The Spectator Podcast

On this week's Book Club podcast we're celebrating the 100th anniversary of a landmark in children's publishing, When We Were Very Young — which represented the first collaboration between A A Milne and E H Shepard, who would (of course) go on to write an illustrate Winnie-the-Pooh. Sam Leith is joined by James Campbell, who runs the E H Shepard estate. He tells Sam how the war shaped the mood and success of that first book, why Daphne Milne's snobbery and ambition left Shepard out in the cold, what happened to Christopher Robin... and how Pooh became Pooh. 

Terry Wiggins is a chef who led the catering team at Westminster’s Portcullis House. During his time, he served 13 prime ministers and received an MBE for services to Parliament. He has recently retired.On the podcast, Terry reminisces about 50 years of service in Parliament, reveals some of the weirdest requests he has received and gives the inside scoop on the eating habits of some of the House of Commons’ most recognisable names.

As the 2024 US election goes into the final day, a poll giving Kamala Harris a lead in the historically Republican state of Iowa has bolstered the Democrats. Is momentum really with her? And what appears to be the most important issue to voters - the economy, or abortion rights?Guest host Kate Andrews speaks to John Rick MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine, about his views on America's election process from postal voting, trust in the system, and whether the electoral college needs reform.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges discuss the innovators within the Manufacturing and Engineering category – 3D printing hydraulic systems, making plastic alternatives out of plant-based polymers, creating recyclable electronics, and more.The judges in this episode are Ian Ritchie, an angel investor and a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Gabriel Fysh, an entrepreneur working with numerous companies on areas of sustainability and material science; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor.The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

With just a day until election day, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's respective campaigns continue to ramp up, with rallies and gimmicks, and even advertising on the Las Vegas Sphere. Despite this, Spectator contributor Lionel Shriver declares she is America's 'last undecided voter'. Why? Is it the candidates' characters that put her off voting for them, or the policies they represent? Lionel joins guest host, and fellow American, Kate Andrews to discuss further. Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges discuss the innovators within the Business Services and Logistics category – the companies that help other innovators and companies operate day to day.The judges in this episode are mechanical engineer and venture capitalist Adrian de Ferranti; Caroline Theobald CBE, managing director of Bridge Club Ltd which helps connect entrepreneurs with investors, expertise and skills; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor.The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

Kemi Badenoch has won the Tory leadership election. She beat Robert Jenrick in a tight race, winning 53,806 votes against his 41,318. What will a Badenoch opposition look like? What are her strengths? Her weaknesses?Cindy Yu speaks to Michael Gove and Katy Balls.

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Christopher Caldwell asks what a Trump victory could mean for Ukraine (1:07); Gus Carter argues that leaving the ECHR won’t fix Britain’s immigration system (8:29); Ruaridh Nicoll reads his letter from Havana (18:04); Tanya Gold provides her notes on toffee apples (23:51); and a selection of our books of the year from Jonathan Sumption, Hadley Freeman, Mark Mason, Christopher Howse, Sam Leith and Frances Wilson (27:08).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

As we get closer to the US election, Kate Andrews, The Spectator's economics editor, joins Freddy Gray to host Americano. On this episode, she speaks to Megan McArdle, columnist at the Washington Post. They discuss why Donald Trump and Kamala Harris aren't campaigning in swing states, and why it's so difficult to predict the election result.

This week: Team Trump – who’s in, and who’s out?To understand Trumpworld you need to appreciate it’s a family affair, writes Freddy Gray in the magazine this week. For instance, it was 18-year-old Barron Trump who persuaded his father to do a series of long ‘bro-casts’ with online male influencers such as Joe Rogan. In 2016, Donald’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was the reigning prince; this year, he has been largely out of the picture. Which family figures are helping Trump run things this time around, and which groups hold the most influence? Freddy joins the podcast alongside economics editor Kate Andrews. What are the most important personnel decisions facing Trump if he wins next week? (0:58).Next: do astrologers predict elections better than pollsters?When pollster Nate Silver declared that dissecting an individual poll is like ‘doing astrology’, it led Andrew Watts to ponder what sorts of predictions astrologers make about elections. Could there be some merit in consulting them? And are astrologists better

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is John Suchet whose new book In Search of Beethoven: A Personal Journey describes his lifelong passion for the composer. He tells me how the ‘Eroica’ was his soundtrack to the Lebanese Civil War, about the mysteries of Beethoven’s love-life and deafness, why he had reluctantly to accept that Beethoven was ‘ugly and half-mad’; and how even in the course of writing the book, new scholarship upended his assumptions about events in the composer’s life (from his meeting with Mozart to the circumstances of his death).

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges discuss the innovators within our consumer goods and services category, from suppliers of wonky fruits to producers of supplements for pets.The judges in this episode are Merryn Somerset Webb, senior columnist at Bloomberg and the founder of MoneyWeek; entrepreneur and investor Gordon Black, whose company Peter Black Holdings was a major supplier of the UK's leading retailers; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor.The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

** This episode of Chinese Whispers with Cindy Yu was recorded in front of a live audience as a part of the Battle of Ideas Festival 2024. **Is China in decline?I was born in China in the 90s, and growing up it felt like the future was always going to be brighter. My parents were wealthier, more educated, better travelled than their parents, and it seemed assured that my generation would only have even better life chances.But in the 2020s, China’s economic growth has slowed down. Some of the once-bright spots in its economy, like real estate, are in slow motion meltdown. In the last couple of years foreign direct investment into the country has been falling at a record pace. The youth unemployment rate from this summer shows that just under a fifth of people under 24 are jobless.So how much of this is a considerable decline in the progress that China has made in the last miraculous half century, or is it just perhaps 'western bias' that’s blinding us to what is still a very positive picture?On this live podca

The Spectator Economic Innovator of the Year Awards, in partnership with Rathbones, celebrate the passion and creativity of British entrepreneurs. From hundreds of entries we have narrowed down to some 50 finalists across the United Kingdom. In this episode, the judges introduce those start-ups rethinking and finessing the battle against climate change, from vertical farming to carbon capture technology; as well as those working for a greater social purpose, such as getting more women into tech.The judges in this episode are Eva-Maria Dimitriadis, CEO of the Conduit Connect, which backs exceptional founders whose businesses generate positive change; Clive Bawden, director of Governance360 and a previous winner of the Innovator Awards; Michelle White, Head of Private Office for Rathbones; and Martin Vander Weyer, The Spectator's business editor.The awards and this podcast series are sponsored by Rathbones, a leading provider of individual wealth management.

In this week’s Spectator, William Finlater reveals that some of the Church of Scotland’s most precious architectural heritage is being flogged off quickly, cheaply and discreetly. Most western denominations are being forced to close churches, but the fire sale of hundreds of Scottish churches is unprecedented in British history. In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian talks to William about the Kirk’s apparently panicky reaction to losing half its members since 2000, and asks new Spectator editor Michael Gove – once a Church of Scotland Sunday School teacher – why his former denomination is staring into the abyss.Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Philip Womack wonders why students can't tackle university reading lists (1:12); Ian Thomson contemplates how much Albania has changed since Enver Hoxta’s dictatorship (6:12); Silkie Carlo reveals the worrying rise of supermarket surveillance (13:33); Francis Young provides his notes on Hallowe’en fairies (20:21); and Rory Sutherland worries that Britain may soon face a different type of migrant crisis (24:08).  Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

In this special live edition of the Americano show, Freddy Gray chairs a panel discussion with The Spectator's Kate Andrews, The Telegraph's Tim Stanley and pollster James Kanagasooriam on the upcoming US election. He's then joined by Nigel Farage, MP for Clacton, leader of Reform UK, and friend of Donald Trump, to unpack how the presidential race is going for the Republican nominee. There is just over a week to go and the race to the White House is on a knife-edge. Team Harris and Team Trump both believe it is theirs to lose. But 10 days is a very long time in politics and, if the rest of the year is any guide, it seems certain to bring plenty more surprises. Kamala looked to be on top after a unanimous victory in the presidential debate but her latest media blitz has backfired. Meanwhile Trump seems to have rediscovered his mojo. Will this election be a referendum on Trump? 

Daisy Cooper has been a stalwart of the Liberal Democrats for over a decade. From councillor to MP, she has served as the deputy leader of the party since 2020. First elected to parliament in 2019, she came to prominence when she represented the party in two of the general election debates earlier this year.  On the podcast, Daisy talks to Katy Balls about her ambition to be a conductor, how she created her first job, and whether she’d like to be leader one day. As the Liberal Democrats are now the largest third party in Parliament for 100 years – with 72 MPs – Daisy tells Katy what it’s like to have so many colleagues, and provides her diagnoses about both the Labour government and the Conservative leadership race. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

This week: Decline and Fall – how our greatest universities are betraying students.Our greatest universities are betraying students, writes David Butterfield, who has just resigned from teaching Classics at Cambridge after 21 years. What went wrong? First, class lists of exam results became private, under alleged grounds of ‘data protection’, which snuffed out much of the competitive spirit of the university. Now even the fate of examinations hangs in the balance. Grade inflation is rampant, and it is now unheard of for students to be sent down for insufficient academic performance. For students, the risks have never been lower. ‘The pace of change over the past decade has been astonishing, driven on by three forces: an administrative class that wants to minimise complaints, a subset of academics who actively resent the no-nonsense traditions of the university, and a proportion of students who will take the easiest path proffered.’ David joined the podcast alongside the author Philip Womack, who recalls his o

Keir Starmer can’t even fly to Samoa without another international British embarrassment breaking out. The latest is an angry accusation from Donald Trump’s campaign that Labour is committing the crime of ‘election interference’ in the United States. ‘The British are coming!’ screamed a typically camp Trump-Vance official press release last night. The campaign denounced Britain’s ‘far-left’ governing party for attempting to subvert democracy by sending almost 100 of its activists across the pond to sway American voters. But are the British actually coming?Freddy Gray speaks to James Heale, The Spectator's political correspondent. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.