Best of the Spectator

<div>Sam's guest in this week’s books podcast is Mary Ann Sieghart, whose new book <em>The Authority Gap </em>accumulates data to show that so-called 'mansplaining' isn’t a minor irritation but the manifestation of something that goes all the way through society: women are taken less seriously than men, even by other women. She says it’s not just 'wokery' to point it out, and she makes the case for how she thinks it came to be, what we can do to change it, and why we should take the trouble.</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>Responsible for 17 per cent of the UK’s carbon usage, government will be looking to the private sector to reduce its emissions in the years to come. But what does it really mean for a business to achieve ‘net zero’? Should companies - and their sectors - account only for their direct emissions, or must they also measure their indirect impact, related to supply chains or digital carbon footprints? How should businesses address their historic emissions - and what might this mean for once carbon-intensive sectors? <br><br>In partnership with Velux</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>For most people, Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping stand out as <em>the</em> two Communist leaders of the People’s Republic of China. But growing up, it was actually a third man, by the name of Deng Xiaoping, whose legacy I felt the most.</div><br><div>Though less than 5 foot tall, his impact on China’s trajectory was arguably more than Mao’s; and possibly will be more than Xi’s. It was Deng’s vision of reform and opening – which we’ve talked about in passing many times on this podcast – that started a process which transformed China from a Maoist backwater to today’s economic backwater. TIME magazine twice chose him as their Man of the Year.</div><br><div>Yet it was also Deng who gave the final go ahead for the military clampdown of the Tiananmen Square protests. So what sort of leader and politician was he, and how do we reconcile the seeming contradictions between Deng the liberal reformer, and Deng the communist autocrat?<br><br>I'm joined by James Carter, Professor of History at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, and author of <em>Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai.</em><br><br>Further links:<br>Chinese Whispers: China's long history of student protests <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/china-s-long-history-of-student-protests">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/china-s-long-history-of-student-protests</a><br>Chinese Whispers: How Hong Kong became what it is today <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/how-hong-kong-became-what-it-is-today">https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/how-hong-kong-became-what-it-is-today</a><br>YouTube: Zhao Ziyang's speech at Tiananmen Square in 1989 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZxjV0s2CrA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZxjV0s2CrA</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 we’ll hear Katy Balls on the government’s dwindling COVID optimism (00:41), Douglas Murray’s prediction of a dull decade of arrested development (04:26) and finally Nigel Farndale of why we owe so much of what we love about the Olympics to the Nazis (12:50).</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 The Edition:<br><br>How free are we after freedom day?(00:27) Also on the podcast: Why does it take hours to refuel your car in Lebanon?(10:19) and finally… Is British gardening wilting or blooming?(21:21)</div><br><div>With <em>The Spectator</em>'s economics editor Kate Andrews, Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, journalists Paul Wood and Tala Ramadan, author James Bartholomew and gardener and writer Ursula Buchan.</div><div><br>Presented by Lara Prendergast<br><br>Produced by Sam Holmes</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 political journalist Marie Le Conte, whose new book is Honourable Misfits: A Brief History of Britain's Weirdest, Unluckiest and Most Outrageous MPs. She introduces us to some of the dishonourable members of the past, and explains why - despite what we may think - in terms of our present day crop of MPs we may, actually, never have had it so good…</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>Britain is already making moves on the global stage to back a green agenda, including calls to slash tariffs on ‘green goods’ and to hold countries responsible for heavily polluting practices. But as Britain reopens after Covid-19 and plans for ‘Global Britain’ take off, will the green agenda become a dominant feature of our trade negotiations, or a side-line strategy? What does Britain have to offer its trading partners when it comes to negative emissions and boosting global recovery? Can Britain lead the way in the export of green technologies such as carbon capture and hydrogen? In what areas can international cooperation on climate change be enhanced through trade? In partnership with Drax</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, Olivia Potts says angry chefs could soon get their comeuppance. (00:56) Then, Rory Sutherland says over-qualification is leading to collective idiocy. (06:28) And finally, Tanya Gold wonders why people eat lobsters. (10:16)</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>What are the pros and cons of vaccine passports? (00:33) Also on the podcast: is it time for restaurant kitchens to ditch their toxic masculinity? (18:00) And finally... Cricket, what does the new tournament, the Hundred mean for the sport? (30:14)<br><br>With: Fraser Nelson; Melanie Phillips; Olivia Potts; the chef and owner of Darjeeling Express, Asma Khan; Freddie Wilde, an analyst for Cricvis and legendary sports journalist Henry Blofeld. </div><div><br></div><div>Presented by Lara Prendergast<br><br>Produced by Sam Holmes</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 Frederick Forsyth, whose classic thriller <em>The Day of the Jackal</em> has been in print for 50 years this summer. He talks about banging it out in a few weeks on a typewriter with a bullet hole in it, the shady characters who informed his research - and how he never realised that, for much of its readers, The Jackal would be the hero…</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 way the City of London measures success is constantly changing. A new generation of discerning consumers has skyrocketed the importance of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) to company decision-makers. The finance sector is increasingly being seen as the next frontier in climate action. As the City navigates the post-Brexit landscape and our pandemic recovery it will also be tasked with redefining its role on the world stage. How will the government's net-zero commitment and the targets in the Paris Agreement factor into corporate decision-making? How will banks and other financial institutions change how they weigh up sustainable investment choices? And what impact could all this have on the broader economy? Join Spectator journalists, politicians and industry experts as they discuss The City's future climate and environmental agenda. In collaboration with WWF.</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>Tangping, or 'lying flat', is a new lifestyle tempting China's millennials. Describing a minimalist stress-free life where one opts out of a career and raising family, lying flat is the young person's desperate answer to the infinite rat race of modern Chinese workplaces and society. But while there are few lie-flatters as of yet, the allure of the lifestyle has propelled the term into the mainstream. On this episode, Cindy Yu discusses the phenomenon with millennial journalist Karoline Kan, author of <em>Under Red Skies. </em>They talk about why young people are pessimistic about life in a growing China, whether they are a 'snowflake generation' compared to the struggles of their parents and what this means for the Chinese government's social contract with the people.</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: <br><br>Revd Marcus Walker shares his concern and disapproval at being described by the Church of England as an 'Key Limiting Factor' (00:26). </div><div>Then Douglas Murray looks at the tricky subject of transracialism (09:48)</div><div>And finally Petronella Wyatt gives her two cents on modern day Westminster culture (17:15).<br><br>Presented by Sam Holmes</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>Trudy Harrison is the Conservative MP for Copeland and currently works as the Prime Minster's Parliamentary Private Secretary. On the podcast, she talks about how when she was younger she always thought she'd be a nanny and how that maternal nature developed into her own childcare business, then local politics and finally the House of Commons. Trudy also bought in a bunch of her own home grown flowers for the podcast team, making her one of our favourite guests ever. </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>What level of control does China have at Cambridge University? (00:48) Also on the podcast: Will the Church of England’s new plans for modernisation leave us with an institution we even recognise? (10:26) And finally let's talk about Streaking, indecent exposure or proud British pastime of joy and humour? (27:26)<br><br>With Ian Williams author of ‘every breath you take, a study of China’s surveillance state’; Harry Goodwin, Editor in Chief of The Cambridge Student; Priest Marcus Walker; Dave Male Director of Evangelism and Discipleship for the CoE; writer and amateur streaker Poppy Royds and professional streaker Mark Roberts.<br><br></div><div>Presented by Lara Prendergast<br><br>Produced by Sam Holmes</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>Who is John Galt? This week's Book Club podcast looks at the life, work and personality of Ayn Rand, probably the most influential writer you've never read. A favourite of our new Health Secretary, the author of <em>Atlas Shrugged </em>-- and the most strident advocate of the idea that "greed is good" -- continues to be revered and reviled four decades after her death. What was it that made her work speak so powerfully to so many? Does her philosophical system add up? How was she shaped -- first by the Russian Revolution and then by Hollywood?<em> </em>And where does prog rock come into it? I'm joined by Professor Lisa Duggan -- author of <em>Mean Girl: Ayn Rand and the Culture of Greed</em>, and Adam Roberts, the science fiction writer and professor of English at Royal Holloway, University of London.</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>Jack Whitehall is an actor and comedian, however during the pandemic he has also started a food blog, <em>FoodSlut</em>. On the episode, he talks to Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about his public love of McDonalds, his secret love of The Ivy and the time he once saw a man attempt to make a grilled cheese with his feet. </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>Building Back </em>is a limited series by award winning journalist Isabel Hardman. In every episode she asks how we can fix the damage caused by the pandemic to a different part of British society. <br><br>In this episode, Isabel talks to those working front line in the NHS and the politicians in Westminster who decide its future. <br><br>Featuring: Head of the independent health think tank, The Kings Fund Richard Murray; Sri Kalidindi, a psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; breast surgeon Julie Doughty; chair of the Health and Care Women Leaders Network Sam Allen; Jeremy Hunt, who was the longest-serving health secretary, and now chair of the Commons health select committee; Chris Hopson chief executive of NHS Providers; and Rob Findlay, an expert on waiting lists at Insource Ltd.</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: <br><br>Journalist Isabel Oakeshott on how she let the Matt Hancock scandal slip through her fingers a week before it turned up in The Sun (00:59). We’ll also be joined by Melanie McDonagh who's written about how high tea has gone from an affordable British staple to and oversized and overpriced, still delicious monstrosity (06:17). And finally Jon Day takes us into the wonderful world of competitive pigeon racing (11:18). <br><br>Presented by Sam Holmes</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>19 July is approaching but what will life after ‘freedom day’ will look like? (01:19) Also on the podcast: what will Angela Merkel's departure mean for the EU? (14:12) And as many people fled the cities to the countryside during the pandemic, can a case still be made for urban life? (27:26)<br><br>With <em>The Spectator</em>’s sketch writer and theatre critic Lloyd Evens; playwright James Graham; director of Eurointelligence Wolfgang Munchau; <em>Independent</em> columnist Mary Dejevsky; writer Ysenda Graham and Rory Sutherland, <em>The Spectator</em>’s Wiki Man columnist.<br><br>Presented by William Moore.<br><br>Produced by Sam Holmes, Natasha Feroze and Max Jeffery.</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 Anne Sebba - whose <em>Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy</em> tells the story of the first woman in US history to be executed for a crime other than murder. On the podcast, she talks about how attitudes to this notorious espionage case changed over the years; and why, while not wanting to relitigate the case, she thinks it’s important to get to a sense of who Ethel really was.</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>From jabs for joints, to peer pressure in schools, to free lap dances, it seems the power that be are getting more and more aggressive in their mission of getting everyone jabbed as quickly as possible. To discuss this unprecedented vaccination campaign Freddy Gray talks to author of <em>A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic</em>, Laura Dodsworth. </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 the 12 months since the enactment of the National Security Law on Hong Kong, opposition leaders, journalists and activists have been arrested; reforms on education and elections begun; and last week saw the emotional closure of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily.<br><br>On this episode, I speak to Jennifer Creery, who works for the Financial Times in Hong Kong, about the situation on the ground; and Professor Jeff Wasserstrom, a historian of China at the University of California, about the last year and the city's future. We reflect on the strategic erosion over time of Hong Kong's autonomy, the importance of education that the CCP places on its Hong Kong policy, and whether the 2019 protests actually expedited the choking off of the city.</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, Jessica Douglas-Home wants to know why modern British architecture is just so ugly. (01:03) After, Paul Wood warns what Western withdrawal means for Afghanistan (09:23) and finally Andrew Watts explores the history of the ever-updated Pride flag. (19:23)<br><br>Presented by Cindy Yu</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>Katie Perrior is a public relations expert who co-founded inHouse Communications. She's worked for two prime ministers and several senior Tory MPs, and today her clients include the spiritsmaker Diageo and the football Super League. On the podcast, she talks about leaning into Boris Johnson's rambunctious style on the London mayoralty campaign; coming into blows with Theresa May's chief advisors Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill; and, reflecting on the Super League disaster, how there are more liars in football than even in politics.</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…Why should the first time buyer be so scared of new builds? (00:36)</div><div>Plus… will the catholic church come to the defence of the word mother? (09:33)</div><div> And finally… Why does it take so long to understand Japanese culture, even for the Japanese? (18:50)<br><br>With John Myers founder of YIMBY, Vickey Spratt housing correspondent of the I newspaper and author of the up coming book Tenants, Spectator Columnist Mary Wakefield, theologian Theo Hobson, former editor of The Tablet and author of Martyrdom: Why Martyrs Still Matter Catherine Pepinster, Professor Philip Patrick and comedian Ollie Horn (@olliehorntweets).<br><br>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br>Produced by Cindy Yu, Natasha Feroze and Sam Russell.</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 on this week's Book Club podcast is the chief librarian of Oxford's Bodleian Library, Richard Ovenden. In <em>Burning The Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack, </em>he explores the long history and vital importance of libraries and archives -- and the equally long history of their destruction in acts of war, vandalism or censorship and their loss through attrition and neglect. He tells Sam about the librarian heroes of Poland and Lithuania, the accidental survival of Magna Carta and what really happened to the Great Library of Alexandria. </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>A few weeks ago, a company called Darktrace - put together by computer programmers in London and Cambridge - floated on the London Stock Exchange. It was valued at over £2 billion. It’s a pretty good example of a British tech success - its shares surged by 44 per cent, in stark contrast to Deliveroo, a better-known name, whose flotation saw its shares sink by 26%. So what does Darktrace’s success tell us about Britain’s ability to nurture tech companies and floating them here in Britain, rather than sending them to America? <br><br>Fraser Nelson speaks to the billionaire entrepreneur behind Darktrace, Mike Lynch, on this podcast. They talk about the true meaning of British tech, why America does it just so well, and whether we are seeing the beginnings of tech nationalism.<br><br>Sponsored by Invoke Insights, which is founded by Mike Lynch.</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>Calum Franklin is executive head chef at Holborn Dining Room, and an internationally renowned pie-maker (dubbed 'The Pie King' by Jamie Oliver). On the episode, he talks to Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about how his menus try to recreate the nostalgia of his simple childhood meals, like fish pie; the centrality of pies to British cuisine; and why his restaurant is inspired by the copper and brass fronts of Parisian antique stores.</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, Katy Balls warns Boris what a pattern of delay could mean for his Premiership. (01:08) After, Laura Freeman takes us on a guided tour of politicians' chosen paintings (07:05) and finally Adam Sisman lays out the landscape of Berlin directly following the end of world war two. (15:13)</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 Spectator's Russia correspondent Owen Matthews about relations between the two presidents.</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>It seems we are in a new President/Prime Minister alliance of big government spending, should we be excited or concerned? (00:44) Also on the podcast: Are the UK tabloids going woke? (15:00)? And in the wake of the pandemic are we ready to have a grown up conversation about death?(31:11)<br><br>With Spectator Political Editor James Forsyth, Spectator Economics Editor Kate Andrews, former Editor of the Sun Kelvin MacKenzie, former Editor of the Observer Roger Alton, writer A.N. Wilson, science journalist Laura Spinney and Palliative Care Physician Kathryn Mannix and author of a <em>With The End In Mind</em>.</div><div><br>Presented by William Moore.<br><br>Produced by Cindy Yu, Natasha Feroze and Sam Russell.</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's Book Club podcast guest is Charles Spencer, whose book <em>The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I's Dream </em>is new out in paperback. On the pod tells Sam Leith why his story is like "<em>Game of Thrones </em>meets <em>Titanic</em>", about the piety and the startling cruelty of medieval kings, the tantalising suggestion that the wreck of the White Ship may have been found off Barfleur -- and how this 12th-century maritime disaster changed the course of English history.</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>Exactly 20 years ago, China acceded to the World Trade Organisation. In the decades since, the globalised world became what we know today, with hundreds of millions of Chinese and people around the world lifted out of poverty through free trade. But the promised liberalisation - both economic and political - doesn't seem to have happened. China is now challenging western-led world order, and too difficult to disentangle from the world economy. So was it a mistake to allow China into the WTO, and has engagement failed?<br><br>With Stewart Paterson, author of <em>China, Trade and Power</em>, and Yu Jie, senior research fellow at Chatham 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>On this week's episode, Dr Max Pemberton explains that while just as many people are seeing their GP as before the pandemic, something has changed. (00:55) After, Andrew Watts argues that you shouldn't buy a second home in Cornwall. (09:15) Ysenda Maxtone Graham finishes the episode, lamenting the loss of indoor singing. (14:00)</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>Polly Morgan is an artist whose trade is taxidermy. She recently won the First Plinth Award, and in her time has sold to celebrity clients including Kate Moss and Courtney Love. On the podcast, she tells Katy Balls about her unusual childhood growing up on a farm with ostriches, goats and llamas; why she got fired by Prue Leith; and the ins and outs of taxidermy.</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>Experts are saying we are now officially in a third wave but how concerned should we be? (00:56) Also on the podcast: What will the mood be like when Boris meets Biden (14:33)? And are UFOs no longer a laughing matter?(23:00)<br><br>With Scientist Simon Clarke, mathematician Philip Thomas, spokesperson for Republicans Overseas UK Sarah Elliot, Spectator World editor Freddy Gray, astrophysicist Tim O'Brian & author Lawrence Osborne</div><div><br>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br>Produced by Cindy Yu, Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.</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 Leith's guest is one of America's foremost magazine journalists, the <em>New Yorker</em>'s Lawrence Wright. His new book is <em>The Plague Year: America In The Time of Covid</em>. He tells Sam what a book brings to recent history that week-to-week journalism can't, about the extraordinary happenstance that put him in contact with one of the unsung heroes of the vaccine race, and the three reasons Covid was such a catastrophe for the US.</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>Craig Brown is an awarding winning critic, satirist and former restaurant reviewer. His most recent book <em>One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time, </em>won the <em>Baillie Gifford Prize</em> for Non-Fiction.</div><div><br>On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about the horrible food at Eton, his utter failure to bake a cake, and proposes that one of the least important things to him when he was reviewing a restaurant was the food.</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: Chris Daw QC on the blame game that surrounds the Hillsborough disaster and why it's time to move on (01:00); Lionel Shriver suggests we should just give Scottish nationalists what they want and watch the chaos unfold (07:40); and Sam Russell, the Spectator's new broadcast producer, talks about how book lovers are turning TikTok into a book club (16:25).</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>What was once dismissed by the mainstream media as a right wing conspiracy theory, seems to have made its transition, into credible possibility. It now seems very plausible that COVID came from a Chinese lab. But will we ever know for sure? And even if we did, what would we do about it? Freddy Gray talks to Thomas Frank, who recommends we all read <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2021/05/the-origin-of-covid-did-people-or-nature-open-pandoras-box-at-wuhan/%20">this</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>Why is the National Trust in crisis, and can it be fixed? (00:55) Plus, is there going to be a ‘fake meat’ revolution? (14:15) And finally, should wedding readings stick to the classics or is it acceptable to go for something a bit more out there? (24:25)<br><br></div><div>With <em>Spectator</em> columnist and former editor Charles Moore; Simon Jenkins, chair of National Trust between 2008 and 2014; Anthony Browne, a Conservative MP and chair of the Environment APPG; Olivia Potts, <em>The Spectator</em>’s vintage chef and co-host of our <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/table-talk">Table Talk</a> podcast; writer Laura Freeman; and Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, rector of St Bride's church in London.<br><br>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br>Produced by Sam Holmes, Cindy Yu and Max Jeffery.</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 Lauren Hough - author of an outstanding new collection of autobiographical essays called <em>Leaving Isn’t The Hardest Thing </em>which<em> </em>describe a life that took her from growing up in the Children Of God cult via being discharged from the US Air Force and jobs as a bouncer in a gay bar and a “cable guy” on the road to being a writer. She talks about not writing a misery memoir, what elites don’t know about working class life, “lesbian drama”, and the benefits of revising your work on magic mushrooms.</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>What is it like to be a journalist in China? There are obvious restrictions on freedom of speech, but, as Cindy Yu finds out on this episode, there are creative ways to navigate the strict system of censorship. The end result is a complex media landscape - some have to litter investigations with state propaganda; others continue to report on sensitive issues (like the Wuhan Covid cover up) and rely on editors for protection; while growing digitisation and a strongman President continue to threaten what little independence flourished at the beginning of the century.<br><br>With political scientist Maria Repnikova, author of <em>Media Politics in China</em>, and former journalist Fang Kecheng, now an Associate Professor in Journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.</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, Lisa Bjurwald reports on the Swedish monarchy going woke (01:20); Douglas Murray argues that the culture wars fit the UK even less well than the US (07:00); and Stuart Jeffries interviews the world's first AI artist.<br><br>Also on the podcast: a complaints letter to the Times after their March 2020 story that Carrie Symonds and Boris Johnson were considering giving their dog up for adoption. The letter, though never sent, was revealed on Friday.</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 past year has served as a reminder how quickly one's personal circumstances can change. In uncertain times such as these, financial resilience is more important than ever. But whilst savings for some Brits have surged in the pandemic, it's not been the case for everyone. 41pc of UK households could not last more than three months without their main source of income. If you are in a bad place, what are the best steps?<br><br>Katy Balls is joined by Tracey Crouch, Conservative MP and former minister for sports, civil society and loneliness, who's also been a leading campaigner on gambling reform; Bridget Phillipson, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury; and Nicola Bannister, Lloyds Banking Group's Collections Effectiveness Director for Retail.<br><br>Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group.</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>We’re still none the wiser about the origins of coronavirus, but has the lab leak theory just got more credible (00:55) Also on the podcast: are English tourists welcome in Scotland (15:25)? And is being rude the secret to success?<br><br>With author Matt Ridley, virologist Dr Dennis Carroll, deputy political editor Katy Balls, hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray, journalists Harry Mount and Rebecca Reid.<br><br>Presented by William Moore.<br><br>Produced by Cindy Yu, Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.</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 Leith's guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Julian Sancton, whose new book <em>Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night,</em> documents the crew of men who were the first to experience an Antarctic winter trapped in the ice, in an attempt to reach the South Pole. Sancton speaks about the background of some of the eccentric characters that made up the Belgica - and the stomach turning cuisine that is penguin meat.</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>Patrick Jephson is a consultant, journalist, broadcaster and <em>New York Times</em> best selling author. From 1988 to 1996, Patrick worked first as Princess Diana's equerry and then as her private secretary. He is also currently a historical consultant on Netfilx's The Crown.<br><br>On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about bonding over mealtimes with his fellow seamen when in the Navy, having ambassadorial dinners and English Rail sandwiches with the royals, and being cooked for by Pavarotti's personal pasta chef.</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>As the UK’s vaccine rollout provides a way out of the Covid pandemic, we are set to discover a host of new crises created from over a year spent in and out of lockdown. </div><div><br></div><div>The cancer crisis is just starting to unfold, as it’s estimated around 3 million people missed cancer screenings between last April and August alone. How do we begin to catch-up, as NHS waiting lists grow? What could have been done differently? And what lessons can be learned to help cancer patients access faster, and better, care?</div><div><br></div><div>Kate Andrews talks to Delyth Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Now; Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer at NHS England; Gordon Wishart, chief executive at Check4Cancer; and Neil Pumford, Asset Strategy Lead at Abbvie. <br><br>This podcast is sponsored by Abbvie.</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>