The Edition

In this week’s podcast, we talk to James Ball, author of this week’s cover story on the ‘TikTok Intifada’ about the themes he uncovers in his analysis of the impact of social media on the conflict in the Middle East. The conversation with James continues with our next guest, Professor Gabriel Weinmann of Haifa University in Israel, the author of an in-depth report on the rise of incendiary, unregulated material on TikTok. As Arab and Israeli youngsters create and consume violent footage on the app, is it time that it was reined in - or is it a lost cause? 'This is a platform that targets young audiences. I would say we have a very young, gullible and naïve, unsuspecting type of audience' - Dr Gabriel Weinmann Next up, The Spectator’s deputy editor Freddy Gray meets the Financial Times’s Jemima Kelly, to debate the recent lulls and highs of those mercurial currencies, Dogecoin and Bitcoin. Has the cult of Elon Musk, a new clampdown by China and the erratic unpredictability of a boom built largely on hype, memes and hot air, finally put the kibosh on cryptocash?   'If we talk about bitcoin, there’s really not a difference between bitcoin and dogecoin apart from that fact that one says it’s a joke and one says it's really serious!' Jemima Kelly And finally - the annual Turner art prize rarely fails to spark a bit of controversy and this year’s nominations have reliably provided. There’s been plenty in the way of debate, but not especially in terms of tangible art. The 2021 shortlist comprises five ‘collectives’, most of whom some of whom have barely touched a paintbrush in their lives, has been announced - and in this week’s magazine, art critic Oliver Basciano argues that the politicisation of the Turner is in danger of sidelining values of aesthetics and free expression. He’s joined by critic and author Hettie Judah, to mull over what, how, and why the radical line-up of nominees have been selected and what this means to the British art world.  ‘It’s an atypical year - you talk about people going and making weird and exciting stuff in their bedrooms or studios but we’ve not been able to see much of it this year. So, I mean, are we going to have an exhibition of the most-liked works on Instagram?' - Hettie Judah   Presented by Cindy YuProduced by Arsalan MohammadBecome 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 podcast, we talk to The Spectator's editor Fraser Nelson and associate editor Douglas Murray about the challenges facing a freshly re-elected SNP. What next for Nicola Sturgeon - full steam ahead for IndyRef2? Or have neither Scotland or Number 10 the bottle for an all-out battle for independence? [01:02]‘When you look at the practicalities, the case for independence really does fall. Nicola Sturgeon is selling it in the abstract: “Do you feel Scottish”?’ - Fraser NelsonMeanwhile in matters of social etiquette, the new post-pandemic era looms, complete with new modes of social interactions and conversational topics. In this week’s magazine, Rachel Johnson lays down the new laws of conversational topics - sex, art and travel is fine; kids, vaccines and masks are most definitely not. She joins us now, along with Lucy Hume, from that venerable arbiter of taste and decorum, Debrett’s, for some ideas for the upcoming social summer. [12:25]'I sometimes got emails from people, during lockdown, saying, I’m on my way to my second house, can you confirm this is legal or not, as if I was the ultimate arbiter of the crazy compliance and Covid restrictions!' - Rachel JohnsonFinally, as the government announces its plans to introduce new asset thresholds for households seeking healthcare in old age, Leo McKinstry writes in The Spectator this week of his irritation with middle-class homeowners scandalised at the prospect of selling their homes to finance healthcare in their old age. Should this be a cost collectively borne by the taxpayer or should those with ample assets simply bear the brunt of the cost? Will Heaven, Director of Policy and Communications at the Policy Exchange think tank, joins us to argue the point. [23:00]'I think if you were to tell most 40-year olds that you’re going to pay one penny extra on income tax over the course of your career but you’re never going to have to worry about high social care costs and parents and grandparents, they’d probably go for it' - Will Heaven.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Arsalan Mohammad and Sam Russell.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 podcast, we talk to the author of our cover story, eminent author, historian and broadcaster Niall Ferguson, who says that the West and China are in the throes of a new cold war. Joining the debate is Chatham House's Dr Leslie Vinjamuri. (01:05) Next up, Laura Freeman writes in the magazine this week about the fake facades she has been increasingly noticing whilst out and about in London. She discusses the topic with architectural expert Samuel Hughes, a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange think tank. (10:20) Finally, as the Prime Minister considers how he’ll stump up the cash to pay for little Wilfred’s babysitter, Isabel Oakeshott writes in the magazine this week about the struggle many working parents have in affording childcare. Isabel is joined by the Labour MP Stella Creasy as they debate what needs to be done so working parents can ensure their children get the care they need. (15:35)Presented by Lara Prendergast. Produced by Arsalan Mohammad.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 podcast, ITV's political editor Robert Peston joins our deputy political Katy Balls to talk over this week’s cover story on the maelstrom of mayhem surrounding Boris Johnson. (1:29) Next up, we talk to Professor Noel Sharkey, from the University of Sheffield, and Colonel Richard Kemp CBE, a veteran British Army officer, about the possibility of malevolent foreign forces wreaking havoc on everything from national infrastructure to web-connected sex toys. (10:22)Finally, in a week when India has seen its healthcare system virtually buckle under the strain of a spiralling Covid infection rate, we ask Dr Rajib Dasgupta, Chairman of the Centre of Social Medicine & Community Health in New Delhi for his take on the current wave of infections, as well as Dr Dipshikha Ghosh, a Calcutta doctor who has been working with critically-ill Covid patients since last March and joins us immediately after another arduous shift at the Apollo Gleneagles hospital. (19:40)Presented by Lara Prendergast. Produced by Arsalan Mohammad.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.

Joe Biden is approaching his first 100 days in office. How has he fared, and has he delivered on his promise to bring about a return to normalcy? (1:15) Plus, the proposed European Super League wasn’t super after all. The six English teams invited to join the league pulled out earlier this week, and the plans have now been shelved. But will it still happen eventually? (10:30) And finally, what’s it really like to live in a listed building? (19:30)With the Spectator's US editor Freddy Gray; our economics correspondent Kate Andrews; journalist Damian Reilly; veteran football reporter Julie Welch; Spectator contributor Hamish Scott; and Liz Fuller, a buildings at risk officer for Save Britain’s Heritage. Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.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.

What’s behind Boris’s plan for a green bonanza? (01:10) Can the West challenge China in the tech arms race? (14:50) Can the British handle grief? (24:05) With Katy Balls, The Spectator’s deputy political editor; Rachel Wolf, a partner at Public First at co-author of the 2019 Conservative manifesto; author and journalist Ian Williams; politician and author Bruno Maçães; writer Fiona Mountford; and comedian and podcaster Cariad Lloyd. Presented by Lara Prendergast. Produced by Arsalan Mohammad.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.

Will life ever return to normal? (00:50) Is the government pandering to statue protestors? (14:30) And what’s Prince Harry’s new job? (27:55)With Kate Andrews, the Spectator's economics editor; Spectator columnist Matthew Parris; Spectator contributor Alexander Pelling-Bruce; Historic England CEO Duncan Wilson; Dominic Green, deputy editor of the Spectator's US edition; and Sam Leith, literary editor of the Spectator.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Max Jeffery, Cindy Yu and Arsalan Mohammad.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.

Can the West take on China? We may need some kind of economic Nato (00:50). Are Mormons misunderstood, by Netflix and everyone else? (14:15) And what does it really mean to be Spiritual But Not Religious? (27:45).With James Forsyth, The Spectator's political editor; Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of the Conservative Party; Damian Thompson, host of the Spectator's Holy Smoke podcast; James Holt, a Mormon theologian; author James Mumford; and Mary Wakefield, The Spectator's Commissioning Editor.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Cindy Yu, Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.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.

As the EU threatens a vaccine export ban, is their blind panic a sign of incoming crisis? (1:15) Plus, will a new Instagram account for teenage girls to report sexual assault restart a battle of the sexes? (18:05) And finally, what is it like to be one of the last British babies born under the Raj? (28:30)With Labour peer Andrew Adonis; Spectator contributors Matthew Lynn, Julie Bindel, Melanie McDonagh and Brigid Keenan; and historian Alex von Tunzelmann.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Cindy Yu, Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.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.

Is Keir Starmer becoming irrelevant? (00:50) Do the Oscars really celebrate the best that film has to offer? (15:55) Jordon Peterson is back with his new book, Beyond Order, but is it beyond readable? (25:40)With the Spectator's political editor James Forsyth; broadcaster and former Labour adviser Ayesha Hazarika; writer Fiona Mountford; the Spectator's arts editor Igor Toronyi-Lalic; novelist Philip Hensher; and the Spectator's associate editor Douglas Murray. Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Max Jeffery, Sam Russell and Arsalan Mohammad.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.