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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:

Holy Smoke: Goodbye to Catholic Ireland Jan 04, 2021

Show notes

Damian's guest, the celebrated Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright Mary Kenny, offers a nuanced analysis of the powerful and paradoxical world in which she grew up: one in which Catholic clergy and lay people could be simultaneously fervently pious, warm-hearted and yet paralysed by petty snobbery. She talks about how the Irish Free State handed far too much power to bishops and priests. In effect, they replaced the disappearing Anglo-Irish nobility as the new aristocracy of rural Ireland, exercising an authority over people's lives that could be generous or malevolent and sometimes a mixture of both.
Holy Smoke is a series of podcasts where Damian Thompson dissects the most important and controversial topics in world religion, with a range of high profile guests. Click here to find previous episodes.

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Is a high-spending, high-debt economy the new normal? Dec 27, 2020

Show notes

After a year battling coronavirus, the UK's debt now totals more than £2 trillion. In an effort to keep the economy afloat, the Treasury has paid wages, given tax relief, and even paid for people to eat out. As recently as five years ago, Conservatives would have thought this spending unsustainable. But with Boris Johnson's government being elected on a promise to 'level up' the country, will this high-spending, high-debt economy become the new normal?
With Paul Abberley, CEO of Charles Stanley Wealth Managers; Jake Berry, Conservative MP and chair of the Northern Research Group; and David Miles, an economist at Imperial College London and former member of the Monetary Policy Committee.
Presented by Kate Andrews.
Sponsored by Charles Stanley Wealth Managers.

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Americano: year in review with Douglas Murray Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

Douglas Murray, the author of The Madness of Crowds, joins the last Americano of the year. On the episode, he and Freddy chat through the most important trends and events of the year, from China and the pandemic, to whether or not 'neocon' is still a usable term.

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Chinese Whispers: Is China turning away from the world? Dec 21, 2020

Show notes

2020 is drawing to a close but none of us will forget this year anytime soon. For China, has it also been a watershed year? Western rhetoric hasn’t been so hawkish on China in a very long time, with talk of a second Cold War gracing commentary pages and calls to decouple supply chains. Lost in the noise is China's own turning away from the world. In a new strategy called 'dual circulation', the government is encouraging economic self-reliance. On this episode, Cindy Yu talks to Chatham House's Dr Yu Jie to find out how China is instigating its own decoupling.

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The Week in 60 Minutes: Are Covid restrictions based on data? Dec 20, 2020

Show notes

On this episode, Andrew Neil is joined by Professor Tim Spector, principal investigator of ZOE at Kings College London; Andrew Wilson, former SNP finance spokesperson and founding partner of Charlotte Street Partners; Rod Liddle, associate editor of The Spectator; and a team of Spectator journalists.
This week, we discuss whether all the data supports increased coronavirus restrictions, if there's a case for Scottish independence, and the highs and lows of 2020.
To watch the show, go to www.spectator.co.uk/tv.

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Spectator Out Loud: Fraser Nelson, Matt Ridley, Ian Rankin and Cressida Bonas Dec 19, 2020

Show notes

For the Christmas triple issue, there are four authors in this week's Spectator Out Loud. Fraser Nelson reads the leading article in our Christmas edition; Matt Ridley talks about how mRNA vaccines could revolutionise medicine; Ian Rankin reads his short story; and Cressida Bonas reflects on what it was like to have a lockdown wedding.
To read more brilliant pieces from the Christmas issue, subscribe online at spectator.co.uk/voucher and get a free £20 Amazon gift voucher; or pick it up at all good newsagents.

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Holy Smoke: a conversation with Sir James MacMillan on Beethoven's spirituality Dec 18, 2020

Show notes

This week Beethoven celebrates his 250th birthday. To mark the day, Damian Thompson talks to the composer Sir James MacMillan about how Beethoven's faith impacted his music.

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The Edition: The Christmas Special Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

How will the UK's economy recover from Covid-19, and what has the pandemic revealed about the West? (01:20) Was 2020 the year we dealt a mortal blow to future viruses? (15:05) And finally, what makes Mary Gaitskill a brilliant writer, and why does Elif Shafak work to heavy metal music? (29:25)
With The Spectator's political editor James Forsyth, deputy political editor Katy Balls, writer and biologist Matt Ridley, behavioural psychologist Dr Stuart Ritchie, The Spectator's literary editor Sam Leith and writer Elif Shafak.
Presented by Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.

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The Book Club: Remembering John Le Carre Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

In this week's Book Club podcast, we remember the great John Le Carre. I'm joined by one of the late writer's longest standing friends, the novelist Nicholas Shakespeare. He tells me about Le Carre's disdain for - and debt to - Ian Fleming, his intensely secretive and controlling personality, his magnetic charm, his thwarted hopes of the Nobel Prize... and why at the end of his life he acquired an Irish passport.
The Book Club is a series of literary interviews and discussions on the latest releases in the world of publishing, from poetry through to physics. Presented by Sam Leith, The Spectator's Literary Editor. Hear past episodes here.

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Podcast special: can Britain really become 'the Saudi Arabia of wind power'? Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

Last month the government released its ten point plan for what it dubs 'The Green Industrial Revolution'. At the top of the list was offshore wind, with a pledge to produce enough power for every home by 2030. Offshore wind currently constitutes over 50 per cent of the renewables in the UK, with costs coming down considerably over recent years. But does offshore wind have its limits? Is it always a good deal for the consumer? And how far can it realistically advance us on our road to Net Zero by 2050?
With Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth; Benj Sykes, VP for UK Offshore at Orsted; and Sir David King, the former chief scientific adviser to the UK government.
Presented by Kate Andrews.
Sponsored by Orsted.

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