Best of the Spectator

Alex Jackson is the founder of Sardine and currently head chef at Noble Rot, Soho. His cookbook Frontières: the food of France's borderlands is available now. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv why the smell of chip fat reminds him of home, how his interest in cooking was ignited during time spent at university France, and divulges his desert island meal.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Spectator Out Loud, Mary Wakefield has a solution to smartphone addition (00:28), Hannah Tomes reviews the latest production of King Lear (07:27) and Cosmo Landesman gets high (11:13). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freddy Gray is joined by John Rick MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine to discuss Robert F. Kennedy junior and his candidacy in the presidential election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the podcast: what would Trump’s second term look like? Vengeance is a lifelong theme of Donald Trump’s, writes Freddy Gray in this week’s cover story – and this year’s presidential election could provide his most delectable payback of all. Meanwhile, Kate Andrews writes that Nikki Haley’s campaign is over – and with it went the hopes of the Never Trump movement. Where did it all go wrong? They both join the podcast to discuss what to expect from Trump’s second coming. (03:11)Then: Will and Gus take us through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine, including Michael Hann’s Pop review and Cosmo Landesman’s City Life column. (16:38)Next: Flora Watkins writes in The Spectator about on private schools. She discusses how she is taking her kids out of private school, partly because of a rise in school fees brought about by inflation and the cost of living and partly in anticipation of Labour imposing VAT on school fees. To debate, Julie Robinson – general secretary of the Independent Schools Council – and Fiona Millar – former education advisor to Tony Blair – join the podcast. (20:36)And finally: the rise of organised shoplifting.Shoplifting is on the increase, writes Harriet Sergeant, not because of struggling Britons, but because of organised criminals trafficking children, too young to be charged, from around Europe to steal from British shops. They view the UK as poorly policed but rich; the perfect place for stealing goods to sell on quickly. Harriet joins the podcast alongside Xander Cloudsley, a shoplifting activist from the organisation This Is Rigged. (31:36)Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. If you have any feedback, please contact us on: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this Super Tuesday discussion, Sarah Elliot – head of the Special Relationship Unit at the Legatum Institute joins Freddy Gray to chat about the predicted Trump-Biden victory; what Nikki Haley will do next and who could be Donald Trump's vice president.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is Peter Pomerantsev. Peter's new book How To Win An Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler tells the story of Sefton Delmer, the great genius of twentieth-century propaganda. Peter tells me about Delmer's remarkable life, compromised ethics, and the lessons he still has to offer us.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Too often our stories about China are dictated by the urban experience, probably because journalists inside and outside of China are often based in the big cities; Beijing specifically. Those who live in the cities also tend to be more educated, more privileged, and so able to dominate the global attention more. That’s why I’m particularly keen to hear about the lives of those who still live in the countryside, or at least are still considered ‘rural residents’ by the Chinese government. They make up a sizeable proportion of the population, and you’ll hear that in my first question to my guest today, we discuss just how big this group is.How do the poorest in China live today, considering the government has announced that there is no more extreme poverty? Just how wide are their gaps in living standards, education, health, compared to their compatriots who live in the cities? Professor Scott Rozelle joins me on this episode. He is the co-director of the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, a developmental economist who has been conducting research in China for over three decades. He is also the co-author of Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise.Further listening from the archive:Second class citizens: the lives of China’s internal migrants: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/second-class-citizens-the-lives-of-chinas-internal-migrants/Is China turning away from the world?: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/is-china-turning-away-from-the-world/Produced by Cindy Yu and Joe Bedell-Brill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freddy talks to political technologist Eric Wilson about the role technology and media will play in the 2024 US election. They cover the differences in strategy between the Democrats and the Republicans, why television is still the best medium for reaching voters, and the role of social media influencers. Produced by Natasha Feroze. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Lukas Degutis reports from Riga, exploring Latvia’s policy of expelling Russian speakers (01:16); Ysenda Maxtone Graham explains why she believes applause has no place at a funeral (10:03); paying homage to Christopher Gunning, Richard Bratby argues that composers of ads, film soundtracks and TV theme tunes should be taken more seriously (14:46); and Toby Young questions the Bidens’ choice of dog (21:50). Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thangam Debbonaire was born in Peterborough to an Indian father and English mother. She has been an MP since 2015 but before Parliament spent over 25 years working to end domestic violence. She served under Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Minister for Arts and Heritage and has served in Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet since his leadership as the Shadow Culture Secretary. Thangam is no stranger to a lively debate at the dispatch box and despite a busy life as an MP, still finds time for music, playing cello in Parliament as part of the string quartet, The Statutory Instruments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.