Best of the Spectator

This week: Matt Ridley reveals the identity of the Chinese scientists in the lab linked to Covid, Martin Newland makes the moral case for becoming a foster carer, and Mary Wakefield has a plan for her old age to rid the world of drones.Produced by Linden Kemkaran

In the ancient Syro-Malabar Church of south India, clergy who try to change the liturgy do so at their peril. At St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Ernakulam last December, a long-standing dispute over whether the priest should face the people led to scenes in which protestors attacked clergy in the middle of the service, sending the sacred vessels crashing to the ground. As a result, the cathedral was closed – and remains so, six months later.This liturgy war is a hideous embarrassment for the Vatican, because the Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest Eastern Church in Communion with Rome. Traditionally dated back to St Thomas the Apostle's mission to India, it has four millions members worldwide. Members are known for their missionary zeal – the Syro-Malabars are one of the few thriving Catholic communities in Britain – but also passions that in the last few years have spilled over into violence, allegations of corruption and hunger strikes. At the root of the dispute is an attempt by Rome to impose a uniform liturgy on congregations that bitterly disagree about whether the priest should face East or West during the Holy Qurbana, the Syro-Malabar name for the Mass. Bishops have been burned in effigy. My guest in this episode of Holy Smoke is Luke Coppen, senior correspondent of the Pillar and one the few journalists outside India who has been following the escalation of the Christian world's most spectacular liturgy war. If you thought the Vatican's attempt to crush the Latin Mass was a nasty business, just wait until you hear what Luke has to say about the situation in India, which the Pope seems powerless to control. 

This week:First up: for the cover piece, The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews has written about Britain’s mortgage timebomb, as the UK faces the sharpest interest rate hike since the 80s. In the year leading up to the general election, can the Conservatives come back from this? Kate joins us along with Liam Halligan, economics editor of GB News, Telegraph columnist and author of Home Truths - the UK's chronic housing shortage. Next: Spectator journalist Toby Young has written about 'furries' – children identifying as animals at school. He joins us now, along with Miriam Cates MP who sits on the education select committee. (17:11)Finally: in the arts leader this week, Robert Jackman has written about wrestling. From WWE to amateur fights, there's a whole world out there – and it is growing in popularity. Robert joins the show along with Anthony Sinfield, a professional wrestler, also known as 'Tony Sin'. (28:32)Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Sam Leith's guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the cosmologist Andrew Pontzen. His The Universe In A Box: A New Cosmic History describes how we have learned to simulate first the weather, and then the universe itself – and how we discovered that those simulations don't just mimic reality but allow us to learn new things about it. Dark matter, the Big Bang and the scientific importance of suboptimal pizza: it's all here.Produced by Oscar Edmondson, Joe Bedell-Brill and Cindy Yu.

Michael Shellenberger, Twitter Files journalist and founder of Public is in London to discuss the international censorship industrial complex. He explains to Winston how the complex web of government, big tech, intelligence and media collude to suppress speech in the UK, America and beyond.Michael will be continuing the debate on the censorship industrial complex with Russell Brand and Matt Taibbi on Thursday 22nd June at Central Hall, Westminster. Get tickets here: https://www.musicglue.com/good-faith-productions/events/2023-06-22-censorship-industrial-complex-exposed-westminster-central-hall

The word ‘West’ is often used as a shorthand to describe liberal democracies in Europe, and perhaps in Asia too, such that we’ll often talk about ‘the West’s attitude to China’, or the ‘West’s relations with China’. But this is at best a lazy shorthand – because when you dig a little deeper, it’s clear that there is no unified West on China. On this episode, Cindy Yu is joined by Noah Barkin, senior advisor at the Rhodium Group and author of the Watching China in Europe newsletter with the German Marshall Fund, to disaggregate the idea of ‘the West’, focusing especially on the continent of Europe. How do different European nation states, institutions, and even political parties see China differently?Produced by Cindy Yu and Joe Bedell-Brill.

This week: James Heale takes us through the runners and riders for the conservative nomination for mayor of London (1:00), Paul Wood discusses how Saudi Arabia is trying to buy the world (06:02), and Hermione Eyre reads her arts lead on the woman who pioneered colour photography (12:51). Produced and presented by Oscar Edmondson. 

This week, Freddy is joined by a great American filmmaker, Oliver Stone, and a great Argentinian filmmaker, Fernando Sulichin. Their new documentary Nuclear Now proposes nuclear energy as the solution to the climate crisis. On the podcast, they address global concerns about adding nuclear to the energy mix, compare the nuclear policy of Presidents Biden and Trump and discuss the opinion that Oliver formed of Vladimir Putin while filming The Putin Interviews.

Isabel Oakeshott is a journalist and author of numerous political biographies, formerly the political editor for the Sunday Times. She's known for a number of scoops over the years, including Chris Huhne's speeding ticket and revealing Matt Hancock's lockdown WhatsApps. On the episode, she talks to Katy about why toughness was a quality her parents particularly emphasised in her upbringing; what it was like to break into the lobby as a female journalist; and why she decided to break her confidentiality agreement to expose the cache of messages that Matt Hancock had given her.Produced by Natasha Feroze, Saby Reyes-Kulkarni and Oscar Edmondson.

This week:For her cover piece, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls writes that Boris Johnson could be attempting to spearhead an insurgency against the prime minister. She joins the podcast alongside historian and author Sir Anthony Seldon, to discuss whether – in light of the Privileges Committee's findings – Boris is going to seriously up the ante when it comes to seeking revenge against his former chancellor. (01:02)Also this week:In The Spectator journalist Paul Wood writes about how Saudi Arabia is buying the world, after the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund negotiated a controlling interest in the main US golf tournament, the PGA. This took many people by surprise. He is joined by New York Times journalist Justin Scheck to debate whether MBS's motivation really is international recognition, or perhaps domestic security. (12:41)And finally: In the books section of the magazine Simon Heffer reviews Tim Burrow’s new book: The Invention of Essex: The Making of an English County. They both join the podcast to consider whether the 'Essex Man' as alive and well. (25:00)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.