Best of the Spectator

This week Freddy speaks to Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor of Harper's Magazine, about America's response to the developments in the Middle East. On the podcast they discuss the 'squad' (a section of Democrats who have been making pro-Palestinian noises), how America and Israel's surveillance system allowed the attack to happen, and the importance of the conflict ahead of next year's presidential election.

This week:Paul Wood writes for The Spectator about the role that Iran potentially played in the Hamas attack on Israel over the weekend. He says that it is unlikely that the proscribed terrorist group acted alone and joins the podcast alongside Uzi Arad, former national security advisor to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (01:22)Also this week: Labour conference in Liverpool has come to end and, as always with conference season, the best events took place on the fringes. Katy Balls our political editor spoke to London mayor Sadiq Khan and they have kindly allowed us to hear a section of their discussion, where they cover anti-seminitism, ULEZ and the upcoming mayoral election in May. (27:29)And finally:Former Labour MP Sion Simon writes in the magazine this week about his experience losing his sight and his battle with ‘internalised ableism’. He joins the podcast to tell us what he has learned from going blind. (43:39)Hosted by William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

In this week's Book Club podcast, we're celebrating 50 years of a unique classic – Richard Adams's Watership Down – and its forthcoming adaptation in graphic novel form. I'm joined by Richard Adams's two daughters Juliet and Rosamund, who tell me how a story that their dad started telling them to beguile a long car journey became one of the best selling children's books of all time, how that changed their father's life, and how Fiver's prophesy, alas, is finally coming true. 

Ewan Venters is the former chief executive of Fortnum & Mason and is now the CEO of Artfarm and Hauser & Wirth. Ewan is launching Artfarm’s first London venture combining food, drink and art which will also mark the revival of the historic Mayfair landmark, The Audley.Presented by Olivia Potts.Produced by Linden Kemkaran.

Fraud, by some margin, is the biggest crime in Britain. How did it spin out of control? Who is responsible? And who do we call to tackle and prevent the biggest menace in the digital era? The Spectator's economics editor, Kate Andrews is joined by an esteemed panel for this discussion, kindly sponsored by TSB and hosted at Conservative Party Conference. Also on the panel: Tom Tugendhat MP, Minister of State – Minister for Security, Victoria Atkins MP, Finance Secretary, Bob Wigley, Chair – UK Finance, Richard Hyde, Senior Researcher and Lead on Fraud - Social Market Foundation and Paul Davis, Fraud Director - TSB.

This week Melissa Kite mourns the Warwickshire countryside of her childhood, ripped up and torn apart for HS2, and describes how people like her parents have been treated by the doomed project (01:15), Nigel Biggar attempts to explain the thinking behind those who insist on calling Britain a racist country, even though the evidence says otherwise (06:38) and Matt Ridley enters a fool’s paradise where he warns against being so open-minded, that you risk your brain falling out (13:01).Produced and presented by Linden Kemkaran.

Freddy speaks to Roger Kimball, editor of the New Criterion and columnist for The Spectator's US edition. After Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker of the House this week, they discuss why the Republican party is such a mess.

Rosie Duffield is the Labour MP for Canterbury and one of the most well-known faces in British politics. She first became an MP in 2017, a historic win which overturned 99 years of Tory rule. Since becoming an MP, Rosie has spoken out against issues such as Brexit, the two-child policy and most famously for her views on self-ID. On the podcast she talks how she never expected to win her seat; the isolation she has faced from inside her party as a gender-critical feminist and why she thinks that the Labour Party is slowly moving back towards her. 

This week:Katy Balls writes in her cover piece that after Tory conference the battle lines have now been drawn between the two main parties. She says we should prepare for a 'presidential campaign' ahead of the 2024 election and joins the podcast alongside The Spectator’s editor Fraser Nelson to discuss the dividing lines between Labour and the Conservatives. (01:17). Also this week:In her column Lionel Shriver says that she is leaving the UK for the sunnier climes of Portugal. She argues that Britain has lost its way both economically and culturally and is joined by another American expatriate Kate Andrews, The Spectator’s economics editor. (15:37). And finally:Matt Ridley writes that we are entering a new age of gullibility. He says that our fascination with monsters, aliens and everything in between has overcome our common sense. He joins the podcast with Ian Keable, magician and author of The Century of Deception: The Birth of the Hoax in Eighteenth-Century England to debate whether as a country we are uniquely gullible. (26:53). Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

This week Winston speaks to David Goodhart, author of The British Dream: Successes And Failures Of Post-War Immigration, which celebrates its 10 year anniversary this year. On the podcast they discuss the state of immigration in the UK. Is home secretary Suella Braverman right to suggest that immigration an existential threat to the West? Has multiculturalism failed?