Best of the Spectator

<div>Though inflation has recently gone down a little in the States, it is still at a 40-year high. Inflation is an issue affecting most of the world due to several external factors, but many critics of Biden say that his policies are worsening this crisis rather than fixing it. Is that the case?</div><div><br></div><div>Freddy Gray sits down with <em>The Spectator's</em> economics editor Kate Andrews to discuss what this cost of living crisis will mean for the future of the Biden administration. </div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Kemi Badenoch is the MP for Saffron Walden and a minister in Michael Gove’s Levelling Up department.<br><br>On entering parliament in 2017, Kemi was quickly pegged as one of the Conservative Party’s rising stars and an example of what she calls the “British Dream”, going from immigrant to parliamentarian in the space of one generation. After a career as a software engineer, she made her move into politics as a Conservative member of the London Assembly. Then beat Theresa May’s own special advisor to the ballot of Saffron Walden. <br><br>On the podcast, Kemi talks about her childhood in Nigeria and the golden ticket that was her UK passport, hacking Harriet Harman and how her conservative views were formed.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>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 <em>Sunday Times</em> 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).</div><div><br></div><div>Hosted by Lara Prendergast & William Moore</div><div><br></div><div>Produced by Sam Holmes</div><div><br></div><div>Subscribe to <em>The Spectator</em> today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week's Book Club podcast, Sam's guest is Caroline Frost, author of the new <em>Carry On Regardless: Getting to the Bottom of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films. </em>She tells Sam what those movies tell us about British social history, makes the case for their feminism, argues that their special magic belongs to a British sensibility that no longer exists – and explains why it took twenty or more attempts to get Barbara Windsor out of her bra. </div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Tommy Banks is the youngest ever UK Michelin-starred chef, awarded in 2013 when he was aged 24, and is the owner of the restaurant The Black Swan which Tripadvisor named the best restaurant in the world.<br><br>On the podcast, Tommy talks to Lara and Liv about how he turned to food after his dreams of being a professional cricketer were dashed, his struggles with imposter syndrome, and his new canned wine business Banks Brothers.</div><div><br></div><div>For more recipes and recommendations, sign up to <em>The Spectator</em>’s free monthly food and drink email, <em>The Take Away</em>, at <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/oliviapotts">www.spectator.co.uk/oliviapotts</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>On this week's episode, we’ll hear from Melissa Kite on the ambitions of Ben Wallace. (00:48) <br><br>After, Mary Wakefield on our misplaced faith in forensics. (09:35) <br><br>And, to finish, and James Heale on Eton’s great ‘awokening’. (16:33)<br><br>Produced and Presented by Sam Holmes<br><br>Entries for this year's Innovator Awards, sponsored by Investec, are now open. To apply, go to: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/innovator">www.spectator.co.uk/innovator</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s episode: Is Boris Johnson planning to tear up Britain’s deal with the EU?</div><div><br></div><div>James Forsyth says in his <em>Spectator</em> 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 <em>the Irish Times</em>, who writes in this week’s magazine about how Sein Finn has benefited from the DUP’s collapsing support. (00:50)</div><div><br></div><div>Also this week: Does overturning Roe V. Wade stand up to constitutional scrutiny? </div><div><br></div><div>Douglas Murray has written in his column this week about America’s abortion debate, in the wake of the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion set to overturn the 1973 decision in Roe V Wade. He joins the podcast along with <em>The Spectator’s </em>economics editor Kate Andrews. (15:09)</div><div><br></div><div>And finally: Is Eton College going through an ‘awokening’? </div><div><br></div><div>In this week’s magazine, <em>The Spectator’s</em> diary editor James Heale turns his attention to Eton College, which he says is having an uncharacteristic identity crisis. James joins the podcast to talk about the direction of the school, along with <em>The Spectator’s</em> literary editor, and Old Etonian, Sam Leith. (28:29)</div><div><br></div><div>Hosted by William Moore</div><div><br></div><div>Produced by Sam Holmes</div><div><br></div><div>Subscribe to <em>The Spectator</em> today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Freddy Grays talks to Inez Stepman of the Independent Women's Forum about the leaked Supreme Court draft decision which points to the seminal Roe v Wade verdict being overturned.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Sam's guest in this week's Book Club podcast is the writer Simon Kuper, whose new book – <em>Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK – </em>argues that to understand the social and psychological dynamics of our present government, you need to understand the Oxford University of the 1980s, where so many of those now in power first met. He argues that the PM's love of winging it was nurtured in the tutorial culture of his Balliol days, that the dynamics of Tory leadership contests are throwbacks to the Oxford Union, and that Brexit – the grand project of this generation – was at root a jobs-protection scheme for the old-fashioned ruling class. Can that be the whole story? He tells Sam why he thinks we need to decommission the UK's rhetoric industry and learn to be more like Germany. </div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>This week on Marshall Matters, Winston speaks with Comedian, author and TV host Andrew Doyle. They discuss his book <em>Free Speech and Why it Matters</em>, Elon Musk, Twitter, Andrew’s creation Titania McGrath, Stonewall the comedy industry and much more.<br><br>Watch the episode at <a href="https://spectator.co.uk/tv">spectator.co.uk/tv</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>China is often accused of breaking international rules and norms. Just last week at Mansion House, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: 'Countries must play by the rules. And that includes China'.<br><br></div><div>So what are its transgressions, and what are its goals for the international system? My guests and I try to answer this question in this episode through looking at China's attitude to and involvement in international organisations, past and present. Professor Rana Mitter, a historian at the University of Oxford and author of <em> China's Good War</em> , points out that there's a fundamental difference in China's approach compared to, say, Russia. 'Russia perceives itself as, essentially, a country that is really at the end of its tether in terms of the international system. Whereas China still sees plenty of opportunities to grow and expand its status'.<br><br></div><div>To that end, China is actually a member of dozens of international organisations, most notably – as we discuss in the episode – sitting on the United Nations Security Council, which gives it veto power on UN resolutions (though, Yu Jie, senior research fellow at Chatham House, points out that China is most often found abstaining rather than vetoing). It wants a seat at the table, but it also frequently accuses our existing set of international norms and rules as designed by the West. To begin with, then, China is seeking to rewrite the rules in its own favour – Jie gives the example of China's ongoing campaign to increase its voting share in the IMF, on the basis of its huge economy. 'It's not exactly overthrowing the existing international order wholesale, but choosing very carefully which parts China wants to change.'<br><br></div><div>This multilateral engagement has a historical basis. Nationalist China was keen to be seen as an equal and respected partner in the international community, and Rana points out – something I'd never thought of before – that China after the second world war 'was a very very unusual sort of state… Because it was the only state, pretty much, in Asia, that was essentially sovereign… Don’t forget that 1945 meant liberation for lots of European peoples, but for lots of Asian peoples – Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaya, wherever you want to name – they basically went back into European colonialism'. This (together with its then-alliance with the United States) gave the Republic of China a front row seat in the creation of the United Nations and, before then, the League of Nations.<br><br></div><div>It didn't take long for Communist China to start building links with the rest of the world, either. Mao 'had not spent decades fighting out in the caves and fields of China to simply become a plaything of Stalin’, Rana points out, making its multilateral relations outside of the alliance with the USSR vitally important. After it split with Moscow, and before the rapprochement with the US, the Sixties was a time of unwanted isolationism, ' which is well within living memory of many of the top leaders', says Rana, adding more to its present day desire to have as much sway as possible in the world, which still comes through international organisations.<br><br></div><div>Finally, my guests bust the myth – often propagated by Beijing – that China had no role in the writing of today's international laws, pointing out that Chinese and other non-western thinkers played a major role in the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . What's more, do western ideas have no place in guiding and governing China? After all, Karl Marx was certainly not Chinese, and that doesn't seem to bother his Chinese Communist believers.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Freddy Gray talks to the journalist James Pogue about his latest piece for <em>Vanity Fair </em>magazine, in which he details the key figures and thinking behind the 'new right'. Pogue is the contributing editor at <em>Harper's Magazine</em> and author of <em>'Chosen Country: A Rebellion in the West'. </em></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>On this week's episode, we’ll hear from James Bartholomew on how taking in a Ukrainian refugee has improved his social clout. (00:50) <br><br>After, Freddy Gray on the Republican fight against Disney. (06:27) <br><br>And, to finish, Kate Andrews on overcoming her arachnophobia. (13:46)<br><br>Entries for this year's Innovator Awards, sponsored by Investec, are now open. To apply, go to: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/innovator">www.spectator.co.uk/innovator</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s episode: Is Elon Musk heading for a clash with the British Government over free speech?</div><div><br></div><div>Elon Musk is buying Twitter. But might the Tesla CEO be in for a battle he wasn’t expecting with the UK government? <em>Spectator</em> 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)</div><div><br></div><div>Also this week: Where is it ever ok to stare at someone? </div><div><br></div><div>If you’ve been on the tube recently you might have spotted a rather startling sign. This poster warns passengers about intrusive staring on public transport, so as to protect women from feeling intimidated on their commute. But who, we ask, will speak up for those who love staring at people on public transport? The answer is Cosmo Landesman who defends his love of people watching in this week’s <em>Spectator</em>. He joins the podcast along with Emily Hill who also has written for us on how silly she thinks this policy is. (09:56)</div><div><br></div><div>And finally: Is getting a fringe a cry for help? </div><div><br></div><div>Martha Gill writes in this week’s <em>Spectator</em> on the subject of fringes. Why have they come to signify a difficult or traumatic phase in a woman’s life? She joins the podcast along with celebrity hairdresser Cristiano Basciu who has a defence of the fringe. (17:35)</div><div><br></div><div>Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore</div><div><br></div><div>Produced by Sam Holmes</div><div><br></div><div>Subscribe to <em>The Spectator</em> today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a></div><div><br></div><div>Listen to Lara's food podcast <em>Table Talk</em>: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Nadine Dorries is the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sports and MP for Mid Bedfordshire. After leaving school at 16, Dorries went on to become a nurse and an entrepreneur before entering politics at the age of 49. She was a minister in the Department of Health during the pandemic, and in her current role is leading five bills at DCMS through Parliament, including the controversial Online Safety Bill. <br><br>On the podcast, she talks to Katy Balls about her plans for the BBC and Channel 4, why she believes much of the criticism against her comes from those unable to accept her background, and where her red line would be in sticking up for Boris Johnson, as one of his most loyal allies.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week's Book Club podcast, our subject is the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima - whose novel Beautiful Star is being published in English for the first time this month. My guest is its translator Stephen Dodd, who explains the novel's peculiar mixture of profound seriousness and humour, and its mixture of high literary seriousness with, well, flying saucers. He tells me about Mishima's sheltered life and shocking death, his place in Japanese literary culture, and the way the hydrogen bomb hangs over this remarkable and strange novel.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Ameer Kotecha is a British diplomat, pop-up chef and food writer. His first cookbook t<em>he Platinum Jubilee Cookbook, </em>in which he chronicles 70 recipes related to the Royals, Diplomacy and the Commonwealth comes out on April 28th. He has also launched alongside Fortnum & Mason's the Platinum Pudding competition, which hopes to discover the next best British dessert. </div><div><br></div><div>On the podcast, Ameer talks to Lara and Liv about how his childhood was the perfect blend of British food with Indian influences, how he ran a school-wide campaign for seconds and how in all of his years as a diplomat, he has never been offered a Ferrero Rocher. </div><div><br></div><div>For more recipes and recommendations, sign up to <em>The Spectator</em>’s free monthly food and drink email, <em>The Take Away</em>, at <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/oliviapotts">www.spectator.co.uk/oliviapotts</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>The UK's vaccine programme was hailed by the government as a success story for Global Britain. It became an example of how Britain could speed up regulation, reduce bureaucracy and become a worldwide home for tech and innovation in life sciences. <br><br>The government recently published a Life Sciences Vision, but how much vision was there? This podcast will look at the importance of the industry, the hurdles that it faces and its contribution to the government's Global Britain agenda. <br><br>Fraser Nelson, the editor of <em>The Spectator </em>is joined by Anthony Browne, Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire; Zoe Martin, a policy manager at Cancer Research and Samin Saeed who is the medical director & chief scientific officer for Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd. <br><br><em>This podcast is kindly sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd.</em></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>John Connolly, The Spectator's news editor, is joined by Mark Galeotti, director of Mayak Intelligence; Freddy Gray, <em>The Spectator</em>'s deputy editor; Cindy Yu, The Spectator's broadcast editor; Jade McGlynn, a Russia expert from the University of Oxford; James Forsyth, <em>The Spectator</em>'s political editor; Katy Balls, <em>The Spectator</em>'s deputy political editor; Isabel Hardman, <em>The Spectator</em>'s assistant editor; and <em>Spectator</em> contributor Jonathan Miller.<br><br>This episode:<br>(01:35) Can Boris Johnson keep going? With Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman<br>(16:17) Why are Russians supporting the Ukraine war? With Mark Galeotti and Jade McGlynn<br>(34:32) – Shanghai lockdown: when will it end? With Cindy Yu?<br>(48:53) – Marcon vs Le Pen: who won the TV debate? With Freddy Gray and Jonathan Miller</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>On this week's episode, Jonathan Miller says that whoever wins France's election on Sunday, the country is going to the dogs. (01:00) After, Cindy Yu says that China's online censors are struggling to suppress critics of the Shanghai lockdown. (07:47) And, to finish, Laura Freeman reviews a Walt Disney exhibition at the Wallace Collection. (12:06)<br><br>Entries for this year's Innovator Awards, sponsored by Investec, are now open. To apply, go to: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/innovator">www.spectator.co.uk/innovator</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>The cost of living is rising, as is the cost of renting. Zoopla estimates that rents are rising at the fastest rate in 14 years, which means that the average rent in the UK is now over £1000 a month.</div><div><br></div><div>This is partly a pandemic effect, especially in London as people return to offices. But Covid has also shaken people’s financial security - the Citizens Advice Bureau found that more than one in three renters felt insecure about their ability to stay in their tenancy during the pandemic. And women were disproportionately impacted - during the pandemic, mothers were more likely to be put on furlough or even lose their jobs.</div><div><br></div><div>Rising prices are not the only problem with the UK’s private rentals market - slow or unethical landlords, unsafe properties or short term tenancies are all problems faced by renters. What more can be done for the almost five million private renters in the UK? </div><div><br></div><div>Katy Balls, <em>The Spectator's</em> deputy political editor is joined by Nickie Aiken, the Conservative MP for Cities of London and Westminster; Karen Buck, the Labour MP for Westminster North, who is also the vice-chair for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the private rental sector; and Esther Dijkstra, managing director of Intermediaries at Lloyds Banking Group, who are kindly sponsoring this podcast.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s episode: Is Boris going to limp on?<br><br>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)<br><br>Also this week: Why is the Rwandan government taking our asylum seekers?<br><br>We have heard the arguments behind the Home Office’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda. But why is Rwanda up for this arrangement? Michela Wrong, the author of <em>Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder</em> <em>and an African Regime Gone Bad</em>, explores this question in this week’s <em>Spectator </em>and she joins the podcast along with MP Andrew Mitchell. (14:50)<br><br>And finally: Can AI take on the art world?<br><br>Sean Thomas writes in this week’s magazine about how some AI programs appear to have become rather good at painting. But what does this mean for the future of art? He joins the podcast along with Lukas Noehrer the organiser of The Alan Turing Institute’s AI & Arts group and Professor Stefano Ermon of Stanford whose research has made much of this technology possible. (28:16)<br><br>Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore<br>Produced by Sam Holmes<br><br>Subscribe to <em>The Spectator</em> today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a><br><br>Listen to Lara's food podcast <em>Table Talk</em>: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Sam's guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the FT’s foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman. In his new book The Age of the Strongman, he takes a global look at the rise of personality-cult autocrats. He tells Sam what they have in common, what’s new about this generation of strongman leaders - and why his book places Boris Johnson in a cast including Putin, Orban, Bolsonaro and Duterte.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>This week on Marshall Matters Winston speaks with Seth Dillon, CEO and owner of American political satire site The Babylon Bee. The Babylon Bee are currently locked out of their Twitter account for a joke that has been deemed “hate speech” by the social media site. But the Bee are refusing to accept this. Seth and Winston discussed comedy through the American cultural divide, the legal issues behind free speech on social media, Elon Musk and more.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>‘One Shanghai courier uses own 70,000 yuan to buy necessities for people’, one Weibo hashtag <a href="https://s.weibo.com/weibo?q=%23%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E4%B8%80%E5%BF%AB%E9%80%92%E5%91%98%E8%87%AA%E6%8E%8F7%E4%B8%87%E5%85%83%E7%BB%99%E4%BA%BA%E4%B9%B0%E7%89%A9%E8%B5%84%23">trended</a> last week. Instead of being seen as a damning indictment on what the state’s strict lockdown has induced people to do, the courier was lauded as a community hero and the story promoted by the censored platform. These <em>kuaidi xiaoge</em> (‘delivery bros’) are most likely gig economy workers. The industry was already an integral part to the Chinese urbanite’s life before the pandemic, but Covid has consolidated that role, as low-paid and hardworking gig economy drivers literally became critical to the survival of millions.</div><br><div>The Chinese gig economy is in many ways more advanced. The services are more extensive (grocery shopping and even designated drivers – a stranger to drive your car home on drinking nights – have been the norm for years) and the algorithms are more ruthless (closely monitoring and continuously shaving off delivery times. ‘The pandemic really brought the plight of these workers into the mainstream consciousness for the first time’, Viola Rothschild, my guest on this episode, tells me.</div><br><div>She is a PhD candidate at Duke University, and one of the few people – academics and journalists alike – who have looked into the Chinese gig economy. I’ve known Viola for years – we first met when we read for a masters in contemporary Chinese studies together.</div><br><div>On the episode, we discuss what working conditions are like (she recommends <a href="https://chuangcn.org/2020/11/delivery-renwu-translation/">this article</a>), the interactions between the state and the private sector (the largest players in the field are Alibaba and Didi Chuxing, both companies that have been penalised by the Chinese government in recent years), and what the pandemic – and particularly the Shanghai lockdown – has done to workers. We discuss the government’s efforts to improve working environments, but Viola tells me:</div><br><blockquote>‘What workers get through unionisation is really about what the state wants to give them, if their goals align with the state’s at any given time in terms of pressuring these companies. This is especially thrown into clear relief when we see how the state treats workers who try to organise outside of this apparatus’</blockquote><br><div>By that, Viola is referring to the <em>kuaidi xiaoge</em> who’ve been arrested for organising their own unions – it’s still deeply ironic that the most successful purportedly Marxist state in the world today is deeply suspicious of workers creating their own unions.</div><br><div>But fundamentally, as I push back at Viola, the problem is not only the private companies or the communist state, but also the consumers who demand faster and cheaper services. In that, ‘I think that the Chinese gig economy has a tonne in common with its American and British, and worldwide, counterparts’, Viola says. I totally agree. </div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>On this episode: Mark Drew explains how Putin weaponised the Russian Orthodox church (00:49); Luke Coppen says the war in Ukraine has revitalised Poland’s Catholic church (08:17); and Edward Behrens reads his notes on violets. (17:27)</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Freddy Gray speaks to Kat Rosenfield, the author and UnHerd columnist, about Elon Musk's proposal to buy a controlling stake in the social media giant. <br><br>Rosenfield's latest book, <em>No One Will Miss Her</em>, is published by HarperCollins and is available to buy now. </div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s episode: How are the people of both Russia and Ukraine processing the war?</div><div><br></div><div>Our Russia correspondent Owen Matthews writes in this week’s <em>Spectator </em>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 <em>This Is Not Propaganda</em>, Peter Pomerantsev, who has travelled to Kyiv to celebrate the festival of Passover. (00:48)</div><div><br></div><div>Also this week: Is Rishi Sunak politically incompetent? </div><div><br></div><div>Until recently Rishi Sunak was once a favourite to succeed Boris Johnson, but this week his popularity plummeted to new lows. Our Deputy Political Editor Katy Balls writes about the Chancellor’s challenges in this week’s <em>Spectator</em> and she joins the podcast along with Chris Curtis from <em>Opinium Research</em> to talk about Rishi’s nightmare week. (20:20)</div><div><br></div><div>And finally: Why do so many of Africa’s leaders support Putin?</div><div><br></div><div>Our wildlife correspondent, Aidan Hartley argues in this week’s <em>Spectator </em>that this is because many previously colonised nations still see the West as their old enemy and that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. Aidan joins us now. (31:40)</div><div><br></div><div>Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore</div><div><br></div><div>Produced by Sam Holmes</div><div><br></div><div>Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a></div><div><br></div><div>Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Michael Heath is a British strip cartoonist and illustrator and has been working nonstop since the 1950s. He has been cartoon editor of The Spectator since 1991. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Liv about carrying German bombs into the local pub like milk bottles during the second world war, being given chewing gum by American soldiers, and how during the heydays of Soho, the focus was a lot more on the drinking than the eating.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>On this week's episode, we'll hear from Katy Balls on the changing face of No.10. (00:49)<br><br>Next, Michael Bryant on the history of War Crimes. (06:16)<br><br>And finally, Michael Simmons on Nicola Sturgeon’s secret state. (11:08)<br><br>Produced and presented by Sam Holmes<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher"><br><br>Subscribe</a> to <em>The Spectator </em>today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Arlene Foster is the former first minister of Northern Ireland and was the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party from 2015 to 2021. She was the first woman to hold either position. Arlene moved into politics after joining the Ulster Unionist Party as a Law student at Queen’s University Belfast. <br><br>Having grown up in conflict during the Troubles, she remembers an attempted murder of her father by the IRA. During her long career in politics, Arlene has consistently fought for the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She resigned from her positions in politics to become a broadcaster and campaigner where she host a weekly show on GB News. During the podcast, Arelene reflects on her long career in politics, the Brexit negotiations as part of Theresa May's coalition government and Article 16</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s episode: Is Putin guilty of war crimes?</div><div><br></div><div>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)</div><div><br></div><div>Also this week: Is Europe facing a political stand-off between progressives and populists? </div><div><br></div><div>This week Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was elected for a fourth term in office with a large majority. While in France, Emmanuel Macron faces a much harder fight from Marine Le Pen than many expected. Paris-based author, Gavin Mortimer analyses the changing faultline in European politics in this week’s Spectator and joins the podcast along with journalist and author Tibor Fischer. (19:44)</div><div><br></div><div>And finally: Why are overpriced English kitchens so hot right now?</div><div><br></div><div>How much would you be willing to spend on your kitchen? The answer for some seems to be a lot. And the fashionable choice at the moment is faux traditional English. Writer and art critic, Laura Freeman explores this phenomenon in this week’s Spectator and she joins the podcast along with Stacey Sheppard, creator of the design blog The Design Sheppard. (32:25)</div><div><br></div><div>Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore</div><div><br></div><div>Produced by Sam Holmes</div><div><br></div><div>Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a></div><div><br></div><div>Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s Book Club podcast, my guest is the historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto. 500 years after Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition circumnavigated the globe, Felipe’s gripping new book <em>Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan </em>goes back to the original sources to discover that almost everything we think we know about this hero of the great age of exploration is wrong.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>After defeat in the Second Opium War, Chinese intellectuals wracked their minds for how the Chinese nation can survive in the new industrialised world. It’s a topic that has been discussed on this podcast before – listeners may remember the <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/what-is-it-to-be-chinese-">episode with Bill Hayton</a>, author of <em>The Invention of China</em>, where we discussed the reformers and revolutionaries like Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei. But for some reformers, the problem with China wasn’t just feudal politics or Confucian staleness, but its ancient language.<br><br></div><div>Spoken Chinese could be any of a vast number of regional dialects which were too often mutually unintelligible. Meanwhile, written Chinese was extremely complicated, not helping the rock bottom literacy rates of the common people (30 per cent for men and 2 per cent for women). Literary and official writing were also uniformly written in 'classical Chinese', a concise poetic form of the language which was not the way that people spoke (the vernacular). The difference can be thought of as the difference between Latin and English pre-Reformation. Of even more concern was the fact that Chinese wasn’t easily adaptable to the new communication technologies that were revolutionising the world at the time, like telegraphy and typewriters (above, a picture of a 1986 model of the Chinese typewriter). These western-invented methods were based on alphabetic languages – which Chinese simply isn't.<br><br></div><div>Earlier this year, I <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-great-chinese-puzzle-how-to-adapt-the-language-to-modern-communication-technologies">reviewed</a> <em>Kingdom of Characters</em>, the new book from Jing Tsu, who is Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale. Jing’s book is an excellent account of the efforts to simplify, modernise and adapt this ancient language from Chinese and westerners alike. She joins me on this episode to talk through all of the problems outlined briefly here, and how a series of reformers, politicians and linguists throughout the 20th century tried to resolve these problems – sometimes with solutions nothing short of extraordinary. Of her mission, Jing says: 'I wanted to put a western reader in the shoes of these adorable, curmudgeonly, hard to take but utterly human Chinese characters'.<br><br></div><div>We discuss the different upbringings we had – me in the People's Republic of China and Jing in the Republic of China (Taiwan) – and how that impacts our relationship to the traditional and simplified versions of the Chinese script and how important that script is to the Chinese national identity. We talk about the incredible and often positive influence westerners had on this language revolution (a narrative to do with that century of humiliation I didn't hear much about in a traditional Chinese upbringing). And explore whether Chinese could ever be the <em>lingua franca </em>that English is. </div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>On this week's episode, we'll hear from Christopher Howse on the destruction of Ukrainian churches. (00:50)<br><br>Next, Richard Florida on how Covid has changed London for the better. (13:52)<br><br>And finally, Olivia Potts on her love of the crisp sandwich. (23:56)<br><br>Produced and presented by Sam Holmes<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher"><br><br>Subscribe</a> to <em>The Spectator </em>today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div><em>The Spectator's</em> contributing editor Paul Wood interviews Dr Fiona Hill of the Brookings Institution, who also served as a director within President Trump's national security council, where her brief focused on Europe and Russia. This conversation was a joint production with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.<br><br></div><div>Founded in 1991, <a href="https://iwpr.net/">IWPR</a> is a non-profit organization that works with independent media and civil society to promote positive change in 30 countries around the world. IWPR has been working with media and civil society in Ukraine since 2016 and has local staff in Kyiv, Lviv, and Bila Tserkva, as well as contacts at more than 50 local media and civil society organizations. IWPR’s Executive Director, Anthony Borden, has himself been leading coordination efforts in Ukraine and we are currently supporting local journalists through the Ukraine Voices initiative.<br><br></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s episode: Is Biden’s approach to the war in Ukraine more calculating than it seems?<br><br></div><div>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)<br><br></div><div>Also this week: How many of Ukraine’s churches have been destroyed?<br><br></div><div>In this week’s issue, Christopher Howse writes poignantly on the destruction of Ukrainian churches and how Vladimir Putin, a man claiming to be a defender of Christianity is desperate to keep the images of destroyed holy sites out of the news. He joins the podcast along with the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Great Britain, His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas Loulias. (11:26)<br><br></div><div>And, finally: 40 years on from the Falklands War, why are there still tensions over the islands?<br><br></div><div>It has been 40 years since the war between the UK and Argentina over the Falklands and in this week’s Spectator Robert Taylor writes about the impact that conflict still has on the territory. He joins the podcast along with native Argentinian and Professor of International Law of The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Marcelo G. Kohen. (22:43)<br><br></div><div>Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore<br><br></div><div>Produced by Sam Holmes<br><br></div><div>Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a><br>Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk<br></a><br></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week's Book Club podcast, we ask: did the chroniclers of the early Church cover up evidence that the disciples and evangelists of Christ were as often women as men? Sam's guests are the scholars Helen Bond and Joan Taylor, authors of <em>Women Remembered: Jesus' Female Disciples</em>. They pick out the hints and clues that, they say, indicate that women were doing more than just cooking, mourning and anointing in first-century Judaea – despite the difficulties of keeping track of all those Marys and Salomes. </div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Lance Forman is the owner of H. Forman & Son, Britain's leading salmon smokers and author of <em>Forman's Games. </em>He was elected a Brexit Party MEP for London in the 2019 European election but quit the party to endorse the Conservatives.<br><br>On the podcast, Lance reflects on his childhood in a traditional Jewish upbringing, eating smoked salmon sandwiches every day for his packed lunch. Lance brings in some of the foods made by his gourmet food delivery company, Forman & Field. This included smoked salmon blinis with cream cheese and their latest creation, a Victoria sponge ahead of the Queen's Jubilee. <br><br><em>Come to the East End to learn all about curing and smoking salmon with Lance Forman of H. Forman & Son, suppliers of our celebrated Spectator Winemaker Lunches. Buy your tickets </em><a href="https://shop.spectator.co.uk/h-forman-son-tour-and-tasting-event---friday-6-may-from-1100am"><em>here</em></a> </div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>On this week's episode, we'll hear from Damian Thompson on the Patriarch in league with Putin. (00:58)<br><br>Next, Jade McGlynn on how Russian TV is presenting the war to its people. (08:46)<br><br>And finally, Nick Newman asks how should cartoonists respond to war? (17:35)<br><br>Produced and presented by Sam Holmes and Max Jeffery<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher"><br><br>Subscribe</a> to <em>The Spectator </em>today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Anji Hunter is the former gatekeeper to Tony Blair's Labour government. She was once described as the most influential non-elected person in Downing Street and became one of Blair's closest confidantes. Acting as an alliance broker, Anji worked across businesses and the media, including Murdoch's empire.<br><br>After decades by Blair's side, Anji moved to the private sector to take up various roles across industries from BP to the Royal College of Engineering. As Boris Johnson welcomes the new Anji Hunter of 10 Downing Street, Samatha Cohen, Anji reflects on what it takes to do her former job – you've got to have balls.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s episode: could President Erdogan broker a peace deal between Putin and the West? <br><br></div><div>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 <em>How to Lose a Country. </em>(1:13)<br><br>Also this week: a look at Tina, the drug devastating the gay community.<br>Dr Max Pemberton has written about Tina, a dangerous drug often used at chemsex parties. Max joins us now along with Philip Hurd, a chemsex rehabilitation professional and trustee of Controlling Chemsex. (14:02)<br><br>And finally: Are The Oscars losing their relevance?<br><br>Toby Young writes for <em>The Spectator</em> this week about The Oscars ceremony. John Ringo once coined the term ‘get woke and go broke’ to describe businesses that drive consumers away with their politically worthy causes. Could the same be said for The Oscars? Toby joins The Edition podcast along with Fiona Mountford, a theatre critic and regular contributor for <em>The Spectator. </em>(24:51)<br><br>Hosted by William Moore.<br><br>Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher<br></a><br></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Taiwan is not Ukraine. But despite the very important differences in their situations, the Russian invasion can still shed much light on Taiwan's future. Even many Taiwanese think so – and have followed the developments closely, with solidarity marches held for Ukraine, protests at the Russian embassy and the Ukrainian flag lighting up Taiwanese buildings.<br><br>On this episode of Chinese Whispers, my guests and I discuss the mainstream take on Ukraine (and also the not so mainstream – such as the view that America can't be relied upon, given it hasn't despatched troops to Ukraine). I'm joined by Brian Hioe, editor of <em>New Bloom</em>, an online magazine covering youth culture and politics in Taiwan, and Professor Kerry Brown from Kings College London, author of <em>The Trouble with Taiwan.</em><br><br>We give a primer on Taiwanese politics – what does the thriving democracy look like? How are elections held, and what are the major political parties? We discuss how China – instead of particular social or economic issues – is the main political topic dividing the left and the right (the 'Greens' and the 'Blues'), and whether, with mainstream Taiwanese opinion becoming ever hawkish on China in the aftermath of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the more pro-China forces in Taiwanese politics, such as the Kuomintang, really have a future in the country (Kerry says: ‘I don’t think the KMT can be written off.')<br><br>In a crowded continent, there are also other power-brokers. We talk about the influence of America, and where Japan – Taiwan's erstwhile coloniser – fits in with all this. There have been calls for Japan to be more heavily armed in order to deter a Chinese invasion. How would the Taiwanese feel about that? Brian tells me:<br><br></div><blockquote>‘Views of Japan differ sharply between the pan-green and the pan-blue camp. For the KMT, they remember a lot of the Sino-Japanese war and the crimes committed by the Japanese from that period. But for the pan-greens, who are sometimes descended from those that were in Taiwan for the Japanese colonial period, [remember] the period as a time of higher living standards and improved education, and in which Taiwan is being brought up as a colony rather than these political killings and mass violence, etc. They have a much more romanticised views of a Japanese colonial period.’</blockquote><div>In the end, economics may supersede politics. If President Tsai Ing-wen can't deliver on the economy given her tough stance on China (which is still Taiwan's biggest trading partner), then domestic politics may be in for another shakeup. As Kerry says: ‘It’s the issue that we all wrestle with. Their biggest economic partner is also their biggest security threat’.<br><br>Additional listening: do tune in to a <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/why-does-china-care-about-taiwan-">previous episode</a> with Professor Rana Mitter, if you need a primer on why exactly Taiwan's history means that it is in this position and how the shared language and culture with the People's Republic of China came about<br><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/why-does-china-care-about-taiwan-">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/why-does-china-care-about-taiwan-</a>.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s Book Club podcast Sam is joined by Francis Fukuyama to talk about his new book <em>Liberalism and its Discontents</em>. He tells Sam how a system that has built peace and prosperity since the Enlightenment has come under attack from the neoliberal right and the identitarian left; and how Vladimir Putin may end up being the unwitting founding father of a new Ukraine.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>On this week's episode, we'll hear from Lionel Shriver on if western populations would fight to defend their homeland in the way we have seen the Ukrainians have. (00:53)<br><br>Next, Kate Andrews on the real reasons behind the rise in the cost of living. (09:17)<br><br>And finally, Nicholas Farrell asks if the war in Ukraine will boost populism? (13:50)<br><br>Produced and presented by Sam Holmes<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher"><br><br>Subscribe</a> to <em>The Spectator </em>today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>In this week’s episode: Has Putin’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the West’s weakness - or its strength?</div><div><br></div><div>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)</div><div><br></div><div>Also this week: has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted the hubris of the West? While Western countries unite in a chorus of criticism against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Rod Liddle writes that the invasion only highlights the impotence of the West. He is joined by James Forsyth, <em>The Spectator’s</em> political editor. (18:20)</div><div><br></div><div>And finally, what’s happened to Durham University? Has its reputation plummeted?</div><div><br></div><div>Nathan Risser writes in <em>The Spectator</em> this week about the decline of Durham University. It was once at the top of the league tables just under Oxford and Cambridge but has this all changed? Nathan who is a writer graduated from Durham in 2017. Joining Nathan is Imogen Usherwood, another writer who recently graduated from Durham University in 2021. (35.40)</div><div><br></div><div>Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore</div><div><br></div><div>Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a></div><div><br></div><div>Listen to Lara's food podcast Table Talk: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk</a></div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>This week Winston is joined by Russian-British comedian, podcaster and author Konstantin Kisin. Konstantin gives his insight into the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Russian mindset, the potent myth of fighting Nazis and a little on his forthcoming new book ‘An Immigrant’s Love Letter To The West’.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Colm Toibin. Best known as a novelist, Colm’s new book is his first collection of poetry, <em>Vinegar Hill</em>. He tells me about coming late to poetry, the freedoms and austerities it offers, and why writing isn’t fun. Plus: surviving cancer and outstaying his St Patrick’s Day welcome at the White House…</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Freddy talks to Anatoly Karlin, author of the Powerful Takes Substack. Speaking from Moscow, Anatoly discloses the extent of support for anti-war protests in Russia and the role of the US in inciting nationalism in Ukraine.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<div>Mitch Tonks is an award-winning restauranteur and chef. He runs the Rockfish restaurant group in Devon and Dorset, and the Seahorse restaurant in Dartmouth. He has written six cookbooks. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about playing cards after dinner, enjoying his school's 'bright green custard with chocolate pudding', and inventing his own fish curries.</div> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>