Best of the Spectator

This week on The Edition:How free are we after freedom day?(00:27) Also on the podcast: Why does it take hours to refuel your car in Lebanon?(10:19) and finally… Is British gardening wilting or blooming?(21:21)With The Spectator's economics editor Kate Andrews, Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, journalists Paul Wood and Tala Ramadan, author James Bartholomew and gardener and writer Ursula Buchan.Presented by Lara PrendergastProduced by Sam Holmes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam's guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the political journalist Marie Le Conte, whose new book is Honourable Misfits: A Brief History of Britain's Weirdest, Unluckiest and Most Outrageous MPs. She introduces us to some of the dishonourable members of the past, and explains why - despite what we may think - in terms of our present day crop of MPs we may, actually, never have had it so good… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain is already making moves on the global stage to back a green agenda, including calls to slash tariffs on ‘green goods’ and to hold countries responsible for heavily polluting practices. But as Britain reopens after Covid-19 and plans for ‘Global Britain’ take off, will the green agenda become a dominant feature of our trade negotiations, or a side-line strategy? What does Britain have to offer its trading partners when it comes to negative emissions and boosting global recovery? Can Britain lead the way in the export of green technologies such as carbon capture and hydrogen? In what areas can international cooperation on climate change be enhanced through trade? In partnership with Drax Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Olivia Potts says angry chefs could soon get their comeuppance. (00:56) Then, Rory Sutherland says over-qualification is leading to collective idiocy. (06:28) And finally, Tanya Gold wonders why people eat lobsters. (10:16) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are the pros and cons of vaccine passports? (00:33) Also on the podcast: is it time for restaurant kitchens to ditch their toxic masculinity? (18:00) And finally... Cricket, what does the new tournament, the Hundred mean for the sport? (30:14)With: Fraser Nelson; Melanie Phillips; Olivia Potts; the chef and owner of Darjeeling Express, Asma Khan; Freddie Wilde, an analyst for Cricvis and legendary sports journalist Henry Blofeld.  Presented by Lara PrendergastProduced by Sam Holmes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam's guest in this week’s book club podcast is Frederick Forsyth, whose classic thriller The Day of the Jackal has been in print for 50 years this summer. He talks about banging it out in a few weeks on a typewriter with a bullet hole in it, the shady characters who informed his research - and how he never realised that, for much of its readers, The Jackal would be the hero… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The way the City of London measures success is constantly changing. A new generation of discerning consumers has skyrocketed the importance of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) to company decision-makers. The finance sector is increasingly being seen as the next frontier in climate action. As the City navigates the post-Brexit landscape and our pandemic recovery it will also be tasked with redefining its role on the world stage. How will the government's net-zero commitment and the targets in the Paris Agreement factor into corporate decision-making? How will banks and other financial institutions change how they weigh up sustainable investment choices? And what impact could all this have on the broader economy? Join Spectator journalists, politicians and industry experts as they discuss The City's future climate and environmental agenda.  In collaboration with WWF. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tangping, or 'lying flat', is a new lifestyle tempting China's millennials. Describing a minimalist stress-free life where one opts out of a career and raising family, lying flat is the young person's desperate answer to the infinite rat race of modern Chinese workplaces and society. But while there are few lie-flatters as of yet, the allure of the lifestyle has propelled the term into the mainstream. On this episode, Cindy Yu discusses the phenomenon with millennial journalist Karoline Kan, author of Under Red Skies. They talk about why young people are pessimistic about life in a growing China, whether they are a 'snowflake generation' compared to the struggles of their parents and what this means for the Chinese government's social contract with the people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode: Revd Marcus Walker shares his concern and disapproval at being described by the Church of England as an 'Key Limiting Factor' (00:26). Then Douglas Murray looks at the tricky subject of transracialism (09:48)And finally Petronella Wyatt gives her two cents on modern day Westminster culture (17:15).Presented by Sam Holmes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trudy Harrison is the Conservative MP for Copeland and currently works as the Prime Minster's Parliamentary Private Secretary. On the podcast, she talks about how when she was younger she always thought she'd be a nanny and how that maternal nature developed into her own childcare business, then local politics and finally the House of Commons. Trudy also bought in a bunch of her own home grown flowers for the podcast team, making her one of our favourite guests ever.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.