The Edition

First: a look ahead to President Trump’s state visit next weekTransatlantic tensions are growing as the row over Peter Mandelson’s role provides an ominous overture to Donald Trump’s state visit next week. Political editor Tim Shipman has the inside scoop on how No. 10 is preparing. Keir Starmer’s aides are braced for turbulence. ‘The one thing about Trump which is entirely predictable is his unpredictability,’ one ventures. And government figures fear he may go off message on broadcast – he is scheduled to be interviewed by GB News.It is rare for leaders to receive a second visit, especially those in their second term. But, as Tim says, ‘Britishness is fashionable in Washington’ and no-one likes ‘royal treatment’ more than Trump. So, can Starmer take advantage of the President’s ‘love of the deal’? Tim joins the podcast to discuss.Next: why are historical figures being labelled neurodiverse?A new biography of Margaret Thatcher has provoked much discussion by claiming that Britain’s former Prime Minister was autistic. The proof for such a claim rests on the Iron Lady’s (supposed) lack of a sense of humour, a lack of feeling embarrassed and a tendency to see the world in black and white. But is there a danger in reappraising historical and political figures, particularly when it comes to personal traits? Historians – and frequent Spectator contributors – Robert Tombs and John Keiger joined the podcast to give their verdict.And finally: is everyone on Ozempic?One of the Spectator’s writers, under the pseudonym Henrietta Harding, headed out on what she terms ‘Ozempic safari’ – spotting the ‘Mounjaro Mummies’ as they drop off their children at school. ‘We know what to look for’, she says, ‘sunken faces, slightly wasted arms and, of course, envy-inducing weight loss’.But the school gates aren’t the only place Ozempic seems to have taken hold. Westminster is awash with politicians who have suspiciously slimmer fitting suits – but why? Associate editor Toby Young and deputy political editor James Heale join the podcast to make sense of the trend for trim.Plus: As President Xi re-emerges, Francis Pike asks who’s really in charge in China?Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Gove and Madeline Grant launch ‘Quite right!’, the new podcast from The Spectator that promises sanity and common sense in a world that too often lacks both.Coffee House Shots listeners can enjoy an exclusive taste of their debut episode in which they take stock of a political summer dominated by Nigel Farage, a Labour government already facing mutiny, and the curious spectacle of Tory MPs moonlighting as gonzo reporters. From J.D. Vance’s Cotswold sojourn and Tom Skinner’s bish bash bosh patriotism, to Sydney Sweeney’s jeans advert causing a culture war, Michael and Madeleine discuss what really drives our politics: policies, or memes and vibes?To hear the full episode, search Quite right! wherever you get your podcasts, or find the full episode – in vision – on our YouTube channel SpectatorTV.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First: Reform is naff – and that’s why people like itGareth Roberts warns this week that ‘the Overton window is shifting’ but in a very unexpected way. Nigel Farage is ahead in the polls – not only because his party is ‘bracingly right-wing’, but ‘because Reform is camp’. Farage offers what Britain wants: ‘a cheeky, up-yours, never-mind-the-knockers revolt against our agonisingly earnest political masters’.‘From Farage on down,’ Roberts argues, ‘there is a glorious kind of naffness’ to Reform: daytime-TV aesthetics, ‘bargain-basement’ celebrities and big-breasted local councillors. ‘The progressive activists thought they could win the culture war simply by saying they had won it’, but ‘the John Bulls and Greasy Joans are stirring again’. Roberts loves how ‘the current excitement over flag-raising’ is the ‘conniptions’ it gives to ‘the FBPE crowd’. Of course, for Farage, planning for government ‘really cannot be a pantomime affair’. But ‘in these grim times’ we ‘need the romping Reform’. Gareth joins the podcast to make his case for Carry On Reform.Next: the ‘she’ consumed by masculine rageLionel Shriver reacts to the latest school shooting in America. The perpetrator was widely reported in the media with the pronouns ‘she/her’ which, Lionel argues, is not just an issue around politeness. This glosses over the fact that the shooter was biologically male, adding to the majority of cases of school shootings that are conducting by men. By pandering to this incoherence of the reality of the situation, it doesn’t help society to uncover the reasons behind the issue.Lionel joined the podcast alongside the Spectator’s US editor Freddy Gray. Freddy points out how this shooting is just one example of how younger people can be transfixed by the very darkest sides of the internet.And finally: why people make up languages Constructed language expert Dr Bettina Beinhoff and author and historian Peter Parker join the podcast to talk about ‘made-up’ languages. Why do humans construct languages outside of their every-day speech? Most people will have heard of Klingon or Elvish, used in books and film, but what about Polari – the subversive language used by groups of LGBT people decades ago – or the Potato language – which writer Melanie Ferbreach says her parents used to hide their conversations from her. Listeners may be impressed to hear Lara's own attempt at 'eggy-peggy'...Plus: with a special introduction from our political editor, Tim Shipman interviews shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick – is he trying to outflank Farage? Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First: an economic reckoning is looming ‘Britain’s numbers… don’t add up’, says economics editor Michael Simmons. We are ‘an ageing population with too few taxpayers’. ‘If the picture looks bad now,’ he warns, ‘the next few years will be disastrous.’ Governments have consistently spent more than they raised; Britain’s debt costs ‘are the worst in the developed world’, with markets fearful about Rachel Reeves’s Budget plans. A market meltdown, a delayed crash, or prolonged stagnation looms. The third scenario, he warns, would be the bleakest, keeping politicians from confronting Britain’s spendthrift state. We need ‘austerity shock therapy’ – but voters don’t want it. To discuss further, we include an excerpt from a discussion Michael had with our deputy editor Freddy Gray and economist Paul Johnson for Spectator TV. Next: can the foster system survive? ‘The foster system in this country is collapsing,’ Mary Wakefield warns. There around 80,000 children who need homes, but ‘a catastrophic lack of people prepared to care for them’. Every year the small pool of available foster households shrinks, with younger generations unwilling to become carers and more and more existing carers considering leaving. Mary joined the podcast to explain how bad the problem is, alongside author and full-time foster carer Rosie Lewis.And finally: the unsettling rise of DeathTokDamian Thompson highlights the rise of ‘DeathTok’ – the name given to videos shared on the social media platform Tik Tok by users who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses. Ordinary young people ‘employ adult communications skills to express adolescent feelings’ and share every stage of the ruthlessness of their cancer journey. The videos may upset younger uses who stumble across them, but for many this digital sense of community will prove invaluable.There is a wider question though – ‘the luxury of fading memories’ says Damian, is something we lose with every advance in media technology. Can this really be a good thing?Plus: Tom Slater says that Britain is having its own gilet jaunes moment and Philip Womack reacts to the news that the Pope will be getting some flatmates.Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First: Putin has set a trap for Europe and Ukraine ‘Though you wouldn’t know from the smiles in the White House this week… a trap has been set by Vladimir Putin to split the United States from its European allies,’ warns Owen Matthews. The Russian President wants to make a deal with Donald Trump, but he ‘wants to make it on his own terms’. ‘Putin would like nothing more than for Europe to encourage Ukraine to fight on… and lose even more of their land’. But, as Owen writes, those who count themselves among the country’s friends must ask ‘whether it’s time to choose an unjust peace over a just but never-ending war’. Have European leaders walked into Putin’s trap? Owen joins the podcast alongside Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times. Next: Lionel Shriver, Toby Young & Igor Toronyi-Lalic on the decline of shame in society A rise in brazen shoplifting, attempts to police public spaces and moralising over ‘Art’ – these are all topics touched on by columnists Lionel Shriver and Toby Young and Arts editor Igor Toronyi-Lalic in the magazine this week. Are these individual problems in their own right, or could they be symptomatic of wider failings in British society? Lionel, Toby and Igor joined the podcast to try to make sense of why guilt and shame seem to have disappeared in modern Britain.And finally: the hell of owning a holiday rentalWilliam Cash writes in the magazine this week about the trials and tribulations of running a holiday let. He complains that the lines between hotels and holiday lets have become blurred, and people of all ages are now becoming guests from hell. He writes: ‘it has become increasingly evident that middle class families have no idea how to behave on holiday… basic guest decorum seems to belong to a different summer holiday age’. So how did things get so bad? William joined the podcast alongside Spectator columnist Melissa Kite – who runs her own B&B in Ireland.Plus: ahead of the long weekend, Mark Mason reveals who we can thank for bank holidays. Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First: how Merkel killed the European dream ‘Ten years ago,’ Lisa Haseldine says, ‘Angela Merkel told the German press what she was going to do about the swell of Syrian refugees heading to Europe’: ‘Wir schaffen das’ – we can handle it. With these words, ‘she ushered in a new era of uncontrolled mass migration’. ‘In retrospect,’ explains one senior British diplomat, ‘it was pretty much the most disastrous government policy of this century anywhere in Europe.’ The surge of immigrants helped swing Brexit, ‘emboldened’ people-traffickers and ‘destabilised politics’ across Europe. Ten years on, a third of the EU’s member states within the Schengen area have now imposed border controls. Can freedom of movement survive in its current form? Lisa joined the podcast alongside Oliver Moody, Berlin correspondent for The Times. Next: the cultural impact of the railways It’s been 200 years since the world’s first public train travelled from Shildon to Stockton – across County Durham. Richard Bratby argues that this marked the start of a new era for Britain and the world: ‘no invention between the printing press and the internet has had as profound a cultural impact as the railways’.  How can we explain the romantic appeal of the railways? Richard joined the podcast to discuss, alongside Christian Wolmar, author of over twenty books about the railways including The Liberation Line.And finally: who is the Greatest Of All Time?What do Lionel Messi, Roger Federer and Tom Brady have in common? Their acolytes would argue that they are the GOAT of their sport – the Greatest Of All Time. Why are fans so obsessed with the GOAT label? Are pundits guilty of recency bias? And does it really matter anyway? Journalist Patrick Kidd joined the podcast to discuss, alongside the Spectator’s Sam McPhail.Plus: Madeline Grant asks why not show J.D. Vance the real Britain? Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First: Nigel Farage is winning over womenDoes – or did – Nigel Farage have a woman problem? ‘Around me there’s always been a perception of a laddish culture,’ he tells political editor Tim Shipman. In last year’s election, 58 per cent of Reform voters were men. But, Shipman argues, ‘that has begun to change’. According to More in Common, Reform has gained 14% among women, while Labour has lost 12%. ‘Women are ‘more likely than men… to worry that the country is broken.’Many of Reform’s most recent victories have been by women: Andrea Jenkyns in the mayoral elections, Sarah Pochin to Parliament; plus, there most recent high profile defections include a former Tory Welsh Assembly member and a former Labour London councillor. What makes Reform’s success with women all the more remarkable is that it appears organic; ‘we haven’t forced this’ says Farage.So why are women turning to Reform UK? Tim Shipman and Sarah Pochin MP join the podcast to discuss. Next: is Italy experiencing a renaissance? From Italy, Owen Matthews argues that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has revived her nation. While he says that Italy has been ‘suffering from the same economic malaise’ as the rest of Europe, the macroeconomics covers up the true affordability of the country. Espressos cost €1.20, pizzas are no more than €10, and rents in even the swankiest areas are ‘laughably’ cheap compared to Britain. Plus, Owen sees none of the ‘media catastrophisation’ over issues like immigration, social cohesion and militant Islam that appears to grip the UK. So how has Meloni done it? To discuss, Owen joined the podcast alongside Antonello Guerrera, UK & Westminster correspondent for the Italian newspaper Repubblica.And finally: one in three British adults cannot swimThis week, Iram Ramzan provides her ‘notes on’ learning to swim saying, ‘it’s humiliating to admit that at 37’ she can’t. She’s not alone though – one third of British adults cannot swim, and the proportion appears to be rising. Iram highlights the disparities between different communities; 76 percent of South Asian women for example cannot swim 25 metres. Iram joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside fitness professional and entrepreneur Elle Linton who also learnt to swim in her thirties.Plus: what small error led Rachel Johnson to get a telling off from Noel Gallagher? And Max Jeffery reports from court, where the Spectator and Douglas Murray have won a defamation claim brought against them by Mohammed Hijab. Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First: the new era of censorship A year ago, John Power notes, the UK was consumed by race riots precipitated by online rumours about the perpetrator of the Southport atrocity. This summer, there have been protests, but ‘something is different’. With the introduction of the Online Safety Act, ‘the government is exerting far greater control over what can and can’t be viewed online’. While the act ‘promises to protect minors from harmful material’, he argues that it is ‘the most sweeping attempt by any liberal democracy to bring the online world under the control of the state’. Implemented and defended by the current Labour government, it is actually the result of legislation passed by the Conservatives in 2023 – which Labour did not support at the time, arguing it didn’t go far enough. So how much of a danger is the Act to free speech in Britain? John joined the podcast to discuss further alongside former Conservative minister Steve Baker, MP from 2010-24, and who was one of the biggest critics of the bill within the Conservative Party at the time. Next: should we be worried about protests against migrants?  This week, outside a hotel in Epping, groups amassed to protest against the migrants housed there, with counter-protestors appearing in turn. Tommy Robinson might not have appeared in the end, but the Spectator’s Max Jeffrey did, concluding that the protests were ultimately ‘anticlimactic’. Nevertheless, the protests have sparked debate about the motivations of those speaking out against the migrants – are there legitimate concerns voiced by locals, or are the protests being manipulated by figures on the political fringes? And what do the protests tell us about community tensions in the UK? Max joined the podcast to discuss alongside the editor of Spiked Tom Slater. And finally: why are ‘romantasy’ novels so popular?Lara Brown writes in the magazine this week about the phenomenon of the genre ‘romantasy’, which mixes romance with fantasy. While ‘chick-lit’ is nothing new, Lara argues that this is ‘literature taken to its lowest form’, emblematic of the terminally online young people who consume it. Nevertheless, it is incredibly popular and is credited by publishers as boosting the British fiction industry to over £1 billion. To unpack the genre's popularity, Lara joined the podcast, alongside Sarah Maxwell, the founder of London’s first romance-only bookshop Saucy Books, based in Notting Hill. Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The soul suckers of private equity, Douglas Murray on Epstein and MAGA & are literary sequels ‘lazy’?First up: how private equity is ruining BritainGus Carter writes in the magazine this week about how foreign private equity (PE) is hollowing out Britain – PE now owns everything from a Pret a Manger to a Dorset village, and even the number of children’s homes owned by PE has doubled in the last five years. This ‘gives capitalism a bad name’, he writes. Perhaps the most symbolic example is in the water industry, with water firms now squeezed for money and saddled with debt. British water firms now have a debt-to-equity ratio of 70%, compared to just 4% in 1991. Britain’s desperation for foreign money has, quite literally, left Britain ‘in the shit’. Gus joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside the journalist Megan Greenwell, author of Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream. (00:46)Next: why is MAGA so incensed over Jeffrey Epstein?Six years after he died, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal is still haunting Donald Trump. Trump had vowed to release all files on various cases that attract conspiracy theorists – from JFK to Martin Luther King Jr. What makes the Epstein case different, as Douglas Murray writes in the magazine this week, is that the case was so recent and Epstein’s ties with the elites, many of whom are still in power. Trump appeared to backtrack on releasing files relating to Epstein, prompting ire from the MAGA world, and there is now mounting cross-party pressure to uncover who knew what. Mike Johnson, the House speaker, sent representatives home early for summer, and there is even talk of Ghislaine Maxwell testifying.  Why is the Epstein scandal such a lightning rod for MAGA rage? Douglas Murray joined the Spectator to discuss. The full interview can be found on Spectator TV. (15:49)And finally: are literary sequels ‘lazy’?It’s ‘sod’s law’, says the Spectator’s literary editor Sam Leith, that when a friend’s book is due to be reviewed in the pages of the books section that you edit, the review will be bad. Mike Cormack reviews Men In Love by Irvine Welsh this week, calling the decision by Welsh to pen another sequel to Trainspotting ‘lazy’. At the Spectator this made us ponder whether this is true of all literary sequels, and what motivates authors to stick with characters and stories that they know.Sam joined us to discuss further alongside Lucy Thynne, the Telegraph’s deputy literary editor. (33:59)Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First up: how the Bank of England wrecked the economyBritain’s economy is teetering on the brink of a deep fiscal hole, created by billions of pounds of unfunded spending – never-ending health promises, a spiralling welfare bill and a triple lock on the state pension, which will cost three times as much as originally estimated.Although politicians ‘deserve much of the blame for the economic state we’re in’, it’s Andrew Bailey – Michael Simmons argues in the magazine this week – who ‘has enabled their recklessness’.He joined the podcast to discuss who really broke Britain with Kate Andrews, Deputy Editor of The Spectator’s world edition and former Economics Editor. (01:15)Next: has Ukraine lost faith in Zelensky?Whilst Donald Trump’s surprise ‘newfound support for Ukraine is a welcome lifeline’, Owen Matthews writes in the magazine this week, ‘the question is whether his help will be enough to stop Russia’s relentless attacks before Ukraine is engulfed in a critical military, political and social crisis that threatens to destroy it from within’. Ukraine is running out of men, and is racked by corruption scandals and purges. As a consequence, public faith in Volodymyr Zelensky is declining.To discuss what’s next for Ukraine, Owen joined the podcast. (24:29)And finally: the joys of mudlarkingIn the arts section of the magazine this week, Margaret Mitchell reviews a new exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands on mudlarking – the practice of combing at low tide for washed-up items of historical interest. These can include everything from statues of Roman gods and goddesses to the common vape – and it’s a hobby that is booming in popularity.To discuss, Margaret joined the podcast alongside Lara Maiklem, mudlarker and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. (41:07)Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.