The Edition

In this week’s episode: What’s the mood on the ground in Ukraine and Russia?For this week’s cover piece, Owen Matthews asks whether the invasion of Ukraine will mean the end of Putin’s regime. And in this week’s Spectator diary, Freddy Gray reports on pride and paranoia on the streets of Lviv. They join the podcast, to talk about Russia’s future and Ukraine’s present. (00:49)Also this week: Is Germany ready to tackle its dependence on Russian gas?In response to Russia’s invasion, Germany has abandoned its Nord Stream 2 pipeline, sent lethal weapons to Ukraine and, most strikingly of all, has committed to the Nato target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence - a €100 billion fund. James Forsyth, who writes about Germany’s new reality in this week’s magazine, joins the podcast along with Stefanie Bolzen, a journalist for Welt. (17:18)And finally: Are traditional British brands losing their soul?Harry Wallop, in this week’s Spectator, wonders why some of Britain's oldest and most distinctive brands are trashing their reputation. They are selling out, changing the very thing that made them special in order to appeal to foreign millionaires. He joins the podcast along with a popular culture expert. Nick Ede.(29:40)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucherListen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talkBecome 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.

In this week’s episode: What does Putin really want for Russia?For this week’s cover story, Niall Ferguson writes about how Putin seems to be trying to recreate the Russia of the Past, while this week's diary by Timothy Garton Ash says the West has misunderstood his intentions, Niall and Timothy join the podcast along with Mary Dejevsky a columnist for the Independent. (00:48)Also this week: Should there be women-only spaces on trains?Jeremy Corbyn suggested it when he was Labour party leader and now Scotland seems to be flirting with the idea. Mary Wakefield says in this week’s Spectator that although she enjoys the idea of lady carriage, it doesn’t make much sense. She joins the podcast along with women's rights activist Kelly Given, one of Young Women’s Movement Scotland, 30 under 30. (15:15)And finally: Should we all get naked?Cosmo Landesman believes that once men reach a certain age, they quite enjoy taking their clothes off no matter where. He has written about his theory in this week’s magazine and he joins the podcast along with Andrew Welch from British Naturism. (23:31)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucherListen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talkBecome 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.

In this week’s episode: What is the next act in Putin’s theatre of war?For this week’s cover story, James Forsyth writes about Putin’s dangerous dramatics on the Russian-Ukrainian border and where they might lead. James joins the podcast along with Paul Wood, who writes in this week’s magazine that Putin’s bluff may be backfiring. (00:49)Also this week: How important is gallows humour?The BBC’s new comedy-drama, This Is Going To Hurt, based on the best-selling book of the same title by trainee doctor turned comedian Adam Kay depicts some truly gut-wrenching scenes with a touch of gallows humour. This week in The Spectator, Andrew Watts writes a defence of making dark jokes in serious situations as not only a stress relief exercise, but a genuine necessity for getting through the day. He joins the podcast along with Ed Patrick, a comedian and NHS anaesthetist whose new book Catch Your Breath about working in the NHS during the pandemic is out now. (16:05)And finally: why have we stopped whistling?Whistling can be seen as a bit annoying at best and rude at worst. But in this week’s Spectator, Steve Morris laments the loss of everyday whistling. He considers it a way of bringing music into one’s life for those who don’t own a piano. He joins the podcast along with whistling world champion David Morris, who has released six albums of his whistling. (25:50)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucherListen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talkBecome 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.

In this week’s episode: What’s the mood like in Boris’s bunker?For this week’s cover story, James Forsyth writes about the defensive bunker mentality inside No. 10 and the PM’s strategy of keeping MPs sweet to hold back a no confidence vote. James joins the podcast along with Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson to discuss.  (00:50)Also this week: Have we forgotten how to take a joke?Jimmy Carr has caused an online outcry after an off-colour joke from his new show, His Dark Material was clipped and posted without context on social media. Ministers, such as Nadine Dorries and Sajid Javid, have now criticised a comedian for telling a joke. In the Spectator this week both in print and online, two of our writers came to Carr’s defence. The Spectator’s associate editor Douglas Murray joins the podcast, along with Sam Holmes, who is The Spectator’s Podcast Producer by day, and a stand up comedian by night. (11:38)And finally: Has Covid permanently changed how people take Communion?During the Covid pandemic, churches had to rethink the way they gave communion to their congregations. But will we ever go back to the old normal? Ysenda Maxtone Graham mourns the loss of the tradition of the communal cup in this week's Spectator. She joins the podcast along with Revd Dr Andrew Atherstone, a Tutor in Church History at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, who has written a study entitled, Drink This, All of You’: Individual Cups at Holy Communion. (21:42)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucherListen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talkBecome 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.

In this week’s episode: Is China stuck in a zero-Covid trap?For this week’s cover story, Cindy Yu looks at Xi Jinping’s attempt to grapple with Covid. She joins the podcast, along with Ben Cowling, Chair Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong. (01:42)Also this week: Whose in The Zac Pack? And what is their influence on No.10?James Heale, The Spectator’s diary editor has written in this week’s magazine about The Zac Pack. A group made up of Carrie Johnson, Lord Goldsmith and some highly influential figures in the Westminster corridors. James is joined by Christian Calgie, a senior reporter at Guido Fawkes to discuss the power this group have in No.10. And their role in Pen Farthing’s animal evacuation out of Afghanistan. (16:40)And finally: A glance back 70 years ago, the Queen as a Princess.This weekend marks the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne. Graham Viney, author of The Last Hurrah: South Africa and the Royal Tour of 1947, writes this week's magazine about how she was prepared for that moment. He joins the podcast, along with the royal commentator and biographer, Angela Levin, author of ‘Harry: A biography of a Prince’. (28:41)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Natasha FerozeSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucherListen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talkBecome 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.

In this week’s episode: Will Putin invade Ukraine? For this week’s cover story, Owen Matthews argues that if Putin is going to invade Ukraine, he will do so later rather than sooner. He joins the podcast, along with Julius Strauss who reports on the mood in Odessa for this week’s magazine. (00:42)Also this week: Is Brexit working?This week marks the second anniversary of Brexit. But how successful has it been? Joining the podcast to answer that question is Lord Frost who was Chief Negotiator of Task Force Europe from January 2020 until his resignation in December last year - and the journalist Ed West, who runs the Substack, Wrong Side of History (13:12)And finally: What is the allure of a classified ad? In the age of Google, classified adverts have become something of a rarity. In this week’s magazine, Anthony Whitehead explores the history, influence, and appeal of back-page ads. He joins the podcast along with Lawrence Bernstein who has been running a classified ad in the back pages of The Spectator for years. (26:18)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk:https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk 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.

In this week’s episode: Will the Red Wall crush Boris Johnson? In this week’s Spectator, our political editor James Forsyth and our deputy political editor Katy Balls report on the plot to oust the Prime Minister by Red Wall MPs, and No.10’s battle to save Boris. They join the podcast to give their up to date diagnosis.  (00:43)Also this week: How to save the BBC?This week Nadine Dorries announced that she is planning a licence fee freeze. In the Spectator this week Paul Wood, a veteran journalist of the BBC writes about his love-hate relationship with the broadcaster. He joins the podcast now along with Domonic Minghella, writer, producer and former showrunner of the BBC’s Robin Hood. (14:45)  And finally: Is it moral to do good with bad money? The Sackler family - whose fortune was built on getting thousands of Americans addicted to OxyContin, contributing to the country’s devastating opioid crisis - are now returning to philanthropy in the UK. But should their ill-gotten money be accepted for good causes? That’s the question Sam Leith and Matthew Parris have both asked for the Spectator’s website and magazine respectively. They both join the podcast to continue their moral musings. (28:07)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk:https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk 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.

In this week’s episode: Is Boris Johnson done for? In this week’s Spectator cover story, our political editor James Forsyth and our deputy political editor Katy Balls write about Boris Johnson’s perilous position in the aftermath of the Partygate scandal. They join the podcast to predict the Prime Minister’s fate. (00:40)Also this week: Is there a dangerous side to self-improvement?The hashtag manifesting has had billions of impressions on social media in the last year. Younger generations love it and Mary Wakefield explores this viral phenomenon in her column this week. She joins the podcast along with Ally Head, the health and sustainability editor for Marie Claire UK who has interviewed a number of manifestation experts. (14:36)  And finally: how attractive are your feet? Kate Andrews, the Spectator’s economics editor, made an unusual discovery at the end of last year. Pictures of her in flip flops had made it onto a particular website, Wikifeet – ‘the internet’s largest collaborative celebrity feet website’. Kate wrote about her surprising discovery in this week’s magazine, and she joins the podcast along with Theresa Bedford, a personal finance and investing expert who has written about the best ways to sell pictures of your feet online. (28:59)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk:https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk 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.

In this week’s episode: Is it time to rip up the idea of vaccine passports? In The Spectator’s cover story this week, our economics editor Kate Andrews writes about her disdain for the idea of vaccine passports after being exposed to their flaws first hand. She joins the podcast along with Professor Julian Savulescu from the University of Oxford. (01:01)Also this week: Is Covid putting a spotlight on understudies?In this week's Spectator, Sarah Crompton champions the understudy as one of the heroes of the pandemic. These are the community of stand-in actors who have kept productions alive during Covid. She is joined on the podcast by Chris Howell, understudy to Michael Ball in Hairspray last year and currently stand-in for Julian Clary at the Palladium, to discuss. (18:06)  And finally: Is being cancelled a badge of honour?The comedian Stewart Lee announced his pedal bin list for the new year. Essentially people he wants to put in the bin. In The Spectator this week Julie Burchill who is on the list writes about her excitement to be featured. Joining the podcast are two others who made the list: journalist Martha Gill and Winston Marshall formally of the band Mumford and Sons, but who this year is joining The Spectator family with his new show, Marshall Matters. (28:59)Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk:https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk 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.

Welcome to the special Christmas episode of The Edition! In this episode, we look at five major topics that dominated the news this year and the pages of The Spectator. First up a review of the year in politics with our resident Coffee House Shot's team James Forsyth, Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman. We discuss how Boris seemed to make such a strong start to the year through the vaccine rollout, but squandered this goodwill with several own goals. We also touch on some of the big political moments of the year: Partygate, the Owen Paterson affair and of course Matt Hancock. (00:39)Next, we go global and look at three of the major powerhouses that took headlines this year. The EU, who ends the year in a panic over Russia, extreme Covid measures, and upcoming elections. The US started with an insurrection and ended with President Biden's plummeting poll numbers. Finally, China, who if you ask them say they are doing just fine. Lara Prendergast is joined by Jonathan Miller, Douglas Murray, and Cindy Yu to discuss the state of the world. (22:34)Then, a subject we all hoped to be leaving in the rearview mirror. Covid. With so much misinformation out there, the one important thing to have is good data, which is why we built The Spectator’s Covid data hub, and William Moore is joined on the podcast by three people who spend an ungodly amount of time going through those figures. The Spectator editor Fraser Nelson, Michael Simmons (who puts the data hub together and is making his podcast debut), and our economics editor Kate Andrews. (40:52)We chose our penultimate segment by looking back at all the most read articles of the year and chose the subject that appeared the most. The Royal Family won by a landslide, and it has been a big year for them. To break down the year’s big Royal moments and try and figure out why we are so obsessed with this family, Lara Prendergast and William Moore sat down with Freddy Gray and Patrick Jephson. (59:37)And finally, The Edition's producer has given William Moore an early Christmas present. The Church of England is one of his favourite things to talk about, because of how important he thinks it is for our society, but also because of the many issues he has with how it is run. Will gets stuck into it with four amazing priests – Marcus Walker, Daniel French, Nicholas Cranfield, and Steve Morris – who see out the year by telling us their favourite Christmas carols. (01:13:04)Hosted by Lara Prendergast & Will MooreProduced by Sam HolmesSubscribe to The Spectator magazine this Christmas and get the next 12 issues – in print and online – for just £12. Not only that but you’ll also receive a bottle of Taittinger champagne, worth £42, to see you through to the new year. Join the party today at www.spectator.co.uk/celebrateBecome 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.