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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- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 2365
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
The Edition: The age of the strongman, Tesla under attack & matinee revivals
This week: welcome to the age of the strongman
‘The world’s most exclusive club… is growing,’ writes Paul Wood in this week’s Spectator. Membership is restricted to a very select few: presidents-for-l…
‘The world’s most exclusive club… is growing,’ writes Paul Wood in this week’s Spectator. Membership is restricted to a very select few: presidents-for-l…
00:34:37 |
Thu 27 Mar 2025
The Book Club: Francesca Simon
My guest in this week’s Book Club is Francesca Simon. Best known for her Horrid Henry series of children’s books, Francesca has just published her first novel for grownups, a haunting reworking of a …
00:31:38 |
Wed 26 Mar 2025
Americano: what did we learn from the war chat leaks?
Jeffrey Goldberg’s story in the Atlantic is so mind-blowing it’s hard to know what to say in response. It defies belief that Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, appears to have acci…
00:26:17 |
Tue 25 Mar 2025
Table Talk: Loyd Grossman
Loyd Grossman is a man of many talents: from appearing on our screens as the host of MasterChef and Through the Keyhole, to crafting a beloved line of pasta sauces. Loyd has left his mark on both the…
00:24:03 |
Tue 25 Mar 2025
Chinese Whispers: from Chimerica to Cold War II
** Chinese Whispers is coming to an end. Later this year, Cindy Yu will be joining The Times and The Sunday Times to write a regular column on China. To stay abreast of her latest work, subscribe to …
00:36:32 |
Mon 24 Mar 2025
Women With Balls: Caroline Lucas
Caroline Lucas was elected as the first ever MP for the Green Party and served as their leader three times.
Having completed a PhD in English, worked for Oxfam, and been involved in local Green Party …
Having completed a PhD in English, worked for Oxfam, and been involved in local Green Party …
00:34:14 |
Mon 24 Mar 2025
Spectator Out Loud: Henry Jeffreys, Marcus Walker, Angus Colwell, Nicolas Farrell and Rory Sutherland
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Henry Jeffreys looks at the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs on British drinkers (1:31); on the 400th anniversary of Charles I’s accession to the throne, Marcus …
00:28:28 |
Sun 23 Mar 2025
Coffee House Shots: were we right to lock down? Michael Gove vs Toby Young
On 23 March 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the unprecedented decision to put the UK into lockdown. To mark the 5th anniversary of that announcement this weekend, we have brought to…
00:31:09 |
Sat 22 Mar 2025
Americano: has Putin played Trump?
Russia and Ukraine have launched air attacks on each other, hours after Vladimir Putin told Trump that Russia would stop targeting Ukrainian energy sites. Has Putin outplayed Trump? And will Trump re…
00:24:01 |
Fri 21 Mar 2025
The Edition: Labour’s growing pains, survival of the hottest & murder most fascinating
This week: why is economic growth eluding Labour?
‘Growing pains’ declares The Spectator’s cover image this week, as our political editor Katy Balls, our new economics editor Michael Simmons, and Geor…
‘Growing pains’ declares The Spectator’s cover image this week, as our political editor Katy Balls, our new economics editor Michael Simmons, and Geor…
00:42:56 |
Thu 20 Mar 2025
The Book Club: Who is Government?
My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the novelist and journalist John Lanchester, one of the contributors to Michael Lewis’s very timely new anthology of reportage on the United States federa…
00:39:58 |
Wed 19 Mar 2025
Women With Balls: Miatta Fahnbulleh
Miatta Fahnbulleh was elected as the Labour MP for Peckham at the 2024 general election.
Born in Liberia, her family fled west Africa as the region descended into civil war, eventually settling in no…
Born in Liberia, her family fled west Africa as the region descended into civil war, eventually settling in no…
00:36:21 |
Mon 17 Mar 2025
Spectator Out Loud: Colin Freeman, Harry Ritchie, Max Jeffery, Michael Gove and Catriona Olding
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Colin Freeman explains how Islamic State tightened its grip on the Congo (1:23); Harry Ritchie draws attention to the thousands of languages facing extinction this …
00:34:54 |
Sun 16 Mar 2025
Coffee House Shots: is Keir Starmer a Tory?
Slashing the winter fuel allowance, maintaining the two child benefit cap, cutting international aid, cutting the civil service, axing NHS bureaucracy, possibly slashing welfare expenditure... you'd …
00:18:54 |
Sat 15 Mar 2025
Americano: can Trump survive a recession?
Freddy Gray is joined by Fox News broadcaster Deroy Murdock to discuss Trump's America. They cover what could be the real reason behind Trump's tariffs, how concerned Americans should be about a rece…
00:27:19 |
Fri 14 Mar 2025
The Edition: massacre of the innocents, saving endangered languages & Gen Z’s ‘Boom Boom’ aesthetic
This week: sectarian persecution returns
Paul Wood, Colin Freeman and Father Benedict Kiely write in the magazine this week about the religious persecution that minorities are facing across the world …
Paul Wood, Colin Freeman and Father Benedict Kiely write in the magazine this week about the religious persecution that minorities are facing across the world …
00:37:21 |
Thu 13 Mar 2025
Holy Smoke: Christianity, culture wars and J.D. Vance, a conversation with James Orr
James Orr was living the life of a young, high-flying lawyer when, after a few drinks at a New Year's Eve party, he asked for signs that God existed. The signs came; among other things, he narrowly a…
01:01:27 |
Thu 13 Mar 2025
The Book Club: A Publisher's Memoir
My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the publisher Anthony Cheetham, one of the biggest figures in British publishing through the second half of the twentieth century and into this one. In hi…
00:25:47 |
Wed 12 Mar 2025
Table Talk: Ash Sarkar
Ash Sarkar is a journalist, academic and political activist known for her commentary on social justice and democratic socialism. She is a senior editor at Novara Media, and her work has been publishe…
00:24:39 |
Tue 11 Mar 2025
Chinese Whispers: Rana Mitter on the legacy of Sun Yat-sen
Walking around Taipei a couple of years ago, I spotted a familiar sight – a bronze statue of a moustachioed man, cane in his right hand, left leg striding forward. The man is Sun Yat-sen, considered …
00:43:24 |
Mon 10 Mar 2025
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