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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:

Brexit Britain: the opportunities and pitfalls for British healthcare May 07, 2021

Show notes

If it hadn't been for the pandemic, the past year would have likely been dominated by a familiar topic - Brexit. The decision to leave, we're told, presents the UK with endless opportunity in a variety of sectors, including healthcare and life sciences. But it hasn't been the easiest year, with supply chains and the Northern Ireland Protocol already under strain. So what are the opportunities to boost Britain's healthcare now that it has left the EU, and where are the pitfalls?
Kate Andrews is joined by Antonis Papasolomontos, Director of External Affairs at Abbvie, Sarah Neville, Global Health Editor at the FT, and Jeremy Hunt, Chair of the Health Select Committee.
Sponsored by Abbvie.

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The Edition: The China model May 06, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s podcast, we talk to the author of our cover story, eminent author, historian and broadcaster Niall Ferguson, who says that the West and China are in the throes of a new cold war. Joining the debate is Chatham House's Dr Leslie Vinjamuri. (01:05) Next up, Laura Freeman writes in the magazine this week about the fake facades she has been increasingly noticing whilst out and about in London. She discusses the topic with architectural expert Samuel Hughes, a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange think tank. (10:20) Finally, as the Prime Minister considers how he’ll stump up the cash to pay for little Wilfred’s babysitter, Isabel Oakeshott writes in the magazine this week about the struggle many working parents have in affording childcare. Isabel is joined by the Labour MP Stella Creasy as they debate what needs to be done so working parents can ensure their children get the care they need. (15:35)
Presented by Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Arsalan Mohammad.

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The Book Club: Napoleon's life in gardens and shadows May 05, 2021

Show notes

Sam's guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the writer and critic Ruth Scurr, whose new book marks today's 200th anniversary of Napoleon's death to cast a fresh light on this most written-about of characters. In Napoleon: A Life in Gardens and Shadows, she finds an unexpected thread running through the life of this man of war - his relationship with nature and with gardens, from the plot he tended as a schoolboy to the garden in his final exile in St Helena. She tells Sam about what he owed the Revolution and how he came to turn it, at least apparently, on its head; about his complex relationship with Josephine and its Boris-and-Carrie echoes; and about the single walled garden on which the future of Europe can be argued to have turned.

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A house for life: building towns for the future May 04, 2021

Show notes

Covid has put a spotlight on housing in Britain - the inequalities, the challenges, but also the opportunities. As what we want out of our homes, offices, and even the high street, changes, public policy will have to follow suit. So how do we create sustainable towns and cities that ensure quality and access for all?
Kate Andrews is joined by Christopher Pincher, Minister for Housing, Iqbal Hamiduddin, Associate Professor at the Bartlett School of Planning at the UCL, and Kath Fontana, President of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Sponsored by RICS.

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Chinese Whispers: the right way to respect your elders May 03, 2021

Show notes

The archaic-sounding notion of 'filial piety' has little direct translation into English, but is a deep-rooted part of Chinese culture and ethics. On this episode, I find out about what motivates the subscription to such an unequal view of family life; how modernity changes expectations (and in particular, the impact of the one child policy); and what happens to those deemed by society to be disrespectful of their parents.
With Professor Charlotte Ikels, an anthropologist at Case Western Reserve University.

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The Week in 60 Minutes: Boris's nightmare and lockdown revisited May 02, 2021

Show notes

On this week's episode, Fraser Nelson is joined by Douglas Murray, The Spectator's associate editor; Professor Tim Spector, principal investigator at ZOE; Professor Simon Wood, from the University of Edinburgh; Adam Ritchie, a vaccine development specialist from the University of Oxford; Professor Noel Sharkey, from the University of Sheffield and formerly of Robot Wars; and Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6.
We discuss whether Britain needs a first lady, if the UK should send vaccines to India, and if we're ready for cyber warfare.
To watch the show, go to www.spectator.co.uk/tv.

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Spectator Out Loud: Roddy McDougall, Theo Zenou, Gus Carter and Toby Young May 01, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s episode, Roddy McDougall remembers heroes of the speedway, (01:15) Theo Zanou examines at Stanley Kubrick’s fascination with Napoleon, (07:20) Gus Carter looks at a memorial to everyday heroism, (17:20) and Toby Young explains what’s wrong with Equity’s anti-racism guidelines. (21:35)

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Women With Balls: What's the solution to unaffordable housing? Apr 30, 2021

Show notes

Over the last year of intermittent lockdowns, most of us have spent more time staring at the four walls of our living room than we ever thought possible. One of the biggest factors affecting someone's pandemic experience is the type of accommodation they're in, and 8.4 million people in England are living in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable homes.
There are, however, attempts being made to help fix the problem, with promises to build new homes, a stamp duty holiday, and a new mortgage guarantee system.
To discuss the problem of unaffordable homes, and the potential solutions, Katy Balls is joined on this sponsored podcast by Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow secretary of state for housing; Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover and chair of the New Homes Quality Board; and Esther Dijkstra, the managing director of intermediaries at Lloyds Banking Group.
Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group.

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The Edition: The nightmare Apr 29, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s podcast, ITV's political editor Robert Peston joins our deputy political Katy Balls to talk over this week’s cover story on the maelstrom of mayhem surrounding Boris Johnson. (1:29)
Next up, we talk to Professor Noel Sharkey, from the University of Sheffield, and Colonel Richard Kemp CBE, a veteran British Army officer, about the possibility of malevolent foreign forces wreaking havoc on everything from national infrastructure to web-connected sex toys. (10:22)
Finally, in a week when India has seen its healthcare system virtually buckle under the strain of a spiralling Covid infection rate, we ask Dr Rajib Dasgupta, Chairman of the Centre of Social Medicine & Community Health in New Delhi for his take on the current wave of infections, as well as Dr Dipshikha Ghosh, a Calcutta doctor who has been working with critically-ill Covid patients since last March and joins us immediately after another arduous shift at the Apollo Gleneagles hospital. (19:40)
Presented by Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Arsalan Mohammad.

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The Book Club: Richard Dawkins Apr 28, 2021

Show notes

In this week's Book Club podcast, Sam is joined by Richard Dawkins to talk about his new book Books Do Furnish A Life: Reading and Writing Science. Richard tells Sam - among much else - what makes science writing (and science fiction) exciting; the questions science can (and can't) answer; why he felt it necessary to invest so much of his time arguing against religion; and why the left recurrent laryngeal nerve of the giraffe is such an odd shape.

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