In this week’s episode: Is the Prime Minister a dead man walking? Spectator Political Editor James Forsyth and MP Jesse Norman who expressed no confidence in Monday's vote discuss the future of Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party. (00:45) Also this week: Why is there so much virtue signalling in modern advertising? Spectator Columnist Lionel Shriver and veteran copywriter Paul Burke discuss its origins, its prevalence, and its effectiveness. (20:20) And finally: Is the dinner party dead? Gu...
Jun 09, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Robert Hardman & Angela Levin, two of the UK’s royal specialists, explore the character of the Queen and the impact she has had on the institution of the monarchy. (00:36) Also this week: For now, it seems that Boris Johnson is hanging on after the publishing of the Sue Gray report, but how stable is his position? Could a vote of no confidence be closer than anyone expects? The Spectator ’s political editor James Forsyth joins the podcast to discuss. (13:47) And final...
Jun 01, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Ian Williams, author of The Fire of the Dragon: China’s New Cold war , and Alessio Patalano, Professor of War and Strategy in East Asia at King’s College London, talk about how the war in Ukraine has changed the thinking in Taiwan. (00:37) Also this week: Was Sue Gray’s report on Downing Street parties a game-changer or a damp squib? The Spectator ’s editor, Fraser Nelson, and our political editor, James Forsyth, join the podcast to discuss the fallout from partygate. (15...
May 26, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week Lara Prendergast and William Moore talk to James Forsyth and the academic, Dr Alexander Clarkson about Zelensky's possible path to peace (00:42). Followed by Owen Matthews, The Spectator's Russia correspondent on Turkey's power over Nato expansion (13:28). Finally, a chat between two bowls fanatics, Michael Simmons, The Spectator's data journalist and Andrew Gibson from the bowls green in Streatham (22:00). Hosted by Lara Prendergast & William Moore Produced by Sam Holmes Subscribe...
May 19, 2022•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week Lara Prendergast and William Moore talk to Katy Balls and the journalist Paul Mason about the future of Labour (00:40). Followed by historian David Abulafia and the Sunday Times education editor Sian Griffiths on the announcement of Cambridge University's plans to limit the number of their private school students (15:20). Finally, a debate between author Michele Kirsch and Laura Biggs from the Menopause Mandate on the question 'Are we talking about menopause too much?' (31:50). Hosted ...
May 12, 2022•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Is Boris Johnson planning to tear up Britain’s deal with the EU? James Forsyth says in his Spectator cover story this week that Boris Johnson plans to reignite the Brexit voter base by taking on the EU again over Northern Ireland. He joins the podcast along with Denis Staunton, the London editor of the Irish Times , who writes in this week’s magazine about how Sein Finn has benefited from the DUP’s collapsing support. (00:50) Also this week: Does overturning Roe V. Wade s...
May 05, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Is Elon Musk heading for a clash with the British Government over free speech? Elon Musk is buying Twitter. But might the Tesla CEO be in for a battle he wasn’t expecting with the UK government? Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson writes about this potential clash in this week’s issue and he joins the podcast to expand on his thesis. (00:49) Also this week: Where is it ever ok to stare at someone? If you’ve been on the tube recently you might have spotted a rather startling si...
Apr 28, 2022•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Is Boris going to limp on? In her cover piece this week, Katy Balls writes that although Boris Johnson believes he can survive the partygate scandal, he has some way to go until he is safe, while in his column, James Forsyth writes about why the Tories have a summer of discontent ahead of them. They both join the podcast to speculate on the Prime Minister’s future. (00:44) Also this week: Why is the Rwandan government taking our asylum seekers? We have heard the arguments...
Apr 21, 2022•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: How are the people of both Russia and Ukraine processing the war? Our Russia correspondent Owen Matthews writes in this week’s Spectator that he has been stunned at how easily some of his Russian friends have accepted the Kremlin’s propaganda. He joins the podcast to explain why he thinks this is, followed by journalist and author of This Is Not Propaganda , Peter Pomerantsev, who has travelled to Kyiv to celebrate the festival of Passover. (00:48) Also this week: Is Rish...
Apr 14, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Is Putin guilty of war crimes? For this week’s cover piece, The Spectator’s Editor Fraser Nelson looks at the risks and rewards of labelling Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers war criminals. He joins the podcast, followed by Michael Bryant, the author of A World History of War Crimes, who writes in the Spectator this week about what the limits put on acts of war in the past can teach us about atrocities committed today. (00:52) Also this week: Is Europe facing a politica...
Apr 07, 2022•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Is Biden’s approach to the war in Ukraine more calculating than it seems? For this week’s cover piece, in this week’s cover piece, Matt Purple examines Biden’s response to the situation in Ukraine. The good, the bad and the gaffs. He joins the podcast along with the founder of Political Human Emma Burnell. (00:52) Also this week: How many of Ukraine’s churches have been destroyed? In this week’s issue, Christopher Howse writes poignantly on the destruction of Ukrainian ch...
Mar 31, 2022•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: could President Erdogan broker a peace deal between Putin and the West? For this week’s cover piece, Owen Matthews has written about how Turkey’s President Erdogan became a key powerbroker between Vladimir Putin and the Western alliance. On the podcast, Owen is joined by Ece Temelkuran, a political thinker, author, and writer of the book How to Lose a Country. (1:13) Also this week: a look at Tina, the drug devastating the gay community. Dr Max Pemberton has written about...
Mar 24, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Has Putin’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the West’s weakness - or its strength? For this week, Sergey Radchenko, a Cold War historian writes about the draconian anti-war measures that Putin has imposed in Russia. He joins the podcast along with Dr Jade Glynn, a specialist in Russian memory and foreign policy at the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies. (01:00) Also this week: has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted the hubris of the West? While Western countries uni...
Mar 17, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: is the UK dragging its feet when it comes to Ukrainian refugees? For this week’s cover piece, Kate Andrews and Max Jeffery report from Calais, where they have been talking with Ukrainian refugees hoping to make it to Britain. Kate joins the podcast along with former MEP Patrick O’Flynn to discuss the UK’s handling of the refugee crisis. (00:48) Also this week: are commodity traders finding a moral compass? In the wake of colossal sanctions on Russia are commodity traders ...
Mar 10, 2022•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Mar 03, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Feb 24, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 traine...
Feb 17, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 10, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Johns...
Feb 03, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 o...
Jan 27, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 journal...
Jan 20, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 lov...
Jan 13, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jan 06, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 moment...
Dec 16, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Is there any substance to the government’s new drugs agenda? In The Spectator this week Fraser Nelson writes the cover story on the government’s new 10 years drugs plan and finds that while on the surface this seems like a new war on drugs, it might actually have some thoughtful and effective policies buried within it. Fraser is joined on the podcast by Christopher Snowden, the head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs. (00:52) Also this week: Can I...
Dec 09, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Is the current NHS crisis a bug or a feature? In the Spectator’s cover story this week, our economics editor Kate Andrews writes about the state of the NHS and why even though reform is so clearly needed it's nearly politically impossible to try to do so. She joins the podcast with Isabel Hardman who is currently writing a book on the history of the NHS. (00:53) Also this week: How is the nation feeling about the Omicron variant? The news of the Omicron variant has not on...
Dec 02, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Just who is protesting new Covid rules in Europe? In The Spectator this week we have three articles that cover the riots and protests all over Europe about new covid policies. Two of them report the scene on the ground in different countries. Lionel Barber and Nick Farrell write respectively about the situations in Holland and Italy and talk on the podcast about why this is happening now and how much more it could escalate. (00:45) Also this week: Is China having its own ...
Nov 25, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Are migrants the new munitions? In our cover story this week, our political editor James Forsyth looks at the growing troubles in Eastern Europe and how this small part of the world stage could end up splintering the scaffolding of global peace. He is joined on the podcast by Mary Dejevsky, a columnist for the Independent. (00:42) Also this week: Will the monarchy survive past Elizabeth II? The royal family is not in a good way, with the Queen missing multiple appearances...
Nov 18, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Who is advising the PM? In our cover story this week, our editor Fraser Nelson takes a deep dive into No. 10 politics and finds a court of chaos inside. With a large parliamentary majority, an extremely young team and the departure of Domonic Cummings is there anyone left in the Conservative party who can stand up to the Prime Minister? Fraser talks on the podcast with former Conservative party chairman, Kenneth Baker on the reign of King Boris. (00:45) Also this week: Sh...
Nov 11, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s episode: Has the Biden Presidency stalled or crashed? In our cover story this week, Freddy Gray assesses the state of the Biden presidency. With steadily lowering approval ratings, a disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, and this week’s failure of the Democrats to hold on to the Virginia Governorship, how much trouble is the US’s oldest inaugurated president in? Freddy talks to Lara along with Emily Tamkin, the US editor of the New Statesman and co-host of the World Review Podcast. (...
Nov 04, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
