Best of the Spectator

As the EU threatens a vaccine export ban, is their blind panic a sign of incoming crisis? (1:15) Plus, will a new Instagram account for teenage girls to report sexual assault restart a battle of the sexes? (18:05) And finally, what is it like to be one of the last British babies born under the Raj? (28:30)With Labour peer Andrew Adonis; Spectator contributors Matthew Lynn, Julie Bindel, Melanie McDonagh and Brigid Keenan; and historian Alex von Tunzelmann.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Cindy Yu, Max Jeffery and Sam Russell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Book Club podcast, Sam is joined by the veteran foreign correspondent Michela Wrong to talk about her new book Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad. While Rwanda's president Paul Kagame has basked in the approval of Western donors, Michela argues, his burnished image conceals a history of sadism, repression and violent tyranny. She tells Sam what our goodies-and-baddies account of Rwanda's genocide missed, and why it urgently needs correcting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unreliable, slow and you'll never find a charging point - those are some of the things that come to mind when thinking about electric vehicles for many drivers. But are these outdated myths? The government has less than a decade to meet its 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars. With the future of electric vehicles just around the corner, Kate Andrews talks to a panel of special guests about how much progress has been made in the industry, and how much still needs to be done.With Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport; Mike Hawes, the CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders; and Chris O'Shea, CEO of Centrica.Sponsored by Centrica. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Scratch a communist, you’ll find a nationalist underneath’, Professor Kerry Brown, the director of the Lau China Institute at King's College London, tells me on this episode. Together with Professor Victor Shih of UC San Diego, we talk about what drives the Chinese Communist Party (hint: it's not communism), what membership means today and the policy disputes that happen behind the scenes. And: as it prepares to mark its first centenary this year, will it still be around in another fifty years? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Andrew Neil is joined by former Supreme Court judge Jonathan Sumption; Spectator contributor Melanie McDonagh; Conservative MP David Davis; and a team of Spectator journalists.We discuss whether the latest coronavirus data still justifies the current lockdown, how Keir Starmer is becoming irrelevant, and the SNP's efforts to censor Alex Salmond's evidence.To watch the show, go to www.spectator.co.uk/tv. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Cindy Yu starts by reading the leader - The Spectator has a fight on it's hands as the Scottish Crown Office threatens a six-figure fine. (01:30) Then, Douglas Murray says the Church of England has morphed beyond recognition. (06:40) Finally, Philip Hensher says Jordan Peterson's new book, Beyond Order, is 'pretty odd'. (15:05) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elif Shafak is an award-winning Turkish-British novellist, essayist and activist. On the episode, she talks to Katy about what it was like to grow up in conservative Ankara under the strong women in her family; her prosecution by the Turkish government; and why she thinks too much information is not necessarily a virtue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Keir Starmer becoming irrelevant? (00:50) Do the Oscars really celebrate the best that film has to offer? (15:55) Jordon Peterson is back with his new book, Beyond Order, but is it beyond readable? (25:40)With the Spectator's political editor James Forsyth; broadcaster and former Labour adviser Ayesha Hazarika; writer Fiona Mountford; the Spectator's arts editor Igor Toronyi-Lalic; novelist Philip Hensher; and the Spectator's associate editor Douglas Murray. Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Max Jeffery, Sam Russell and Arsalan Mohammad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s Book Club podcast, Sam's guest is the former editor of the Today Programme, Sarah Sands. Sarah tells him how an addiction to the buzz of news and gossip gave way in her to a fascination for the opposite, as described in her new book The Interior Silence: 10 Lessons From Monastic Life. Come for the revelations about grifting nuns and what happened to Boris Johnson’s dongle; stay for her discoveries about how we can all bring a little of the peace of the cloister into our hectic secular lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geordie Willis is the creative director and brand experiences director of Berry Brothers and Rudd, Britain's oldest wine merchants. He is the eighth generation of his family to work in the business, which was founded in 1698. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about his grandmother's homemade mayonnaise, being kicked out of the family business, and the secret to matching wine with food.This episode is sponsored by Berry Brothers and Rudd. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.