Best of the Spectator

This week:For his cover piece in The Spectator Freddy Gray asks who will win in the battle between the Waleses and the Sussexes. He is joined by historian Amanda Foreman to discuss the fallout Harry and Meghan's new Netflix documentary (01:00).Also this week:Should the House of Lords be reformed or even abolished?This is the question James Heale considers in the magazine. He is joined by Baroness Fox of Buckley to unpack Gordon Brown's recommendation to do away with the second chamber of Parliament (13:14). And finally:In the books section of The Spectator Chloë Ashby reviews Con/Artist, the memoir of notorious art forger Tony Tetro. She is joined by Tony and investigative journalist Giampiero Ambrossi, who co-authored to book (31:53). Hosted by William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Matthew Hollis, author of The Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem. In the tail end of this centenary year of the great monument of modernist poetry, Matthew tells me about the private agonies that went into the making of the poem. We discuss how not just Ezra Pound but Vivien Eliot had a hand in editing it, and why we misunderstand Eliot’s famous claim about the impersonality of poetry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Winston speaks with Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, creator of Father Ted, The IT Crowd and Black Books. Graham took a stand as a women’s rights activist which led to Father Ted: The Musical being cancelled. He was also suspended from Twitter for writing “men aren’t women tho”. Winston asks why he took a stand, and how his comedy career unravelled. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John-Paul Flintoff is a journalist, writer and artist who has written a number of books including his most recent, Psalms for the City: Original poetry inspired by the places we call home. On the podcast they discuss John-Paul’s early aversion to peas, memories of his mother’s experimental cooking and how food aided his recovery from a mental breakdown.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Jade McGlynn reads her article on the Russian mothers and wives turning against Putin, because of their sons and husbands missing in the war (00:55). Lucy Dunn, a former junior doctor, asks whether pharmacists aren't part of the solution to the crisis in the NHS (09:45). And Graeme Thompson reads his Notes On protest songs (15:50).Presented and produced by Cindy Yu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freddy Gray discusses 'Ye' 2024 with writer, musician and host of the podcast Conversations with Coleman, Coleman Hughes. They consider whether Kanye has a messianic complex or if he is simply trolling the nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kezia Dugdale was the leader of the Scottish Labour party from 2015 to 2017, taking on the job at a tough time following a near-wipeout defeat at Westminster. She served as an MSP for the Lothian region until 2019, and now runs the John Smith Centre for Public Service at the University of Glasgow.On the podcast, Kezia talks about her rapid rise through the ranks, the impact of the independence referendum on Scottish Labour; her own stint on 'I'm a Celebrity...'; whether she is ‘SNP curious’ and what can be done to stop young people leaving politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week:In his cover piece Douglas Murray writes that museums are turning against their own collections. He is joined by the historian Robert Tombs to discuss whether a culture of self-flagellation is harming British museums (00:56).Also this week:For the magazine The Spectator’s assistant editor Cindy Yu writes that the tune is changing in China. She is joined by Professor Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London to consider what the recent protests could mean for the Chinese Communist Party (13:24).And finally:Nicholas Lezard writes in The Spectator about how to beat London's expanding Ultra Low Emissions Zone. He is joined by journalist Tanya Gold to investigate an elegant loophole in the plans (24:56). Hosted by William Moore. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this week's Book Club podcast is Rupert Shortt, whose stimulating new book The Hardest Problem addresses one of the oldest difficulties in theology: "the problem of evil". Is this something the religious and the secular can even talk meaningfully about? What's the great challenge Dostoevsky throws up? And what did Augustine get right that Richard Dawkins gets wrong?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s fair to say that the tobacco industry is one of the most controversial ones out there, with the phrase ‘Big Tobacco’ almost a meme, a shorthand for unscrupulous business practices. No wonder then that tobacco companies are trying to remake themselves, companies like Philip Morris International. PMI has a history dating back to the 1840s, and yet, today, their tagline is now ‘Delivering a smoke-free future’. Over the course of ten years, they’ve seen a third drop in the volume of cigarette sales. They’re keen to talk about their story of ‘transformation’, which is why they’ve sponsored this podcast. So what’s really going on? Cindy Yu talks to David Miller, a lecturer at Princeton where he specialises in faith and ethics. He’s been commissioned by PMI to author a report all about ‘corporate change’.We also speak to Moira Gilchrist, Vice President of Strategic and Scientific Communications at PMI, Martin Vander Weyer, the Spectator’s business editor, and Professor John Kotter, a leading business theorist at Harvard Business School.This podcast was sponsored by Philip Morris International (PMI) but produced under the sole editorial control of The Spectator. Therefore the views expressed represent those of the commentators featured and do not necessarily represent the views of PMI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.