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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.

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Latest Episodes:

Marshall Matters: With Yasmine Mohammed Aug 29, 2022

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Winston speaks with author and human rights activist Yasmine Mohammed. They discuss Salman Rushdie’s Fatwa, The Satanic Verses, Islamic blasphemy laws and how liberals empower radical Islam.

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Spectator Out Loud: Svitlana Morenets, Cindy Yu and John Connolly Aug 27, 2022

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This week on Spectator Out Loud, Svitlana Morenets discusses the changes to the syllabus in Ukraine and the difficult decision parents are having to make over whether to send their children back to school (00:59). Cindy Yu argues that she would be the perfect communist shill (07:45), and John Connolly tells us why cow attacks are no laughing matter (13:26).
Produced and presented by Oscar Edmondson.

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Americano: What is going on with Curtis Yarvin? Aug 26, 2022

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Curtis Yarvin is, according to the New York Times, a 'neo-reactionary blogger'. What would Henry VII make of Elizabeth II? What good has American foreign policy done? Why did he support the war in Iraq? And who are the best Victorian writers? Yarvin joins Freddy Gray.

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The Edition: lockdown files Aug 25, 2022

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In this week’s episode:
What has Rishi Sunak revealed about the lockdown decisions made behind closed doors?
Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews join the Edition podcast to discuss (1.14).
Also this week:
From aid to trade: when will the West start to deal with Africa on its own terms?
Spectator columnist, Aidan Hartley is joined by Degan Ali, founder and principal of DA Global (16.24).
And finally: are handsy yoga teachers pushing their pupils away?
Rachel Johnson makes this case in the magazine this week. She's joined by Sasha Brown-Worsham who is a yoga teacher and author of the book Namaste the Hard Way (32.32).
Hosted by Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Natasha Feroze.

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The Book Club: Salman Rushdie Aug 24, 2022

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This week we revisit Sam's conversation with Sir Salman Rushdie, recorded just before the pandemic. ‘Things that would have seemed utterly improbable now happen on a daily basis’, Sir Salman Rushdie said to Sam when they spoke in an interview for the Spectator's 10,000th edition. They discuss everything from his latest book Quichotte, to his relationship with his father, who we learn made up the surname 'Rushdie', and how he feels about The Satanic Verses now.

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Americano: what next for Liz Cheney? Aug 23, 2022

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Yesterday Liz Cheney lost the Republican nomination for Wyoming's House seat to the Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman. Freddy Gray is joined by the author and journalist James Pogue to discuss the impact of the result.

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Chinese Whispers: how China replaced Russia in Kazakhstan and beyond Aug 22, 2022

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What does China want with Xinjiang? Its systematic repression of the Uyghur people and other regional minorities has shocked the world, eliciting accusations of genocide from politicians and activists across the West. The Chinese Communist Party claims that its re-education camps are an anti-terrorism measure, but surely if anything is going to radicalise vast swathes of a non-Han population, it’s their forced internment and (for many) subsequent incarceration. So what is the CCP’s long term aim?
According to Raffaello Pantucci, senior associate fellow at the think tank Rusi, ‘the Central Government recognises that a very strong security crackdown is not necessarily going to deal with these problems in perpetuity’. Instead, ‘long-term stability for Xinjiang is going to come from economic prosperity’.
That’s where Central Asia comes in. On this episode, I talk to Raffaello about China’s relations with the five ‘Stans that sit cushioned between China (to their east) and Russia (to their north). As with China’s relationship with any developing region, Beijing is motivated by access to its significant oil and mineral resources. But there’s something special about Central Asia - Raffaello argues that it’s an extension of Beijing’s Xinjiang strategy: ‘It’s really about trying to improve the prosperity in this border region around Xinjiang to help improve its prosperity and stability… If you’re going to make Xinjiang economically prosperous, you’re going to have to find a way of connecting it to the world.’
Raffaello’s new book is Sinostan: China’s Inadvertent Empire, based on a decade of travel in and around the region (there were two when they started, but Raffaello’s co-author, Alexandros Petersen, died in a Taliban attack in Kabul eight years ago). As well as the Xinjiang implications, Sinostan looks at China’s oil and gas trade with these resource-rich countries, the cultural exchanges (or lack thereof, and often promoted by Confucius Institutes) and the difference in approach between Moscow and Beijing, all of which we discuss on the episode.
On China’s usurpation of Russia in the region, it’s striking that some public opinion is deeply suspicious of the new power in the region, a general Sinophobia that crystallises in numerous conspiracy theories (for example that roads built by Chinese companies are specifically designed to the weight of Chinese tanks). Welcomed by governments keen to benefit from the economic clout of their neighbour, some Chinese companies end up trying to hide their presence to avoid the ire of the locals. Raffaello recounts that ‘there are some cities in Kazakhstan, particularly in the oil regions, where we know CNPC [China National Petroleum Corporation] is a big player, but we just couldn’t find evidence of them. You’d ask the locals “where are the CNPC guys” and they’d say “we don’t know what you’re talking about”’.
But China’s influence is very much there. It remains a ‘huge lacuna in Western strategic thinking’ that cannot be ignored, Raffaello says. Tune in to get ahead on this next geopolitical hot topic.
This episode is sponsored by the SOAS China Institute. Buy tickets for their three day course on China and the media at www.spectator.co.uk/soas.
Learn more about China's relationship with Afghanistan here: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/will-china-become-afghanistan-s-new-sponsor-

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The Week in 60 Minutes: Truss's cabinet and Rushdie's critics Aug 21, 2022

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Fraser Nelson, The Spectator’s editor, speaks to our columnist Lionel Shriver about the attack on Salman Rushdie:
‘Publishing has become completely paranoid about putting out anything that might be insulting to Islam.’ – Lionel Shriver
On the rest of the show, our economics editor Kate Andrews explains why the jobs market is so good, but the economy is heading for a recession. Jonathan Sumption, a former Supreme Court judge, says the Online Harms Bill is ‘illegitimate’. Our deputy political editor Katy Balls and assistant editor Isabel Hardman look at who might be in Liz Truss’s cabinet. Journalist Francesco Giubilei argues that Giorgia Meloni, the favourite to become Italy’s next prime minister, isn’t a fascist. Spectator contributor Matthew Lynn says crypto is back.

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Spectator Out Loud: Katy Balls, Toby Young and Mark Palmer Aug 20, 2022

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On this episode of Spectator Out Loud, Katy Balls discusses the challenges facing prospective PM Liz Truss (00:52). Toby Young shares why he is defending a pro-Putin apologist (06:45) and Mark Palmer reads his notes on hand luggage (11:29).
Produced and presented by Oscar Edmondson.

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The Edition: Prima donna Aug 18, 2022

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In this week’s episode:
Is Giorgia Meloni the most dangerous woman in Europe?
Spectator contributor, Nicholas Farrell and political correspondent at Bloomberg, Chiara Albanese join us to discuss the road ahead for Italy’s next likely leader. (01.10)
Also this week: Are we entering a new age of digital censorship?
Lord Sumption unpicks the Online Safety Bill in this week’s magazine. He’s joined by Baroness Nicky Morgan, a firm supporter of the bill. (17.53)
And finally: why has holiday hand luggage become such a hassle this summer?
Spectator contributor and marketing guru, Rory Sutherland joins us to get to the bottom of this. (31.56)
Hosted by Lara Prendergast and Gus Carter.
Produced by Natasha Feroze.

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