Best of the Spectator

Svitlana Morenets discusses the untrustworthiness of Putin's promises in Ukraine. James Heale reads his politics column on Rishi's January blues. Theo Hobson shares the joys of middle-aged football.

Claudine Gay's resignation from Harvard over plagiarism accusations sparks a debate on racism and the future of affirmative action in America; podcast explores controversy surrounding Gay, anti-Semitism among black leaders in America, counter-revolution against leftist control in higher education, transition from affirmative action to DEI agenda, and potential for revolt against DEI in America.

The podcast discusses rumors of Putin brokering a land-for-peace deal in Ukraine, the impact of culture wars on agriculture, and the value of video games as an artform. They also explore the challenges faced by farmers and the unique qualities of video games.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum discusses her book 'Red Famine' and the debate over whether the Ukrainian famine was a natural disaster or a genocide. The chapters explore Ukraine's national identity, the reasons behind the end of the famine, access to archives, and the genocide debate and Russia's response.

Novelist and regular contributor to The Spectator's books pages, Philip Hensher, discusses his childhood love for offal, the secret to a perfect carbonara, and how food is a great character device for novelists. Topics also include meals from the late 1960s and early 1970s, learning to cook and culinary correctness, scandalous novels, butcher recommendations, Bengali cuisine, memorable fish meals, and the incorporation of food into writing.

The Book Club is taking a brief Christmas break, so we have gone back through the archives to spotlight some of our favourite episodes. This week we are revisiting Sam's conversation from 2017 with Robert Webb. His moving and funny book How Not To Be A Boy turns the material of a memoir into a heartfelt polemic about what he calls 'The Trick': the gender expectations that he identifies as causing many of the agonies of his adolescence and young manhood. What is it to be a man? Are we doomed to lives of inarticulacy, shagging, fighting and drinking — giving pain and fear their only outlet in anger? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susan Hall is a born and bred Londoner running for one of the most important jobs in the city. After leaving school at 18 she had dreams of being a mechanic and struggled to get into technical college. She was later a business owner, running a beauty salon and hairdressing business.  Susan has been involved in politics for almost twenty years. Starting out first as a Councillor in Harrow, she later ran the Conservative group before leading the Council itself. In 2017 she joined the General London Assembly replacing Kemi Badenoch. Within two years she was running the Conservative group there too. Her rise in Conservative politics continues, as this year she was selected to be the Conservative candidate for the 2024 London Mayoral election.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Book Club is taking a brief Christmas break, so we have gone back through the archives to spotlight some of our favourite episodes. This week we are revisiting Sam's conversation from 2017 with Philip Collins, former speech writer to Tony Blair, about his book When They Go Low, We Go High: Speeches That Shape The World and Why We Need Them. He takes Sam through the history of rhetoric, how Camus is the original centrist Dad, and why David Miliband’s victory speech is perhaps one of the best speeches never delivered.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental tenets of a liberal democracy, and yet threats to freedom of speech today don’t so much come from authoritarians abroad as they do from within. The idea of ‘no-platforming’ those you disagree with, or ‘cancelling’ them, has taken root in all forms of public debate, and increasingly so in science. The word ‘science’ can today often be a shorthand for ‘truth’, which creates an orthodoxy where diversity of opinion is not welcomed. Science is meant to be ongoing process of finding truth, where what each generation takes as given may well be overturned as we discover more.On this podcast, we will be looking into the question of free speech within science, and asking whether we have lost sight of what science means. Is it simply the case that in an age where misinformation travels at lightning speed, there needs to be greater restrictions on freedom of speech in science?Cindy Yu, assistant editor at The Spectator, is joined by Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an expert in health policy at Stanford University, David Willetts, a former science minister who sits on the board of a number of scientific bodies, and Dr Gizelle Baker, who trained in biometry and epidemiology and is the vice president of global scientific engagement at tobacco company Philip Morris International.Philip Morris International are kindly sponsoring this podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michel Roux Jr. is an English-French chef and is the chef patron of Le Gavroche, the first restaurant in the UK to received one, two and then three Michelin stars. Earlier this year it was announced that Le Gavroche will close its doors in January. On the podcast, he recalls how his father would hand churn vanilla ice cream, reveals his fondness for both traditional French custard and English packet custard, and tells Liv and Lara why Le Gavroche is closing.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.