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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:

The Edition: SAS betrayal, the battle for Odesa & in defence of film flops Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

This week: SAS SOS
The enemy that most concerns Britain’s elite military unit isn’t the IRA, the Taliban or Isis, but a phalanx of lawyers armed with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), writes Paul Wood in The Spectator. Many SAS soldiers now believe that if they kill a terrorist during an operation, they’ll spend decades being hounded through the courts. Paul speaks to former SAS soldiers who say that stories of men being ‘dragged back to be screamed at in interview rooms’ are ‘flying around the canteens now’. Soldiers feel like ‘the good guys have become the bad guys – and the bad guys are now the good guys’. This is hurting morale and may eventually hit recruitment. Paul joins the podcast to discuss further, alongside Colonel Richard Williams, a former SAS commanding officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. (01:36)
Then: how much more punishment can Ukrainian city Odesa take?

The Black Sea port of Odesa occupies a unique role in Ukrainian – and Soviet – history. Added significance has been thrust on it by the Russian invasion: both symbolically, as well as practically, given how central it is to grain exports. But while war weariness sets in for Ukrainians – and their allies – the battle for Odesa is ever more crucial; further deadly aerial attacks took place only days ago. In the magazine this week, journalist Peter Pomerantsev reviews a new book looking at the port city by Julian Evans. Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War is part-history book, part-memoir exploring many of the human stories that make up the city. How has the conflict changed the people of Odesa? And for Ukrainians who grew up consuming Russian-speaking media and culture, did the war challenge their identity? Peter joins the podcast alongside the author of the Spectator’s Ukraine newsletter, Svitlana Morenets. (18:24)
And finally: do we secretly love a good film flop?

‘I’ve fallen out of love with cinemas,’ declares long-standing (or should that be long-suffering?) film critic Chris Tookey in the magazine this week. He argues the experience isn’t as good, and Hollywood is partly to blame. Perhaps films are getting worse? Some people love a good film flop though – the big-budget blockbuster disasters. Fellow film critic Tim Robey is one such person, and he explores his love of Hollywood flops in his new book Box Office Poison, out now. But how has the experience of cinema changed? And what’s the worst film they’ve ever seen? Tim and Chris join the podcast. (32:58)
Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

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

Coffee House Shots: Boris Johnson on Covid failures, the Nanny State & his advice for ‘Snoozefest’ Starmer Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

Former prime minister Boris Johnson joins The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls to divulge the contents of his new book, Unleashed. He reflects on his premiership as PM during the pandemic, describing the time as a ‘nightmare’ for him. He also details how he managed to suppress the force of Nigel Farage, and gives advice to Keir Starmer on how to build a relationship with Donald Trump.
Watch the full interview on The Spectator's YouTube channel.

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Holy Smoke: should assisted dying be legalised? Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

MPs are set to vote on the legalisation of assisted dying this week, the first such vote in almost a decade. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was tabled by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and follows a campaign by broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen and others.
The biggest change since the last vote in 2015 is the make-up of parliament, with many more Labour MPs, as well as newer MPs whose stances are unknown. Consequently, it is far from certain that the bill – which would mark one of the biggest changes to social legislation for a generation – will pass. What are the arguments for and against? And how could the religious beliefs of MPs inform their votes?
Damian Thompson is joined by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, director of the Maidenhead Synagogue and a supporter of legalisation, and Martin Vickers MP, a Conservative MP and opponent of assisted dying, to understand the dynamics of the debate. But first, Isabel Hardman joins the programme to talk through the parliamentary arithmetic – is Parliament any more or less religious than in 2015?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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The Book Club: Nick Harkaway Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the novelist Nick Harkaway, whose new book Karla's Choice sees him pick up the mantle of his late father, John le Carré, in writing a new novel set in the world of George Smiley. He tells me why, having spent a career trying to put clear blue water between his own work and that of his father, he’s now steering in the opposite direction; about growing up with Smiley; about his relationship with the man so many outsiders have seen as secretive and opaque; about seeking advice from Stephen King’s son, Joe Hill; and why moving from his own style to that of his dad is just a ‘turn on the dial’.

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Americano: John Bolton on Trump's 'crackpot' cabinet Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

John Bolton has served under both Republican administrations of the 21st century: first as US Ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, and then under Donald Trump where he was – surprisingly – his longest serving National Security Advisor.
In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray discusses the incoming second Trump administration with Amb. Bolton. From Tulsi Gabbard to Elon Musk, what does he make of Trump’s appointments? How could US foreign policy change? And what are the implications for Ukraine?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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Chinese Whispers: what's behind the Chinese migrant surge at the Darien Gap? Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

The Darien Gap is a 60 mile stretch of jungle that hundreds of thousands of migrants from all over South America trek through in order to reach the US-Mexico border. From there, they enter America in search of better lives.
These are usually migrants from Venezuela, or Colombia or Panama. But in recent years, a new group of people have appeared at the border, having paid people smugglers and hacked through the jungle. They often bring young children, clutch on to smartphones with which they check their routes, and watch social media videos that set out, step by step, the journey they are embarking on.
These are the Chinese, which in the last two years have been the fastest growing group of migrants being encountered at America’s southern border – over 37,000 last year, up from under 4,000 the year before. This year, there have already been over 21,000.
What brings them, and how unusual is this method of emigration when it comes to people from China?
On this podcast are Professor Meredith Oyen, an expert on US-China migration, and Amy Hawkins, senior China correspondent at the Guardian, who has come across a similar phenomenon on Europe’s borders.

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Women With Balls: Claire Ainsley Nov 24, 2024

Show notes

Claire Ainsley is a stalwart of left-wing politics. Formerly an executive director at social change organisation the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, she is currently leading a project on the renewal of the centre-left at the Progressive Policy Institute. Her first book, The New Working Class: How to Win Hearts, Minds and Votes, brought her to the attention of the Labour leadership. Not long after Keir Starmer’s successful leadership bid, she was invited to join him as Executive Director of Policy, a position she held for over two years.
On the podcast, Claire talks to Katy Balls about her journey on the left, from a Labour-supporting family to radical university politics and then to a more moderate position. They discuss the changing dynamics of the left and how to define ‘working class’, how her book came about because of the Clacton by-election, and her reflections on British politics following the election.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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Spectator Out Loud: Matthew Parris, Joanna Bell, Peter Frankopan, Mary Wakefield and Flora Watkins Nov 23, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: pondering AI, Matthew Parris wonders if he is alone in thinking (1:10); Joanna Bell meets the leader of the Independent Ireland party, Michael Collins, ahead of the Irish general election later this month (8:41); Professor Peter Frankopan argues that the world is facing a new race to rule the seas (17:31); Mary Wakefield reviews Rod Dreher’s new book Living in wonder: finding mystery and meaning in a secular age (28:47); and, Flora Watkins looks at the Christmas comeback of Babycham (34:10).
Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

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Americano: the ‘experts’ who enabled RFK Jr’s rise Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

The nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr to be secretary of health and human services in the second Trump administration has horrified ‘experts’. A left-wing Democrat who admires the late Venezuelan Marxist dictator Hugo Chavez, hates big business, rails against the ultra-processed food that Donald Trump likes to eat and wants climate sceptics jailed.
But in the magazine this week Matt Ridley explains how the experts who now bash him have contributed in putting him where is, and that official Covid misinformation has contributed to his rise. So what could he do in office? Will he release these Covid files? Matt joins Freddy to discuss.

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The Edition: Streeting vs Starmer, medical misinformation & the surprising history of phallic graffiti Nov 21, 2024

Show notes

This week: Wild Wes.

Ahead of next week’s vote on whether to legalise assisted dying, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is causing trouble for Keir Starmer, writes Katy Balls in the magazine this week. Starmer has been clear that he doesn’t want government ministers to be too outspoken on the issue ahead of a free vote in Parliament. But Streeting’s opposition is well-known. How much of a headache is this for Starmer? And does this speak to wider ambitions that Wes might have?
Katy joins the podcast to discuss, alongside Labour MP Steve Race. Steve explains why he plans to vote in favour of the change in the law next week (00:57).
Then: how concerned should we be about medical misinformation?

President-elect Donald Trump has announced vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services in the US. In the magazine this week, Matt Ridley explains that it’s not the man himself that’s as interesting, as the reasons how he has ended up in such a position: scientific misinformation has fuelled his rise. So how concerned should we be about medical misinformation? Firstly, Matt joined the podcast to explain his thesis and why reactions to the covid pandemic are to blame (16:24).
Later, Sander van der Linden, professor of social psychology at the University of Cambridge, also joins the podcast to discuss his concerns and how susceptible we are here in Britain to misinformation (23:46).
And finally: did you know that crude graffiti has a storied history?

Harry Mount examines the notorious penis gang that has appeared in Dulwich, daubing penises across trees. Whatever you think of such graffiti, scribbling phalluses, and even erotic art, are actually as old as time – from ancient Rome to India. What’s the line between graffiti and erotic art? And should Westerners be less prudish when confronted with these images? Harry joins the podcast alongside academic, and author of Pha(bu)llus: A Cultural History, Dr Alka Pande (30:50).
Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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

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