Best of the Spectator

Sam McAlister is a producer and author of Scoops: The BBC's Most Shocking Interviews from Prince Andrew to Steven Seagal. When she worked for Newsnight, she was the producer who secured the infamous interview with Prince Andrew, conducted by Emily Maitlis. This interview eventually led to Prince Andrew being suspended from public duties and stepping back from all of his patronages. McAlister is now being portrayed by the actress Billie Piper in a coming Netflix adaptation of the Prince Andrew interview.On the episode, she tells Katy about coming from a 'grafting, entrepreneurial' family and how that informed her competitiveness; her brief career in law; and the behind-the-scenes story of how she secured the interview.Produced by Natasha Feroze and Cindy Yu.

This week:In his cover piece for the magazine, Daily Mail writer, author of Queen of Our Times and co-presenter of the Tea at the Palace podcast, Robert Hardman looks ahead to the reign of King Charles III. He joins the podcast alongside historian David Starkey, who is interviewed in the arts pages of The Spectator by Lynn Barber (01:10) Also this week:Sean Thomas writes about generational reparations, that is: whether families with murky pasts should pay compensation for their ancestors’ wrongdoings. He is joined by Professor Christine Kinealy, historian and author This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine 1845-52, to ask whether generational reparations are simply a token gesture (20:58). And finally:Journalist Yannic Rack writes about the battle to restore Britain's hedgerows in The Spectator. He is joined by Clive Matthew, hedgelayer and founder of the National Hedgelaying Society to learn about the art of hedgelaying (30:29). Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Shehan Karunatilaka, author of last year's Booker Prize winner The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Shehan tells me about writing a novel whose protagonist is dead on page one, about putting the chaos of Sri Lanka's long civil war on the page, and about the importance of Shakin' Stevens to a teenager in 1980s Colombo.

Hidden in March’s GDP figures was a shocking statistic – a fifth of Chinese 16 to 24 year olds are out of work. This is a near record high, and the economic background to a fresh wave of disillusionment among China’s young.It has led to the creation of a new meme - you’ve heard of lying flat, but young people are now comparing themselves to a Republican-era literary character, Kong Yiji.On this episode, Cindy Yu is joined by the journalist Karoline Kan, author of Under Red Skies: The Life and Times of a Chinese Millennial. They talk about the Kong Yiji trend, why prospects are so thin for the most educated Chinese generation, and what this all means for the government's claims to economic competence.

Freddy Gray speaks to Ed Condon who is the editor of The Pillar On the podcast they talk about Biden's Catholicism; how it plays out in his politics and whether it will be a big part of his presidential campaign. 

This week: Mary Wakefield explains why the NHS is broken; Jenny McCartney on the unproductive 'productivity gurus' and Robert Gore-Langton on Richard Burton’s botched Hamlet. Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Freddy Gray is joined by Ayesha Hazarika and Katy Balls who has written the cover this week on Keir Starmer's centrist army. Also on the show, Cirino Hiteng Ofuho on Sudan's violent civil unrest; Gracy Curley on the upcoming US election and Sean Mathias and Rob Gore-Langton on Hamlet. 00:00 Welcome from Freddy Gray03:39 Who are Keir's 'Starmtroopers?' With Katy Balls and Ayesha Hazarika24:59 What's happened in Sudan? With Dr Cirino Hiteng Ofuho36:29 A look ahead to the US election. With Grace Curley53:56 Richard Burton's botched Hamlet. With Sean Mathias and Robert Gore-Langton.Produced by Natasha Feroze.

This week:In her cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls writes that as Labour prepares for government, Keir Starmer is rooting out the far left sections of his party and replacing them with moderates. She is joined by John McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair, to discuss the return of the Blairites (01:06).Also this week:The Spectator’s Russia correspondent Owen Matthews writes about Putin's three most prominent political prisoners. He joins the podcast alongside The Spectator’s assistant online editor Lisa Haseldine to consider the cost of speaking up against the regime (17:50).And finally:Damian Thompson, associate editor at The Spectator, writes this week about the rise of America’s Satanists. He is joined by Chaplain Leopold, who co-runs the Global Order of Satan UK, to debate the rifts in modern Satanism (28:41). Hosted by William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

In this week's Book Club podcast my guest is the theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. In his new book Quantum Supremacy, Prof Kaku explains how – as he sees it – the advent of quantum computers is going to turn the world as we know it on its head. He explains the extraordinary possibilities and perils of the quantum revolution, tells me how Albert Einstein and Flash Gordon set him on his path, and argues why when it comes to trying to make sense of the universe, you need to be prepared to be crazy.

Winston speaks to former Portland State University professor turned international philosopher, Peter Boghossian. Peter was a prominent new atheist author and expert on the Socratic method when he resigned his position at Portland over the percolation of ‘woke’ ideology into the university. In his resignation letter he described how the institution had become a ‘dogma factory’ which had ‘weaponized diversity, equity and inclusion’. Peter and Winston discuss progressive domination of the Academy, how woke spreads, DEI vs free speech, how to have constructive conversations and whether the new atheists led to woke culture.