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PODCAST

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.

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All Episodes

43:15

The Book Club: Rebellion and Resistance of the...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/24

Sam's guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the historian Sudhir Hazareesingh, whose new book Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World reframes the story of Atlantic slavery. He explains why the familiar tale of enlightened Europeans bringing about abolition leaves out the most important voices of all – the enslaved themselves – and how from Africa to Haiti and beyond, traditions of rebellion, resistance and spiritual resilience shaped the struggle for

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27:32

Quite right!: where Blair is wrong & Farage is right

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/23

Listeners on the Best of Spectator playlist can enjoy a section of the latest episode of Quite right but for the full thing please seek out the Quite right! channel. Just search ‘Quite right!’ wherever you are listening now.This week, Michael and Maddie lift the lid on the strange rituals of party conference season and why the ‘goldfish bowl’ reality of a week in Birmingham (or Manchester, or Liverpool) often leaves politicians with ‘PTSD’.They then turn to the government’s revived enthusiasm for

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19:53

Americano: how scary is China's military?

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/23

Freddy Gray is joined by Harry Kazianis, editor in chief of the National Security Journal, to assess China’s military rise. He argues Beijing aims to dominate the Indo-Pacific with missiles, drones and naval power, posing a growing threat to U.S. influence and Taiwan.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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25:36

Spectator Out Loud: John Power, Nick Carter,...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/22

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: John Power argues the Oxford Union has a ‘lynch-mob mindset’; Elisabeth Dampier explains why she would never date a German; Nick Carter makes the case for licensing MDMA to treat veterans with PTSD; Maggie Fergusson reviews Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island by Mike Pitts; and, Mark Mason provides his notes on guided walks. Mark will also be hosting a guided walk for the Spectator, for tickets go to

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25:28

Holy Smoke: 800 years on, why is Aquinas Gen Z’s...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/21

This year marks 800 years since the birth of the theologian St Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas, best known for his theory of natural law and his magnum opus the Summa Theologia, argued for the existence of God through faith-based reason. The influence of the 13th Century theologian on the philosophy of religion is unquestionable, but what is curious is his resurgent popularity amongst Generation Z – particularly in America. Is this part of the recovery of the sacred seen across the global west?Fr Gregory

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17:29

Coffee House Shots: should Britain recognise Palestine?

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/20

The government is expected to press ahead with recognition of Palestinian statehood, before a formal declaration at the United Nations. Prime Minister Keir Starmer set out plans earlier this year to recognise Palestine – but what does this actually mean? And what does the move actually achieve; is it driven by principle, by politics – or by pressure from within his own party?Michael Stephens of RUSI and Gabriel Pogrund of the Sunday Times join James Heale to assess the significance of this shift

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35:42

The Edition: Weimar Britain, the war on science & are...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/19

First: a warning from historyPolitics moving increasingly from the corridors of power into the streets, economic insecurity exacerbating tensions and the centre of politics failing to hold; these are just some of the echoes from Weimar Germany that the Spectator’s editor Michael Gove sees when looking at present-day Britain. But, he says, ‘there are grounds for hope’ – what are they? Michael joined the podcast to discuss.Next: why did science succumb to the ‘culture wars’?Biologist and peer Matt

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37:31

Book Club: Roger Lewis on Peter Sellers

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/18

Sam Leith's guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Roger Lewis, whose book The Life and Death of Peter Sellers has been republished to mark 100 years since the comedian's birth. Roger tells Sam about the difference between Sellers's public persona and private life, plus his influence on comedy today. They also discuss how Roger reinvented the way biographies were written, and whether the view he had of Sellers as a teenager changed through writing the book.Produced by James Lewis.Hosted on

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53:59

Quite right!: Why Danny Kruger's defection changes...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/16

This week Michael and Madeline unpick the shock defection of Danny Kruger to Reform UK’s ‘pirate ship’ – as described by Michael – and ask whether this coup could mark the beginning of the end for the Conservative party.They also dive into Westminster’s most charged moral debates: the assisted dying bill in the Lords and the quiet decriminalisation of abortion up to birth. What do these changes say about parliament’s ‘intoxicated liberal hubris’ – and the protections given to the vulnerable?Also,

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39:19

Table Talk: Raymond Blanc

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/16

In a bumper episode, the legend that is Raymond Blanc joins Olivia Potts and Lara Prendergast. The self-taught chef heads up the double Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, has trained chefs from Heston Blumenthal to Marco Pierre White, and received an honorary OBE in 2008. His new bookSimply Raymond Kitchen Gardenis out now.The chef tells Liv and Lara about his earliest memories of food – from eating worms to easter eggs, how his love of food is connected to the garden and why he owes his

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31:21

Spectator Out Loud: James Heale, Robert Hardman,...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/15

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: James Heale reports on the battle for the north; Robert Hardman provides his royal notebook; who’s really in charge of China, asks Francis Pike; Henrietta Harding goes on Ozempic safari; and, Mary Wakefield explains how to raise a patriot.Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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17:30

Americano: what’s driving political violence?

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/15

Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from south-west Utah, has been detained over the shooting of Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of Donald Trump. Author and anthropologist Max Horder joins Freddy Gray to discuss the cocktail of online hate and tribal divisions that's fuelling America's new era of political violence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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21:47

Holy Smoke: the next Archbishop of Canterbury

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/14

It is 10 months since the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury. Now, finally, the Crown Nominations Commission is believed to have drawn up a shortlist of candidates, and a successor to Welby could be approved by October.Theologian and author Andrew Graystone joins Damian Thompson to talk through what he calls ‘a weak list’ of potential candidates – weak because there are no obvious frontrunners and the Commission is choosing between ‘half a dozen equals’.These range from the more

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42:56

The Edition: Royal treatment, neurodiverse history &...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/13

First: a look ahead to President Trump’s state visit next weekTransatlantic tensions are growing as the row over Peter Mandelson’s role provides an ominous overture to Donald Trump’s state visit next week. Political editor Tim Shipman has the inside scoop on how No. 10 is preparing. Keir Starmer’s aides are braced for turbulence. ‘The one thing about Trump which is entirely predictable is his unpredictability,’ one ventures. And government figures fear he may go off message on broadcast – he is

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12:59

Americano: Eyewitness – inside the shooting of...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/12

Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk was shot dead while taking questions at Utah Valley University. Kate Andrews speaks to eyewitness and reporter Eva Terry about the chaos on campus, the reaction across America, and what comes next.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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40:56

Quite right! – Why Mandelson had to go & the legacy...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/11

In this bonus episode Michael and Madeline tackle two extraordinary political stories. First, the dramatic resignation of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s US ambassador, following renewed scrutiny of his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Why did Keir Starmer take so long to act – and what does the debacle reveal about his leadership style?Then, across the Atlantic, America is reeling from the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Michael and Madeline reflect on the tragedy, what it means for free

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42:38

Book Club: Andrew Bayliss

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/11

Sam Leith’s guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Andrew Bayliss, author ofSparta: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Superpower. Andrew tells Sam what we know — and don't know – about these much-mythologised figures from the Ancient world and tells the story of how a tiny city-state punched above its weight, until it didn't.Thisis Sparta.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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46:47

Quite right! – Labour’s deputy drama, Macron’s mess &...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/09

Michael Gove and Madeline Grant return with another episode of Quite right!, The Spectator’s new podcast promising sanity and common sense in an increasingly unhinged world.This week, they dissect Keir Starmer’s brutal reshuffle – from the ‘volcanic ejection’ of Angela Rayner to the rise of Shabana Mahmood, the ‘uncompromising toughie’ now in charge of the Home Office. What do these moves reveal about the Labour party’s deepest fears on crime and migration?Across the Channel, Emmanuel Macron faces

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32:35

Americano: how authoritarian is Trump 2.0?

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/09

On this episode, Nick Gillespie, Reason's editor at large, joins Freddy to discuss whether Trump 2.0 is really as authoritarian as people say. Is he closer to a gangster than a dictator? They also discuss tariffs, the weaponisation of the Justice Department, and the state of free speech in the UK.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1:10:28

Coffee House Shots: Reform's Zia Yusuf in...

Best of the Spectator ·

2025/09/08

At the Reform conference in Birmingham, the Spectator's editor Michael Gove sat down with Reform UK's head of their department of government efficiency Zia Yusuf. They discussed Labour's track record in government, Zia's faith and his tech background, why leader Nigel Farage is his political hero and how AI could change Britain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2,444 results

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