Best of the Spectator

Freddy Gray talks to the CEO of Truth Social, Devin Nunes, about the new network as it launches in the UK, and whether the owner Donald Trump will be seeking to launch himself back into the political arena.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Until July 6, Victoria Atkins was the Minister of State for Refugees and Minister of State for Prisons and Probation. But as dozens of her colleagues quit in the wake of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid's resignations (which themselves followed No. 10's messy handling of the Chris Pincher affair), Atkins resigned too, writing that 'values such as integrity, decency, respect and professionalism' have ‘fractured’ under Boris Johnson's leadership.On this episode of Women With Balls, Katy Balls hits the rewind button with Atkins, taking us through the turbulent events of those few days. They discuss what it's like to resign from government while on a school run; unforced errors from No. 10 itself; and whether the Conservative party can properly heal after this divisive time.Produced by Cindy Yu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode:Will Donald Trump have a second shot at the US presidency?Freddy Gray and Sarah Baxter discuss. (1.10)Also this week:A look at the history of Scotland’s paradoxical relationship between Scottish identity and the Union.The Spectator’s Scotland editor, Alex Massie talks with Murray Pittock about his book Scotland: The Global History, 1603 to Present.  (21.49)And finally:   What happened to bad taste humour?Screenwriter Gareth Roberts wrote about this in the magazine. He’s joined by comedian and podcast host of NonCensored, Rosie Holt. (32.30)Hosted by William MooreProduced by Natasha FerozeSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher: www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will be Britain's next prime minister. What are the contenders' answers to the big questions facing Britain? Isabel Hardman spoke to Mordaunt (00:36), Sunak (21:17) and Truss (42:15). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thom Elliott is the co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims. On the podcast, Thom tells Lara and Liv about growing up above a pub, learning to make pizza while touring Italy with his brother, and starting Pizza Pilgrims on his lunch break. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freddy Gray speaks to Geoff Shullenberger, a lecturer at New York University and columnist for Compact Magazine about a range of topics, from the ideas and appeal of philosopher René Girard to transhumanism and transgenderism, and the war in Ukraine.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode: Mary Wakefield on why we should resist Stonewall’s gospel (0:31). Leo McKinstry on the worrying rise of apostrophe laws (07:02) and Melanie McDonagh on the lost art of letterheads (13.33).Presented and produced by Natasha Feroze. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Catholic Church is half way through a two-year consultation exercise that will culminate in a 'Synod on Synodality' in the Vatican next year.A synod on what? Don't worry if you're confused. No one in Rome seems to be able to define synodality, either. What will the world's bishops discuss? Probably not the figures revealing how many Catholics have taken part in this exercise, because they're acutely embarrassing. The English and Welsh bishops couldn't even get 10 per cent of Mass-goers to take part in a consultation process that many observers suspect has been shamelessly rigged by Pope Francis's bureaucrats. And in Belgium, a country where some six million people identify as Catholic, the number of participants is somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000.Damian Thompson's guest on this episode of Holy Smoke is Ed Condon, editor of the influential Pillar website. His judgment is as impartial as ever – but, make no mistake about it, we're looking at one of the most expensive and self-indulgent fiascos in recent Catholic history.Produced by Damian Thompson and Cindy Yu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode:The knives are out in the Tory leadership fight, who looks likely to make the final two?Fraser Nelson writes this week’s cover piece about the Tory leadership race. He’s joined by the Telegraph’s Allison Pearson (0.49).Also this week:Mary Wakefield challenges Stonewall's guidelines for parents with trans children. One of these parents is Tammy Plunkett, a former nurse, life coach and author of Beyond Pronouns (21.43).And finally:   James Ball reviews Matthew Ball’s The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionise Everything for the magazine this week. James is joined by Sid Venkataramakrishnan from the Financial Times to discuss the future of the Metaverse (36.21)Hosted by Lara Prendergast & William MooreProduced by Natasha FerozeSubscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher: www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam's guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Kavita Puri, whose book Partition Voices excavates the often traumatic memories of the last generation to remember first-hand the mass migration and bloody violence of the partition of India. She tells Sam why the story has been so shrouded in silence – there isn’t a memorial to Partition, she says, anywhere on earth – and yet how it has shaped the UK’s population and politics ever since, and she says why she believes it’s vital that empire and the end of empire be taught in every British school. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.