Best of the Spectator

This week: Is Putin winning?  In his cover piece for the magazine, historian and author Peter Frankopan says that Russia is reshaping the world in its favour by cultivating an anti-Western alliance of nations. He is joined by Ukrainian journalist – and author of The Spectator's Ukraine In Focus newsletter – Svitlana Morenets, to discuss whether this could tip the balance of the war (01:08).  Also this week: The Spectator's assistant online foreign editor Max Jeffery writes a letter from Abu Dhabi, after he visited the International Defence Exhibition. He is joined by author and former member of the ANC Andrew Feinstein, to uncover the covert world of the international arms trade and how governments seek to conceal it (17:52). And finally: Ysenda Maxtone Graham searches for the cheapest flat in Greater London in The Spectator this week. She is joined by The Spectator's newsletter editor Hannah Tomes, to investigate whether renting may be the better option for generation rent (29:33).   Hosted by William Moore.   Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

On this week’s Book Club, I’m joined by the theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli to talk about his new book Anaximander and the Nature of Science, in which he explains how a radical thinker two and a half centuries ago was the first human to intuit that the earth is floating in space. He tells me how Anaximander’s way of thinking still informs the work scientists do everywhere, how politics shapes scientific progress and how we can navigate the twin threats of religious dogma and postmodern relativism in search of truth.

Winston speaks with American author, film-maker, political commentator and activist Matt Walsh. They discuss Matt’s film ‘What Is A Woman’ and its cultural and political impact, the difference between the transgender and women’s movement in the UK and the US. Winston asks about TikTok trans activist Dylan Mulvaney and the censorship of conservative media.

Tom Athron is the CEO of luxury brand Fortnum and Mason, a position which he undertook during the pandemic having held senior roles at John Lewis and Waitrose.On the podcast he talks about his earliest memories of food, the produce he grows in his vegetable patch and what makes Fortnums so special. 

This week: Isabel Hardman asks whether politics and religion can mix (00:58), Christopher Howse discusses the transformative power of folk costume (08:06), and Lucy Dunn reads her notes on meal deals (19:18). 

On this week's show, Kate Andrews The Spectator's economics editor speaks to historian Andrew Roberts about Britain's hollow army; Arlene Foster on the Northern Ireland Protocol; Andrew Drury on why he has has changed his mind about Shamima Begum; David Robertson on faith in politics and Lucy Dunn defends the meal deal. 00:00 Welcome from Kate Andrews02:14 Can Britain restock its army? With Andrew Roberts and Tobias Ellwood MP17:00 Will a deal be reached on the Northern Ireland Protocol? With Arlene Foster29:42 Is Shamima Begum dangerous? With Andrew Drury43:36 Can politicians separate faith from politics? With David Robertson 58:04 Is the meal deal on its way out? With Lucy DunnTheme song written and performed by Jon Barker © 2020 Jonathan Stewart Barker Publisher Jonathan Stewart Barker 100%, administered by prsformusic.comRecording © 2020 Jonathan Stewart Barker 100%, administered by ppl.com

This week:In his cover piece for the magazine, Andrew Roberts says that the British Army has been hollowed out by years of underfunding and a lack of foresight when it comes to replacing the munitions we have sent to Ukraine. Historian Antony Beevor and author Simon Jenkins join the podcast to discuss Britain’s depleted military (01:04). Also this week: do religion and politics mix? In The Spectator Isabel Hardman asks why it is that only Christian politicians are forced to defend their beliefs. This is of course in light of the news this week that Kate Forbes’s bid for SNP leadership may be derailed by her views on gay marriage. She is joined by former leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron, who also writes for the magazine this week about his experience of – what Isabel calls – the secular inquisition (17:16). And finally: Christopher Howse writes about the transformative power of folk costume in his arts lead for The Spectator. He is joined by Mellany Robinson, project manager at the Museum of British Folklore and co-curator of the new exhibition Making Mischief: Folk Costume in Britain (27:55).Hosted by William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

My guest on this week’s Book Club is Robert Douglas-Fairhurst. In his new book Metamorphosis: A Life in Pieces, Robert describes how being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis plunged him from his comfortable life as an English literature professor at Oxford into a frightening and disorienting new world; and how literature itself helped him learn to navigate around it.

Freddy Gray speaks to award-winning journalist and reporter Seymour Hersh to discuss his recent Substack article titled How America took out the Nord Stream pipeline. 

Every protest needs an anthem, and for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, 'Nothing to My Name' by Cui Jian became that emblem. Cui was one of China's earliest rockers, taking inspiration from the peasant music of China's northwest and fusing it with the rock 'n' roll that was beginning to arrive in the country. It put rock music – and the Chinese interpretation of it – under the national spotlight.On this episode Cindy Yu talks to Kaiser Kuo, host of the China Project's Sinica podcast, who also happens to be a founding member of Tang Dynasty, one of China's earliest and greatest rock bands. They talk about how a China opening up after the Cultural Revolution allowed in this decidedly western musical genre, how it fused with Chinese musical traditions upon contact, and its lasting association with the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.