Best of the Spectator

The public conversation - especially on social media - is widely agreed to be of a dismally low quality. In this week’s Book Club podcast, Sam is joined by two people who have ideas about how we can make it better. Andrew Doyle’s new book is Free Speech: And Why It Matters; Ian Leslie’s is Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart And How They Can Bring Us Together. Andrew, Ian and Sam talk free speech, tribalism, cancel culture - and how we can learn to disagree more productively. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max Halley is one of Britain's pre-eminent sandwich aficionados. He is the founder of Max's Sandwich Shop, and the author of Max's Picnic Book. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about being exposed to obscure ingredients, working in a pudding factory, and the six essential components in every great sandwich.This episode is sponsored by Berry Brothers and Rudd. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first public appearance since Biden's inauguration, Donald Trump has spoken to CPAC, the annual conservative conference. Freddy Gray reviews his speech with Kate Andrews. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Andrew Neil is joined by Professor Robert Dingwall, from Nottingham Trent University; Rory Sutherland, vice chair of Ogilvy and The Spectator's Wiki Man columnist; and a team of Spectator journalists.We discuss SNP turmoil, the roadmap to unlocking, and what makes a good government advert.To watch the show, go to www.spectator.co.uk/tv. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Katy Balls explains how No. 10 infighting could lose Scotland, and reveals how Boris plans to get his side in order. (01:05) Matthew Lynn is next on the show, and tells the story of the Up Crash. (10:10) Craig Brown finishes the podcast, reading his review of a 'dark portrait of sibling hatred': Samantha Markle's memoir. (21:20) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could No. 10 infighting lose the Union? (00:40) When should the government tell us how to behave? (13:20) Can a relationship work without hugging for a year? (31:30) With The Spectator’s deputy political editor Katy Balls; The Spectator’s Scotland editor Alex Massie; vice chair of Ogilvy and Spectator columnist Rory Sutherland; Deirdre McCloskey, Professor of Economics, History, English and Communications at University of Illinois at Chicago; writer Rob Palk; and journalist Emily Hill.  Presented by Lara Prendergast.  Produced by Max Jeffery and Charlie Price. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Leith's guest on this week’s Book Club is the bioarchaeologist Cat Jarman, whose fascinating new book River Kings spins a global history of the Vikings out of a single carnelian bead found in a grave in Repton. Cat tells him how much more there was to the Viking culture than our traditional image of arson, rape and pillage in Northumbria - showing how 21st century techniques have helped to expose a culture that raided and traded from Scandinavia as far as Baghdad and Constantinople, and may even have been the ancestral population of the Russian heartland. Plus: real-life Valkyries, slavery and human sacrifice. You never learned all this from How To Train Your Dragon... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After getting off the phone with Xi Jinping, Joe Biden warned his senators that on infrastructure 'and a whole range of other things', China was spending much more than the US, and America risked being left behind. So just how interconnected is modern China and is it really a good growth model to emulate?With economist George Magnus, author of Red Flags: Why Xi's China is in Jeopardy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Andrew Neil is joined by Rod Liddle, associate editor at The Spectator; Trevor Phillips, managing director at Webber Phillips; journalist Dan Hitchens; Harry Mount, editor of The Oldie; and a team of Spectator journalists.We discuss how England will leave lockdown, the rise of vaccine diplomacy, and why Anglo-Saxon history is so popular.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 begins by explaining why China and Russia are ahead in the great game of vaccine diplomacy. (00:45) Fraser Nelson is next, and he tells us why The Spectator went to court. (10:35) Josiah Gogarty finishes the podcast, asking how middle-class your dad is. (16:35) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.