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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:

The Edition: will Covid rules tear the country apart? Oct 08, 2020

Show notes

In this second round of restrictions, the lockdown is no longer national. But a regional approach is full of political perils (00:45). Plus, the real reason to be disappointed in Aung San Suu Kyi (12:50) and is Sally Rooney's Normal People just overrated (26:15).
With The Spectator's political editor James Forsyth; Middlesbrough mayor Andrew Preston; historian Francis Pike; the Myanmar bureau chief for Reuters Poppy McPherson; journalist Emily Hill; and The Times's deputy books editor James Marriott.
Presented by Cindy Yu.
Produced by Cindy Yu and Max Jeffery.

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Americano: Are Biden's poll numbers really soaring? Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

The latest national poll from CNN puts Joe Biden 16 points ahead of Donald Trump. Has the President's short stint in hospital dented his re-election chances, or is an unsettled news cycle and an unrepresentative sample skewing the numbers? Freddy Gray, editor of The Spectator's US edition, speaks to Marcus Roberts, director of international projects at YouGov.

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Innovator of the Year Awards: all life is here Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

Which are the companies that will rewrite the rules and help rebuild the economy in 2020 and beyond? The Spectator and Julius Baer have come together once again to celebrate creative entrepreneurship across the UK. On this podcast, The Spectator's business columnist Martin Vander Weyer talks to a panel of high profile judges from the business world about the finalists in London and the South East - from making IVF easier to painless end of life arrangements.
Joining him on the judging panel were Priya Lakhani OBE, founder of last year’s overall winner Century Tech; Charles Watson, an entrepreneur in financial communications and advertising who’s now involved in venture capital and environmental projects; and Matthew Garnham, an executive director of Julius Baer.

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The humiliation of Becciu and the return of Pell Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

The Vatican is in the grip of a paranoia reminiscent of the days when Renaissance popes (and their dinner guests) were forced to employ food-tasters.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, until 2018 the sostenuto at the Secretariat of State – that is, the Pope's hugely powerful chief of staff – has been sacked by Francis, who has accused him of stealing vast amounts of money. The Pope, who once showered him with favours, stripped Becciu of all the privileges associated with the position of cardinal – a twist of the knife worthy of a Netflix drama, or perhaps one of the Godfather films.
And now, in an equally extraordinary sequel, Becciu's arch-foe Cardinal George Pell, until recently languishing in an Australian jail cell, is heading back to Rome to advise Francis on resuming the Pell financial reforms that Becciu torpedoed.
Damian Thompson's guest for this episode of Holy Smoke is the journalist who can take the most credit for uncovering Becciu's activities: Ed Condon, Washington Bureau Chief of the Catholic News Agency.

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Spectator Out Loud: Douglas Murray, Sam Leith, Melissa Kite and Toby Young Oct 03, 2020

Show notes

On this week's episode, Douglas Murray argues that Boris's new picks to take charge of the BBC and Ofcom will give the institutions a much-needed shake-up; Sam Leith defends 'wokeness'; Melissa Kite argues that fly-tipping is a good thing; and Toby Young explains why Laurence Fox's new political party should frighten the Conservatives.

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Women With Balls: with Louise Haigh Oct 02, 2020

Show notes

Louise Haigh is the shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland. On the podcast, she talks to Katy Balls about her family's political roots, why she left the LSE, and whether or not nominating Jeremy Corbyn for leadership was a good idea.
Presented by Katy Balls.

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The Edition: is the American election a democratic disaster? Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

Is this week's presidential debate a taste of the chaos to come? (00:55) In defence of 'wokeness' (15:10) and are male-only spaces immoral? (30:25)
With Matt Purple, Senior Editor at the American Conservative; Karin Robinson, host of the Primarily: 2020 podcast; Sam Leith, The Spectator's Literary Editor; Andrew Doyle, the writer behind Titania McGrath; and Emily Bendell, the entrepreneur who is bring a lawsuit against the Garrick Club.
Presented by Cindy Yu.
Produced by Cindy Yu and Max Jeffery.

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The Book Club: On Seamus Heaney Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

Sam's guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the distinguished Irish historian Roy Foster, talking about his new book On Seamus Heaney. He tells Sam how 'Famous Seamus'’s darkness has been under-recognised, how he negotiated with the shade of Yeats and the explosive politics of Ireland to find an independent space to write from, and just how 'certus' the man who signed himself 'Incertus' really was.

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The Spectator's Innovator of the Year Awards: the human touch, real and virtual Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

Which are the companies that will rewrite the rules and help rebuild the economy in 2020 and beyond? The Spectator and Julius Baer have come together once again to celebrate creative entrepreneurship across the UK. On this podcast, The Spectator's business columnist Martin Vander Weyer talks to a panel of high profile judges from the business world about the finalists in the West and the South West - from contactless payment for the charities sector to 'haptic' technology which allows users to touch virtual screens.
The guest judges were Angela Luger, a newcomer to these Awards who has had a long career in consumer-facing businesses, latterly as chief executive of the online retailer N Brown until 2018 and currently as a non-exec at New Look and chair of Edinburgh-based The Paint Shed. Hugh Campbell, founder and managing partner of investment bank GP Bullhound — which advises and invests in ‘future unicorns’ — rejoined us for the third year. And the panel was completed by Dawn Li Wan Po, an executive director of Julius Baer and senior portfolio manager there.

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Chinese Whispers: how green is China? Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

China is the world's largest polluter. At the same time, it accounts for a quarter of international investment into renewable energy, and it's the leading exporter of solar panels. So are ideas of China's eco-unfriendliness outdated? Journalist Isabel Hilton, who received an OBE for her contribution to raising environmental awareness in China, joins the podcast. She paints a complicated picture: of a country undergoing rapid industrial revolution; of a one-party state divining public opinion to solve public health issues; and of a country trying to use climate change as a jumping board into global leadership.
Chinese Whispers is a fortnightly podcast on the latest in Chinese politics, society, and more. Presented by Cindy Yu. Listen to past episodes here.

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