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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 Book Club: David Baddiel Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is the writer and comedian David Baddiel, talking about his new book My Family: the Memoir. He talks about childhood trauma, what made him a comedian, and how describing in minute detail his mother’s decades long affair with a slightly crooked golfing memorabilia salesman is an act not of betrayal but of loving recuperation.

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Table Talk: with Fred Smith Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

Fred Smith is Head of Beef at Flat Iron. Having trained at several of London's top restaurants, he later became Head of Food at Byron. He then joined the Flat Iron series of restaurants in 2017.
On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about how his love of steak developed, how he got into cooking, and what his comfort food is. His passion for the world-famous Angus breed is evident, but why is British steak so good?
Also, on the podcast Lara let's slip her son's first sentence - safe to say, it's food related...
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

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Spectator Out Loud: Damian Thompson, Paola Romero, Stuart Jeffries, Ysenda Maxtone Graham, and Nicholas Farrell Jul 27, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Damian Thompson argues that Papal succession plotting is a case of life mirroring art (1:26); Paola Romero reports on Venezuela’s mix of Evita and Thatcher, Maria Corina Machado, and her chances of bringing down Nicolas Maduro (11:39); reviewing Richard Overy’s book ‘Why war?’, Stuart Jeffries reflects that war has as long a future as it has a past (17:38); Ysenda Maxtone Graham provides her notes on party bags (24:30); and, Nicholas Farrell ponders on the challenges of familial split-loyalties when watching the football in Italy (27:25).
Presented by Patrick Gibbons.

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Americano: Will Kamala's campaign implode? Jul 26, 2024

Show notes

Freddy Gray is joined by political consultant Alex Castellanos to discuss the candidacy of Kamala Harris as the Democrats' nominee for President and why, at this moment, she is the biggest threat to Donald Trump – but how long will that last?
This was originally recorded for Spectator TV.
Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

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The Edition: the curious rise of Kamala Harris Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

This week: Kamala takes charge. Our cover piece discusses the rise of Kamala Harris, who has only one man standing in her way to the most powerful position in the world. Her's is certainly an unexpected ascent, given Harris’ generally poor public-speaking performances and mixed bag of radical left and right-wing politics. Does she really have what it takes to defeat Trump? Kate Andrews, author of the piece and economics editor at The Spectator, joins the podcast with deputy editor Freddy Gray to discuss. (02:34)
Next: Will and Lara go through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine including Damian Thompson's article on how the upcoming Hollywood film Conclave may be mirroring real-life events at the Vatican.
Then: Olympics on steroids. 2025 will see the debut of the first ever ‘Enhanced Games’, with athletes competing on performance-enhancing drugs. The event will be livestreamed across the world and, while the roster of athletes is being kept under wraps for now, Australian former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has confirmed he will be competing. Creator of the games Aron D’Souza joins the podcast to discuss his upcoming business endeavour. (26:04)
Finally: why did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believe in fairies? Robert Gore Langton writes in the magazine this week about a new Edinburgh Fringe play focussing on Conan Doyle’s role in the Cottingley fairy hoax. Was it grief for his late son, or his father's alcoholism that prompted Conan Doyle’s spiritualism? Playwright Fiona Maher and Robert joined the podcast to discuss. (33:49)
Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

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

Book Club: Neil Jordan Jul 24, 2024

Show notes

Sam Leith's guest on this week's Book Club is the writer and film director Neil Jordan, who joins the podcast to discuss his new book Amnesiac: A Memoir. He talks, among other things, about writing for the page and the screen, the uses of myth, putting words into the mouths of historical figures, seeing ghosts in aeroplanes, being ripped off by Harvey Weinstein, and failing to persuade Marlon Brando to play King Lear.

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Chinese Whispers: why China loves Taylor Swift Jul 22, 2024

Show notes

‘Swifties’, as Taylor Swift’s fans are known across the world, are extremely dedicated to the cause, and often estimated to drive up local economies wherever they flock, and Chinese fans are no different. Swift didn’t perform in China on the latest global tour, but that didn’t stop more wealthy fans flying to Singapore to see her; or the less wealthy, going to cinemas in China to watch the Taylor Swift Eras Tour documentary – which has broken box office records in China.
So how popular is American, and western, pop music in China in general? Is it considered mainstream, or something a bit more indie compared to Chinese pop? Is the language barrier a problem, or censorship?
On this episode Cindy Yu is joined by two people very much in the know. Alex Taggart is an artist manager who has previously worked as a DJ and a Nightlife columnist in China. Jocelle Koh also works in the music industry and founded the media platform Asian Pop Weekly.
The conversation spans Chinese opera-style covers of Adele to explaining how an American missile system brought down K-Pop in China...
They also mention a range of their favourite viral videos featuring western pop in China. Links here:
Vlogger Lorelei in Singapore
Countryside Nicki Minaj
'Low low low your boat'
Last Emperor Puyi dancing to Harry Styles
Chinese opera Adele

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Spectator Out Loud: Kate Andrews, Adam Frank, David Hempleman-Adams, Svitlana Morenets and Michael Beloff Jul 20, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Kate Andrews argues vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance is more MAGA than Trump (1:27); Adam Frank explains how super-earths could help us understand what life might look like on another planet (5:15); David Hempleman-Adams recounts his attempt to cross the Atlantic on a hydrogen ballon (14:31); from Ukraine, Svitlana Morenets reports on the battle to save Kharkiv (20:44); and, Michael Beloff takes us on a history of the Olympics (30:12).
Presented by Patrick Gibbons.

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Holy Smoke: A Habsburg Archduke explains how not to be nasty on Twitter Jul 19, 2024

Show notes

In this week's Holy Smoke episode Damian Thompson welcomes back Eduard Habsburg, Hungary's Ambassador to the Holy See and also, to give him his family title, Archduke Eduard of Austria. Last year he published The Habsburg Way: 7 Rules for Turbulent Times, which offered advice on how to live a good life based on the panoramic history of his dynasty.
One reason it was such a success is that Eduard has a cult following on X, formerly Twitter, made up of people who initially followed him because he's a Habsburg but stayed to absorb his spiritual wisdom and good cheer. In this episode, with Damian speaking as someone who frequently gets drawn into (or starts) catfights on that platform (his words!), he asks if Eduard has any advice for struggling social media sociopaths. And he does.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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The Edition: is Donald Trump now unstoppable? Jul 18, 2024

Show notes

This week: bulletproof Trump.
The failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump means that his supporters, more than ever, view him as America’s Chosen One. Joe Biden’s candidacy has been falling apart since his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate last month. Trump is now ahead in the polls in all the battleground states. The whispers in Washington are that the Democrats are already giving up on stopping a second Trump term – and eyeing up the presidential election of 2028 instead. Freddy Gray, deputy editor at The Spectator, and Amber Duke, Washington editor at Spectator World, join the podcast to discuss. (02:45)
Next: meeting the mega MAGA fans. The Spectator’s political correspondent James Heale reports from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the Republican National Convention is under way. ‘Brash, flash and full of flair,’ reports James, as he meets Donald Trump supporters who are, he says, wearing their MAGA politics with pride. Border control is a common complaint, while other Trumpists hope his near-death experience will see him embrace his faith.James has kindly shared with us a couple of the interviews that informed his piece in the magazine. (14:43)
Then: Will and Lara take us through some of their favourite pieces in the magazine this week, including Sir David Hempleman-Adams’ notebook and Gus Carter’s scoop on Reform's ‘Wimpy’ voters.
And finally: how techno-optimism became fashionable. Max Jeffery writes in the magazine this week about the ‘New Solutions’, a trio of new ideologies that rich tech savvy ‘geeks’ – as he calls them – have adopted in order to make the world a better place. These are: techno optimism, effective altruism and effective accelerationism. He joined us on the podcast to discuss, alongside Anders Sandberg, effective altruist and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford. (24:49)
Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

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

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