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
Coffee House Shots: Revenge of the centrists – Carney wins in Canada
Mark Carney has won the Canadian election, leading the Liberal Party to a fourth term. Having only been Prime Minister for 6 weeks, succeeding Justin Trudeau, this is an impressive achievement when y…
00:13:03 |
Tue 29 Apr 2025
Women With Balls: Kirsty Wark
Kirsty Wark has worked for the BBC for almost 50 years and is one of the UK’s most recognisable broadcasters. In 1976 she joined BBC Radio Scotland as a graduate researcher. Having produced and prese…
00:29:12 |
Mon 28 Apr 2025
Holy Smoke: What can we expect from the papal conclave?
Earlier this year Dr Kurt Martens, Professor of Canon Law at the Catholic University of America, joined Damian Thompson on Holy Smoke to unpack what happens during a papal conclave. There was heighte…
00:53:22 |
Sun 27 Apr 2025
Coffee House Shots: John Curtice on the local elections
Legendary pollster Prof Sir John Curtice joins the Spectator’s deputy political editor James Heale to look ahead to next week’s local elections. The actual number of seats may be small, as John point…
00:20:35 |
Sat 26 Apr 2025
Spectator Out Loud: Owen Matthews, Matthew Parris, Marcus Nevitt, Angus Colwell and Sean Thomas
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Owen Matthews reads his letter from Rome (1:21); Matthew Parris travels the Channel Islands (7:53); Reviewing Minoo Dinshaw, Marcus Nevitt looks at Bulstrode Whitel…
00:30:47 |
Fri 25 Apr 2025
The Edition: See change, A.I. ghouls & long live the long lunch!
This week: the many crises awaiting the next pope
‘Francis was a charismatic pope loved by most of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics’ writes Damian Thompson in the cover article this week. But few of …
‘Francis was a charismatic pope loved by most of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics’ writes Damian Thompson in the cover article this week. But few of …
00:37:44 |
Thu 24 Apr 2025
The Book Club: why are Gen Z turning to Christianity?
My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is Lamorna Ash, author of Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever: A New Generation’s Search for Religion. She describes to me how a magazine piece about some young …
00:40:13 |
Wed 23 Apr 2025
Table Talk: Roger Pizey, Head of Pastry at Fortnum and Mason
Roger Pizey is a baker, chef and one of the most influential pâtissiers in the UK. He started his culinary journey as an apprentice at La Gavroche under Albert Roux before taking on the role of head …
00:20:14 |
Tue 22 Apr 2025
Women With Balls: Deborah Mattinson
Deborah Mattinson joined the House of Lords as a Labour peer in February. Her involvement in politics began when she worked alongside Peter Mandelson and Philip Gould to create Labour’s Shadow Commun…
00:28:50 |
Tue 22 Apr 2025
Holy Smoke: Pope Francis dies – what will his legacy be?
Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has died.
The Argentinian, the first Latin American – and the first Jesuit – to lead the Church, has been the head of the Holy See for 12 years, su…
The Argentinian, the first Latin American – and the first Jesuit – to lead the Church, has been the head of the Holy See for 12 years, su…
00:29:09 |
Mon 21 Apr 2025
Coffee House Shots: How the Liberal Democrats conquered Middle England
The Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller, elected as the new MP for Bicester and Woodstock last year, joins James Heale to talk about the ambitions of the party that became th…
00:16:47 |
Mon 21 Apr 2025
Holy Smoke Easter special: in praise of faithful dissent, a conversation with Nigel Biggar and Mary Wakefield
The Easter issue of the Spectator includes two provocative articles exploring aspects of Christianity.
Nigel Biggar, Regius professor emeritus of moral theology at Oxford University, now a Conservati…
Nigel Biggar, Regius professor emeritus of moral theology at Oxford University, now a Conservati…
00:23:46 |
Sun 20 Apr 2025
Coffee House Shots: 10 years of politics as Balls bows out
Katy Balls joins Coffee House Shots for the last time as the Spectator’s political editor. Having joined the magazine ten years ago – or six prime ministers in Downing St years – what are her reflect…
00:21:05 |
Sat 19 Apr 2025
Spectator Out Loud: Paul Wood, Katy Balls, Olivia Potts, Benedict Allen, Cosmo Landesman and Aidan Hartley
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Would Trump really bomb Iran, asks Paul Wood (1:38); Katy Balls interviews Health Secretary Wes Streeting on NHS reform, Blairism and Game of Thrones (8:38); Olivia…
00:40:06 |
Fri 18 Apr 2025
The Edition: Easter special – assisted dying, ‘bunny ebola’ & how do you eat your creme egg?
This week: should the assisted dying bill be killed off?
Six months after Kim Leadbeater MP launched the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a group of Labour MPs have pronounced it ‘irredeemabl…
Six months after Kim Leadbeater MP launched the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a group of Labour MPs have pronounced it ‘irredeemabl…
00:34:08 |
Thu 17 Apr 2025
Book Club: Philippe Sands
Sam Leith’s guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is the lawyer and writer Philippe Sands, whose new book 38 Londres Street describes the legal and diplomatic tussle over the potential extradition o…
00:57:48 |
Wed 16 Apr 2025
Americano: Trump v Harvard
Freddy Gray speaks to Peter Wood who is the President of the National Association of Scholars about Trump's decision to block Harvard funding after the university denied the President's DEI demands.
…00:23:20 |
Tue 15 Apr 2025
Women With Balls: Lindsey Hilsum
Lindsey Hilsum is the International Editor for Channel 4 News, where she has worked for over 25 years. Having started her career as an aid worker in Latin America, she transitioned to journalism, and…
00:34:08 |
Mon 14 Apr 2025
Holy Smoke: Was Simeon of Jerusalem the first Christian in recorded history?
In Luke's Gospel, an ancient inhabitant of Jerusalem named Simeon meets Mary and Joseph when they bring Jesus to be presented at the Temple on the 40th day after his birth. He has been promised that …
00:27:55 |
Sun 13 Apr 2025
Coffee House Shots: Tariff turmoil – the end of globalisation or a blip in history?
Globalisation's obituary has been written many times before but, with the turmoil caused over the past few weeks with Donald Trump's various announcements on tariffs, could this mark the beginning of…
00:16:56 |
Sat 12 Apr 2025
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