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
- 2369
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
The Edition: how the vaccines race has become a power struggle
Vaccines are normally in the realm of scientists; but not this time as world leaders race to be the first. (00:50) Brexit is heating up, but is the government in a stronger position than it seems? (1…
00:34:20 |
Thu 10 Sep 2020
The Book Club: with former Australian PM Julia Gillard
Sam's guest in this week's books podcast is the former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Along with the economist and former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Julia has written a …
00:38:00 |
Wed 09 Sep 2020
A question of priorities: should tackling climate change trump all else?
In the last episode of this miniseries on climate change, Bjorn Lomborg argues that climate change is important, but solving it shouldn't come above all else. So what are the trade offs involved with…
00:24:06 |
Tue 08 Sep 2020
Are the Habsburgs evidence of Catholicism's relevance today?
Damian Thompson is joined by Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, Hungary's ambassador to the Holy See. A member of one of Europe's most historically influential families, Eduard explains how his religious pr…
00:30:25 |
Mon 07 Sep 2020
Spectator Out Loud: Lloyd Evans, Lionel Shriver and Will Heaven
On this week's podcast, Lloyd Evans argues that the state should stop subsidising the National Theatre and start funding bingo halls (00:41). Then Lionel Shriver explains the trouble of taking back c…
00:23:52 |
Sat 05 Sep 2020
The Book Club: Five decades of pop culture
In this week’s Book Club podcast Sam's guest is Annie Nightingale - Britain’s first female DJ, occasional Spectator contributor, and longest serving presenter of Radio One. Ahead of the publication o…
00:32:40 |
Fri 04 Sep 2020
The Edition: The Covid trap
Governments around the world have adopted extraordinary powers to deal with coronavirus – but could they end up doing more damage than good? (01:00) Next, is the best way to deal with the threat of S…
00:43:50 |
Thu 03 Sep 2020
Road to Net Zero: how to achieve a green economic recovery
As the UK faces its worst economic contraction in 300 years, there have been growing calls to adopt a ‘green recovery’. But what does that mean? While renewable energy may be getting cheaper, can it …
00:33:42 |
Wed 02 Sep 2020
Is innovation the answer to climate change?
Can human innovation stop climate change, or will it simply manage and delay the challenges it poses? In the second of this mini podcast series featuring Bjorn Lomborg and Matt Ridley, host Kate Andr…
00:19:28 |
Tue 01 Sep 2020
What tickles China's political elite?
You can’t get far doing serious business in China without having friends in powerful places. So when her husband’s company, Jardine Matheson (which once upon a time had smuggled opium into the countr…
00:29:20 |
Mon 31 Aug 2020
Spectator Out Loud: Freddy Gray, Lara Prendergast and Emma Byrne
On this week's podcast, Freddy Gray explains how Trump could still pull his greatest trick yet (00:45) Emma Byrne considers whether she will be bankrupted by the next housing scandal (12:30) Lara Pre…
00:22:47 |
Sat 29 Aug 2020
The Edition: how Trump could just win again
With protests in American cities continuing and the Democrat and Republican conventions drawing to a close - are there signs that Donald Trump could win again? (00:45) Plus, could planning reforms be…
00:34:50 |
Thu 27 Aug 2020
The Book Club: All the Sonnets of Shakespeare
In this week's Book Club podcast Sam Leith talks to Paul Edmondson and Stanley Wells about their new book All The Sonnets of Shakespeare - which by collecting the sonnets that appear in the plays wit…
00:40:53 |
Wed 26 Aug 2020
Don't Panic! How to talk about climate change
Can the conversation around climate change all too often get heated, hysterical, and panicked? Should we be appealing for more calm in the climate debate? In the first of this mini podcast series fea…
00:22:52 |
Tue 25 Aug 2020
Spectator Out Loud: Lionel Shriver, Simon Cooper and Gerri Peev
On this week's podcast, Lionel Shriver says that the real determinant of coronavirus isn't race - it's obesity (01:00) Simon Cooper asks whether the return of beavers to English rivers is really some…
00:22:19 |
Sat 22 Aug 2020
Americano: Is this the end of American democracy?
Joe Biden accepted the Democratic Party's nomination at their virtual convention last night, bringing his three-day coronation to an end with a well-received speech. Throughout this year's DNC, speak…
00:20:48 |
Fri 21 Aug 2020
The Edition: the next education mess
While the government’s U-turn on A-level and GCSE results has been widely welcomed, universities are still in a dire state – why? (00:55) Plus, has Boris Johnson got the right approach in his war on …
00:30:46 |
Thu 20 Aug 2020
Americano: Who is the virtual DNC for?
The virtual Democratic National Convention kicked off this week with an agenda packed full of the party's most well-known and experienced figures. But with a controversial appearance from Bill Clinto…
00:20:56 |
Wed 19 Aug 2020
The Book Club: Why put an elephant on an obelisk?
In this week's books podcast, Sam's guest is that man of parts Loyd Grossman. Loyd's new book is An Elephant in Rome: Bernini, the Pope, and the Making of the Eternal City, which explores the titanic…
00:37:03 |
Wed 19 Aug 2020
Chinese Whispers: Trump's Great Firewall
We don't hear much about his wall with Mexico anymore, but Trump seems to be building a digital wall to shut out Chinese tech. WeChat and TikTok are the two victims to his latest ban. On the episode,…
00:28:54 |
Mon 17 Aug 2020
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