Best of the Spectator

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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest in this week's Book Club podcast is Caspar Henderson, whose new book A Book of Noises: Notes on the Auraculous really is a journey into sound. He tells me why the music of the spheres – at least in this solar system – is a terrible racket, what we can learn from whale earwax, and why bat-squeaks are, in fact, very very loud indeed.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Freddy Gray takes a trip to Planet Biden and imagines what would happen if little green men invaded earth and found a big orange one back in the White House (01:15), Kate Andrews finds herself appalled by the so-called ‘advice’ routinely handed out to women that can be at best, judgemental, and at its worst, slightly bullying (12:51), and Lloyd Evans spills the beans on searching for love on his recent blind date, courtesy of the Guardian (07:13).Produced and presented by Linden Kemkaran Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Freddy is joined in The Spectator offices by regular contributor and fellow of urban studies at Chapman University, Joel Kotkin. They discuss Biden and Trump's respective attempts to burnish their credentials with the unions this week, how the cultural agenda is alienating voters, and whether technology could prevent the coming of neo-feudalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the podcast this week:Lord Sumption makes the case for leaving the ECHR in The Spectator's cover piece. He says that the UK has strong courts and can pass judgement on human rights by itself and joins the podcast alongside Dr Joelle Grogan – legal academic and head of research at UK in a Changing Europe – to discuss whether the Strasbourg has lost its appeal. (01:22).Also this week: Rory Sutherland takes a look at the rise of dynamic pricing in the magazine, a new trend where prices can surge at peak times and a phenomenon which has now made its way into pubs. He says that it’s not necessarily the cost that matters, but the way it is framed and is joined by Times business columnist Ryan Bourne to debate. (17:10)And finally: is a Guardian Blind Date the most effective way of finding love? This is the question that Lloyd Evans wonders in his piece for the magazine, detailing his experience being set up by the national newspaper. He joins the podcast alongside journalist Cosmo Landesman, whose dating columns I’m sure many listeners will remember. (33:02). Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the writer, broadcaster and academic Mary Beard. In her new book, Emperor of Rome, she explores what we can and can’t know about the men who ruled the Roman Empire, and what the lurid stories about so many of them tell us about the anxieties and fantasies of Rome’s ordinary citizens and the remarkable resilience of the regime. We also discuss, among other things: decapitated ostriches, fatal rose petals, and Mary’s robust reappraisal of Marcus Aurelius’s 'sub-Stoic' maundering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diana Henry is a critically acclaimed, multi-award winning cook, food writer and author of 12 books including the classic cookbook 'Roast Figs, Sugar Snow', which has just been updated and re-released twenty years after it was first published. Diana also writes for newspapers and magazines, and presents food programmes on TV and radio. On this podcast Diana shares childhood memories of her mother's baking, how 'Little House on the Prairie' influenced her writing and when, on a French exchange trip, she learned how to make the perfect vinaigrette.Presented by Olivia Potts.Produced by Linden Kemkaran. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew Parris shares thoughts on Australian referendum. Dan Hitchens explores church congregations. Leah McLaren discusses audio delights and why children should be heard, not seen.

This week:Christopher Caldwell writes The Spectator's cover piece on Italy’s new wave of migrants. This is in light of the situation in Lampedusa which he argues could upend European politics. Chris joins the podcast alongside Amy Kazmin, Rome correspondent at the Financial Times, to debate Europe’s escalating migrant crisis. (01:23)Also this week:In his column, Matthew Parris writes about Australia’s Voice vote, a yes/no referendum being held on whether to establish a new body which will advise parliament on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is a source of real controversy in the country, and Alexander Downer – former Australian minister for foreign affairs and leader of the Liberal Party between 1994 and 1995 – joins Matthew to discuss. (16:07)And finally: why do some Churches rise and others fall? In the magazine, journalist Dan Hitchens writes a tale of two churches by comparing the fastest growing – Elim Pentecostal church – and the fastest shrinking church in the UK – United Reformed church. He is joined by Revd Marcus Walker, Rector of the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, London. (31:29)Hosted by William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.