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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:

Marshall Matters: Seth Dillon - Will Elon Musk 'Free The Bee'? Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

This week on Marshall Matters Winston speaks with Seth Dillon, CEO and owner of American political satire site The Babylon Bee. The Babylon Bee are currently locked out of their Twitter account for a joke that has been deemed “hate speech” by the social media site. But the Bee are refusing to accept this. Seth and Winston discussed comedy through the American cultural divide, the legal issues behind free speech on social media, Elon Musk and more.

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Chinese Whispers: Algorithms and lockdowns – how China's gig economy works Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

‘One Shanghai courier uses own 70,000 yuan to buy necessities for people’, one Weibo hashtag trended last week. Instead of being seen as a damning indictment on what the state’s strict lockdown has induced people to do, the courier was lauded as a community hero and the story promoted by the censored platform. These kuaidi xiaoge (‘delivery bros’) are most likely gig economy workers. The industry was already an integral part to the Chinese urbanite’s life before the pandemic, but Covid has consolidated that role, as low-paid and hardworking gig economy drivers literally became critical to the survival of millions.
The Chinese gig economy is in many ways more advanced. The services are more extensive (grocery shopping and even designated drivers – a stranger to drive your car home on drinking nights – have been the norm for years) and the algorithms are more ruthless (closely monitoring and continuously shaving off delivery times. ‘The pandemic really brought the plight of these workers into the mainstream consciousness for the first time’, Viola Rothschild, my guest on this episode, tells me.
She is a PhD candidate at Duke University, and one of the few people – academics and journalists alike – who have looked into the Chinese gig economy. I’ve known Viola for years – we first met when we read for a masters in contemporary Chinese studies together.
On the episode, we discuss what working conditions are like (she recommends this article), the interactions between the state and the private sector (the largest players in the field are Alibaba and Didi Chuxing, both companies that have been penalised by the Chinese government in recent years), and what the pandemic – and particularly the Shanghai lockdown – has done to workers. We discuss the government’s efforts to improve working environments, but Viola tells me:

‘What workers get through unionisation is really about what the state wants to give them, if their goals align with the state’s at any given time in terms of pressuring these companies. This is especially thrown into clear relief when we see how the state treats workers who try to organise outside of this apparatus’

By that, Viola is referring to the kuaidi xiaoge who’ve been arrested for organising their own unions – it’s still deeply ironic that the most successful purportedly Marxist state in the world today is deeply suspicious of workers creating their own unions.
But fundamentally, as I push back at Viola, the problem is not only the private companies or the communist state, but also the consumers who demand faster and cheaper services. In that, ‘I think that the Chinese gig economy has a tonne in common with its American and British, and worldwide, counterparts’, Viola says. I totally agree.

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Spectator Out Loud: Mark Drew, Luke Coppen and Edward Behrens Apr 16, 2022

Show notes

On this episode: Mark Drew explains how Putin weaponised the Russian Orthodox church (00:49); Luke Coppen says the war in Ukraine has revitalised Poland’s Catholic church (08:17); and Edward Behrens reads his notes on violets. (17:27)

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Americano: Could Elon Musk save Twitter? Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

Freddy Gray speaks to Kat Rosenfield, the author and UnHerd columnist, about Elon Musk's proposal to buy a controlling stake in the social media giant.
Rosenfield's latest book, No One Will Miss Her, is published by HarperCollins and is available to buy now.

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

The Edition: Cross to bear Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s episode: How are the people of both Russia and Ukraine processing the war?
Our Russia correspondent Owen Matthews writes in this week’s Spectator that he has been stunned at how easily some of his Russian friends have accepted the Kremlin’s propaganda. He joins the podcast to explain why he thinks this is, followed by journalist and author of This Is Not Propaganda, Peter Pomerantsev, who has travelled to Kyiv to celebrate the festival of Passover. (00:48)
Also this week: Is Rishi Sunak politically incompetent?
Until recently Rishi Sunak was once a favourite to succeed Boris Johnson, but this week his popularity plummeted to new lows. Our Deputy Political Editor Katy Balls writes about the Chancellor’s challenges in this week’s Spectator and she joins the podcast along with Chris Curtis from Opinium Research to talk about Rishi’s nightmare week. (20:20)
And finally: Why do so many of Africa’s leaders support Putin?
Our wildlife correspondent, Aidan Hartley argues in this week’s Spectator that this is because many previously colonised nations still see the West as their old enemy and that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. Aidan joins us now. (31:40)
Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore
Produced by Sam Holmes
Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher
Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk

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

Table Talk: Michael Heath Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

Michael Heath is a British strip cartoonist and illustrator and has been working nonstop since the 1950s. He has been cartoon editor of The Spectator since 1991. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Liv about carrying German bombs into the local pub like milk bottles during the second world war, being given chewing gum by American soldiers, and how during the heydays of Soho, the focus was a lot more on the drinking than the eating.

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

Spectator Out Loud: Katy Balls, Michael Bryant and Michael Simmons Apr 09, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode, we'll hear from Katy Balls on the changing face of No.10. (00:49)
Next, Michael Bryant on the history of War Crimes. (06:16)
And finally, Michael Simmons on Nicola Sturgeon’s secret state. (11:08)
Produced and presented by Sam Holmes
Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher.

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

Women With Balls: the Arlene Foster Edition Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

Arlene Foster is the former first minister of Northern Ireland and was the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party from 2015 to 2021. She was the first woman to hold either position. Arlene moved into politics after joining the Ulster Unionist Party as a Law student at Queen’s University Belfast.
Having grown up in conflict during the Troubles, she remembers an attempted murder of her father by the IRA. During her long career in politics, Arlene has consistently fought for the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She resigned from her positions in politics to become a broadcaster and campaigner where she host a weekly show on GB News. During the podcast, Arelene reflects on her long career in politics, the Brexit negotiations as part of Theresa May's coalition government and Article 16

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The Edition: The politics of war crimes Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s episode: Is Putin guilty of war crimes?
For this week’s cover piece, The Spectator’s Editor Fraser Nelson looks at the risks and rewards of labelling Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers war criminals. He joins the podcast, followed by Michael Bryant, the author of A World History of War Crimes, who writes in the Spectator this week about what the limits put on acts of war in the past can teach us about atrocities committed today. (00:52)
Also this week: Is Europe facing a political stand-off between progressives and populists?
This week Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was elected for a fourth term in office with a large majority. While in France, Emmanuel Macron faces a much harder fight from Marine Le Pen than many expected. Paris-based author, Gavin Mortimer analyses the changing faultline in European politics in this week’s Spectator and joins the podcast along with journalist and author Tibor Fischer. (19:44)
And finally: Why are overpriced English kitchens so hot right now?
How much would you be willing to spend on your kitchen? The answer for some seems to be a lot. And the fashionable choice at the moment is faux traditional English. Writer and art critic, Laura Freeman explores this phenomenon in this week’s Spectator and she joins the podcast along with Stacey Sheppard, creator of the design blog The Design Sheppard. (32:25)
Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore
Produced by Sam Holmes
Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher
Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk

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

The Book Club: Felipe Fernández-Armesto Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s Book Club podcast, my guest is the historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto. 500 years after Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition circumnavigated the globe, Felipe’s gripping new book Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan goes back to the original sources to discover that almost everything we think we know about this hero of the great age of exploration is wrong.

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

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