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Best of the Spectator — News & Politics
Best of the Spectator

Home to the Spectator’s best podcasts on everything from politics to religion, literature to food and drink, and more. A new podcast every day from writers worth listening to.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest Episodes:

Women With Balls: Kezia Dugdale Dec 02, 2022

Show notes

Kezia Dugdale was the leader of the Scottish Labour party from 2015 to 2017, taking on the job at a tough time following a near-wipeout defeat at Westminster. She served as an MSP for the Lothian region until 2019, and now runs the John Smith Centre for Public Service at the University of Glasgow.
On the podcast, Kezia talks about her rapid rise through the ranks, the impact of the independence referendum on Scottish Labour; her own stint on 'I'm a Celebrity...'; whether she is ‘SNP curious’ and what can be done to stop young people leaving politics.

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The Edition: the new vandals Dec 01, 2022

Show notes

This week:
In his cover piece Douglas Murray writes that museums are turning against their own collections. He is joined by the historian Robert Tombs to discuss whether a culture of self-flagellation is harming British museums (00:56).
Also this week:
For the magazine The Spectator’s assistant editor Cindy Yu writes that the tune is changing in China. She is joined by Professor Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London to consider what the recent protests could mean for the Chinese Communist Party (13:24).
And finally:
Nicholas Lezard writes in The Spectator about how to beat London's expanding Ultra Low Emissions Zone. He is joined by journalist Tanya Gold to investigate an elegant loophole in the plans (24:56).
Hosted by William Moore.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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The Book Club: Rupert Shortt Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is Rupert Shortt, whose stimulating new book The Hardest Problem addresses one of the oldest difficulties in theology: "the problem of evil". Is this something the religious and the secular can even talk meaningfully about? What's the great challenge Dostoevsky throws up? And what did Augustine get right that Richard Dawkins gets wrong?

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Changing times: can companies really transform themselves? Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

It’s fair to say that the tobacco industry is one of the most controversial ones out there, with the phrase ‘Big Tobacco’ almost a meme, a shorthand for unscrupulous business practices. No wonder then that tobacco companies are trying to remake themselves, companies like Philip Morris International. PMI has a history dating back to the 1840s, and yet, today, their tagline is now ‘Delivering a smoke-free future’. Over the course of ten years, they’ve seen a third drop in the volume of cigarette sales. They’re keen to talk about their story of ‘transformation’, which is why they’ve sponsored this podcast. So what’s really going on?
Cindy Yu talks to David Miller, a lecturer at Princeton where he specialises in faith and ethics. He’s been commissioned by PMI to author a report all about ‘corporate change’.
We also speak to Moira Gilchrist, Vice President of Strategic and Scientific Communications at PMI, Martin Vander Weyer, the Spectator’s business editor, and Professor John Kotter, a leading business theorist at Harvard Business School.
This podcast was sponsored by Philip Morris International (PMI) but produced under the sole editorial control of The Spectator. Therefore the views expressed represent those of the commentators featured and do not necessarily represent the views of PMI.

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An ageing population and a life of learning Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

As Britons live longer and the population ages, society will soon have to rethink what it means to be of ‘working age’. Training and learning will have to be offered to older age groups who are healthier and more capable of work than their predecessors; while healthcare room to improve in making sure that health conditions are not barring those who wish to work from working. What can employers and the government do, armed with the right information and analysis, to prepare for this transition?
On the special podcast episode, Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator’s business editor is joined by Guy Opperman, Minister for Employment at the Department of Work and Pensions, Dame Carol Black DBE, FRCP who is a physician and academic; and Catherine Foot, who is the Director of Phoenix Insights.
This podcast is kindly sponsored by Phoenix Group.

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Chinese Whispers: where China's protests go next Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

Comparisons with 1989’s Tiananmen Square protests are too often evoked when it comes to talking about civil disobedience in China. Even so, this weekend’s protests have been historic. It’s the first time since the zero Covid policy started that people across the country have simultaneously marched against the government, their fury catalysed by the deaths of ten people in a locked down high rise building in Xinjiang. Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi’An, Urumqi, Nanjing (Cindy Yu's home city) have all seen protests over the weekend. Most of them attack the zero Covid policy, but some have called out ‘Down with Xi Jinping’.
After two days of protests, these cities, especially Shanghai, now see heavy police presence, with the authorities searching phones of any seeming troublemakers. This weekend’s burst of free speech may already have been snuffed out. Can the protestors sustain their momentum given the tight grip of the state?
Cindy is joined by Professor Jeff Wasserstrom at UC Irvine, an expert on protests in the mainland and Hong Kong, and Isabel Hilton, a long time China watcher and founder of China Dialogue.

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Spectator Out Loud: James Heale, Lionel Shriver and Tangil Rashid Nov 26, 2022

Show notes

This week: James Heale reads his interview with former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice (00:50), Lionel Shriver asks what's the price of fairness (05:38), and Tangil Rashid reflects on the BBC at 100 (14:01).
Produced and presented by Oscar Edmondson.

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The Edition: the red line Nov 24, 2022

Show notes

On this week's podcast:
Could China be the key to peace in Ukraine?
In his cover piece for the magazine this week Owen Matthews reveals the covert but decisive role China is playing in the Ukraine war. He is joined by The Spectator's Cindy Yu, to discuss what Xi's motivations are (00:53).
Also this week:
Harriet Sergeant writes that the Iran is at war with its own children as it cracks down on young protesters. She is joined by Ali Ansari, founding director if the Institute for Iranian Studies, to consider the fragility of the Iranian regime (14:32).
And finally:
Julie Bindel says in the magazine this week that after recent controversy the Society of Authors is no longer fit for purpose. She is joined by historian, author, and former chair of the society Tom Holland, to debate whether it's time to replace the institution (23:56).
Hosted by William Moore.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Heale and Sebastian Payne: Out of the Blue and The Fall of Boris Johnson Nov 23, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s Book Club podcast, I’m talking to two of the brave souls who turn recent political dramas into the sort of quickly written books we might call the second draft of history. I’m joined by the FT’s Sebastian Payne, author of The Fall of Boris Johnson, and our own James Heale, co-author of a Liz Truss biography, Out Of The Blue, which notoriously was so rapidly overtaken by events that she was out before it was. They tell me how they disentangle their duties in their day jobs as political reporters from what they owe their book readers, how differently sources will speak to authors than journalists, what the day to day press got wrong – and whether they think history will look more kindly on their subjects than the front pages.

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Americano: should Twitter pay Trump to tweet? Nov 21, 2022

Show notes

Freddy Gray talks to the comedian and media and culture editor of American Greatness Tim Young, about Twitter, Donald Trump and the Republican race for president in 2024.

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