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
- 2366
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
The Edition: Keir's reformation
This week: Keir’s reformation. A week on from Labour’s victory in the UK general election, our cover piece looks ahead to the urgent issues facing Keir Starmer. If he acts fast, he can take advantage…
00:48:21 |
Thu 11 Jul 2024
The Book Club: Thom Gunn's Cool Queer Life
My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is Michael Nott, author of the new biography Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life. He tells me about the poet's early trauma, his transatlantic identity, his unconve…
00:29:02 |
Wed 10 Jul 2024
Chinese Whispers: How China's electric cars dominated the world
The EU and US are turning up the pressure on Chinese made electric cars, as Cindy Yu discussed with her guest Finbarr Bermingham on the last episode.
This episode is a closer look at how China has co…
This episode is a closer look at how China has co…
00:34:00 |
Mon 08 Jul 2024
Americano: Elbridge Colby on why America must pivot from Ukraine to Taiwan
The war in Ukraine is only bogging America down, says Elbridge Colby, a former national security adviser to the Trump administration. On this episode of Americano, Colby tells host Freddy Gray why th…
00:29:23 |
Sun 07 Jul 2024
Spectator Out Loud: Freddy Gray, Angus Colwell, Matthew Parris, Flora Watkins and Rory Sutherland
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: after President Biden’s debate disaster, Freddy Gray profiles the one woman who could persuade him to step down, his wife Jill (1:05); Angus Colwell reports from Is…
00:29:46 |
Sat 06 Jul 2024
Women With Balls: Sophie Winkleman
Actress Sophie Winkleman was born in London, educated at Cambridge, and has appeared in television and film roles across both sides of the Atlantic. Perhaps best known for her roles as Big Suze in Pe…
00:28:00 |
Fri 05 Jul 2024
The Edition: the reckoning
This week: the reckoning. Our cover piece brings together the political turmoil facing the West this week: Rishi Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, and Joe Biden all face tough tests with their voters. But what…
00:38:18 |
Thu 04 Jul 2024
Book Club: Kathleen Jamie
In her new book Cairn, the Scots poet Kathleen Jamie sets a capstone of sorts on her trilogy of short prose collections Findings, Surfacing and Sightlines. She joins Sam Leith on this week’s Book Clu…
00:24:01 |
Wed 03 Jul 2024
Table Talk: Sir David Hempleman-Adams
Where to begin with Sir David! An English industrialist and explorer, he was the first person to complete the ‘Explorer’s Grand Slam’. This means he has completed both North and South Poles as well a…
00:26:06 |
Tue 02 Jul 2024
Holy Smoke: Walsingham and the musical grief of the Reformation
Damian Thompson: The other day I received a press release about an intriguing album of keyboard music by 16th- and early 17th-century composers, three Englishman and a Dutchman, played on the modern …
00:20:12 |
Mon 01 Jul 2024
Spectator Out Loud: Katy Balls, Gavin Mortimer, Sean Thomas, Robert Colvile and Melissa Kite
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Katy Balls reflects on the UK general election campaign and wonders how bad things could get for the Tories (1:02); Gavin Mortimer argues that France’s own election…
00:30:47 |
Sat 29 Jun 2024
Americano: Biden's debate disaster
Freddy Gray speaks to pollster Patrick Ruffini about the first 2024 presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Just how bad was it and can Biden survive his performance? They discuss the…
00:15:32 |
Fri 28 Jun 2024
The Edition: how Nigel Farage became the left's greatest weapon
This week: Downfall. Our cover piece examines Nigel Farage’s role in the UK general election. Spectator editor Fraser Nelson argues that Farage has become the left’s greatest weapon, but why? How has…
00:43:42 |
Thu 27 Jun 2024
The Book Club: Åsne Seierstad
My guest for this week's Book Club is the journalist and author Åsne Seierstad. She tells me about her new book The Afghans: Three Lives Through War, Love and Revolt; how and why she constructed a no…
00:47:58 |
Wed 26 Jun 2024
Chinese Whispers: Can the EU fend off the threat of China's electric cars?
The EU and China are in the foothills of a trade war. After a seven month investigation, the European Commission has announced tariffs of up to 38 per cent on electric cars from China, citing that th…
00:29:56 |
Mon 24 Jun 2024
Spectator Out Loud: Matt Ridley, William Cook, Owen Matthews and Agnes Poirier
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Matt Ridley argues that whoever you vote for, the blob wins (1:02); William Cook reads his Euros notebook from Germany (12:35); Owen Matthews reports on President Z…
00:28:05 |
Sat 22 Jun 2024
Americano: how to save liberalism
In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray is joined by Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS and columnist for The Washington Post. They discuss liberalism, the state of America, and ident…
00:40:40 |
Fri 21 Jun 2024
The Edition: how Keir Starmer plans to rule through the courts
This week: Lawfare
Our cover piece examines how Keir Starmer’s legal experience will influence his politics. Ross Clark argues that Starmer will govern through the courts, and continue what he describ…
Our cover piece examines how Keir Starmer’s legal experience will influence his politics. Ross Clark argues that Starmer will govern through the courts, and continue what he describ…
00:40:25 |
Thu 20 Jun 2024
The Book Club: Mark Bostridge
My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is Mark Bostridge. In his new book In Pursuit of Love: The Search for Victor Hugo’s Daughter, Mark describes his quest to uncover the traces of Adele Hugo an…
00:41:14 |
Wed 19 Jun 2024
Table Talk: Hadley Freeman
Hadley Freeman is a journalist and author. She writes for The Sunday Times, having previously written for The Guardian. Her books include House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century …
00:24:08 |
Tue 18 Jun 2024
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