of Nanjing, the mainland Chinese city that I was born and raised in. That one figure can be celebrated across the strait, both in Communist PRC and Taiwanese ROC, is the curious legacy left behind by Sun. March 12th this year is the centenary of Sun’s death, so what better opportunity to look at his legacy, and who better to discuss Sun than the historian Rana Mitter, who needs no introduction with Chinese Whispers listeners. Further listening: Japan’s role in the making of modern China What is it to be ‘Chinese’?

Freddy Gray is joined with Michael Auslin who is an academic and historian at the Hoover Institute and author of the Substack 'THE PATOWMACK PACKET'. They discuss China's response to Trump's tariffs, whether China is serious about threats of war and how concerned Trump is about China's relationship with Russia. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Having returned from Washington D.C., Harry Cole reads his diary for the week (1:16); Zoe Strimpel reports on the Gen Z fliers obsessed with maximalising their air miles (5:37); Michael Simmons argues that Scotland is the worst when it comes to government waste (12:00); reviewing Quentin Skinner’s Liberty as Independence, Nigel Warburton examines what it means to be free (17:45); and, Justin Marozzi provides his notes on possum (25:02).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

It’s a special (and emotional) edition of Coffee House Shots this Saturday because it is the last with Kate Andrews on this side of the Atlantic. She joins our editor Michael Gove and political correspondent James Heale for a debate on ideology. Kate – a liberal, in the classical British sense – explains exactly why she is not a Conservative and the various tenets that distinguish liberalism from conservatism, whilst Michael makes the case for being a 'pessimistic' conservative. So, what makes a liberal? What makes a conservative? And was Hayek right in saying that while there isn’t much to choose between these two political creeds, ultimately, they need each other. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson. Kate Andrews' suggested reading on liberalism: F. A. Hayek: The Road to Serfdom  Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations Deirdre McCloskey: Why Liberalism Works

Julia Lopez has been the Conservative MP for Hornchurch and Upminster since 2017. Her first political experience was working for the then-MP for the Cities of London and Westminster Mark Field, before she became a councillor for Tower Hamlets – working to improve the standards of an area marred in scandal and heightened community tensions. She went on to hold ministerial roles under three Prime Ministers and is now the PPS to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.   On the podcast, Julia talks to Katy Balls about the impact Margaret Thatcher had on the politics of her family, how she gained political experience touring London’s sewers and skyscrapers, and the mixed emotions of becoming an MP in 2017 – when the party lost its majority. She also describes what it was like to fight a campaign five days after giving birth, and her connection to The Spectator – having helped to change the law to protect British media from foreign ownership.   Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: the carve-up of Ukraine’s natural resources From the success of Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington to the squabbling we saw in the Oval Office and the breakdown of security guarantees for Ukraine – we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of geopolitics in the last week, say Niall Ferguson and Nicholas Kulish in this week’s cover piece. They argue that what Donald Trump is really concerned with when it comes to Ukraine is rare earth minerals – which Ukraine has in abundance under its soil. The conventional wisdom is that the US is desperately short of these crucial minerals and, as Niall and Nicholas point out, the dealmaking president is driven by a nagging sense of inferiority in comparison to rare earth minerals powerhouse China. Niall and Nicholas joined the podcast to talk further. (02:19) Next: why are women having caesareans being offered sterilisation? During a routine antenatal appointment, Flora Watkins was blindsided by the opening gambit from her obstetrician: ‘Why don’t we tie your tubes when we’ve got the baby out?’ The doctor wouldn’t drop it, despite Flora’s objections, insisting it was ‘a very simple procedure’. Flora speaks to other women who were traumatised by these unsolicited offers and confused about why they had been targeted. Most felt it was a judgment on the number of children they ‘should’ have. Only one woman had been given a medical reason. Flora joined the podcast to discuss this further, alongside Dr Janet Barter, president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, which advises women on contraception. (18:50) And finally: when is poetry so bad that it becomes good? Sam Leith, The Spectator’s literary editor, celebrates William McGonagall in the magazine – the man affectionately considered the worst poet in history. McGonagall was, as Sam says, an ‘anti-genius’ who (in light of the Tay Bridge Disaster) concocted such memorable stanzas as: Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay! Alas! I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away On the last Sabbath day of 1879, Which will be remember’d for a very long time. But Sam argues that there is joy to be found in bad poetry. To discuss good poetry, bad poetry and the very fine line between them, Sam Leith joined the podcast alongside one of the more successful Dundonian poets, Don Paterson. (33:08) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

In this week's Book Club podcast, I'm joined by Donald Trump's outstanding Boswell, the magazine writer Michael Wolff. Michael’s new book, All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America, takes Donald Trump and his colourful cast of hangers-on from the aftermath of the 6 January riots to his triumphal return to the White House. Michael tells me why he thinks people in Trumpworld are still talking to him, how the Donald has changed over the decade he has been reporting on him, why he’s confident American democracy will survive a second Trump presidency – and how world leaders, such as Keir Starmer, are best advised to handle this volatile and unpredictable character.

Robert Bryce, an energy expert and author of The Question of Power, discusses the state of global energy, electric vehicles, and government policies both in the UK and America. Freddy and Robert look at how government subsidies and mandates have driven automakers toward unprofitable EV production, what is energy humanism, and how foreign interference has shaped climate policies over the past decade. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Paul Wood reads his letter from the Vatican (1:17); Matthew Parris warns Conservatives from embracing causes that could lose them as much support as they would gain (7:31); reviewing Richard Overy’s Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima and the Surrender of Japan, Ian Buruma argues that the atomic bombs were not only immoral, but ineffective (15:35); Hermione Eyre examines the life and work of the surrealist artist Ithell Colquhoun (23:03); and, Francis Young provides his notes on Shrove Tuesday (29:12).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

The Spectator’s Katy Balls, Michael Gove and Kate Andrews were joined by special guests Robert Jenrick and Jonathan Ashworth for a live podcast, recorded at the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster. The main topic of discussion was, of course, Donald Trump, whose inauguration has ushered in a new world disorder. His ‘shock and awe’ foreign policy has sent Europe scrambling as it tries to work out who will be responsible for ensuring its security in the future. We have seen a move away from the idealism that has defined foreign policy in the last decade and towards ‘realism’, with countries committing to boots on the ground and greater defence spending. Are Labour right to increase their defence pledge? Is Kemi Badenoch being energetic enough in holding the government to account – not just on its foreign policy, but on its record in government so far? And – closer to home – how worried are the Tories about the rise of Reform? This discussion was originally recorded on Wednesday 26 February.

Freddy is joined by The Spectator World’s deputy US editor, Kate Andrews, and The Telegraph columnist, Tim Stanley, to talk about Keir Starmer’s much-anticipated meeting with Donald Trump in Washington. Across the board, it has been read as a success – at least domestically, that is. The victories include movement on the Ukraine backstop, some positive discussions around the UK avoiding tariffs, and a second state visit is on the horizon as well. The biggest win, though, was the number of compliments that the president gave Starmer, including – puzzlingly – about his accent. The Spectator World’s Ben Domenech secured an interview with Donald Trump after the Starmer meeting, in which he was similarly effusive about the PM: ‘I thought he was very good. I met him twice before – you know, he came to see me twice before – but this time was the best. And I think we got along very well.’ You can find more from that interview on The Spectator World website. 

Alexandra Shulman is one of the most influential figures in British fashion. She is the longest serving editor-in-chief at British Vogue, having led the magazine for 25 years before stepping down in 2017. Her career in journalism included time at publications such as Tatler and the Sunday Telegraph. She was later editor of the British edition of GQ, before joining British Vogue where she oversaw an increase in circulation to record figures. Alexandra was appointed a CBE for services to fashion journalism, and is now an author, commentator and writes a weekly notebook for the Mail on Sunday. On the podcast, Alexandra talks to Katy Balls about the heyday of print journalism in the late 1980s and 1990s, why she thinks that discussion of the death of print journalism might be premature, and she opens up about the controversy that surrounded her handover to her successor. She cites her Adele cover as one of her most memorable during her time at Vogue, and she explains why she thinks expectations around beauty – despite her best efforts at challenging contemporary standards – have gotten worse.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: Nigel’s gang – Reform’s plan for power. Look at any opinion survey or poll, and it’s clear that Reform is hard to dismiss, write Katy Balls and James Heale. Yet surprisingly little is known about the main players behind the scenes who make up Nigel Farage’s new gang. There are ‘the lifers’ – Dan Jukes and ‘Posh George’ Cottrell. Then there are the Tory defectors, trained by Richard Murphy, a valued CCHQ veteran, who is described as a ‘secret weapon’. The most curious new additions are the Gen Zers, who include Tucker Carlson’s nephew, Charles Carlson, and Jack Anderton, known as ‘the Matrix’. Katy and James joined the podcast to lift the lid on Nigel Farage’s inner circle. (02:14) Next: is technology a help or hindrance when it comes to missing people? While smartphones are no doubt useful in emergency situations, they create the expectation that you will always be in touch – when sometimes, of course, you can’t be. But what happens when technology fails? Ross Clark tells the hilarious story of how he mistakenly became a ‘missing person’ after his phone died while hiking in Scotland. Ross joins the podcast to unpack the lessons from his day getting the full Lord Lucan treatment, alongside journalist and political correspondent for GB News Katherine Forster. Katherine’s sons, who used smartphones to track a hiking route, went missing last year in Bali when their phones died and they were unable to contact anyone. (17:33) And finally: how do you make Bond great again? James Bond seems to have lost his way. Gone is the charm, wit and romp of the original Connery and Moore Bonds, replaced by a grittier, more vengeful Bond with bloated plotlines that are far too referential. Amazon – which took full ‘creative control’ of the franchise this week – faces quite the task in rebooting the world’s most famous spy once again. Journalist Madeline Grant gives her prescription in the magazine on how to save Bond, but we are joined on the podcast by William Boyd, who is part of an elite class of authors to have written their own James Bond novels. (28:29) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is the Assyriologist Selena Wisnom, author of The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History. Selena tells me about the vast and strange world of cuneiform culture, as evidenced by the life and reign of the scholar-king Ashurbanipal and the library – pre-dating that of Alexandria – that he left to the world. She describes the cruelty and brilliance of the Ancient Near East, the uses of lamentation, the capricious Babylonian gods, the ways in which we can recognise ourselves in our ancestors there – plus, what The Exorcist got wrong about Sumerian demons.

The film Conclave has picked up a host of awards across all the major ceremonies so far, including at the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globes, and winning Best Picture at the BAFTAs. Adapted from the novel by Robert Harris, it also has eight nominations at the upcoming 2025 Academy Awards. Full of intrigue, the film has viewers wondering how true to life the process depicted on the big screen is. And, with Pope Francis hospitalised, amidst the award season, this has only heightened interest in Papal conclaves and the election process.  Dr Kurt Martens, Professor of Canon Law at the Catholic University of America, joins Damian Thompson to unpack the process. What really happens when a Pope dies? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Emma Fox is the chief exec of Berry Bros & Rudd, the world's oldest fine wine and spirit merchant. A retail veteran, Emma's broad experience has been shaped by a career spanning over 30 years.  On the podcast, Emma tells Liv about early memories of 'sugar butties', what's the best bottle to bring to a dinner party and what she would pair with her desert island meal.  Photo credit: Elena Hearthwick

Just before the end of 2024, Chinese state media Xinhua slipped out an announcement – the long discussed mega-dam in Medog County, Tibet, has been greenlit. When built, it will generate three times more energy than China’s Three Gorges dam, currently the largest in the world. The Xinhua write-up gave few other details, but the news has caused reverberations across Asia as the river on which the dam would be built, the Yarlung Tsangpo, flows into both India and Bangladesh. The existence of the dam could, as this episode explains, have extensive impact on these downriver countries. To break down the complicated water politics of the region, Cindy Yu is joined by Chinese Whispers regular, the journalist Isabel Hilton, who founded the climate NGO Dialogue Earth (formerly known as China Dialogue); and Neeraj Singh Manhas, an expert on transboundary rivers and Asian water politics, currently at South Korea’s Parley Policy Initiative.

Oren Cass, founder and chief economist of think-tank American Compass, sits down with Freddy Gray at the ARC conference in London. They react to the announcement by President Trump over the weekend of reciprocal tariffs: the decision by the US to match import duties levied by other countries.  What's the strategy behind Trump's decision? And what could the consequences be for American companies and for global trade? They also discuss the broad political consensus behind free trade in the US since the 1990s. Given the 'lived reality' that faced many American investors and companies - for example competing with Chinese Electric Vehicles - was the free trade really working anyway? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Hugh Schofield asks why there is no campaign to free the novelist Boualem Sansal (1:26); The Spectator’s arts editor, Igor Toronyi-Lalic, reacts to the magazine’s campaign against frivolous funding and, continuing the campaign, Michael Simmons wonders if Britain is funding organisations that wish us harm (8:00); Lisa Haseldine reflects on whether the AfD’s rise could mean ‘Weimar 2.0’ for Germany (17:08); reviewing Thou Savage Woman: Female Killers in Early Modern Britain, by Blessin Adams, Alice Loxton explores the gruesome ways in which women killed (25:05); and, from Kenya, Aidan Hartley reflects on how a secret half-brother impacted his relationship with his father (35:13).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Simon Hart joins James Heale to talk about his new book Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip. Having stepped down at the 2024 election, Simon has become the first former Chief Whip to publish his diaries. What are his reflections on the Conservatives' time in office? Simon explains why his decision to resign under Boris Johnson was so difficult, why the Rwanda vote under Rishi Sunak was their finest hour, and why the Whips' office is really the government's HR department. Just how Ungovernable was the Tory Party? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The subject of Ukraine shattered the unity of Eastern Orthodoxy long before Russia’s full-scale invasion began. In 2018 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church declared independence from Moscow with the approval of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. In response, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow broke off all relations with Constantinople, creating arguably the greatest schism in Orthodoxy for 1,000 years. There are now two main Ukrainian Orthodox Churches: one that supports independence and one still loyal to Moscow. As The Spectator’s Ukraine correspondent Svitlana Morenets points out, Ukrainians who previously didn’t care which church they attended now have to decide which to attend. Meanwhile, Dr Yuri Stoyanov, a fellow at SOAS, describes the alarming escalation of apocalyptic rhetoric encouraged by Kirill, whose talk of a Holy War against the forces of Antichrist is popular with soldiers but means little to the average Russian.  As we approach the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Svitlana and Yuri join host Damian Thompson to discuss the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in perpetuating the conflict. Has Holy War returned to Europe? And is it true that President Putin has secretly been taking part in bizarre quasi-shamanistic rituals?  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: the world needs a realist reset Donald Trump’s presidency is the harbinger of many things, writes The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove, one of which is a return to a more pitiless world landscape. The ideal of a rules-based international order has proved to be a false hope. Britain must accept that if we are to earn the respect of others and the right to determine the future, we need a realist reset. What are the consequences of this new world order? And is the Trump administration reversing the tide of decline, or simply refusing to accept the inevitable? Michael Gove joined the podcast alongside the geopolitical theorist Robert Kaplan, author of the new book Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis. Robert argues that the true understanding of realism has been corrupted, and that democracy ‘can easily become the tyranny of the majority’. (1:06) Next: when does healthy scepticism over cholesterol become pseudoscience? With ‘sky-high’ cholesterol, the journalist Paul Wood has gone down an internet rabbit-hole to improve his heart health. He declares ‘I was convinced by the cholesterol sceptics’. There was once a time when it felt like the front pages of newspapers had a story raising doubts about statins – a type of medication to control cholesterol – every week. Now, the internet is full of medical misinformation around high cholesterol, an issue that will affect over half of Britons. So, what is the truth behind cholesterol? And when does healthy scepticism tip over into pseudoscience? Paul joined the podcast alongside the cardiologist Dr Christopher Labos, author of Does coffee cause cancer? (25:24) And finally: with a love of magic, is it any wonder Dickens could conjure up worlds full of surprises? When people hear ‘the magic of Charles Dickens’ they undoubtedly think about the words - and the worlds - he created. Yet, many won’t realise that the great writer had a love of showmanship and stage magic himself. Peter Conrad says that Dickens could have even been an actor. What makes Dickens’s worlds so compelling? And how did his love of stagecraft influence his writing? Peter has authored a new book on the subject, Dickens the Enchanter: Inside the Explosive Imagination of the Great Storyteller, and joins the podcast. (37:10) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the novelist and critic James Bradley whose new book is Deep Water: The World in the Ocean. He tells me how we need to rethink our relationship with the sea and the life it contains, why fish are much more intelligent than we are used to imagining, and why – amid planetary doom – there’s still room for hope.

Political commentator, and author of Troubled, Rob Henderson joins Freddy Gray from the ARC conference in London. They discuss the political reaction to the news that Elon Musk has allegedly had his 13th child – are there signs of a new, more permissive conservatism? They also discuss Trump’s administration so far – particularly his flurry of executive orders – with critics decrying them as the tactics of a populist, yet supporters approving of the speed of activity. What’s the psychology underpins these political viewpoints? Vice-President J.D. Vance’s speech in Munich over the weekend has also left many European leaders reeling – but should they really have been surprised? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

In his new book Why We Believe: Finding Meaning in Uncertain Times, Prof Alister McGrath rejects the notion that belief is a relic of the past and takes aim at the ‘new atheists’ who attack religion without even knowing what it is. Prof McGrath, emeritus Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University, has had a unique journey to religion. A former Marxist atheist with a doctorate in molecular biology, he’s now a world-renowned theologian and Anglican priest.  In this lively discussion with Damian Thompson he talks about the boundary between science and religion, something poorly understood by aggressive atheists such as Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens. He suggests that, while we all look for meaning, the safety of science doesn’t provide the sense of belonging that we all crave.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: James Heale wonders what Margaret Thatcher would make of today’s Conservatives (1:28); Andrew Kenny analyses South Africa’s expropriation act (6:13); Lara Prendergast explores the mystery behind The Spectator’s man in the Middle East, John R Bradley (13:55); Ysenda Maxtone Graham looks at how radio invaded the home (30:13); and, Nina Power reviews two exhibitions looking at different kinds of rage (35:13).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

It is 50 years since Margaret Thatcher was elected Conservative leader, and at this week’s shadow cabinet meeting, Lord Forsyth was invited as a guest speaker to mark the occasion. He noted the similarities between 1975 and 2025. Back then, the party was broke, reeling from defeat and facing the fallout from a reorganisation of local government. But, despite threadbare resources, Thatcher managed to rebuild to win power four years later. ‘You have the potential to do the same,’ Forsyth told Kemi Badenoch. However, when asked if a young Thatcher would have been drawn to the right’s insurgent Reform Party, Nigel Farage replied, ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt about it.’ He even claimed that Thatcher had voted UKIP in 1999. ‘She believed in meritocracy, she put Jewish people in her cabinet, working-class people like Norman Tebbit. She would have hated wokery and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI),’ said Farage.  What would Mrs Thatcher have thought of the current state of the Conservative Party? Might Reform have appealed to her?  James Heale speaks to Lord Forsyth. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Professor John Mearsheimer comes back on the Americano show with Freddy Gray to discuss how seriously we should take Trump's foreign policy. They cover the President's plans to rebuild Gaza, why Netanyahu and Trump won't agree on what to do with Iran and whether Trump can strike a deal with Putin.

This week: The Spectator launches SPAFF The civil service does one thing right, writes The Spectator’s data editor Michael Simmons: spaffing money away. The advent of Elon Musk’s DOGE in the US has inspired The Spectator to launch our own war on wasteful spending – the Spectator Project Against Frivolous Funding, or SPAFF. Examples of waste range from the comic to the tragic. The Department for Work and Pensions, Michael writes, ‘bought one Universal Credit claimant a £1,500 e-bike after he persuaded his MP it would help him find self-employment’. There’s money for a group trying to ‘decolonise’ pole dancing; for a ‘socially engaged’ practitioner to make a film about someone else getting an MBE; and for subscriptions to LinkedIn. Lord Agnew, who used to hold the ‘Pythonesque’ title of ‘minister of state for efficiency and transformation’, backs The Spectator’s new SPAFF campaign and says total reform is the only option. Michael and Theo joined the podcast to discuss. (1:04) Next: is surrogacy a blessing or a sham? Debates about surrogacy have raged again following the announcement that the actress Lily Collins has had a baby via surrogate. Mary Wakefield says that there is a ‘sadness’ behind surrogacy, and that babies could be affected by being separated from their birth mother. Surrogacy is illegal in many countries, such as Spain and Italy, and Mary worries about potential legal changes that would make it easier to pursue here in the UK. So, is surrogacy a lifeline for many couples looking to conceive, or is it a practice that we should be more concerned about? Mary joined the podcast to discuss alongside Sunshine Hanson. Sunshine is the president and co-founder of the US-based surrogacy agency Surrogacy Is, and has also been a gestational surrogate three times. (16:26) And finally: is smoking sexy again? Flora Watkins revels at the news that Generation Z are shedding their vapes and taking up ‘real’ smoking, saying that everyone looks ‘hotter with a fag in their mouth’. Disregarding familial disapproval, Flora says that smoking makes her feel cool, young and attractive. Does this mean that smoking is sexy again? And why is smoking proving more popular with younger generations? It appears that the proposed smoking ban, proposed by both the Conservatives and now Labour, is having the opposite effect. Flora joined the podcast - with a cigarette in hand - to discuss, alongside the writer Zak Asgard. (29:35)  Presented by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

From Churchill to Thatcher to Blair to Farage, Parliament has seen some truly fantastic rhetoricians over the years. But last week came the news that – in a bid to improve his own oratorical skill – Keir Starmer employed a voice coach: former actress Leonie Mellinger. Mellinger has been at the centre of a fresh COVID-19 row, as the Prime Minister considered her to be so important that she qualified as a ‘key worker’ in 2020, visiting Labour headquarters in a mask on Christmas Eve 2020 to advise Starmer. It is not an unusual practice to employ a voice coach to improve a politician’s public speaking, and on the podcast Michael Gove is joined by his own former coach  Graham Davies, to recover the lost art of political rhetoric. They discuss what makes a great political speech, share some of their favourite examples and ask: has Mellinger actually improved Starmer’s delivery? Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy.

Sam Leith's guest on today’s Book Club podcast is the musician, writer and photographer Colin Greenwood, who joins me to discuss his new book of photographs and memoir How To Disappear: A Portrait of Radiohead. Colin tells me about the band’s Mr Benn journey, photographing what you want to see… and what it takes to make Radiohead open a gig with 'Creep'. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

Angus Hanton, author of Vassal State: How America Runs Britain, joins Freddy Gray to talk about the economic relationship between Britain and America. As the world adjusts to the new US administration, every day seems to bring news of new potential tariffs. Is the UK a prime target for Trump? What could the impact of tariffs be? And what are the long-term questions facing British politicians about both the economic and political relationship with the US? Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.

Andy Cato is a musician, record producer and DJ, and is perhaps best known as one half of the Grammy Award-winning electronic music duo Groove Armada. Andy is also a farmer and now puts his energy into championing a better food system as co-founder of Wildfarmed, the UK’s leading regenerative food and farming company. Backed by Jeremy Clarkson and hundreds of farmers nationwide, regenerative farming methods place nature at the heart of food production: protecting natural landscapes, minimising pesticide use and building food security. On the podcast, he tells Lara about nutrition on world music tours, his favourite food spot at Glastonbury Festival and why he sold the rights to his music to pursue regenerative farming.

Beginning in the first Trump presidency and expanded under Joe Biden, the US has taken a strategy of technologically containing China through restricting its access to cutting edge semiconductors. As Chinese Whispers has looked at before, these chips form the backbone of rapid advances in AI, telecoms, smartphones, weaponry and more. Washington’s aim was clear: to widen the technological gap between the two powers But has this strategy worked? Lately this has become a hot topic of debate as Chinese tech companies such as Huawei and DeepSeek have nevertheless made technical strides. Some even argue that the export controls have spurred on Chinese innovation and self-reliance. In this episode of Chinese Whispers, two very informed and smart guests debate this issue. Ryan Fedasiuk is U.S. Director of The Future Society, an independent nonprofit organization focused on AI governance, and former Advisor for U.S.-China Bilateral Affairs at the US State Department. Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Michigan State University and a start-up founder. He also hosts the podcast, Manifold. Produced by Cindy Yu and Joe Bedell-Brill.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Katy Balls analyses the threat Reform pose to the Conservatives (1:20); Alexander Raubo talks us through the MAGA social scene and the art collective Remilia (6:42); Damian Thompson reviews Vatican Spies: from the Second World War to Pope Francis, by Yvonnick Denoel (12:27); Daisy Dunn reviews the new podcast Intoxicating History from Henry Jeffreys and Tom Parker Bowles, as well as BBC Radio 4’s Moving Pictures (17:50); and, Mark Mason provides his notes on obituaries (22:46).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons. 

This week saw the publication of Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund’s new book Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer. It’s the second in their tell-all series of books on the Labour Party’s ups and downs and has caused quite a stir in Westminster. From the revelations about Keir Starmer’s voice coach causing a fresh lockdown row to Michael Gove’s secret dinner with Morgan McSweeney, there is a high-density of scoops and disclosures. Can Labour blame the failures of their first 100 days on Sue Gray? And is there such a thing as ‘Starmerism’? Patrick and Gabriel sat down with Katy Balls and Michael Gove to discuss. Produced by Megan McElroy and Oscar Edmondson.

Kay Burley announced her retirement from Sky News this week, after 36 years, having presented more than a million minutes of live television news – more than any other presenter in the world. To mark the occasion, here’s a special edition of Women With Balls – from the archives – when Kay Burley joined Katy Balls in 2019 to talk about how she ‘knocked the rough edges’ off her accent, her love of Jane Fonda, and why the BBC couldn’t afford her these days.

As a man with the instincts of an insurgent, Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, has found Labour’s first six months in office a frustrating time, writes The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove. ‘Many of his insights – those that made Labour electable – appeared to have been overlooked by the very ministers he propelled into power.’ McSweeney is trying to wrench the government away from complacent incumbency: there is a new emphasis on growth, a tougher line on borders, an impatience with establishment excuses for inertia. Will McSweeney win his battle? And what does this mean for figures in Starmer’s government, like Richard Hermer and Ed Miliband? Michael joined the podcast alongside Starmer’s biographer Tom Baldwin. (1:04) Next: can the AfD be stopped? Lisa Haseldine writes about an earthquake that hit German politics last week; the much feted ‘firewall’ – the agreement by mainstream political parties not to work with the far-right – appeared to fall. Freidrich Merz, tipped to be Chancellor after the upcoming German elections, relied upon the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) for two votes on immigration. Cue protests and denouncements; Merz’s most high-profile predecessor as CDU leader, Angela Merkel, even made a rare, political intervention to denounce the decision. Has the vote helped or hindered Merz? And has the German firewall fallen permanently? Lisa joined the podcast alongside Elisabeth Dampier. Elisabeth has interviewed the controversial AfD MEP Maximilian Krah for the magazine and writes about the man who calls himself ‘the German Donald Trump’. (21:02) And finally: the curious life of an obituary writer Mark Mason provides his notes on obituaries for the magazine this week, stating that ‘there’s nothing as inspiring or instructive or entertaining about reading a few hundred words about someone’s time on his planet’. What’s the process behind putting an obituary together? The Times' longest serving obituary writer Damian Arnold once said, ‘The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is check to see who's dead.’ Mark and Damian joined the podcast to discuss who makes for the best obituary, if there is joy to be found in celebrating death, and whether they’ve ever published an obituary of someone who isn’t actually dead… (33:48) Presented by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

When Netanyahu visited the White House, Donald Trump said in a press conference that the US could take over the Gaza Strip and suggested the permanent resettlement of its 1.8 million residents to neighbouring Arab countries. It has sparked global condemnation raising questions about where the Gaza citizens could be resettled to, and how this could impact the hostage negotiations. To discuss this and the conflict more widely, Freddy Gray is joined by former Israel spokesperson Eylon Levy.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Philip Marsden, whose new book Under A Metal Sky: A Journey Through Minerals, Greed and Wonder looks in thrilling and surprising detail at the wonders that are to be found beneath our feet. On the podcast he takes me through the meanings that rocks and metals have had through human history, from the bronze age, via the alchemist's quest for the philosopher's stone, to the present day.

It's happened. Reform are now ahead of Labour, according to a voting intention poll by YouGov. Reform leads the landmark poll with 25 points, with Labour languishing all the way down in second place on 24 points. Meanwhile, the Conservatives place third on 21 per cent, the Liberal Democrats are on 14 per cent and the Greens on 9 per cent. While there have been a handful of polls to date putting Reform in the lead, they have so far been regarded as outliers. It's a slim lead, but does it point to a long term shift in UK politics – or can it be dismissed as a blip? Does this make a Tory-Reform pact more likely?  Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

The Spectator's economics editor Kate Andrews and Social Democratic Party leader William Clouston join Freddy Gray to try and make sense of Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. He has since threatened the European Union, and has warned the UK. Is this a negotiation tactic or something more? What political philosophy underpins the decision? And what will the impact be? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.

Jeremy Chan is the head chef and owner of Ikoyi, a West African-inspired restaurant that celebrates British seasonality. He is also the author of a cookbook of the same name. On the podcast, he tells Liv and Lara about growing up with a number of different food influences – from Hong Kong to Canada – and why his two-Michelin-starred restaurant should never be pigeonholed. Photo credit: Danny J Peace

There has been a Christian community in Syria since the first century AD. But it is shrinking fast and faces terrifying new threats as the country’s government, following the overthrow of President Assad, forges alliances with hardline Muslims including foreign jihadists – Uighurs from China, Uzbeks from Central Asia, Chechens from Russia, Afghans and Pakistanis. Mgr Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Anglican Bishop of Rochester who is now a Catholic priest of the Ordinariate, has written a heartbreaking piece for The Spectator about the Christians of Maaloula in southwest Syria. It’s one of the last remaining communities to speak Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. ‘Were this community to be destroyed, something precious and irreplaceable would be lost’, he writes. Yet that is exactly what may happen. When the then-Bishop Nazir-Ali visited the town in 2016, he discovered that the predecessors of the jihadis who recently toppled Bashar al-Assad ‘had systematically destroyed and desecrated the town’s churches and monasteries. Orthodox nuns were kidnapped and held to ransom … young men had been singled out and executed when they refused to convert to the extremists’ version of Islam.’ Will it happen again? Ahmad al-Sharaa, head of the new Syrian transitional administration, has told Church leaders they have nothing to fear. But can he be trusted? As Mgr Nazir-Ali tells Damian Thompson in this episode of Holy Smoke, it is time for the West to act.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Loyd Grossman pleads to save Britain's cathedrals, as he reads his diary for the week (1:31); Unity Mitford is a classic case of aristocratic anti-Semitism says Tanya Gold (7:47); looking ahead to another Strategic Defence Review, Harry Halem warns that Britain is far from prepared for the era of AI warfare (12:42); 'the worst echo chamber is your own mind': Angus Colwell interviews philosopher Agnes Callard (24:24); reviewing Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice, by Steve Crawshaw, Philippe Sands argues that while the international criminal justice system was prejudiced from the start the idea was right (31:01); and, Michael Simmons contradicts the Pope and declares that gossip is good for you (41:21).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons. 

The first phase of Trump’s presidency has been a whirlwind of news. The President signed a succession of executive orders, which overwhelmed and confused the Democratic Party with the amount of ‘energy in the executive’. But there are signs of life, particularly in opposition to Trump’s attempts to freeze federal grants and loans. What’s going on? Are the Democrats finding their feet? To discuss, Freddy is joined by Damon Linker, senior lecturer in political science at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the Notes from the Middle Ground substack.

This week: why don’t we know how many people are in Britain? How many people live in the UK? It’s a straightforward question, yet the answer eludes some of the nation’s brightest statistical minds, writes Sam Bidwell for the cover this week. Whenever official figures are tested against real-world data, the population is almost always undercounted. For example, in England alone, nearly 64 million patients are registered with GP practices – higher than the Office for National Statistics (ONS)'s estimated population of 58 million. Sam argues there are serious consequences for our society at large, including for tax, housing and our utilities. Who is to blame for this data deficiency? And why is Britain so bad at tackling illegal migration? Sam joined the podcast alongside the broadcaster Trevor Phillips. (1:03) Next: has gender ideology taken over the press regulator? Two months ago, the press regulator Ipso upheld a complaint against The Spectator for the way in which writer Gareth Roberts referred to transgender author Juno Dawson. One person who wasn’t surprised by the ruling was Conrad Roeber, who was lead author of a report for the regulator examining how the press treats trans-related issues. In the magazine this week, he argues: ‘It effectively asked me to mark its homework,’ and he worries that the case demonstrates that a contentious ideology has taken over the  regulator. What does this case mean for the intersection of equality, free speech and a free press? Conrad joined us to discuss, alongside The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove. (21:35) And finally: trad dads vs female breadwinners Arabella Byrne argues in favour of ‘trad dads’, saying that she is quite happy with her traditional family life with her husband as the main breadwinner. Her piece was (in part) a response to an article by Theo Hobson, published in The Spectator several weeks ago, where he shared his conflicting feelings about his wife being the main earner in his family. How much have societal norms really changed? What impact is there on a spouse who isn’t the breadwinner? And for all the talk of gender parity professionally, can it ever truly be achieved in the familial home? Both Arabella and Theo joined us to discuss. (36:00) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Colombia has agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants from the US – avoiding a trade war between the two countries. Donald Trump had threatened sanctions on Colombia to punish it for initially refusing military flights following a rapid immigration crackdown. What are the challenges of deportation flights, and what's Trump's vision for Latin America? Freddy Gray is joined by Todd Bensman, Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, and author of 'Overrun'. 

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is the novelist Lissa Evans, talking about her previous life as the producer of the sitcom Father Ted – as described in her new book Picnic on Craggy Island: The Surreal Joys of Producing Father Ted. She tells me about the collaborative genius of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, the unusual experience of having to cut laughter out of episodes because there was simply too much of it, and sending a sheep to make-up. 

** Chinese Whispers is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** When Chinese spy scandals break, like the latest involving Prince Andrew and his Chinese business associate, one organisation often comes up – the United Front. Mao Zedong had dubbed it one of the Chinese Communist Party’s three ‘magic weapons’. So what is this mysterious ‘United Front’ and how important is it to advancing the CCP’s agenda? Joining the podcast is Charlie Parton, a former British diplomat in Beijing and a special advisor on China to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. He is now chief advisor to the Council on Geostrategy’s China Observatory.

** Americano is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** Cryptocurrency became a key feature of the American election and the Trump universe. Not only did Trump and Melania launch their own coins, but the President has also appointed venture capitalist David Sacks to be the AI and Crypto 'czar'. Freddy Gray is joined by podcaster and owner of Bedford FC Peter McCormack to discuss whether Trump can decentralise finance, why voters are turning to the fiat market, and whether Peter is a Bitcoin maximalist. 

Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, director of the US-based Conscience Project and a friend of Holy Smoke, joins Damian to talk about what the incoming second Trump administration could mean for religious freedoms in America. Andrea argues that the Biden administration waged an unprecedented assault on such freedoms during his term. What could happen over the next four years on issues like gender, abortion, adoption and religious discrimination? And what are the nuances between federal and state laws? (2:06) Also on the podcast, Damian speaks to The Spectator’s Will Moore, Lara Prendergast and Freddy Gray about the nomination of Cardinal Robert McElroy to be the new Archbishop of Washington. Far from being a routine appointment, Damian reveals in this week’s magazine that this is clearly a retaliation against the new Trump administration for the nomination of an arch MAGA loyalist, and uncompromising Catholic, as the new ambassador to the Holy See. Cardinal McElroy is an outspoken liberal. What does this tell us about both the Papacy and the President? And how much sway does the Catholic hierarchy really have in Trump’s America? (21:55) Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

For the past fortnight, Canada’s Parliament has been empty. After Justin Trudeau resigned as Liberal leader, all the polls are pointing to the likelihood that Canada will become another example of the West’s shift to the right. This is partly due to the incumbency problem (and the ongoing internal struggles in the Liberal Party), but also the Canadian Conservatives’ firebrand leader: Pierre Poilievre. A skilled communicator who seamlessly mixes the online and offline world, Poilievre is in many ways one of the first Conservative influencers. And he has been picking up a number of admirers in the UK: Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick have visited Canada to try to learn from his playbook, and Starmer seems to have been taking tips as well. Why are the left and the right excited by a Canadian conservative?  Katy Balls speaks to James Heale and Patrick Maguire. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Freddy Gray reads his letter from Washington D.C., and reveals what Liz Truss, Eric Zemmour and Steve Bannon made of Trump’s inauguration (1:22); Tanya Gold writes about the sad truth behind the gypsies facing eviction in Cornwall (7:15); Rose George reviews The Forgotten Sense: The New Science of Smell, by Jonas Olofsson, and explains the surprising link between odour disgust and political attitudes (13:07); Toby Young provides his favourite anecdotes about President Trump, having crossed paths with him in New York City in the 1990s (18:39); and, Rory Sutherland proposes a unique way to solve Britain’s building crisis: ‘Areas of Outstanding Natural Ugliness’ (23:40).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Rachael Maskell has been the MP for York Central since 2015. With over two decades experience working in the NHS, and as a trade unionist, she has championed causes on the left from improving healthcare to combating climate change. Yet, she has not been afraid to take what she says is an ‘evidenced approach’ to political issues, even when it has put her in opposition to the position of the Labour leadership. Most recently, she was a leading voice against the assisted dying bill as Chair of the Dying Well parliamentary group. On the podcast, Rachael talks to Katy Balls about the influence of politics around the dinner table and the miners’ strikes, how we could improve the NHS, and why she served under Jeremy Corbyn. Having disagreed with the Labour government over issues like the winter fuel allowance, Rachael also reveals what she makes of Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’s leadership, and how she would like to see their approach change. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: the death of British industry In the cover piece for the magazine, Matthew Lynn argues that Britain is in danger of entering a ‘zero-industrial society’. The country that gave the world the Industrial Revolution has presided over a steep decline in British manufacturing. He argues there are serious consequences: foreign ownership, poorer societies, a lack of innovation, and even national security concerns. Why has this happened? Who is to blame? And could Labour turn it around? Matthew joined the podcast, alongside the head of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Paul Nowak. (1:05) Next: the Pope takes on President Trump The Pope has nominated Cardinal Robert McElroy to be the new Archbishop of Washington. Damian Thompson writes that on the face of it, this might sound like a routine appointment, but the reality is that this is retaliation against the Trump administration. for the nomination of an arch-MAGA loyalist, and uncompromising Catholic, as the new ambassador to the Holy See. Subsequently, the Vatican has appointed an outspoken liberal. What does this tell us about the power of both the Papacy and the President? And how much sway does the Catholic hierarchy really have in Trump’s America? Damian joined us to reveal more, alongside our deputy editor Freddy Gray, who has been in D.C. for Trump’s inauguration. (19:02) And finally: what are sex parties really like? Far from being a sexy affair, sex parties are depressing, with most attendees leaving unfulfilled and rather disappointed, writes James Innes-Smith. He says that he spent more time in the kitchen at a recent party than in the bedroom. So, what makes them appealing in the first place? Are people looking for connection in all the wrong places? James joined the podcast alongside Sophia Money-Coutts, who has written about the subject for Tatler magazine. (30:35) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

In this week’s Book Club podcast, we’re contemplating the astounding achievement of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in its 100th year. My guest is Professor Sarah Churchwell, author of Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Making of The Great Gatsby, as well as the introduction to Cambridge University Press’s new edition of the novel. Sarah tells me what we get wrong about this Jazz Age classic, why Fitzgerald’s antisemitism shouldn’t necessarily get him cancelled, and how Fitzgerald’s great novel traces the arc that leads from 1925 to Donald Trump’s second inauguration.

** Americano is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. All the former leaders of the free world were there to watch Trump take the oath - again - but how was this inauguration different to the last? And what signs were there of how Trump intends to govern? Guest hosting for Americano, The Spectator’s Kate Andrews speaks to Freddy Gray, who is on the ground in D.C., and Lionel Shriver about Trump’s speech lamenting the Biden administration, Biden’s last minute pardoning of his family, and why some Democrats could be willing to give Trump a chance this time round.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.

The parties - and protests - have already kicked off, as Trump's inauguration gets underway in Washington D.C. today. Katy Balls speaks to Michael Gove and Republicans Overseas UK's Sarah Elliott about what we can expect from the first week of Trump's second presidency, and how Keir Starmer will attempt to navigate the 'special relationship'. Sarah updates us on the mood in the US capital; which UK politicians have been spotted joining in on the fun? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Michael Gove offers up some advice to Keir Starmer (1:33); Mary Wakefield examines the rise of the ‘divorce party’ (7:28); Mitchell Reiss looks at the promise and peril of AI as he reviews Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope and the Human Spirit, a collaboration between the former CEO of Google Eric Schmidt, the former chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft Craig Mundie, and the late US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (13:52); Max Jeffery listens to The Armie HammerTime Podcast as the actor attempts to reverse his spectacular downfall (20:45); and, Nicholas Farrell reveals the time he got drunk with the ghost of Mussolini (25:24).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

It's been a tricky week for Rachel Reeves: an onslaught of criticism for the levels of borrowing costs, GDP at 0.1 per cent, and stagflation still gripping the UK economy. Remarkably she has come out of it looking stronger – politically at least. But can she afford to celebrate? The Spectator's Kate Andrews and data editor Michael Simmons join the podcast to discuss the economy, and go through some of the most striking graphs from The Spectator's data hub this week. Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Welcome to one of the most heated exchanges of views in the history of the Holy Smoke podcast. In this episode, Damian Thompson talks to the distinguished Islamic scholar Dr Musharraf Hussain about the controversy surrounding the Muslim background of some of the accused in the crimes of Britain's 'grooming gangs'.  Damian draws an analogy between the Catholic hierarchy's cover-up of sex abuse by priests, and what he claims was the role of certain local Muslim community leaders in restricting debate about, and investigation of, abuse committed by men from Pakistani families. To say that there was no common ground between Dr Thompson and Dr Hussain would be putting it mildly, alas... Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: President Trump’s plan to Make America Greater In the cover piece for the magazine, our deputy editor and host of the Americano podcast, Freddy Gray, delves into Trump’s plans. He speaks to insiders, including Steve Bannon, about the President’s ambitions for empire-building. Could he really take over Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal? And if not, what is he really hoping to achieve? Academic and long-time friend of J.D. Vance, James Orr, also writes in the magazine this week about how the vice president-elect could be an even more effective standard-bearer for the MAGA movement. Freddy and James joined the podcast, just before Freddy heads off to cover Trump’s inauguration. (1:00) Next: the child-free influencers waging war on motherhood Kara Kennedy also writes in the magazine about the popularity of social media influencers advocating child-free lives. It’s well documented that more and more young people are choosing not to have children. However, while some might think this is about championing different lifestyles, Kara writes that many of these influencers are, in fact, shaming those who choose to have children. What motivates them? Kara joined the podcast alongside Brittany Brantley, an influencer who started out in the child-free community, before choosing to have a child. (16:58) And finally: can fact-checking ever be objective? Following the news that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta will reduce its fact-checking service, Matt Ridley examines the world of fact-checking and declares the practice ‘corrupted’. Matt argues that fact-checking is riddled with bias – can it ever be objective? Matt joined the podcast alongside The Spectator’s very own fact-checking team, Sam McPhail and Michael Simmons – who get a positive mention in Matt’s piece. They lift the lid on how the magazine approaches fact-checking. (26:58) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

** Americano is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** The LA wildfires have been mostly extinguished, but there is growing concern that more fires could be imminent as strong winds are expected this week. Many believe that the destruction has shone a light on the broader mismanagement of  California, run by the Democrat Gavin Newsom – who has proposed billions in new funding for 'Los Angeles 2.0'. Freddy Gray speaks to energy specialist Robert Bryce about the policy failures which have contributed to the wildfires, what the clear up could look like and why this crisis will expose the class divide in America.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Orlando Reade, whose book What in Me Is Dark: The Revolutionary Life of Paradise Lost describes the life and afterlife of one of the greatest poems in the language. Orlando tells me how Milton’s epic has been read with – and against – the grain over the centuries; how it went from being a totem of English exceptionalism to being an encouragement to postcolonial revolutionaries and political thinkers from Malcolm X to C. L. R. James; how the modernists wrestled with Milton… and how Jordan Peterson gets it wrong.

Julian is a philosopher, journalist and author. He has served as the academic director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and is a member of the Food Ethics Council. His new book, How the World Eats: A Global Food Philosophy, is out now. On the podcast, Julian tells Liv about why he used to insist that shepherd’s pie was served at his birthday parties, the philosophical view of veganism and why it’s worth getting the expensive hazelnuts.

** Chinese Whispers is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** Among the casualties of Donald Trump’s trade war with China in his first presidency was the telecoms giant Huawei. Founded by former military engineer Ren Zhengfei, the company is a world-leading manufacturer of everything from telecoms equipment to smartphones. But it fell foul of the Trump administration as it tried to become integral to the world’s rollout of 5G, leading to a backlash in the West and even the house arrest of Ren’s daughter. At the centre of the row is a suspicion that Huawei is essentially a state-owned company, working at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party. So as Trump prepares to go back to the White House, this episode tries to get to the bottom of the telecoms giant. Is it an arm of the Chinese state? How has it found such world dominating success? Can it survive a second Trump presidency? Cindy Yu speaks to Eva Dou, technology reporter for the Washington Post. Her new book is the House of Huawei: Inside the Secret World of China’s Most Powerful Company.

** Americano is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** Freddy Gray is joined by Amy Wax who is a professor at Penn University to discuss education in America. Recently the Florida Governor Ron De Santis has been embracing a return to ‘classical education' which emphasises liberal arts and western teachings. Amy Wax speaks to Freddy about how education in America has been taken over by ‘woke’ ideologies, what simple teaching techniques should be retuned to the classroom, and whether there is any need for the Department of Education. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Catherine Lafferty argues that the drive to reduce teenage pregnancies enabled grooming gangs (1:27); following Luke Littler’s world championship victory, Michael Simmons says that Gen Z is ruining darts (6:32); Paul Wood looks at the return of Isis, and America’s unlikely ally in its fight against the terrorist group (10:35); Philip Hensher reviews a new biography of the Brothers Grimm by Ann Schmiesing, and looks at how words can be as dangerous as war (17:57); Isabel Hardman highlights the new garden now open at the Natural History Museum (26:57); and, Damian Thompson reveals he watched videos of plane crashes to distract himself from the US election coverage – why? (31:40).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

This week, MPs voted against a new national inquiry into grooming gangs. The vote followed weeks of pressure on Labour after Elon Musk brought grooming gangs back into the spotlight, after safeguarding minister Jess Phillips rejected a new national inquiry. If we did have a national inquiry, what would it achieve? We’ve had many in recent years; Iraq, Grenfell Covid, the Post Office. Do they achieve meaningful justice for victims, or are they a drawn-out way to avoid knotty legislative change? Does parliament have the mechanisms to enact the recommendations – have politicians ever done this in the past, and is there an appetite to do so in the future? Deputy broadcast editor Natasha Feroze discusses with Spectator assistant editor Isabel Hardman, and Raja Miah, anti-grooming gang campaigner and Oldham commentator.

** Americano is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** Freddy Gray is joined by Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times to discuss what Donald Trump’s revisionist America could mean for the world order. Trump is a sworn enemy of what he calls ‘globalism’, which raises questions about whether America will remain the world’s most powerful country in 2025 and beyond. Gideon has described five ways in which Trump's America First strategy would play out, from a great new power bargain, to war by accident and anarchy in a leaderless world. On the podcast Freddy and Gideon discuss the five possible scenarios, how the Russia-Ukraine war could be resolved, whether Trump’s tariffs are such and bad thing, and if China is the real antagonist.

This week: what does justice look like for the victims of the grooming gangs? In the cover piece for the magazine, Douglas Murray writes about the conspiracy of silence on the grooming gangs and offers his view on what justice should look like for the perpetrators. He also encourages the government to take a step back and consider its own failings. He writes: ‘If any government or political party wants to do something about the scandal, they will need to stop reviewing and start acting. Where to begin? One good starting point would be to work out why Pakistani rapists in Britain seem to have more rights than their victims.’ To unpack his piece in a little more detail, we were joined by journalist Julie Bindel, who has been reporting on the grooming gangs for almost 20 years. (03:20) Next: ‘Why I’m voting for the AfD’ In the magazine, Elisabeth Dampier explains why she will be voting for Germany’s AfD party – Alternative for Deutschland. Support for the hard-right AfD party grew dramatically in 2024 and is often used as an example of a broader trend of support for right-wing politics in the West. But is the key to their success as simple as an unpopular incumbent government and the salience of immigration? And how do they deal with constant comparisons to National Socialism? To discuss, we were joined by Elisabeth and German historian and journalist Katja Hoyer. (17:09) And finally: Help! I’m addicted to videos of plane crashes Damian Thompson writes an excellent guest Life column this week on his latest obsession: binge-watching aeroplane crash videos on YouTube. Now, this does sound a little bit morbid but – as he explains – it’s actually very educational, especially when you are being talked through the intricacies of air accidents by Petter Hörnfeldt, who runs the Mentour Pilot YouTube channel. We thought it would be fun to get Damian in conversation with his new hero, Petter. (29:46) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

In this week’s Books podcast, I am joined by Rachel Cooke, who edits the new book The Virago Book of Friendship. Rachel unpacks the intense, often enigmatic dynamics of female friendships in a spry and very dip-in-and-out-able anthology of writing about female friendship in an exhilaratingly wide array of forms, from high culture to low. There are many gems to cackle over, including: an incomparably tender and exact description of Hannah Arendt by Mary McCarthy; a wonderful, worm-turning character assassination of the ghastly Susan Sontag by her former disciple, Terry Castle; and the revelation that Elizabeth Bishop and Marianne Moore were boon companions for two whole years before they stopped calling each other ‘Miss Bishop’ and ‘Miss Moore’.

How do you solve a problem like Elon? We have spent much of the past week talking on the podcast about Labour vs Musk, and the tech billionaire’s vocal criticism of how the government is dealing with the grooming gang scandal. But Reform UK are having their own issues with the volatile owner of X. There have been questions over whether Musk could still bankroll the party after he called for Farage to step down following a disagreement over Musk’s support for the far-right activist Tommy Robinson – but in the last 24 hours, it seems the tech billionaire has rowed back a little on his stance and has returned to reposting Farage’s tweets. Musk seems to be playing those on the right of British politics against each other, dishing out endorsements – retweets – to a different politician each day. Can anyone trust Musk? And what has the response to the grooming gang scandal revealed about parties on both sides of British politics? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Tim Stanley, columnist for the Telegraph. Produced by Megan McElroy, Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson

Dame Sarah Storey is Britain’s most successful Paralympian of all time. She is a 45-time World champion, a 23-time European champion, and a 77-time world recorder breaker – including times she broke her own records. Earlier this year she won her 18th and 19th Olympic golds at the Paris 2024 games.  On the podcast, Sarah talks to Katy Balls about switching from swimming to cycling, the influence of bullying at school and the funding disparity that Paralympians face. She also talks about working with Dan Jarvis and Andy Burnham on improving cycling infrastructure, as well as her preparations for the next Olympics – Los Angeles 2028. Plus, where does she keep all those medals? Produced by Patrick Gibbons. 

This week: composer James MacMillan reads his diary on the beautiful music of football (01:11); Sebastian Morello tells us about the deep connection between hunting and Christianity (07:17); Amy Wilentz explains how Vodou fuels Haiti’s gang culture (16:14); The Spectator’s literary editor Sam Leith reviews The Virago Book of Friendship (22:38); and – from the arts pages – The Spectator’s theatre critic Lloyd Evans writes about a new play on the last days of Liz Truss and also about Bette and Joan, which includes 'brutal' and 'brilliant' portraits of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (26:37). Presented by Oscar Edmondson. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

Laura King is affectionately known as the 'Caviar Queen' and is widely regarded as the UK's foremost caviar expert. In this special episode of the podcast Laura takes Liv and Lara through a caviar tasting: from Beluga to Oscietra.

This week: the fight for the future of the right From Milei in Argentina to Trump in the US, Meloni in Italy to the rise of the AfD in Germany, the world appears to be turning to the right, say James Kanagasooriam and Patrick Flynn. One country, however, seems to be the exception to this rule: our own. Britain under Keir Starmer appears to be putting on a revival of the old classic Socialism in One Country. However, beyond Westminster, the data show that Britain is not moving to the left in line with its government. While the Conservatives and Reform are locked in a near-constant struggle for supremacy, polling shows that the public are moving to the right. Both parties can pitch for the socially conservative vote, but it is on the economy that Britain’s battle for the right becomes interesting. James and Patrick joined the podcast earlier this week to unpack their cover piece. Next: Jordan Peterson on faith, family and conservatism  In the magazine this week, our editor Michael Gove interviews Canadian psychologist and commentator Professor Jordan Peterson. His latest book, We Who Wrestle with God, explores the psychological significance of Bible stories. He spoke to Michael about supernatural relationships, the folly of Conservatives and the future of Europe. You can hear an extract from that interview on the podcast, but the full interview is available on The Spectator’s YouTube channel, Spectator TV. And finally: the dangers of over-diagnosing ADHD ‘Just a decade or so ago I rarely saw anyone in a clinic with “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”,’ writes Max Pemberton, a consultant psychiatrist, in The Spectator this week. Now, he says, he sees at least one case a day. Have all these people simply been undiagnosed for years? To what extent are we medicalising normal everyday issues, difficulties and problems? To discuss, Max joined the podcast alongside Mary Wakelfield, The Spectator’s commissioning editor, who has had her own run-in with the adult ADHD trap. Presented by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Happy New Year! And it could prove to be a very happy new year for Nigel Farage and the Reform Party. They provided some of the stand-out political drama of 2024, with Lee Anderson’s defection and Farage’s return, before winning five seats at the general election (as well as a hefty chunk of the popular vote). They finished the year strong with a meeting with Elon Musk, where we understand that a possible donation was discussed. Farage also gave a memorable speech at The Spectator awards, warning that a 'political revolution' is coming. With the local elections coming up in 2025, could this be the year that Reform and Farage crystallise into a real political threat? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Gawain Towler, former Reform UK strategist. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.

In this week's Book Club podcast I'm joined by the Nobel Prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk to talk about the publication of Memories of Distant Mountains: Illustrated Notebooks. Right up to early adulthood, Orhan had imagined he was destined to be a painter, but then his life took another turn. In these illustrated notebooks he marries words and images in an elliptical sort-of diary. He tells me about what he puts in and what he leaves out, how his imagination works, the artists and writers he admires, what fame has given him, and why he wishes he didn't have to talk about politics.  

** Americano is nominated in the Political Podcast Awards 2025. Vote for it to win the People's Choice category here ** The former US President has died age 100 surrounded by his family in Plains. Known as the longest-lived US President in history, The Spectator's political correspondent James Heale and Freddy Gray discuss Jimmy Carter's legacy both in and out of office, how he compares to Joe Biden as one-term Presidents, and the way Jimmy Carter's Christianity shaped his politics. 

In this end-of-year episode of Holy Smoke, Damian Thompson discusses the abuse scandals that have forced the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, to resign his post, his predecessor Lord Carey to resign his ministry as a priest, and now threaten the survival of the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cotterill.  These developments are an unprecedented disaster for the Church of England – but how many Roman Catholics realise that Pope Francis would also be facing demands for his resignation if the details of various horrifying scandals were not being allegedly concealed by the Vatican and its media allies? 

Santa will have had a tricky time this year fulfilling all the Christmas wish lists in Westminster. Keir Starmer is desperately hoping for a change in the political weather, and Kemi Badenoch would like an in with Donald Trump. Ed Davey dreams that Labour’s electoral troubles will get so bad that proportional representation starts to look appealing. Nigel Farage, meanwhile, wants to avoid what usually happens with him and keep his party from falling out – or perhaps Elon Musk will give him a Christmas bonus in the form of a generous donation. What’s certain is that 2025 will prove to be one of the most defining in recent political memory: with Starmer choosing mission-led government; Reform circling the local elections in May; hushed talk of Jeremy Corbyn forming a new party on the hard left; and Donald Trump in the White House. It’s extraordinary that so much could be up for grabs so early after Starmer’s supermajority. What might 2025 bring? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Patrick Maguire, political columnist for the Times. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

2024 has been another year of extraordinary events in American politics. From Trump’s attempted assassination, the general election, the death of peanut the squirrel, Biden’s resignation and international wars shaping foreign policy. To discuss this year, and what impact it could have on 2025, Freddy Gray is joined by the historian Victor Davis Hanson of the Hoover Institute.  

Broadcaster and Radio DJ Annie Nightingale passed away earlier this year. In memory of her, please enjoy this episode of the Book Club podcast, from the archives, in which she joined Sam Leith in 2020 to talk about the publication of her book Hey Hi Hello.   Annie Nightingale was Britain’s first female DJ, an occasional Spectator contributor, and the longest serving presenter of Radio One. Annie spoke to Sam about the Beatles’ secrets, BBC sexism, getting into rave culture, the John Peel she knew - and how while most people never get past the music they love in their teens, she’s never lost her drive to hear tunes she’s never heard before.

On 2024 Out Loud: Cindy Yu examined Chinese work ethic (1:13); Michael Simmons declared his love of the doner kebab (6:28); Angus Colwell reported from Israel in July (9:27); Igor Toronyi-Lalic explained the inspiration behind the cinema of Marguerite Duras (14:41); Mary Wakefield analysed the disturbing truth of the Pelicot case (20:38); Fraser Nelson signed off as editor of The Spectator (27:01); and Michael Gove revealed his thoughts as he sat down at the editor’s desk (33:15).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Kemi Badenoch is just over a month into her tenure as leader of the opposition, and already she has been criticised for her performances at PMQs and for failing to offer much in the way of policy proposals. It has been a consistent gripe of many of Badenoch’s detractors that she is a culture warrior or a one-trick pony. However, we might get a better idea of what the Conservatives will look like in the new year once her series of policy commissions get under way. So, how will she position her party? And, as countries around the world turn rightward, can she wrestle herself into conversations with Trump and the like? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Paul Goodman, former editor of Conservative Home. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

This week is a special episode of the podcast where we are looking back on some of our favourite pieces from the magazine over the past year and revisiting some of the conversations we had around them. First up: the Starmer supremacy Let’s start with undoubtedly the biggest news of the year: Starmer’s supermajority and the first Labour government in 14 years. In April, we spoke to Katy Balls and Harriet Harman about just what a supermajority could mean for Keir Starmer. Listening back, it’s an incredibly interesting discussion to revisit. The aim of Katy’s piece was to communicate the internal problems that could arise from such a sweeping victory and, crucially, how Starmer might manage a historic cohort of backbenchers. One MP who knows about adjusting to life in government after a supermajority is Harriet Harman, former leader of the Labour party and a member of Tony Blair’s first cabinet. (01:51) Reflections from the editor’s chair The change in No. 10 Downing Street is, of course, not the only notable shake-up in Westminster this year. Fraser Nelson stepped down as editor of The Spectator in September after 15 years of wielding the editor’s pen, with 784 issues to his name. We sat down with him on his final day in the office to reflect on his time at 22 Old Queen Street. (08:31) Do historians talk down to children? In June, Mary Wakefield dedicated her column to this very question. She wrote about her experience trying to find engaging and challenging history books for her 8-year-old and compared the dumbed-down, one-dimensional version of history portrayed in modern children’s books with the classic Ladybird books of the 1960s. She joined the podcast to discuss this with Dominic Sandbrook, author of the Adventures in Time children’s book series and host of The Rest is History podcast. (17:18) Are ultra-processed foods really so bad? On The Edition podcast, we enjoy a fiery debate, and none was more heated than our discussion on ultra-processed foods. This debate, between columnist Matthew Parris and Christoffer van Tulleken, associate professor at UCL and author of the bestselling book Ultra-Processed People, took place in May. It was sparked by Matthew’s column on the myths surrounding ultra-processed foods—foods engineered to be hyper-palatable and typically containing preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, artificial colours, flavours, and so on. Such additives are widely considered detrimental to our health. Matthew says we shouldn’t be worried, but we’ll let you decide. (29:10) By whose values should we judge the past? On the podcast, we showcase articles from across the magazine—from the front half to the life pages, to books and arts. One of the most intriguing books of the year was Joan Smith’s Unfortunately, she was a nymphomaniac: A New History of Rome’s Imperial Women. An eye-catching title that is ‘as thought-provoking as it is provocative’, as Daisy Dunn wrote in October. Many popular historians are singled out for their analysis of women in ancient Rome, including Professor Dame Mary Beard. In the interest of granting a right of reply, we invited Mary onto the podcast to discuss the merit of judging history by today’s standards. (49:40) And finally: the politics of the breakfast buffet We thought we would leave you with one of the most prescient discussions we had on the podcast this year: the politics of the hotel breakfast buffet. Is it ethical to pocket a sandwich at a hotel breakfast buffet? Laurie Graham explored that question in the magazine back in September. Specifically, she revealed the very British habit of swiping food from free breakfasts to save for lunch later in the day. Laurie joined us alongside Mark Jenkins, a former hotel manager in Torquay, whom listeners may remember from the Channel 4 documentary The Hotel. (01:04:04) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

Which 20th-century Scrooge had the following to say about the celebration of Christmas?  ‘It gives on the whole much more pain than pleasure… Anyone can force you to give him a present by sending you a quite unprovoked present of his own. It's almost blackmail… Can it really be my duty to buy and receive masses of junk every winter just to help the shopkeepers?’ Step forward C.S. Lewis, beloved Christian apologist and children’s author, whose splenetic denunciation of ‘the whole dreary business’ of Christmas and mean-spirited comments about carol singers are hard to reconcile with his reputation for benevolence. To make sense of the author’s views, Damian Thompson is joined by the renowned theologian and C.S. Lewis expert Prof Alister McGrath for a Christmas episode of Holy Smoke. They talk about the influence Lewis had on McGrath’s own conversion, the significance of the nativity and the question of whether the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s birth are apocryphal. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Why do so many Chinese people choose such curious English names? You must have come across this phenomenon – whether they are names from a past century, or surnames, nouns or even adjectives used as first names, or words that aren’t real at all. I have a particular interest in this because my English name – Cindy – isn’t exactly in vogue these days. You might think this is a bit of a trivial question, but I think the question of English names goes deeper than just some odd words. I think these names reveal something about the China that gave rise to them. So I was pleased to come across another China watcher recently who is also obsessed by the question. Peter Hessler is an award winning journalist whose 2001 book River Town was highly influential for its depiction of life in a changing China. I spoke to him recently upon the publication of his latest book, Other Rivers. Tune in to hear where I also reveal the origins of my English name.

On this week’s Christmas Out Loud - part two: Andrew Watts goes to santa school (1:11); Marcus Walker reads his priest’s notebook (7:20); Ali Kefford spends Christmas on patrol with submariners (12:34); Roger Lewis says good riddance to 2024, voiced by the actor Robert Bathurst (20:57); Ayaan Hirsh Ali argues that there is a Christian revival under way (32:41); and Christopher Howse reveals the weirdness behind Christmas carols (38:34).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

It’s been a historic year in British politics. At the start of 2024, the UK had a different Prime Minister, the Tories had a different leader, and The Spectator had a different editor! Michael Gove, Katy Balls, and Quentin Letts join Cindy Yu to review the biggest political stories of 2024. On the podcast, the panel discuss the rise of Reform UK and Nigel Farage as a political force, Labour’s adjustment to government, and Michael reveals his reaction to Rishi telling Cabinet that he was going for a summer election. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy.

Dame Maureen Lipman has been a fixture of stage and screen for over five decades. She has been a member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre company and the Royal Shakespeare Company; she is well known for her roles in acclaimed films like Educating Rita and The Pianist; and most recently she has had an award-winning run in soap Coronation Street. For a generation she will always be 'Beattie': the grandmother from the BT adverts. On the podcast, Maureen talks to Katy Balls about her journey from 'the cobbler of Kazimierz Dolny to the cobbles of Corrie'. They discuss selling comedy as a commodity, whether you can separate art from the artist and her most recent role in a Christmas panto.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Photo credit: Jay Brooks.

Springfield Ohio became a talking point in this year's Presidential election after Donald Trump referred to Haitian migrants 'eating the cats and dogs'. Steven Edginton, GB News US Correspondent has been to Springfield Ohio to speak to some of the migrants there, investigate some reports that migrants are fleeing America in fear of a Trump presidency, and find our from locals about how Springfield has changed since the arrival of around 15,000 Haitian migrants. 

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Chris Ware — author of Jimmy Corrigan, Building Stories and Rusty Brown, and a man widely regarded as one of the greatest living cartoonists. Chris's new book, The Acme Novelty Datebook Volume Three, opens his sketchbooks for public consumption: a potentially painful move for an artist as self-conscious and perfectionist as Ware. He tells me a bit about the relationship between cartooning and architecture, what he's trying to do with his graphic novels, the importance of R Crumb and Art Spiegelman to his work, and what gave him the confidence to turn his back on fine art.  

Elif Shafak is a novelist, political scientist and essayist. She has published 21 books – 13 of which are novels – and her books have been translated into 58 languages. Her most recent novel There Are Rivers in the Sky, is out now.  On the podcast, Elif tells Liv about the significance of food and drink in her writing, the many places she takes culinary inspiration from and reveals her love of heavy metal music. 

New research last week suggested that a majority of Brexit voters would accept the return of freedom of movement in exchange for access to the EU single market. The poll, conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), found that 54% of Brexit voters – and 68% of all respondents – would accept this. Facing their own changing domestic concerns, how close can the UK and EU governments really get? Could Defence hold the key for collaboration? And how much is this driven by a more volatile geopolitical landscape ahead of Trump’s return as US president? James Heale speaks to Anand Menon, director of the think-tank UK in a Changing Europe, and Mark Leonard, director at the ECFR. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Thousands of Brits will be attending Christmas and carol services throughout December. Yet festive attendance masks the reality that church congregations just aren’t holding up. The most optimistic of estimates suggest that regular church attendance has almost halved in the UK since 2009. This is just one of the factors that has led the historian and writer A.N. Wilson, in the Christmas edition of The Spectator this week, to declare that the end of Christendom is nigh. On this episode of Holy Smoke, A.N. Wilson joins Damian Thompson to discuss his thesis. Like Platonism, is Christianity doomed to become extinct in practice? When was the last time England was truly, and fervently, religious? And are innovations such as female priests a symptom – or a cause – of the Church’s decline? You can read more from A.N. Wilson on his Substack. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.  

On this week’s Christmas Out Loud - part one: Katy Balls runs through the Westminster wishlists for 2025 (1:26); Craig Brown reads his satirist’s notebook (7:06); Kate Weinberg explains the healing power of a father’s bedtime reading (13:47); Craig Raine reviews a new four volume edition of the prose of T.S. Eliot (19:10); Lisa Haseldine provides her notes on hymnals (28:15); and Melissa Kite explains why she shouldn’t be allowed to go to church (31:19).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Freddy Gray is joined by an Americano favourite, Jacob Heilbrunn, to reflect on 2024 in American politics. They discuss why Trump appears to be the de facto President, whether a good Democratic candidate could have beaten Trump and what the future cabinet could bring in 2025.

Welcome to a special festive episode of The Edition podcast, where we will be taking you through the pages of The Spectator’s Christmas triple issue. Up first: our review of the year – and what a year it has been. At the start of 2024, the outcome of the US election looked very different, the UK had a different Prime Minister, and The Spectator had a different editor! Luckily, The Spectator’s regular columnists are on hand to declare what they got right – and wrong – throughout the year, and whether they’re optimistic for 2025. Rod Liddle, Matthew Parris, Mary Wakefield and Lionel Shriver take us through everything from Trump to trans (03:24). Next: ‘Good riddance 2024’ – in his own alternative review of the year, Roger Lewis declares 2024 one to forget. The actor Robert Bathurst voices a special out-loud version of the article, taking us through the year in Roger’s typically acerbic style (28:37). Then: the unsung heroes at Christmas time. While most of the country will be sitting down to Christmas dinner, hundreds of people will face an atypical day, not least of all those deployed on the Royal Navy's Continuous At Sea Deterrent mission. Journalist Ali Kefford takes us through the relentless schedule of Royal Navy submariners in the Christmas issue, and explores the strangely isolating but oddly communal experience of Christmas at sea, where the traditions of land meet the peculiarities of life under the water. To explain what it’s really like, Ali joins the podcast alongside naval officer Alex Kubara (42:56). And finally: the prescient politics of Tintin. Few characters have captured the spirit of adventure quite like Tintin, the intrepid boy reporter with a knack for stumbling into international intrigue. From the deserts of Arabia to the jungles of South America – and even to the moon – Tintin has been a global icon of curiosity and courage for nearly a century. In the Christmas magazine former foreign correspondent and ‘Tintinologist’ Michael Farr celebrates the genius of the Belgian reporter and how politics was never far from Hergé’s agenda. To take us through a history of Tintin, and to understand its appeal and influence, we're joined by Michael and another author who took inspiration from the character, Anthony Horowitz (52:18). Throughout the podcast, you will also hear from The Spectator’s agony aunt Dear Mary, and the special celebrity guests who have sought her advice in this year’s Christmas magazine, including Jacob Rees-Mogg (27:07), James MacMillan (50:51) and Sophie Winkleman (1:09:49). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

In this week’s Books podcast, I am joined by the writer Daniel Tammet, whose new book Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum is a pen portrait of nine lives of people on the autism spectrum. On the podcast, he tells me how he happened upon these nine lives, whether ‘spectrum’ is a helpful term when understanding autism and Asperger’s syndrome, and how popular culture’s most famous depiction of autism – Dustin Hoffman’s Rain Man – is based on an individual who wasn’t autistic at all.

Over the weekend, the rebels from the Syrian opposition claimed Damascus and president Assad had fled to Russia. Keir Starmer has welcomed the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s barbaric regime in Syria and called for civilians to be protested after rebel forces took control of Damascus. Freddy Gray speaks to Michael Weiss, an editor at The Insider, and Owen Matthews, writer and historian. They discuss how this story could develop on the international stage, whether this is the reinvention of the Arab Spring, and what is left of Iran, now that several of its proxies have been destroyed. 

More than a year after Xi Jinping purged two senior generals in the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force unit, China’s investigation into its military seems to be ongoing, with more scalps taken. In recent weeks, Miao Hua, another senior general who had been a member of the Central Military Commission, has been suspended; while reports abound that the country’s current defence minister, Dong Jun, is under investigation too. If suspended, Dong would be the third consecutive defence minister that Xi has removed. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to lose one defence minister may be regarded a misfortune; to lose three looks like carelessness. So what is happening at the top of the PLA? Is all of this movement a sign of Xi failing to get on top of corruption within the military or, in fact, a sign that he is gearing up for serious military action, perhaps over Taiwan? Just how effective have the military reforms that Xi instigated in 2015 been? Joining the podcast today are Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on the Chinese military at Stanford University and author of Upstart: How China Became a Great Power, and Demetri Sevastopulo, US-China correspondent for the Financial Times.

As we approach the end of a uniquely painful year for the Royal Family, the King's trusted biographer, Robert Hardman, joins Damian Thompson to discuss the Monarch’s faith. As Robert recently revealed in his updated biography of Charles III, the cancer-stricken King has been drawing solace from a Christian faith that has become increasingly explicit over the years. He still thinks of himself as the ‘defender of faith’, but now also unapologetically uses his ancient title of ‘Defender of the Faith’, meaning Christianity. Specifically, he is more attracted than ever to the traditions of the Orthodox Church into which his father was baptised.  But, as Robert has revealed, the current Prince of Wales is emphatically not religious (unlike his wife, who is reported to be exploring her own spirituality in the wake of her own diagnosis). What will this mean when William eventually inherits the position of Supreme Governor of the Church of England?  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Alexandra Shulman reads her fashion notebook (1:13); Sean Thomas asks if a demilitarised zone in Ukraine is inevitable (6:02); Matthew Parris argues against proportional representation (13:47); Adrian Dannatt explains his new exhibition Fresh Window: the art of display and display of art (21:46); and Philip Hensher declares he has met the man of his dreams: his Turkish barber (28:17).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

In this special edition of Coffee House Shots Katy Balls speaks to Lord Liam Booth-Smith, Rishi Sunak’s former chief of staff. In his first interview since leaving government: Liam takes us inside Rishi’s No. 10 and the characters that made it tick; sets the record straight on the infamous Sunak–Johnson arm wrestle to decide who would run for leader after Truss; gives his take on when would have been the optimal time to have a general election; offers a different version of events on Rishi’s ‘doomed’ campaign; and provides advice to a Labour government struggling in government. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

This week: are we drowning in a sea of twee? Gareth Roberts writes the cover article this week, arguing against what he sees as the hideous triviality of our times. ‘The British have lost their aversion to glutinous sentimentality,’ he declares. How did we get here, and who are the worst offenders? Gareth argues that the triumph of twee has left us unable to face serious things with seriousness. Could there be sinister consequences if we don’t take this more seriously? Gareth joined the podcast to make his case, alongside Josh Cohen, psychoanalyst and author of All The Rage (00:49). Then: was Graham Brady the ‘kingmaker’ or the ‘kingslayer’ of the past Tory era? The shadow cabinet member and Conservative M.P. Alex Burghart has reviewed Graham Brady’s new book Kingmaker: Secrets, Lies and the Truth about Five Prime Ministers in the books section of the magazine this week. Looking back on his time as chair of the influential 1922 Committee, Graham provides his reflections on what has been an historic, and often turbulent, period in British politics. Having now taken a seat in the Lords, Graham joins the podcast with The Spectator’s political editor, Katy Balls, to reveal what he really thought about that time in office and what his advice to his successor would be (16:07). And finally: are pigs in blankets the best Christmas food? It would seem so, according to The Spectator’s data editor Michael Simmons, who provides his notes on the festive treat in the magazine this week. His only gripe, as a proud Scot, is that they should really be called ‘kilted sausages’. He reveals that Brits are expected to eat a whopping 668 million of them over the Christmas season. Why are they so good, and how can you elevate your Christmas meal over the coming season? Michael joins the podcast alongside Martyn Lee, head of product at Yeo Valley and the former executive chef of Waitrose and Tesco. Plus, a guest appearance of pigs in blankets from The Spectator’s local pub, The Two Chairmen – will they pass Michael’s taste test? (26:58). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons, Oscar Edmondson, and Cindy Yu.

In this week’s Book Club podcast, my guest is Jonathan Coe, talking about cosy crime, the tug of nostalgia, the joys of satire, and his brilliant new novel, The Proof of My Innocence.

Richard Madeley is a presenter, author and journalist who has been on our screens since the 1980s, most notably presenting This Morning with his wife Judy and more recently on Good Morning Britain. On the podcast, he discusses his early memories of Heinz tomato soup, implores Lara and Liv to try 'tuna casserole' – his mother’s speciality made from tinned tuna, canned soup and crisps – and makes the case for fish paste as the 'food of the gods'.

The government is trailing a major policy speech ahead of Thursday, in which the Prime Minister will set out key 'milestones' that he wants to hit, in terms of healthcare, living standards, the climate and so on. It's all sounding a little like a previous prime minister... Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Heale about the opportunities and perils in setting public targets. Produced by Cindy Yu.

On November 7th, the finalists for the 2024 Innovator of the Year Awards joined The Spectator and Rathbones at a gala evening in central London. There, they found out the regional and category winners for this year's awards. In this episode, our business editor Martin Vander Weyer, one of the founders of the awards, announces the winners for listeners who've followed our previous episodes in this year's series. If you missed any of the discussion, you can catch up at the links below: AI, gene therapy and challenges of the NHS – Britain’s health Innovators of the Year Carbon capture, vertical farming and coding for girls – Britain’s environmental and social purpose Innovators of the Year Wonky fruits, supplements for pets and smart walking sticks – Britain’s consumer Innovators of the Year AI studios, ethical advertising and software for defence – Britain’s business services Innovator of the Year Bespoke batteries, recyclable electronics and drone ports – Britain’s manufacturing and engineering Innovators of the Year

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Kate Andrews examines the appointment of Scott Bessent as US Treasury Secretary (1:20); Mark Galeotti highlights Putin’s shadow campaign across Europe (7:10); Adrian Pascu-Tulbure reports on the surprising rise of Romania’s Calin Georgescu (15:45); Michael Hann reviews Irish bands Kneecap and Fontaines D.C. (22:54); and Olivia Potts provides her notes on London’s Smithfield Market, following the news it may close (27:28).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Freddy Gray is joined by Tara Palmeri, senior political correspondent for Puck. They discuss how the presidential transition is going. Is the breakneck speed with which he appointed his cabinet even more chaotic than last time? Is the process rife with backstabbing? And are your really ever 'in' or 'out' when it comes to Trump?

This week: SAS SOS The enemy that most concerns Britain’s elite military unit isn’t the IRA, the Taliban or Isis, but a phalanx of lawyers armed with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), writes Paul Wood in The Spectator. Many SAS soldiers now believe that if they kill a terrorist during an operation, they’ll spend decades being hounded through the courts. Paul speaks to former SAS soldiers who say that stories of men being ‘dragged back to be screamed at in interview rooms’ are ‘flying around the canteens now’. Soldiers feel like ‘the good guys have become the bad guys – and the bad guys are now the good guys’. This is hurting morale and may eventually hit recruitment. Paul joins the podcast to discuss further, alongside Colonel Richard Williams, a former SAS commanding officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. (01:36) Then: how much more punishment can Ukrainian city Odesa take? The Black Sea port of Odesa occupies a unique role in Ukrainian – and Soviet – history. Added significance has been thrust on it by the Russian invasion: both symbolically, as well as practically, given how central it is to grain exports. But while war weariness sets in for Ukrainians – and their allies – the battle for Odesa is ever more crucial; further deadly aerial attacks took place only days ago. In the magazine this week, journalist Peter Pomerantsev reviews a new book looking at the port city by Julian Evans. Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War is part-history book, part-memoir exploring many of the human stories that make up the city. How has the conflict changed the people of Odesa? And for Ukrainians who grew up consuming Russian-speaking media and culture, did the war challenge their identity? Peter joins the podcast alongside the author of the Spectator’s Ukraine newsletter, Svitlana Morenets. (18:24) And finally: do we secretly love a good film flop? ‘I’ve fallen out of love with cinemas,’ declares long-standing (or should that be long-suffering?) film critic Chris Tookey in the magazine this week. He argues the experience isn’t as good, and Hollywood is partly to blame. Perhaps films are getting worse? Some people love a good film flop though – the big-budget blockbuster disasters. Fellow film critic Tim Robey is one such person, and he explores his love of Hollywood flops in his new book Box Office Poison, out now. But how has the experience of cinema changed? And what’s the worst film they’ve ever seen? Tim and Chris join the podcast. (32:58) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson joins The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls to divulge the contents of his new book, Unleashed. He reflects on his premiership as PM during the pandemic, describing the time as a ‘nightmare’ for him. He also details how he managed to suppress the force of Nigel Farage, and gives advice to Keir Starmer on how to build a relationship with Donald Trump. Watch the full interview on The Spectator's YouTube channel. 

MPs are set to vote on the legalisation of assisted dying this week, the first such vote in almost a decade. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was tabled by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and follows a campaign by broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen and others.  The biggest change since the last vote in 2015 is the make-up of parliament, with many more Labour MPs, as well as newer MPs whose stances are unknown. Consequently, it is far from certain that the bill – which would mark one of the biggest changes to social legislation for a generation – will pass. What are the arguments for and against? And how could the religious beliefs of MPs inform their votes? Damian Thompson is joined by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, director of the Maidenhead Synagogue and a supporter of legalisation, and Martin Vickers MP, a Conservative MP and opponent of assisted dying, to understand the dynamics of the debate. But first, Isabel Hardman joins the programme to talk through the parliamentary arithmetic – is Parliament any more or less religious than in 2015? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the novelist Nick Harkaway, whose new book Karla's Choice sees him pick up the mantle of his late father, John le Carré, in writing a new novel set in the world of George Smiley. He tells me why, having spent a career trying to put clear blue water between his own work and that of his father, he’s now steering in the opposite direction; about growing up with Smiley; about his relationship with the man so many outsiders have seen as secretive and opaque; about seeking advice from Stephen King’s son, Joe Hill; and why moving from his own style to that of his dad is just a ‘turn on the dial’.

John Bolton has served under both Republican administrations of the 21st century: first as US Ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, and then under Donald Trump where he was – surprisingly – his longest serving National Security Advisor. In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray discusses the incoming second Trump administration with Amb. Bolton. From Tulsi Gabbard to Elon Musk, what does he make of Trump’s appointments? How could US foreign policy change? And what are the implications for Ukraine?  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Darien Gap is a 60 mile stretch of jungle that hundreds of thousands of migrants from all over South America trek through in order to reach the US-Mexico border. From there, they enter America in search of better lives. These are usually migrants from Venezuela, or Colombia or Panama. But in recent years, a new group of people have appeared at the border, having paid people smugglers and hacked through the jungle. They often bring young children, clutch on to smartphones with which they check their routes, and watch social media videos that set out, step by step, the journey they are embarking on. These are the Chinese, which in the last two years have been the fastest growing group of migrants being encountered at America’s southern border – over 37,000 last year, up from under 4,000 the year before. This year, there have already been over 21,000. What brings them, and how unusual is this method of emigration when it comes to people from China? On this podcast are Professor Meredith Oyen, an expert on US-China migration, and Amy Hawkins, senior China correspondent at the Guardian, who has come across a similar phenomenon on Europe’s borders.

Claire Ainsley is a stalwart of left-wing politics. Formerly an executive director at social change organisation the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, she is currently leading a project on the renewal of the centre-left at the Progressive Policy Institute. Her first book, The New Working Class: How to Win Hearts, Minds and Votes, brought her to the attention of the Labour leadership. Not long after Keir Starmer’s successful leadership bid, she was invited to join him as Executive Director of Policy, a position she held for over two years. On the podcast, Claire talks to Katy Balls about her journey on the left, from a Labour-supporting family to radical university politics and then to a more moderate position. They discuss the changing dynamics of the left and how to define ‘working class’, how her book came about because of the Clacton by-election, and her reflections on British politics following the election. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: pondering AI, Matthew Parris wonders if he is alone in thinking (1:10); Joanna Bell meets the leader of the Independent Ireland party, Michael Collins, ahead of the Irish general election later this month (8:41); Professor Peter Frankopan argues that the world is facing a new race to rule the seas (17:31); Mary Wakefield reviews Rod Dreher’s new book Living in wonder: finding mystery and meaning in a secular age (28:47); and, Flora Watkins looks at the Christmas comeback of Babycham (34:10).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

The nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr to be secretary of health and human services in the second Trump administration has horrified ‘experts’. A left-wing Democrat who admires the late Venezuelan Marxist dictator Hugo Chavez, hates big business, rails against the ultra-processed food that Donald Trump likes to eat and wants climate sceptics jailed.  But in the magazine this week Matt Ridley explains how the experts who now bash him have contributed in putting him where is, and that official Covid misinformation has contributed to his rise. So what could he do in office? Will he release these Covid files? Matt joins Freddy to discuss.

This week: Wild Wes. Ahead of next week’s vote on whether to legalise assisted dying, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is causing trouble for Keir Starmer, writes Katy Balls in the magazine this week. Starmer has been clear that he doesn’t want government ministers to be too outspoken on the issue ahead of a free vote in Parliament. But Streeting’s opposition is well-known. How much of a headache is this for Starmer? And does this speak to wider ambitions that Wes might have? Katy joins the podcast to discuss, alongside Labour MP Steve Race. Steve explains why he plans to vote in favour of the change in the law next week (00:57). Then: how concerned should we be about medical misinformation? President-elect Donald Trump has announced vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services in the US. In the magazine this week, Matt Ridley explains that it’s not the man himself that’s as interesting, as the reasons how he has ended up in such a position: scientific misinformation has fuelled his rise. So how concerned should we be about medical misinformation? Firstly, Matt joined the podcast to explain his thesis and why reactions to the covid pandemic are to blame (16:24). Later, Sander van der Linden, professor of social psychology at the University of Cambridge, also joins the podcast to discuss his concerns and how susceptible we are here in Britain to misinformation (23:46). And finally: did you know that crude graffiti has a storied history? Harry Mount examines the notorious penis gang that has appeared in Dulwich, daubing penises across trees. Whatever you think of such graffiti, scribbling phalluses, and even erotic art, are actually as old as time – from ancient Rome to India. What’s the line between graffiti and erotic art? And should Westerners be less prudish when confronted with these images? Harry joins the podcast alongside academic, and author of Pha(bu)llus: A Cultural History, Dr Alka Pande (30:50). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the psychoanalyst and writer Josh Cohen. With anger seemingly the default condition of our time, Josh’s new book All The Rage: Why Anger Drives the World seeks to unpick where anger comes from, what it does to us, and how it might function in the human psyche as a dark twin of the impulses we think of as love. Photo credit: Charlotte Speechley

Freddy Gray sits down with Jacob Heilbrunn, a longstanding friend of Americano to discuss Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to send long range missiles into Russia, how significant this decision is ahead of an incoming Trump administration, and what the rest of foreign policy could look like with Trump. 

Julian Metcalfe is a British entrepreneur and one of the most influential individuals on the London high street. He revolutionised the grab-and-go lunchtime food industry in 1986 by co-founding Pret and did the same again in 1997 when he commercialised Japanese cuisine with the first Itsu. On the podcast, he tells Liv and Lara about the influence of his Ukrainian mother; why he decided to start Itsu, in many ways a competitor to Pret; what he thinks is the future of the grab-and-go industry; and why uni is the ultimate comfort food.

As Donald Trump selects his new cabinet, Elon Musk has been chosen to head up the new efficiency department. Douglas Murray, Spectator columnist, joins Americano host Freddy Gray to discuss. How will their relationship shape Trump’s presidency? What will Musk’s ownership of X, formerly Twitter, mean for free speech? And will their newfound friendship last the stretch of Donald Trump’s second term?

The Spectator's Michael Gove, Katy Balls, and Kate Andrews are joined by Paul Abberley, Chief Executive of Charles Stanley, to discuss and unpack Labour's first budget in 14 years. Now the dust has settled from the policies, key questions continue to arise. Can Labour create the growth it desperately needs? Why are farmers so upset with the budget? And can they define a working person yet?

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Nadine Dorries reads her diary (1:12); Katy Balls analyses the politics behind the Assisted Dying debate (5:58); Edmund West allows us a glimpse into Whitby Goth Week (11:55); reviewing Avinash Paliwal’s book India’s New East, Sam Dalrymple looks at the birth of Bangladesh (17:39); and Tanjil Rashid reveals William Morris’s debt to Islam (21:23).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Freddy Gray is joined by Todd Bensman, journalist and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. They discuss the border crisis that Trump will inherit from the Democrats, and whether he can do anything to solve it. 

This week: welcome to Planet Elon. We knew that he would likely be a big part of Donald Trump’s second term, so it was unsurprising when this week Elon Musk was named – alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy – as a co-leader of the new US Department of Government Efficiency, which will look at federal government waste. When Musk took over Twitter, he fired swathes of employees whose work was actively harming the company, so he’s in a perfect position to turn his sights on the bloated federal government. It is, writes Douglas Murray, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strip a whole layer of rot from the body politic. But can he translate his success in the private sector to the public sector? James Ball, political editor of The New European, and Bridget Phetasy, Spectator World contributing editor, joined the podcast to discuss. (02:17) Then: what’s next for the Church of England? The nature of Justin Welby’s resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury has no historic precedent in the C of E, writes William Moore, of this parish. One certainty is that the Church leadership will now be under enormous pressure to create a new independent body for safeguarding, but who could be next? The Smyth scandal means that appointing a conservative evangelical would be difficult, but appointing an out-and-out progressive would have its own problems. Whoever eventually succeeds Welby, he or she will inherit a Church more at war with itself than at any time in living memory. Joining the podcast is Rev Julie Conalty, the Bishop of Birkenhead and deputy lead bishop for safeguarding. (20:58) And finally: can you tell your Claret from your Beaujolais? In the magazine this week, drinks writer Henry Jeffreys discusses Beaujolais Day, the festivities started in the famous French appellation d’origine contrôlée that celebrate the first wine of the season. He joined us to discuss everything Beaujolais with Johnny Ray, The Spectator’s wine critic. (35:39) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the writer, musician and editor Michael Moorcock, whose editorship of New Worlds magazine is widely credited with ushering in a 'new wave' of science fiction and developing the careers of writers like J G Ballard, Iain Sinclair, Pamela Zoline, Thomas M Disch and M John Harrison. With the release of a special edition of New Worlds, honouring the 60th anniversary of his editorship, Mike tells me about how he set out to marry the best of literary fiction with the best of the pulp tradition, how he fought off obscenity charges over Norman Spinrad's Bug Jack Barron, about his friendship with Ballard and his enmity with Kingsley Amis – and why he's determined never to lose his vulgarity.   

Freddy Gray speaks to the Spectator's Russia editor Owen Matthews about Trump's plan for Ukraine. How much leverage does he have in negotiations with Putin? Plus, what does a Trump presidency mean for the future of NATO itself?

After mounting pressure, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has resigned. His resignation comes days after a damning report into the child abuser John Smyth who was associated with the Church of England. Welby was apparently made aware of the allegations in 2013, yet Smyth died in 2018 before facing any justice. Since the report was published, Welby and the Church have faced questions about the failure to act and the lack of urgency. The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove joins Damian Thompson to discuss what Damian calls ‘not just a shocking moment in the history of the Church of England, but in the history of English Christianity’.   Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze. 

There have been reports that some 11,000 North Korean troops are present in Russia and preparing to take part in the Russian invasion. While not acknowledged by either country, if true, this would mark a historic milestone: the first East Asian state to send troops to Europe since the Mongol Empire. And yet, both countries’ most powerful neighbour and ally – China – has remained suspiciously quiet about this new development. Beijing’s silence may well express a deep distrust and unease that actually characterises China’s relationship with its so-called allies. To get into the recent developments and what we can learn from the history of the relationship between these three countries, the historian John Delury joins the podcast. He is an expert on the Cold War and the history of China and the Korean peninsula. He is a visiting Professor at Luiss University and author of Agents of Subversion.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu.

Kate Andrews, standing in for Freddy Gray, is joined by Nick Gillespie, host of The Reason Interview, and Freddy Gray himself. They discuss whether Trump 2.0 could be different in his final time in office. Will he 'drain the swamp'? And will the Democrats learn the lessons from their election loss?

Since the election of an overwhelmingly secular Labour government, people who describe themselves as humanists have a spring in their step: for example, there's a prospect that humanist weddings will be legally recognised in England and Wales (they already are in Scotland). But what exactly is a humanist? Definitions vary and there's a heated debate about to what extent the ethical but firmly atheist beliefs of the rather loosely organised modern humanist movement are descended from Christianity. In this episode of Holy Smoke we'll hear from Andrew Copson, CEO of Humanists UK since 2010 & President of Humanists International, and the theologian and Spectator contributor Theo Hobson, author of God created Humanism: the Christian Basis of Secular Values. Damian Thompson spoke to them earlier and, as you'll hear, it was a lively encounter.   Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Kamala Harris has delivered her concession speech, signalling the start of the Democrat post-mortem. Donald Trump has secured a total victory, the kind which gives him a mandate to make some pretty radical reforms. Americano guest host Kate Andrews is joined by Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of The National Interest, to discuss what a second Trump term will look like: from domestic to foreign policy. And what about the Democrats? Where do they go from here? 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Paul Wood analyses what a Trump victory could mean for the Middle East (1:16); Sean Thomas gets a glimpse of a childless future while travelling in South Korea (8:39); in search of herself, Imogen Yates takes part in ‘ecstatic dance’ (15:11); a second selection of our books of the year from Peter Parker, Daniel Swift, Andrea Wulf, Claire Lowdon, and Sara Wheeler (20:30); and notes on the speaking clock from the voice himself, Alan Steadman (25:26).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Shivani Raja holds two Parliamentary honours: the youngest Tory MP and, in Leicester East, the only Conservative gain at the recent election; she is also the first of the new 2024 intake to appear on Women With Balls. With a background in science and business, not politics, she fought a whirlwind election campaign – not just against the Labour Party, but against her two most recent predecessors.   On the podcast, Shivani talks to Katy Balls about how she got into politics, why she is proud of Leicester’s multiculturalism, and about challenging her colleagues’ perceptions of ‘young people’. Shivani introduced James Cleverly at his leadership launch in September – what are her diagnoses of the 2024 election, Labour’s performance so far, and what the Conservatives need to do to win back the support of the British public?   Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: King of the Hill You can’t ignore what could be the political comeback of the century: Donald Trump’s remarkable win in this week’s US election. The magazine this week carries analysis about why Trump won, and why the Democrats lost, from Freddy Gray, Niall Ferguson and Yascha Mounk, amongst others. To make sense of how Trump became only the second President in history to win non-consecutive terms, we’re joined by the journalist Jacqueline Sweet and Cliff Young, president of polling at Ipsos (00:58).   Next: is Labour blind to rural communities? The changes to inheritance tax for farmers are one of the measures from Labour’s budget that has attracted the most attention. In the magazine this week The Telegraph’s Simon Heffer argues that it needs to be seen as part of a wider attack on rural communities. But is it intentional, or simply a blind spot Labour has to the countryside? Simon joined us alongside Ed Barker from the Agricultural Industries Confederation (16:42). And finally: what makes World of Warcraft so addictive? The Spectator’s literary editor Sam Leith joins the podcast to talk about the gaming phenomenon that is World of Warcraft. In just two decades, it has now made more money than three times the most successful Hollywood film ever. Why is it so successful and what makes it so addictive? And, as the landscape of gaming has changed over the decades, should parents still really be worried about their children spending time online or has gaming opened new areas for kids to socialise? Sam joined us to discuss and reveals the inspiration behind his avatar’s name… (27:37). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons. 

Donald Trump has won the election and will be 47th President of the United States after winning the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. ‘America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,’ the Republican candidate told supporters. ‘This is a magnificent victory for the American people, that will allow us to make America great again,’ he said at the rally in Florida. It has been total victory, with the Republicans also winning Senate and the popular vote. Kate Andrews is joined by Sarah Elliott and Rick MacArthur to unpack a historic election night. 

On this week's Book Club podcast we're celebrating the 100th anniversary of a landmark in children's publishing, When We Were Very Young — which represented the first collaboration between A A Milne and E H Shepard, who would (of course) go on to write an illustrate Winnie-the-Pooh. Sam Leith is joined by James Campbell, who runs the E H Shepard estate. He tells Sam how the war shaped the mood and success of that first book, why Daphne Milne's snobbery and ambition left Shepard out in the cold, what happened to Christopher Robin... and how Pooh became Pooh. 

Terry Wiggins is a chef who led the catering team at Westminster’s Portcullis House. During his time, he served 13 prime ministers and received an MBE for services to Parliament. He has recently retired. On the podcast, Terry reminisces about 50 years of service in Parliament, reveals some of the weirdest requests he has received and gives the inside scoop on the eating habits of some of the House of Commons’ most recognisable names.

As the 2024 US election goes into the final day, a poll giving Kamala Harris a lead in the historically Republican state of Iowa has bolstered the Democrats. Is momentum really with her? And what appears to be the most important issue to voters - the economy, or abortion rights? Guest host Kate Andrews speaks to John Rick MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine, about his views on America's election process from postal voting, trust in the system, and whether the electoral college needs reform. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges discuss the innovators within the Manufacturing and Engineering category – 3D printing hydraulic systems, making plastic alternatives out of plant-based polymers, creating recyclable electronics, and more. The judges in this episode are Ian Ritchie, an angel investor and a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Gabriel Fysh, an entrepreneur working with numerous companies on areas of sustainability and material science; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor. The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

With just a day until election day, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's respective campaigns continue to ramp up, with rallies and gimmicks, and even advertising on the Las Vegas Sphere. Despite this, Spectator contributor Lionel Shriver declares she is America's 'last undecided voter'. Why? Is it the candidates' characters that put her off voting for them, or the policies they represent? Lionel joins guest host, and fellow American, Kate Andrews to discuss further.  Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges discuss the innovators within the Business Services and Logistics category – the companies that help other innovators and companies operate day to day. The judges in this episode are mechanical engineer and venture capitalist Adrian de Ferranti; Caroline Theobald CBE, managing director of Bridge Club Ltd which helps connect entrepreneurs with investors, expertise and skills; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor. The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

Kemi Badenoch has won the Tory leadership election. She beat Robert Jenrick in a tight race, winning 53,806 votes against his 41,318. What will a Badenoch opposition look like? What are her strengths? Her weaknesses? Cindy Yu speaks to Michael Gove and Katy Balls.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Christopher Caldwell asks what a Trump victory could mean for Ukraine (1:07); Gus Carter argues that leaving the ECHR won’t fix Britain’s immigration system (8:29); Ruaridh Nicoll reads his letter from Havana (18:04); Tanya Gold provides her notes on toffee apples (23:51); and a selection of our books of the year from Jonathan Sumption, Hadley Freeman, Mark Mason, Christopher Howse, Sam Leith and Frances Wilson (27:08).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

As we get closer to the US election, Kate Andrews, The Spectator's economics editor, joins Freddy Gray to host Americano. On this episode, she speaks to Megan McArdle, columnist at the Washington Post. They discuss why Donald Trump and Kamala Harris aren't campaigning in swing states, and why it's so difficult to predict the election result.

This week: Team Trump – who’s in, and who’s out? To understand Trumpworld you need to appreciate it’s a family affair, writes Freddy Gray in the magazine this week. For instance, it was 18-year-old Barron Trump who persuaded his father to do a series of long ‘bro-casts’ with online male influencers such as Joe Rogan. In 2016, Donald’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was the reigning prince; this year, he has been largely out of the picture. Which family figures are helping Trump run things this time around, and which groups hold the most influence? Freddy joins the podcast alongside economics editor Kate Andrews. What are the most important personnel decisions facing Trump if he wins next week? (0:58). Next: do astrologers predict elections better than pollsters? When pollster Nate Silver declared that dissecting an individual poll is like ‘doing astrology’, it led Andrew Watts to ponder what sorts of predictions astrologers make about elections. Could there be some merit in consulting them? And are astrologists better predictors than pollsters? Andrew joined the podcast to discuss further alongside The Oxford Astrologer’s Christina Rodenbeck, host of podcast Astrology Talk. What do the planets tell us about next week’s US election? (13:18). And finally: by whose values should we judge the past? Joan Smith’s new book Unfortunately, she was a nymphomaniac: a new history of Rome’s imperial women is reviewed in the Books section of the magazine this week. An eye-catching title which is ‘as thought provoking as it is provocative’ Daisy Dunn writes. Many popular historians are singled out for criticism for how they analyse women from ancient Rome, including Professor Dame Mary Beard. Is there merit in judging history by today’s standards? Well Mary Beard joined us to provide her thoughts (26:32). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is John Suchet whose new book In Search of Beethoven: A Personal Journey describes his lifelong passion for the composer. He tells me how the ‘Eroica’ was his soundtrack to the Lebanese Civil War, about the mysteries of Beethoven’s love-life and deafness, why he had reluctantly to accept that Beethoven was ‘ugly and half-mad’; and how even in the course of writing the book, new scholarship upended his assumptions about events in the composer’s life (from his meeting with Mozart to the circumstances of his death).

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges discuss the innovators within our consumer goods and services category, from suppliers of wonky fruits to producers of supplements for pets. The judges in this episode are Merryn Somerset Webb, senior columnist at Bloomberg and the founder of MoneyWeek; entrepreneur and investor Gordon Black, whose company Peter Black Holdings was a major supplier of the UK's leading retailers; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor. The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

** This episode of Chinese Whispers with Cindy Yu was recorded in front of a live audience as a part of the Battle of Ideas Festival 2024. ** Is China in decline? I was born in China in the 90s, and growing up it felt like the future was always going to be brighter. My parents were wealthier, more educated, better travelled than their parents, and it seemed assured that my generation would only have even better life chances. But in the 2020s, China’s economic growth has slowed down. Some of the once-bright spots in its economy, like real estate, are in slow motion meltdown. In the last couple of years foreign direct investment into the country has been falling at a record pace. The youth unemployment rate from this summer shows that just under a fifth of people under 24 are jobless. So how much of this is a considerable decline in the progress that China has made in the last miraculous half century, or is it just perhaps 'western bias' that’s blinding us to what is still a very positive picture? On this live podcast, I discuss this question with a lively and experienced panel of China-watchers: Tom Miller, a senior analyst at Gavekal Research and author of two books on China; Isabel Hilton, a veteran international reporter and founder of the website China Dialogue; and Austin Williams, an architect by training who is also the author of numerous books on China, and teaches at the Xi'An Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges introduce those start-ups rethinking and finessing the battle against climate change, from vertical farming to carbon capture technology; as well as those working for a greater social purpose, such as getting more women into tech. The judges in this episode are Eva-Maria Dimitriadis, CEO of the Conduit Connect, which backs exceptional founders whose businesses generate positive change; Clive Bawden, director of Governance360 and a previous winner of the Innovator Awards; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor. The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

In this week’s Spectator, William Finlater reveals that some of the Church of Scotland’s most precious architectural heritage is being flogged off quickly, cheaply and discreetly. Most western denominations are being forced to close churches, but the fire sale of hundreds of Scottish churches is unprecedented in British history. In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian talks to William about the Kirk’s apparently panicky reaction to losing half its members since 2000, and asks new Spectator editor Michael Gove – once a Church of Scotland Sunday School teacher – why his former denomination is staring into the abyss. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Philip Womack wonders why students can't tackle university reading lists (1:12); Ian Thomson contemplates how much Albania has changed since Enver Hoxta’s dictatorship (6:12); Silkie Carlo reveals the worrying rise of supermarket surveillance (13:33); Francis Young provides his notes on Hallowe’en fairies (20:21); and Rory Sutherland worries that Britain may soon face a different type of migrant crisis (24:08).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

In this special live edition of the Americano show, Freddy Gray chairs a panel discussion with The Spectator's Kate Andrews, The Telegraph's Tim Stanley and pollster James Kanagasooriam on the upcoming US election. He's then joined by Nigel Farage, MP for Clacton, leader of Reform UK, and friend of Donald Trump, to unpack how the presidential race is going for the Republican nominee.  There is just over a week to go and the race to the White House is on a knife-edge. Team Harris and Team Trump both believe it is theirs to lose. But 10 days is a very long time in politics and, if the rest of the year is any guide, it seems certain to bring plenty more surprises. Kamala looked to be on top after a unanimous victory in the presidential debate but her latest media blitz has backfired. Meanwhile Trump seems to have rediscovered his mojo. Will this election be a referendum on Trump? 

Daisy Cooper has been a stalwart of the Liberal Democrats for over a decade. From councillor to MP, she has served as the deputy leader of the party since 2020. First elected to parliament in 2019, she came to prominence when she represented the party in two of the general election debates earlier this year.    On the podcast, Daisy talks to Katy Balls about her ambition to be a conductor, how she created her first job, and whether she’d like to be leader one day. As the Liberal Democrats are now the largest third party in Parliament for 100 years – with 72 MPs – Daisy tells Katy what it’s like to have so many colleagues, and provides her diagnoses about both the Labour government and the Conservative leadership race.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: Decline and Fall – how our greatest universities are betraying students. Our greatest universities are betraying students, writes David Butterfield, who has just resigned from teaching Classics at Cambridge after 21 years. What went wrong? First, class lists of exam results became private, under alleged grounds of ‘data protection’, which snuffed out much of the competitive spirit of the university. Now even the fate of examinations hangs in the balance. Grade inflation is rampant, and it is now unheard of for students to be sent down for insufficient academic performance. For students, the risks have never been lower. ‘The pace of change over the past decade has been astonishing, driven on by three forces: an administrative class that wants to minimise complaints, a subset of academics who actively resent the no-nonsense traditions of the university, and a proportion of students who will take the easiest path proffered.’ David joined the podcast alongside the author Philip Womack, who recalls his own run-in with university administrators in the magazine. (01:46) Next: the return of Trump the stand-up comedian. There had been a lot of talk that Trump had lost some of his spark, with declining attendance at his rallies and his jokes failing to land. But, as The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews writes this week, he appears to have his mojo back. At the Al Smith dinner, he delivered a series of wicked barbs aimed at his opponent Tim Walz and Kamala Harris, to a rapturous reception in the room. So what has changed? And why is humour so important to Trump? Kate joined the podcast alongside journalist and former speechwriter to Tony Blair, Philip Collins. (18:06) And finally: could AI lead to a revival of decorative beauty? In her arts lead for the magazine, Lara Prendergast meets the founders of a company in Stoke-on-Trent using AI technology to mass-produce uncannily authentic Delftware tiles, the iconic blue and white ceramics. ‘Josiah Wedgwood would have loved what we are doing… I suspect William Morris would have hated it,’ says the co-founder of Not Quite Past – the company creating these tiles – and who joins the podcast to discuss further. (37:55) Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Keir Starmer can’t even fly to Samoa without another international British embarrassment breaking out. The latest is an angry accusation from Donald Trump’s campaign that Labour is committing the crime of ‘election interference’ in the United States. ‘The British are coming!’ screamed a typically camp Trump-Vance official press release last night. The campaign denounced Britain’s ‘far-left’ governing party for attempting to subvert democracy by sending almost 100 of its activists across the pond to sway American voters. But are the British actually coming? Freddy Gray speaks to James Heale, The Spectator's political correspondent.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Rachel Clarke, author of the Baillie Gifford longlisted new book The Story of a Heart. Rachel tells me how she came so intimately to tell the story of 9-year-old Keira, whose death in a car accident and donation of her heart gave a chance at life to a dying stranger, Max. She describes the medical and conceptual changes that led up to that extraordinary possibility and explains how, as a medic, you have to be able to combine technical professionalism with a sense of the sanctity of the human beings you work with. And she catches us up on how Max is doing eight years on. This podcast is in association with Serious Readers. Use offer code ‘TBC’ for £100 off any HD Light and free UK delivery. Go to: www.seriousreaders.com/spectator

Tim Spector is a leading professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and a renowned expert in nutrition, gut health, and the microbiome. He is the founder of the Zoe Project, which focuses on personalised nutrition and how individual responses to food impact health. His new book, The Food for Life Cookbook, is out now. On the podcast, he tells Lara about his time growing up in Australia, how a skiing accident changed his view on nutrition, and why ham-flavoured crisps are his guilty pleasure. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Joe Bedell-Brill. Click here for tickets to our Americano live event, with Nigel Farage.

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges introduce those cutting edge healthcare companies who are amongst the finalists and compare and contrast what they do with the latest biotech, AI, and how well they fare when trying to introduce innovation into the NHS. The judges in this episode are Jonny Ohlson, founder and chairman of biotech firm Touchlight; Nicholas Hardie, entrepreneur and non-executive director on the board of Moorfields Eye Hospital; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor. The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Richard Dawkins reads his diary for the week (1:21); Nicholas Farrell argues that Italy is showing the EU the way on migration (6:33); Mary Wakefield reflects on the horrors, and teaching, of the Second World War (13:54); Lisa Hilton examines what made George Villiers a favourite of King James I (19:10); and a local heroin addict makes Philip Hensher contemplate his weight (27:10).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

The House of Lords contains 26 Church of England archbishops and bishops who possess an automatic right to sit and vote in the House, as established by ancient usage and by statute. But for how much longer? Labour have big plans for the Lords and have been pushing ahead with their crackdown on hereditary peers. But this week we learnt that Tory MP Gavin Williamson will table an amendment calling for them to reconsider the role of bishops as well. Gavin says that a clergy-free Lords would be more representative of modern Britain and is expecting to gain cross-party support, including from the likes of Jeremy Corbyn. The Spectator’s features editor William Moore thinks this is ‘institutional vandalism’ and opens the door to the removal of faith from parliament. Gavin and William join The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls to debate. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson.

This month Pope Francis announced that he’s creating 21 cardinals, and once again his list includes unexpected names that will baffle commentators who assume that he’s determined to stack the next conclave with liberals.  For example, Australia now finally has a cardinal – but he’s a 44-year-old bishop from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic diaspora rather than the actual head of the Ukrainian Church in Kiev. There’s also a new English cardinal who isn’t even a bishop, the Dominican theologian Timothy Radcliffe. He’s nearly 80, so will soon have to step down as an elector – but, believe it or not, one of the new cardinals is 99 and therefore old enough to be his father. In this episode of Holy Smoke, Vatican analyst Serre Verweij joins Damian Thompson to discuss the significance of this consistory. He suggests that this Pope, famously hostile to traditionalists, is nonetheless moving to the right at this late stage in his pontificate. But why? 

This week: the Chancellor’s Budget dilemma. ‘As a former championship chess player, Rachel Reeves must know that the first few moves can be some of the most important of the game,’ writes Rupert Harrison – former chief of staff to George Osborne – for the cover of the magazine this week. But, he says, the truth is that she has played herself into a corner ahead of this month's Budget, with her room for manoeuvre dramatically limited by a series of rash decisions. Her biggest problem is that she has repeatedly ruled out increases in income tax, national insurance and VAT. ‘So which taxes will rise, given that the easy options have been ruled out? The answers appear to be evolving rapidly when ministers are confronted with the OBR’s harsh reality.’ Rupert joined the podcast alongside The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews. (01:29) Next: Charlie Falconer and Charles Moore debate assisted dying. As Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill comes before the Commons, the former justice secretary Lord Falconer (who introduced a similar bill to the Lords) and The Spectator’s chairman Lord Moore debate assisted dying. The full conversation can be found on SpectatorTV but we have an extract from their conversation on the podcast. (19:01) And finally: In his Books & Arts lead, Philip Hensher reviews Peter Parker’s history of homosexuality from 1945 to 1967, revealing many of the era’s bizarre and, at times, amusing speculations. They both join the podcast to discuss the demonising of homosexuals in postwar Britain and the role of the tabloids in stirring up fear and distrust. (33:26) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

Polling suggests that the Catholic vote helped Trump win in 2016 and helped Biden win in 2020. Biden is also the most church-going president by far. With issues like immigration and abortion high on the agenda for voters, where will the Catholic vote land? And how important is the idea of being culturally Catholic compared with political religiosity? Ryan Girdursky, founder of the 1776 Project PAC and the National Populist substack - and Catholic - joins Freddy Gray to discuss. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

In this week's Book Club podcast Sam Leith’s guest is the great Sue Prideaux who, after her prize-winning biographies of Nietzsche, Munch and Strindberg, has turned her attention to Gauguin in Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin. She tells me about the great man's unexpected brief career as an investment banker, his highly unusual marriage and his late turn to anticolonial activism. Plus: why she starts with his teeth. This podcast is in association with Serious Readers. Use offer code ‘TBC’ for £100 off any HD Light and free UK delivery. Go to: www.seriousreaders.com/spectator Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

Republican strategist, and friend of Americano, Luke Thompson joins Freddy Gray to talk about the ground game of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. From postal voting, to party registration, to machine politics, whose is better? And what impact did Biden's exit from the race have on the organised parts of the Democratic Party?  With Luke's unique insight working on two current senate races, and as a longtime consultant to Vice-Presidential nominee J.D. Vance, they analyse the state of an election that continues to be unpredictable.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

** On October 19, Cindy Yu and a panel of special guests will be recording a live Chinese Whispers at London's Battle of Ideas festival, talking the latest on China’s economic slowdown and asking – what are the social and political implications? Is China in decline? Chinese Whispers listeners can get a 20 per cent discount on the ticket price with the code WHISPERS24. Click here to find out more and get your ticket. ** In the early 2000s, Desmond Shum and his wife, Whitney Duan, were among the richest people in China, with fingers in various real estate, infrastructure and hospitality projects. They also had some of China’s most powerful people on speed dial – including the family of then-premier Wen Jiabao. But that all changed in 2017 when Whitney was disappeared by the Chinese state. Desmond now lives in the UK where he published a memoir in 2021, Red Roulette, and is now an analyst and commentator on Chinese politics. On this interview, Cindy Yu and Desmond Shum discuss why he thinks Whitney was the victim of a power struggle involving Xi Jinping, the reality of politics and corruption in the China of the 2000s, and how Xi has destroyed the economic trajectory of the once-booming People’s Republic.

Actress and writer Tracy-Ann Oberman is well known for her roles across theatre, radio and television, including Dr Who, Friday Night Dinner, It’s a Sin and, of course, EastEnders. Most recently, she has taken on one of the most famous, and problematic, Shakespearean roles: as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Inspired by her great-grandmother, she has reimagined the role as a Jewish matriarch, and the play returns to London’s West End this December.   On the podcast, Katy Balls talks to Tracy about her obsession with the Roman Empire, what it was like spending a term in Moscow towards the end of perestroika, and her  career from soap to Shakespeare, hero to villain. As she has found herself viewed as an unofficial spokesperson for the Jewish community, Tracy also talks openly about challenging the hate and abuse that many members of the community sadly receive. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: new Editor Michael Gove discusses his plans for The Spectator (1:08); Max Jeffery heads to Crawley to meet some of the Chagossians based there (5:44); Christopher Howse reads his ode to lamp lighting (12:35); Robert Jackman declares the Las Vegas Sphere to be the future of live arts (19:10); and Mark Mason provides his notes on the joy of swearing (26:50).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Journalist, historian and friend of Americano Thomas Frank joins Freddy Gray to dissect the state of American politics. Author of books, including the famed What's the matter with Kansas? How conservatives won the heart of America and, most recently, The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism, Frank talks about his research into the origins of populism, the strange nature of American conventions, and the fundamental flaws he sees in the candidates ahead of the November election. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.

Successive governments have struggled with how to deal with China, balancing them as a geopolitical rival yet necessary trade partner. Recent moves from Labour have sent mixed signals, from the free speech act to the return of the Chagos Islands. Further decisions loom on the horizon. As Rachel Reeves seeks some economic wiggle room, can Labour resist the lure of the Chinese market? The Spectator’s Katy Balls, and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) James Crabtree, join the podcast to discuss further (02:05). Plus: as the first issue under The Spectator’s new editor Michael Gove, what are his reflections as he succeeds Fraser Nelson? He reads an excerpt from his diary (19:05). Next: could the government’s plans for dealing with extremism have unintended consequences on young men? With plans to reclassify extreme misogyny as extremism, Toby Young argues this week that Labour’s broadening of this issue exposes the flaws of the Prevent strategy. For all the focus on ‘toxic masculinity’, do we risk alienating and prematurely criminalising teenagers? Toby joins the podcast, alongside The Spectator’s deputy features editor – often host of this podcast – Gus Carter (22:05). And finally: the rise of the female fight club. Emily Rhodes talks about her experience taking up kickboxing, and the unexpected consequence of channelling her anger. How should women, and society, understand and deal with female anger? Emily joins the podcast, alongside the author of Rage Becomes Her, Soraya Chemaly, to explain (34:28). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the former Home Secretary Alan Johnson, who joins me to talk about his new biography of Harold Wilson. He tells me about Wilson’s rocket-powered rise to the top, how he learned oratory on the hoof, why he might have been right to be paranoid… and what really went on with Marcia. This podcast is in association with Serious Readers. Use offer code 'TBC' for £100 off any HD Light and free UK delivery. Go to: www.seriousreaders.com/spectator

Claire Dinhut is known to thousands on social media as CondimentClaire. Raised in a European household in Los Angeles, her upbringing and her background studying history have influenced her other passion, for cooking. Her book The Condiment Book: a brilliantly flavourful guide to food's unsung heroes is out now. On the podcast, Claire tells hosts Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about how Anthony Bourdain was her inspiration, the impact of covid on her career, and her French and Greek culinary influences. She also answers important questions such as: should we pair branston pickle with avocado; is cereal a soup; and what's the deal with pumpkin spice? Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

On the anniversary of the October 7th attacks on Israel by Hamas, former Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy joins Freddy Gray to discuss everything that has happened since. Does the world still stand with Israel? This was originally broadcast on Spectator TV. Go to spectator.co.uk/TV to watch more.

The US presidential election looks as if it’s coming down to the wire in a handful of battleground states. Neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump has established a clear lead, and that raises the question of whether, even in today’s increasingly secular America, evangelical Christians could give former president Trump a crucial advantage in the rust belt. On the other hand, could his role in the demise of Roe v Wade tilt the race towards Harris?  In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian Thompson talks to Dr Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, a specialist in the influence of religion on US politics, and Justin Webb, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, widely respected as an impartial commentator on presidential campaigns.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Fraser Nelson signs off for the last time (1:30); Cindy Yu explores growing hostility in China to the Japanese (7:44); Mary Wakefield examines the dark truth behind the Pelicot case in France (13:32); Anthony Sattin reviews Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and Cultures (19:54); and Toby Young reveals the truth behind a coincidental dinner with Fraser Nelson and new Spectator editor Michael Gove (25:40).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Israel has launched what it has described as "limited, localised and targeted ground raids" in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah’s deputy leader says they’re ready for a ground offensive. It comes as more than 1000 people have been killed in the past two weeks in Lebanon. Could they be heading for all-out war? Is it possible that Iran and the US will be sucked into the conflict too? With tensions between Israel and the US on the rise, what will the next few weeks look like – and is there a chance Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah open the way to strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities? Professor John Mearsheimer joins The Spectator’s deputy editor and Americano host Freddy Gray to discuss what’s next for Israel, and the geopolitical implications. This episode is also available to watch on Spectator TV. 

This week: Israel’s revenge and Iran’s humiliation. As the anniversary of the October 7th attacks by Hamas approaches, the crisis in the Middle East has only widened. Israel has sent troops into southern Lebanon and there have been attempted missile strikes from the Houthi rebels in Yemen and from Iran. Is there any way the situation can de-escalate? And how could Israel respond to Iran? Former BBC foreign correspondent Paul Wood and defence and security research Dr Limor Simhony join the podcast (1:03). Next: it’s the end of an era for The Spectator. This issue is Fraser Nelson’s last as he hands over the reins to Michael Gove. Having spent 15 years as editor, with 784  issues to his name, what are his reflections on his time here at 22 Old Queen Street? You can also hear an extract from Toby Young’s column, where he reveals a  coincidental dinner that took place last week (13:25). And finally: should we mourn the demise of the physical invitation? Yes, says Philip Womack in his Notes on in the magazine this week, as he declares ‘bring back the stiffy!’. They’re a ritual, a pleasure, a memento that will be most missed. Philip joined the podcast to ponder their decline, alongside our Dear Mary columnist Mary Killen (29:00). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Malcolm Gladwell. Twenty-five years after he published The Tipping Point, Malcolm returns to the subject of his first book in Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders and the Rise of Social Engineering. He tells me about the 'magic third', why it's not just Covid that gave us superspreaders, and how what he calls an 'overstory' can have dramatic effects on human behaviour. He talks, too, about why counterintuitive discoveries are easy to find, and why we're all wrong about everything all the time. This podcast is in association with Serious Readers. Use offer code 'TBC' for £100 off any HD Light and free UK delivery. Go to: www.seriousreaders.com/spectator

The mood at Conservative conference has been surprisingly jubilant considering the turmoil that the party finds itself in. Labour's misfortunes may have contributed to this, but there seems to be a genuine optimism around the four candidates vying for the leadership of the party. What's the latest? Have Kemi Badenoch's comments on maternity pay impacted her position with the members?  Also on the podcast, this evening will see the Vance vs Walz vice presidential debate. They go head to head in an increasingly tight election. What does Trump vs Harris say about the state of American politics? And can any of these candidates – on either side of the pond – expect to be fighting future elections for their parties?  The Spectator's Fraser Nelson speaks to Katy Balls, Kate Andrews and Sarah Elliott from Republicans Overseas UK. 

America has a peculiar way of deciding national elections. Instead of a cumulative national vote, the president and vice president are determined by fifty separate state elections. The top ticket in each state (except Nebraska and Maine) receives all that state’s electoral votes, no matter how slim the margin of victory. Each state’s electoral votes are equal to its number of House members plus its senators. The winner needs 270 electoral votes. What if, in this razor-thin election, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris fall one vote short? Freddy Gray is joined by Charles Lipson, contributor to The Spectator and political scientist,  to answer that question. You can read the rest of his piece here. Join Freddy Gray a special live recording of Americano on Thursday 24 October. You can buy tickets at www.spectator.co.uk/electionspecial. 

** On October 19, Cindy Yu and a panel of special guests will be recording a live Chinese Whispers at London's Battle of Ideas festival, talking the latest on China’s economic slowdown and asking – what are the social and political implications? Is China in decline? Chinese Whispers listeners can get a 20 per cent discount on the ticket price with the code WHISPERS24. Click here to find out more and get your ticket. ** The release of ChatGPT in late 2022 brought home the sheer potential of artificial intelligence and the speed with which developments are being made. It made AI the hot topic from business to politics and, yes, journalism.  This was true in China too, despite the fact that ChatGPT has never been allowed to be used within Chinese borders. Instead, China has a rich landscape of homegrown AI products, where progress is being led by tech giants like search engine Baidu and TikTok’s owner, ByteDance. So already we are seeing a bifurcation in the AI worlds of China and the West – just like with social media and e-commerce. This episode will peek over the Great Firewall to update listeners on China’s progress on AI. The country is fast becoming an AI superpower even as it limits the freedoms its generative models can have and keeps out some of the world’s leading companies. Could this be the next arms race? Cindy Yu is joined by the researcher Matt Sheehan, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a long time watcher of China’s tech scene.

Freddy Gray is joined by Oliver Bateman, historian and journalist based in Pittsburgh. They discuss how important Pennsylvania will be during the election, the mail-in ballot system, and the state of the race. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Rachel Johnson reads her diary for the week (1:19); James Heale analyses the true value of Labour peer Lord Alli (6:58); Paul Wood questions if Israel is trying to drag America into a war with Iran (11:59); Rowan Pelling reviews Want: Sexual Fantasies, collated by Gillian Anderson (19:47); and Graeme Thomson explores the ethics of the posthumous publication of new music (28:00).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Labour’s Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson returns to Women With Balls in a special live edition of the podcast, recorded at Labour Party conference. The MP for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010, Phillipson joined Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet in 2020, and was appointed Shadow Education Secretary the following year. She retained her brief following the general election, and was also appointed Minister for Women and Equalities. Katy talks to Bridget about her priorities for Education, what she thinks about the idea that too many people go to university, and the recovery of schools and pupils post-pandemic.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

This week: who’s on top in the Conservative leadership race? That’s the question Katy Balls asks in the magazine this week as she looks ahead to the Conservative Party conference. Each Tory hopeful will be pitching for the support of MPs and the party faithful ahead of the next round of voting. Who’s got the most to lose, and could there be some sneaky tactics behind the scenes? Katy joins the podcast to discuss, alongside Conservative peer Ruth Porter, who ran Liz Truss’s leadership campaign in 2022. We also include an excerpt from the hustings that Katy conducted with each of the candidates earlier this week. You can find the full interviews on The Spectator’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SpectatorTV (02:07) Next: should trail hunting be banned? Flora Watkins concedes that the hunting community has not helped its case over the years when considering the future of the sport. However, she argues that a minority should not spoil a sport that is ‘thrilling, sociable and bloodless’. In a heated discussion, Flora joins the podcast to make her case with campaigner Dominic Dyer. (17:43) And finally: what to make of Sally Rooney’s new novel Intermezzo? In the magazine this week Claire Lowdon argues that the novel is an ‘enjoyable old-fashioned love story… but high literature it is not’. Why? Reviewing the book for the Times James Marriott argues Rooney’s characters are ‘sensitive’ but also too ‘precious and prissy’. How warranted is the criticism of Rooney? Claire and James join the pod. (31:50)   Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is Alan Garner whose new book of essays and poems is called Powsels and Thrums: A Tapestry of a Creative Life. Alan tells me about landscape and writing, science and magic, the unbearably spooky story behind his novel Thursbitch – and why, three weeks short of 90, he has no plans to retire. This podcast is in association with Serious Readers. Use offer code 'TBC' for £100 off any HD Light and free UK delivery. Go to: www.seriousreaders.com/spectator

Charlie Bigham founded his eponymous ready to cook meals over 25 years ago. Having left a career as a management consultant, his company has gone on to report annual sales in the tens of millions, with a focus on ‘creating delicious dishes for people who love proper food’. His first cookbook ‘Supper with Charlie Bigham’ is out now.    On the podcast, Charlie tells hosts Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about recovering from ‘revolting’ school food, the difference between packaged meals and ready meals, and how he views cooking as alchemy. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

A handful of Big Tech companies seem to run our lives, and there's a good argument that they can be considered monopolies within their industries. In a landmark ruling recently, a US judge found that Google acted illegally with their exercise of monopoly power within the online search industry. On this episode, Freddy is joined by Barry Lynn, journalist and an expert on America's antitrust battles, to discuss how liberal societies can combat the power of monopolistic Big Tech.

In the winter of 1951 shots from a Colt revolver rang out in St Paul’s Cathedral in an experiment designed to solve the mystery of how architecture shapes sound. In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian Thompson talks to Dr Fiona Smyth, author of a new book on the subject, and choral musician Philip Fryer, about the perfect acoustic – an increasingly important topic for churches, since many of them rely on the income from hiring themselves out as concert and recording venues. And it raises the question: should we think of a church as a musical instrument? 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: as Lebanon reels from the exploding pagers, Paul Wood wonders what’s next for Israel and Hezbollah (1:24); Ross Clark examines Ireland’s low-tax project, following the news that they’re set to receive €13 billion… that they didn’t want (8:40); Reviewing Ben Macintyre’s new book, Andrew Lycett looks at the 1980 Iranian London embassy siege (15:29); Laura Gascoigne argues that Vincent Van Gogh would approve of the new exhibition of his works at the National Gallery (22:35); and Henry Jeffreys provides his notes on corkscrews (28:01).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is Channel 4's international editor Lindsey Hilsum. In her new book I Brought The War With Me: Stories and Poems from the Front Line Lindsey intersperses her account of the many conflicts she has covered as a war reporter with the poems that have given her consolation and a wider sense of meaning as she travels through the dark places of the earth. She tells me what poets can do that reporters can't, how you put a human face on statistics, how new technology has changed her trade, and why she goes back and back into danger to bear witness.

This week: Nigel’s next target. What’s Reform UK’s plan to take on Labour? Reform UK surpassed expectations at the general election to win 5 MPs. This includes James McMurdock, who Katy interviews for the magazine this week, who only decided to stand at the last moment. How much threat could Reform pose and why has Farage done so well? Katy joins the podcast to discuss, alongside Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, who fought Nigel Farage as the Labour candidate for Clacton (1:02). Next: who determines the morality of euthanasia? Matthew Hall recounts the experience of his aunt opting for the procedure in Canada, saying it ‘horrified’ him but ‘was also chillingly seductive’. Does Canada provide the model for the rest of the world? Or should we all be worried of where this could lead? Matthew joined the podcast, alongside commentator Richard Hanania. Hanania is president of the Centre for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology and has hailed the Canadian model as ‘moral progress’ (19:52). And finally: why isn’t China a football superpower? Ian Williams joins the podcast to discuss his article exploring the failure of President Xi to realise his ambitions for Chinese football. Despite spending billions of yuan, why hasn’t China been more successful? Cameron Wilson, founding editor of Wild East Football, the world’s leading English-language news source on soccer in China joins too (35:44). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

We have some new inflation figures today. Inflation rose 2.2 per cent in the 12 months to August. This is pretty much in line with the Bank of England's target and should be good news for Labour, so why do they persist with this doom and gloom narrative?  Elsewhere, Labour's awkward week has got more awkward with the news that Sue Gray, Keir Starmer's chief of staff, is paid more than him. Surely they could have seen this news story coming?  Oscar Edmondson speaks to Kate Andrews and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

As if there hadn’t been enough drama in America in 2024, Donald Trump has survived another assassination attempt. The attempted killing of the 45th president at his golf course in Palm Beach, Florida yesterday afternoon was not nearly as threatening or deadly as the shooting nine weeks ago in Butler, Pennsylvania - but questions remain about how the incident could have happened.  Freddy Gray is joined by Kate Andrews to discuss the second assassination attempt, the state of the race, and what's next for Donald Trump. 

As a child, the New York Times journalist Edward Wong had no idea that his father had been in the People’s Liberation Army. But as he grew up, a second generation immigrant in the United States, Edward was hungry to find out more about his father and mother’s pasts in the People’s Republic of China. That hunger took him to study China at university and eventually to become the New York Times’s Beijing bureau chief. Edward’s new book, At the Edge of Empire, is a marvellously constructed work that traces his father’s journey through China as a soldier in the PLA, and his own reporting in China as an American journalist. It reveals how China has changed between the lives of father and son, but also how some aspects – such as the nature of political power – have not changed at all.  On this episode, Cindy Yu talks to Edward about the yearning of second-generation immigrants to understand their roots, why both China and America can be seen as empires, and the seventy years of change that the lives of father and son span.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Fraser Nelson reflects on a historic week for The Spectator (1:15); David Whitehouse examines the toughest problem in mathematics (6:33); Imogen Yates reports on the booming health tech industry (13:54); Sean McGlynn reviews Dan Jones’s book Henry V: the astonishing rise of England’s greatest warrior king (20:24); and Ruari Clark provides his notes on rollies (26:18).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

From working on the 1997 general election campaign, to serving in the shadow cabinets of three leaders, politician Lucy Powell has been a prominent figure in the Labour Party for many years. First elected to parliament in 2012, she was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council following Labour's general election win in July. As Women With Balls returns from a summer break, Katy Balls talks to Lucy about why she transferred out of Oxford University, what her motivations were for serving under Jeremy Corbyn, and why the 2024 general election felt like Glastonbury festival. Lucy also talks about her focus for the newly formed Modernisation Committee.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: The US election is back on a knife-edge. Republicans hoped this week’s debate would expose Kamala Harris’s weaknesses. ‘They forgot that, when it comes to one-on-one intellectual sparring matches with candidates who aren’t senile, Donald Trump is very bad indeed,’ writes Freddy Gray. ‘A skilled politician would have been able to unpick Harris’s act, but Trump could not.’ Harris is enigmatic to the point of absurdity, but Trump failed to pin her down and may well have squandered his narrow lead. To discuss further, Freddy joined the podcast alongside Amber Duke, Washington editor at Spectator World. (02:05) Next: Lara and Will take us through some of their favourite pieces from this week, including Fraser Nelson’s diary on the sale of The Spectator Magazine to Sir Paul Marshall. Then: how to catch a paedophile. London Overwatch, a paedophile hunting group, pose as children online to snare unsuspecting sexual predators. They then confront the suspect and livestream the arrest to thousands of viewers. The Spectator’s Max Jeffery went along to see them catch a man who believes he has been speaking to a 14-year-old girl. Max was joined on the podcast by Nick, who runs London Overwatch. (18:34) And finally: is it ethical to pocket a sandwich at a hotel breakfast buffet? Laurie Graham explores the ethics of plundering the hotel buffet in the magazine this week. Specifically, she reveals the very British habit that many Brits swipe food from their free breakfasts to save for lunch later in the day. Laurie joined us alongside Mark Jenkins, a former hotel manager in Torquay who listeners may remember from the Channel 4 documentary ‘The Hotel’ (27:51) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

In this week's Book Club podcast my guest is the satirist Craig Brown, talking about his brilliant new book A Voyage Round The Queen. Craig tells me what made him think there was something new to say about Elizabeth II, how he found himself in possession of the only scoop of his career and about his mortifying encounter with Her Maj. 

The Spectator's chairman Andrew Neil and journalist Piers Morgan join Freddy Gray, host of the Americano show, to analyse the presidential race so far. Piers reveals what Donald Trump told him after he was shot, and they both give their predictions on whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will win their first debate. 

Musician Simon Raymonde is perhaps best known as part of the Scottish band the Cocteau Twins, but he has found further success as the co-founder of Bella Union Records. Bella Union produce music by Father John Misty, the Fleet Foxes, and Beach House, amongst others. His memoir In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor Raymonde and Me is released on the 12 September 2024. On this episode of Table Talk, Simon tells Olivia Potts and Lara Prendergast about the influence of Jewish food as he was growing up, life on tour, how he spends his time in his new home of Brighton, and his love of the restaurant chain Dishoom.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Freddy Gray is joined by Bridget Phetasy, comedian and Spectator World columnist. They discuss whether everyone is suffering a bit of election, and Trump fatigue - including Trump himself. They also cover Putin trolling America, and Bridget gives her predictions for the upcoming presidential debate.

In this week’s copy of The Spectator, Dan Hitchens argues that a lesser reported aspect of Labour’s decision to impose VAT on private schools is who it could hit hardest: faith schools. Hundreds of independent religious schools charge modest, means-tested fees. Could a hike in costs make these schools unviable? And, with uncertainty about how ideological a decision this is, does the government even care? Dan joins Damian on the podcast to discuss.  Raisel Freedman from the Partnerships for Jewish Schools also joins later, to discuss how the measure could threaten Jewish independent schools, when they provide a haven for students from a climate of rising antisemitism. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Ian Thomson reflects on his childhood home following the death of his sister (1:20); Andrew Watts argues that the public see MPs as accountable for everything though they’re responsible for little (7:40); Sam Leith reveals the surprising problem of poetical copyright (13:47); Helen Barrett reviews Will Noble’s book Croydonopolis and explores the reputation of a place with unfulfilled potential (19:48); and, Catriona Olding ponders moving on from loss to love (26:09).    Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Labor Day is a critical mile-marker on the road to the general election, now just two months away. Pollsters are busy processing data and making predictions, but nobody really knows whether America will end up with Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the White House. Nate Silver is one of America's most well-respected pollsters. The former poker player set up FiveThirtyEight, a polling company and now writes the Silver Bullet on Substack. Nate Silver's latest book On the Edge: the Art of Risking Everything takes a look at two mindsets: the River and the Village.  Nate joins Freddy Gray on the Americano show to discuss probability in sport and politics, how luck is often undervalued in politics, whether VP picks are an key decision in general elections and why J.D. Vance may be a bad choice for Trump.

This week: Miliband’s empty energy promises. Ed Miliband has written a public letter confirming that Labour plans to decarbonise the electricity system by 2030. The problem with this, though, is that he doesn’t have the first idea about how to do it. The grid doesn’t have the capacity to transmit the required energy, Ross Clark writes, and Miliband’s claim that wind is ‘nine times cheaper’ than fossil fuels is based upon false assumptions. What is more, disclosed plans about ‘GB Energy’ reveal that Miliband’s pet project isn’t really a company at all – but an investment scheme. This empty vessel will funnel taxpayer money into the hands of private companies rather than produce any energy itself. To discuss, Lara and Will were joined by Shaun Spiers, executive director of the Green Alliance and Stanley Johnson, former MEP, environmental campaigner and author of the new book In the footsteps of Marco Polo deals extensively on China’s energy problems and opportunities. (02:26) Then: Lara and Will take us through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine, including the lead book review and Catriona Olding’s Still Life column. Next: meet Nigel Farage’s millionaire Reform chairman. The Reform party has a new poster boy, the 37-year-old party Chairman Zia Yusuf. Self-dubbed a ‘British Muslim patriot’, Yusuf is a former Goldman Sachs partner and tech owner with an expensive taste for cars. He is tasked with transforming Farage’s outfit from a limited company into a proper party. You can read James Heale’s full interview with Yusuf in this week’s magazine, but they have kindly allowed us to hear a section of their discussion on the podcast. They talk about the Nigel Farage effect and Lee Anderson’s comments about Sadiq Khan. (18:34) And finally: should we feel sorry for restaurant critics? Angus Colwell, The Spectator’s assistant online editor, writes about the plight of the restaurant critic and the stresses of doing what many would consider the best job in the world. To discuss further, Angus joined us alongside the Observer’s restaurant critic Jay Rayner, whose new book Nights Out, At Home celebrates his 25 years as a food critic and is available to buy now. (29:41)  Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is the writer, artist and historian Amy Jeffs. Her new book Saints: A New Legendary of Heroes, Humans and Magic aims to recover and bring back to life the wild and fascinating world of medieval saints. She tells me what we lost with the Reformation (all the good swearing, among much else), what was the difference between magic and a miracle, and how what washes up on the Thames foreshore can give us the entry point to a whole vanished imaginarium. 

In a CNN interview, Kamala Harris has been pressed on why her policies on immigration have become more moderate since 2019, when she ran for president. Republicans have been accusing her of flip-flopping on her border wall policy. In this episode, Matt McDonald, managing editor of The Spectator's US edition, fills in for Freddy whilst he's on holiday. Matt speaks to Todd Bensman, journalist, author, and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.

The South China Sea has been an area of regular clashes and heightened tensions under the leadership of Xi Jinping. It seems that, every few months, Chinese naval or coastguard ships clash or almost clash with vessels from South East Asian nations like Vietnam and the Philippines. Only last week, a Chinese ship clashed with the Filipino coast guard in the Spratly Islands, with both sides levelling angry accusations at each other. The region is full of disputed claims, making it fertile waters for accidental escalation. China says its claims to the region – encompassed by the ‘nine-dash line’ – are historic; that island sets such as the Spratlys and the Paracels in the South China Sea are as integral to the Chinese empire as Hong Kong or Taiwan. How sound is that claim? This episode will be digging into the origins of the nine-dash line (roughly pictured here) – and finds them not so much in ancient imperial days. The chaotic formation of China’s claims in the South China Sea is researched and detailed in Bill Hayton’s book, The Invention of China. To hear more about Bill's book, tune in to our previous episode: What is it to be Chinese?

Writer Guy Stagg threw in his job to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem via Rome - choosing a hazardous medieval route across the Alps. It nearly killed him: at one stage, trying to cross a broken bridge in Switzerland, he ended up partially submerged in the water, held up only by his rucksack.  On this episode of Holy Smoke, from the archives, Guy explains why his journey was a pilgrimage, not just travels. And Damian Thompson talks to Harry Mount, editor of The Oldie, about why he’s irresistibly drawn to church buildings while remaining an unbeliever - albeit an agnostic rather than an atheist.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Joan Collins reads an extract from her diary (1:15); Owen Matthews argues that Russia and China’s relationship is just a marriage of convenience (3:19); reviewing The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering by Daniel Light, Sara Wheeler examines the epic history of the sport (13:52); Igor Toronyi-Lalic looks at the life, cinema, and many drinks, of Marguerite Duras (21:35); and Tanya Gold provides her notes on tasting menus (26:07).    Presented and produced by Patrick Gibbons.  

Women With Balls has taken a summer break and will be back in September with a new series. Until then, here's an episode from the archives, with Dame Karen Pierce, who will shortly complete her term as British Ambassador to the United States. Filmed in 2019, when Dame Karen was the UK’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, she talks to Katy Balls about her career ambitions when she was young, using Lewis Carroll to combat the Russians, and what day to day life is like at the UN.

This week: Alt reich. The Spectator’s Lisa Haseldine asks if Germany’s far right is about to go mainstream, ahead of regional elections this weekend. Lisa joined the podcast, alongside the historian Katja Hoyer, to discuss why the AfD are polling so well in parts of Germany, and how comparable this is to other trends across Europe (1:13). Then: why are traditional hobbies being threatened in Britain? Writer Richard Bratby joins the podcast, alongside Chris Bradbury, the drone support officer at the BMFA, to discuss his article in the magazine this week about the challenge red-tape poses to model steam engine and aeroplane enthusiasts (18:47). And finally: how has sound design changed the world of theatre? The Spectator's chief dance critic Rupert Christiansen argues in the magazine this week that amplified sound has become the default, to the detriment of traditional theatre, and he joins the podcast to discuss (30:15). The director Yael Farber also joins to explain why she sees sound design as the primary sensory experience within theatre (37:55).    Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Book Club has taken a short summer break and will return in September. Until then, and ahead of the 85th anniversary of the start of World War Two, here’s an episode from the archives with the author Ian Sansom.  Recorded ahead of the 80th anniversary in 2019, Sam Leith talks to Ian about September 1, 1939, the W.H. Auden poem that marked the beginning of the war. Ian’s book is a 'biography' of the poem; they discuss how it showcases all that is best and worst in Auden’s work, how Auden first rewrote and then disowned it, and how Auden’s posthumous reputation has had some unlikely boosters in Richard Curtis and Osama Bin Laden. 

Will Beckett, CEO of Hawksmoor, founded the steakhouse chain with his childhood best friend Huw Gott in 2006. It has since expanded to 13 locations, including three outside the UK, and consistently been ranked one of the best steak restaurants in the world. On the podcast, Will tells Olivia Potts and Lara Prendergast about his journey from working in a bar to breaking America, how farming is the key to a good steak, and why pasta is actually his favourite food. 

Professor John Mearsheimer joins Freddy Gray to discuss the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, and the influence of both on the US election. The Israel-Gaza conflict has led to internal divisions within the democratic party, how will Kamala Harris deal with this? And as the Russia-Ukraine conflict shows no signs of ebbing, what does he see as the west’s role in the war?  Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: William Cash reveals the dark side of Hollywood assistants (1:12); Marcus Nevitt reviews Ronald Hutton’s new book on Oliver Cromwell (7:57); Nina Power visits the Museum of Neoliberalism (13:51); Christopher Howse proves his notes on matchboxes (21:35); and, Olivia Potts finds positives in Americans’ maximalist attitudes towards salad (26:15).    Presented and produced by Patrick Gibbons.  

The Americano podcast has been in Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention, as Kamala Harris is officially nominated to be their presidential candidate. Has the convention gone to plan? How united are the Democrats? And can their strategy sustain until November? In this compilation episode, Freddy Gray is joined by Labour MPs Lucy Rigby and Mike Tapp, Democratic operative and fundraiser Christopher Hale, editor at large of The Spectator World Ben Domenech, editor in chief of Mediate Aidan McLaughlin and Washington editor of Harper's magazine Andrew Cockburn. For the full episodes, search for Americano or head to the Americano channel on our website. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

This week: All hail Harris! As the Democratic National Convention approaches its climax, The Spectator’s deputy editor Freddy Gray explores vice president Kamala Harris’s remarkable rise to the top of the democratic ticket in his cover article this week. Freddy joins the podcast from Chicago (1:30).   Next: live from the DNC. Freddy and Natasha Feroze, The Spectator’s deputy broadcast editor, have been out and about at the convention talking to delegates – and detractors – of the Democratic Party. What do these Americans think? And does Kamala Harris have ‘good vibes’? (7:56). Then: should misogyny really be classified under anti-terrorism laws? In the magazine this week The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews argues that the measure would do little to solve the fundamental problem. And how would ‘extreme misogyny’ be defined anyway? Kate and author Helen Joyce joined us to discuss their concerns (14:00). And finally: why does chess attract so many cheats? In the magazine this week The Spectator’s chess columnist, and grandmaster, Luke McShane examines the history of high-profile scandals in cheating. Why do some players stoop so low? Professor Ken Regan, an expert and investigator in anti-cheating in chess, and psychologist Professor Sam Sommers, join the podcast (25:31).    Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.   Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Book Club has taken a short summer break and will return in September with new episodes. Until then, here’s an episode from the archives with the theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli. Carlo joined Sam in March 2023 to discuss his book Anaximander and the Nature of Science and explain how a radical thinker two and a half millennia ago was the first human to intuit that the earth is floating in space. He tells Sam how Anaximander’s way of thinking still informs the work of scientists everywhere, how politics shapes scientific progress and how we can navigate the twin threats of religious dogma and postmodern relativism in search of truth. 

Douglas Murray joins Freddy Gray on the Americano podcast to discuss free speech in Britain following the sentences handed down after the riots, how different free speech is in America, and how Douglas himself became a victim of online hate. 

Trump is tough on China, but what really motivates his hawkishness? Does he care at all about China's human rights abuses? Or is he fundamentally a foreign policy disentangler, hoping to rein back America's overseas commitments? How much does the China policy of a second Trump presidency depend on which advisors the president surrounds himself with? On this episode of Chinese Whispers, The Spectator's China podcast, assistant editor Cindy Yu talks to deputy editor Freddy Gray and Jordan McGillis, economics editor at the Manhattan Institute's City Journal. Produced by Cindy Yu and Patrick Gibbons.

Women with Balls has taken a summer break and will be back in September with a new series. Until then, here's an episode from the archives, with current Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch MP. Widely seen as one of the Conservative Party’s rising stars upon her election to Parliament in 2017, her star has only continued to rise. Serving under successive PMs, this episode was recorded in May 2022 when she was Minister of State for Local Government, Faith and Communities, and for Equalities. Now many consider her the frontrunner to be Tory leader.  On the podcast, Kemi talks about her childhood in Nigeria and the golden ticket that was her UK passport, hacking Harriet Harman and what it's like to be a 'rising star'. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Richard Madeley reads his diary for the week (1:01); Cindy Yu explores the growing trend for all things nostalgic in China (6:00); Lara Prendergast declares that bankers are hot again (11:26); Pen Vogler reviews Sally Coulthard’s book The Apple (17:18); and, James Delingpole argues that Joe Rogan is ‘as edgy as Banksy’ (23:24).    Presented by Patrick Gibbons.  

Freddy Gray sits down with journalist and Spectator author Ed West who writes the Substack Wrong Side of History and Richard Hanania who writes the Richard Hanania Newsletter to discuss Elon Musk's interview with Donald Trump on Twitter (X), how much influence Twitter has both in the UK and America, and whether the right-wing men are 'weird'.

This week: Power play. The Spectator’s Svitlana Morenets writes the cover article in this week’s magazine exploring Zelensky’s plan for his Russian conquests. What’s his aim? And how could Putin respond? Svitlana joins the podcast alongside historian and author Mark Galeotti (02:10).   Next: Will and Gus discuss their favourite pieces from the magazine, including Richard Madeley’s diary and Lara Prendergast’s argument that bankers are hot again.   Then: how concerned should we be about falling fertility rates? In the magazine this week Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde argues that the problem is already far more grave, and far more global, than we realise. Why should we worry about this, and what can be done to stem this? Jesus joined the podcast with filmmaker and demographer Stephen J. Shaw (16:56). And finally: why is nostalgia such a powerful emotion? The Spectator’s broadcast editor – and host of the Chinese Whispers podcast – Cindy Yu writes in the magazine about the ‘thriving industry’ of nostalgia in China. What’s behind this and, more generally, what drives humans to feel nostalgic? Cindy joined the podcast alongside historian and author Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster who argues that nostalgia doesn’t deserve its negative reputation (28:32).    Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter.    Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson. 

Sam's guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Adam Higginbotham, whose new book Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space describes the 1986 space shuttle disaster that took the lives of seven astronauts and, arguably, inflicted America's greatest psychic scar since the assassination of JFK. He tells Sam about the extraordinary men and women who lost their lives that day, the astounding engineering involved in the spacecraft that America had started to take for granted, and the deep roots and long aftermath of the accident.   

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 magic with just cumin and turmeric.  Photo credit: Sam Harris

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 Edmondson. 

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: Gus and Lara take us through some of their favourite pieces in the magazine, including Flora Watkins’ notes on ragwort and Isabel Hardman’s review of Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water. Then: In the magazine this week Edmund West writes about how he learned to embrace his autism and the ways in which technology is making it increasingly easy for people with autism to go about their daily lives. Edmund was diagnosed with autism when he was 26 and now is a freelance journalist and a tutor and carer to kids with autism. He joins the podcast to discuss. (12:07) And finally: what’s your favourite children’s character? We ran a poll this week asking regular contributors about their favourite children's books characters and you can read responses from Rory Sutherland’s love of Dr Seuss or the affinity Peter Hitchens feels with Badger from The Wind in the Willows. To accompany our poll, Mary Wakefield writes about how the characters we read about as a child embed themselves within us, and inform the way we think as adults. She says that it’s a shame that so few children are reading nowadays. Mary joins the podcast alongside author and regular contributor to The Spectator’s books pages, Philip Hensher to investigate the decline in childhood reading. (18:36)  Hosted by Lara Prendergast and Gus Carter.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

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 'apartheid state', how the bureaucracy of the Occupied Territories made the fatal crash 'an accident that wasn't an accident'; and what he thinks needs to change to bring hope of an end to the conflict. 

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, used cooking oil being retrieved from gutters to be reused, and lamb meat that might contain rat or fox. The latest scandal, breaking over the last couple of months, is that of fuel tankers being used to carry cooking oil without the tankers being cleaned in between.  So what gives? Are these scandals a particularly Chinese phenomenon? Why hasn’t government regulation or punishment worked? And how does this impact political credibility in the eyes of the middle class? Cindy Yu is joined by two brilliant guests to discuss all of these questions and more. Dali Yang is a political scientist and sinologist at the University of Chicago, whose research has focused on Chinese regulations when it comes to food and medicine. His latest book is Wuhan: How the Covid-19 Outbreak in China Spiralled Out of Control. James Palmer is deputy editor at Foreign Policy and author of numerous books on China. He worked for years as a journalist inside China. For further listening, check out the Chinese Whispers episode on the gig economy – another huge labour rights issue in the country today: Algorithms and lockdowns: how China’s gig economy works.

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 Natasha Feroze and Cindy Yu.

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 the liberation of Paris was hard won (12:37); Laura Gascoigne examines Ukraine’s avant garde movement in light of the Russian invasion (20:34); and, Michael Simmons provides his notes on venn diagrams (28:33).    Presented by Patrick Gibbons.  

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.

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 deal, Katy writes, could be harmonisation on veterinary standards. But will the UK have to abide by the European Court of Justice? Then there’s the issue of Chinese electric cars: will Starmer accept cheap imports, or follow the EU in raising tariffs on them? For now, EU officials see the new PM as ‘workman-like and not playing to the gallery’. How long will that last? Katy Balls is joined by Anand Menon, director of the think tank UK in a changing Europe. (02:03) Then: In The Spectator this week Jonathan Miller writes about his experiences at the Hampshire public school Bedales. The school’s alumni roster is impressive: royalty, celebrity, and several Spectator writers. But it has also courted controversy and criticism from some previous students. The novelist and writer Amanda Craig was one such former student, so highly critical of the school she authored a book ‘A Private Place’ detailing her experiences. Jonathan and Amanda join the podcast to discuss the cult of Bedales. (19:22)  And finally: is there really reason to believe aliens exist? In the magazine this week, the astronomer and science writer Dr David Whitehouse says if aliens do exist, why can nobody find any proof of them. Despite the evidence, or lack thereof, why does the belief in aliens endure? And how much can we really read into the disclosures in the US about UAPs - Unidentified Aerial Platforms? David joins the podcast to discuss his article alongside space journalist Jonathan O’Callaghan. (31:24)  Hosted by Gus Carter and Lara Prendergast.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

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.

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 British steak so good?  Also, on the podcast Lara let's slip her son's first sentence - safe to say, it's food related...  Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

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); Ysenda Maxtone Graham provides her notes on party bags (24:30); and, Nicholas Farrell ponders on the challenges of familial split-loyalties when watching the football in Italy (27:25).  Presented by Patrick Gibbons.

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.

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 the piece and economics editor at The Spectator, joins the podcast with deputy editor Freddy Gray to discuss. (02:34) Next: Will and Lara go through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine including Damian Thompson's article on how the upcoming Hollywood film Conclave may be mirroring real-life events at the Vatican. Then: Olympics on steroids. 2025 will see the debut of the first ever ‘Enhanced Games’, with athletes competing on performance-enhancing drugs. The event will be livestreamed across the world and, while the roster of athletes is being kept under wraps for now, Australian former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has confirmed he will be competing. Creator of the games Aron D’Souza joins the podcast to discuss his upcoming business endeavour. (26:04) Finally: why did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believe in fairies? Robert Gore Langton writes in the magazine this week about a new Edinburgh Fringe play focussing on Conan Doyle’s role in the Cottingley fairy hoax. Was it grief for his late son, or his father's alcoholism that prompted Conan Doyle’s spiritualism? Playwright Fiona Maher and Robert joined the podcast to discuss. (33:49) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

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 Brando to play King Lear. 

‘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 Swift Eras Tour documentary – which has broken box office records in China. So how popular is American, and western, pop music in China in general? Is it considered mainstream, or something a bit more indie compared to Chinese pop? Is the language barrier a problem, or censorship? On this episode Cindy Yu is joined by two people very much in the know. Alex Taggart is an artist manager who has previously worked as a DJ and a Nightlife columnist in China. Jocelle Koh also works in the music industry and founded the media platform Asian Pop Weekly. The conversation spans Chinese opera-style covers of Adele to explaining how an American missile system brought down K-Pop in China... They also mention a range of their favourite viral videos featuring western pop in China. Links here: Vlogger Lorelei in Singapore Countryside Nicki Minaj 'Low low low your boat' Last Emperor Puyi dancing to Harry Styles Chinese opera Adele

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 Kharkiv (20:44); and, Michael Beloff takes us on a history of the Olympics (30:12).    Presented by Patrick Gibbons.  

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 has a cult following on X, formerly Twitter, made up of people who initially followed him because he's a Habsburg but stayed to absorb his spiritual wisdom and good cheer. In this episode, with Damian speaking as someone who frequently gets drawn into (or starts) catfights on that platform (his words!), he asks if Eduard has any advice for struggling social media sociopaths. And he does. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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 already giving up on stopping a second Trump term – and eyeing up the presidential election of 2028 instead. Freddy Gray, deputy editor at The Spectator, and Amber Duke, Washington editor at Spectator World, join the podcast to discuss. (02:45) Next: meeting the mega MAGA fans. The Spectator’s political correspondent James Heale reports from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the Republican National Convention is under way. ‘Brash, flash and full of flair,’ reports James, as he meets Donald Trump supporters who are, he says, wearing their MAGA politics with pride. Border control is a common complaint, while other Trumpists hope his near-death experience will see him embrace his faith. James has kindly shared with us a couple of the interviews that informed his piece in the magazine. (14:43) Then: Will and Lara take us through some of their favourite pieces in the magazine this week, including Sir David Hempleman-Adams’ notebook and Gus Carter’s scoop on Reform's ‘Wimpy’ voters.  And finally: how techno-optimism became fashionable. Max Jeffery writes in the magazine this week about the ‘New Solutions’, a trio of new ideologies that rich tech savvy ‘geeks’ – as he calls them – have adopted in order to make the world a better place. These are: techno optimism, effective altruism and effective accelerationism. He joined us on the podcast to discuss, alongside Anders Sandberg, effective altruist and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford. (24:49) Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.   Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

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. 

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?  

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.

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. 

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 reveals why he has fallen out of love with Wagner (27:05).    Presented by Patrick Gibbons.  

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. 

This week: Keir’s reformation. A week on from Labour’s victory in the UK general election, our cover piece looks ahead to the urgent issues facing Keir Starmer. If he acts fast, he can take advantage of having both a large majority and a unified party. The NHS, prisons, planning… the list goes on. But what challenges could he face and how should he manage his party? The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls joins the podcast, alongside Lord Falconer, Labour peer and former cabinet minister under Tony Blair (2:53). Next: have smartphones revolutionised home working for women? Our very own Lara Prendergast writes in the magazine this week about the eclectic ways women are taking advantage of digital technology to make a living at home. What’s driving this trend? The Spectator columnist and ad guru Rory Sutherland joins the podcast (26:08). And finally: why did the Conservatives struggle so much with their digital messaging? The Spectator’s Mary Wakefield writes in the magazine this week about the emails and messages she was inundated with during the election, saying that at times they had ‘serial killer energy’. Political communicator Sean Topham, co-founder of the creative ad agency Topham Guerin, joins the podcast to try and make sense of the Tories campaign. (37:40).   Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.   Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is Michael Nott, author of the new biography Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life. He tells me about the poet's early trauma, his transatlantic identity, his unconventional family and his compartmentalised life, part teaching and writing, part sex, drugs and rock and roll. 

The EU and US are turning up the pressure on Chinese made electric cars, as Cindy Yu discussed with her guest Finbarr Bermingham on the last episode.  This episode is a closer look at how China has come to dominate the global electric car market. Chinese EVs make up 60 per cent of worldwide sales, and a third of global exports. Its leading brand, BYD, now regularly gives Tesla a run for its money in terms of number of cars sold.  How much of a role do subsidies play, versus other factors like its control of rare earths or lower labour costs? Is there really an overcapacity issue that suggests a flooding of Chinese cars globally? On this episode, Cindy is joined by Zeyi Yang, China tech reporter at MIT Technology Review, who is an expert on the genealogy of China’s EV industry.

The war in Ukraine is only bogging America down, says Elbridge Colby, a former national security adviser to the Trump administration. On this episode of Americano, Colby tells host Freddy Gray why the US should – and likely will – reduce its support to Ukraine and Europe, to focus on the increasing threat China poses over Taiwan. Europe, he says, can pick up the slack on its own continent. Colby has been tipped to become Trump's national security adviser should he win in November this year. Produced by Cindy Yu and Joe Bedell-Brill.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: after President Biden’s debate disaster, Freddy Gray profiles the one woman who could persuade him to step down, his wife Jill (1:05); Angus Colwell reports from Israel, where escalation of war seems a very real possibility (9:02); Matthew Parris attempts to reappraise the past 14 years of Conservative government (14:16); Flora Watkins reveals the reasons why canned gin and tonics are so popular (21:24); and, Rory Sutherland asks who could possibly make a better Bond villain than Elon Musk? (25:00).    Presented by Patrick Gibbons.  

Actress Sophie Winkleman was born in London, educated at Cambridge, and has appeared in television and film roles across both sides of the Atlantic. Perhaps best known for her roles as Big Suze in Peep Show and Zoey in Two and a Half Men, she is now patron to several children's charities.  On the episode, Katy Balls talks to Sophie about how she got into acting, whether she has ever dated a Jez or a Mark, and why she believes in the comfort of strangers. Sophie also talks about her campaign to reduce smart phone use and technology exposure for children, which you can read more about here.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons

This week: the reckoning. Our cover piece brings together the political turmoil facing the West this week: Rishi Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, and Joe Biden all face tough tests with their voters. But what’s driving this instability? The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews argues it is less to do with left and right, and more a problem of incumbency, but how did this situation arise? Kate joined the podcast to discuss her argument, alongside former Cambridge Professor, John Keiger, who writes in the magazine about the consequences that France’s election could have on geopolitics (2:32). Next: what role does faith play in politics? Senior editor at the religious journal First Things Dan Hitchens explores Keir Starmer’s atheism in the magazine this week, but to what extent does it matter? What impact could it have on his politics? As the UK has an established Church, what implications could there be for our constitution? Dan joined the podcast, along with Father Marcus Walker of Great St Bart’s, to discuss whether politicians can in fact ‘do god’ (17:45). And finally: how do we interpret sexuality within Shakespeare’s works? Author and professor of creative writing Philip Hensher reviews a new book by Will Tosh in the magazine this week, which examines same-sex attraction within his works. But what can they tell us about the environment at the time, and about the man himself? Philip joined us to discuss alongside Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford (28:34). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson. Join The Spectator next week for a special live recording of Coffee House Shots  as Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews make sense of the UK’s election aftermath. Taking place on Thursday 11th July at 7pm in Westminster, tickets are £35, or £25 for subscribers. Book online at spectator.co.uk/shotslive

In her new book Cairn, the Scots poet Kathleen Jamie sets a capstone of sorts on her trilogy of short prose collections Findings, Surfacing and Sightlines. She joins Sam Leith on this week’s Book Club podcast to talk about why she hesitates to call herself a nature writer, how prose found her late in life, and why whale-watching isn’t what it used to be. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Where to begin with Sir David! An English industrialist and explorer, he was the first person to complete the ‘Explorer’s Grand Slam’. This means he has completed both North and South Poles as well as traversing the seven highest peaks across the seven continents. He has received the Polar Medal twice, from Queen Elizabeth II and now King Charles, the first person to do so under two monarchs. This summer, he is attempting to cross the Atlantic by hydrogen balloon and break several more records in the meantime.  On the podcast he takes Lara and Liv through what he packs for an expedition, discusses the art of hydrogen ballooning, and explains why the best meal he has ever experienced is simple egg and chips. 

Damian Thompson: The other day I received a press release about an intriguing album of keyboard music by 16th- and early 17th-century composers, three Englishman and a Dutchman, played on the modern piano by Mishka Rushdie Momen, one of this country’s most gifted and intellectually curious young concert pianists. It’s called Reformation, and before I’d heard a note of the music – which is performed with thrilling exuberance and subtlety – I knew I wanted to interview Ms Rushdie Momen.  That’s because Hyperion had included with the press release a strikingly perceptive essay by the pianist putting this ostensibly secular keyboard music in the context of what she rightly calls the ‘vandalism’ of the English Reformation, shockingly illustrated by the demolition of the great shrine of Walsingham. At the same time, she recognises the unnerving pressures facing both Catholic and Protestant composers in an era of bewildering and violent cultural upheaval – but also one in which we can glimpse  elements of toleration and compromise.  Here’s my Holy Smoke interview with Mishka Rushdie Momen, which begins with a track from her album: a little galliard called La Volta, danced at Elizabeth I’s court even though the Queen knew that its composer, William Byrd, had remained faithful to the Catholic Church.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Katy Balls reflects on the UK general election campaign and wonders how bad things could get for the Tories (1:02); Gavin Mortimer argues that France’s own election is between the ‘somewheres’ and the ‘anywheres’ (7:00); Sean Thomas searches for authentic travel in Colombia (13:16); after reviewing the books Great Britain? by Torsten Bell and Left Behind by Paul Collier, Robert Colvile ponders whether Britain’s problems will ever get solved (20:43); and, Melissa Kite questions if America’s ye olde Ireland really exists (25:44).    Presented by Patrick Gibbons.  

Freddy Gray speaks to pollster Patrick Ruffini about the first 2024 presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Just how bad was it and can Biden survive his performance? They discuss the reaction to the debate, including a surprising theory going around Republican circles.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: Downfall. Our cover piece examines Nigel Farage’s role in the UK general election. Spectator editor Fraser Nelson argues that Farage has become the left’s greatest weapon, but why? How has becoming leader of Reform UK impacted the campaign and could this lead to a fundamental realignment of British politics? Fraser joined the podcast to talk through his theory, with former UKIP MEP Patrick O’Flynn (02:10). Next: Spectator writer Svitlana Morenets has returned to Ukraine to report on the war, which is now well into its third year. How are Ukrainians coping and what is daily life like? Svitlana joined the podcast from Kyiv with Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov (21:53). And finally: has ‘cancel culture’ been cancelled? With the release of TV series Douglas Is Cancelled, its creator Steven Moffat joins the podcast to discuss whether cancel culture really exists and where the inspiration for the show came from (33:15). Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons, Megan McElroy and Oscar Edmondson. Join The Spectator for a special Live edition of Coffee House Shots on Thursday 11th July at 7pm in Westminster. Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews will be making sense of the election results, a new government, and discussing what comes next. Tickets are £35, or £25 for subscribers. Book online at spectator.co.uk/shotslive