Best of the Spectator

<div>In this week’s books podcast, Sam is joined by the philosopher Toby Ord to talk about the cheering subject of planetary catastrophe. In his book <em>The Precipice</em>, new in paperback, Toby argues that we’re at a crucial point in human history - and that if we don’t start thinking seriously about extinction risks our species may not make it through the next few centuries. Asteroids, supervolcanoes, nuclear immolation, killer AI, engineered pandemics... Toby weighs up the risks of each, and tells us why we should care.<br><br> The Book Club is a series of literary interviews and discussions on the latest releases in the world of publishing, from poetry through to physics. Presented by Sam Leith, The Spectator's literary editor. Hear past episodes <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/book-club">here</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>As the first BNO passport holders begin to make their way to the UK and start the path to a new citizenship, Cindy Yu takes a look back at Hong Kong's history and how that special city-state formed its own identity. As SOAS's Professor Steve Tsang tells her on the podcast: 'Not quite British, not quite Chinese'. They talk about how Hong Kongers yearned to find their Chinese roots, the fervour of handover and how 'Cantopop' (Cantonese pop music) took the mainland by storm.</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, Andrew Neil is joined by Stephen Daisley, a journalist and Spectator contributor; The Revd Marcus Walker, Rector of Great St Bartholomew's in London; and a team of <em>Spectator</em> journalists.<br><br>We discuss whether vaccines are already having an impact, if the UK's relationship with the EU is deteriorating, and if the Church of England has failed its members.<br><br>To watch the show, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/tv">www.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>On this week's episode, Emma Thompson explains why Church of England cuts could lead to the devastation of the parish network. (00:55) Then, Matt Ridley explains why lockdown could have led to more deadly coronavirus variants. (10:15) And finally, Toby Young asks why he hasn't got a peerage. (18:10)</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>Mims Davies is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Employment and the MP for Mid Sussex. On the podcast, she talks to Katy Balls about how her family became lifelong carers when her dad was attacked at work, about why she didn't come out as a Tory in her student days at Swansea University and why her change of seat in the 2019 election was not all that it seems.</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>Are parish churches about to be devastated by bureaucracy and mismanagement? (00:55) What's the story behind the UK's vaccination efforts? (07:55) Has an intransigent union stopped firefighters from helping the Covid response? (21:55)<br><br>With church volunteer Emma Thompson; Rector of Great St Barts Marcus Walker; <em>The Spectator</em>'s deputy political editor Katy Balls; senior project manager at the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute Adam Ritchie; journalist Leo McKinsey; and chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council Roy Wilsher.<br><br></div><div>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br></div><div>Produced by Max Jeffery, Sam Russell and Matt Taylor.</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 is joined by one of the funniest writers working today. Shalom Auslander’s new novel is <em>Mother For Dinner</em>, which is set in perhaps the most oppressed minority community in the world. He talks to Sam about cannibalism, identity politics, his beef with tragedy... and an extremely high-risk prayer at the Wailing Wall.</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>Bip Ling is a model, musician, food writer, visual artist and DJ. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about being inspired by her grandmother's Indian cooking, eating as a model, and why macaroni cheese should be made with almond milk rather than full-fat.<br><br>Table Talk is a series of podcasts where Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts talk to celebrity guests about their life story, through the food and drink that has come to define it. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://audioboom.com/channels/4985181">here</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, Andrew Neil is joined by author and historian Sir Anthony Seldon; former Director of Immunisation at the Department of Health David Salisbury; and a team of <em>Spectator</em> journalists.<br><br>We discuss whether the EU's dispute with AstraZeneca is the beginning of a vaccine war, if quarantines for international arrivals will work in Britain, and who have been Britain's best prime ministers.<br><br>To watch the show, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/tv">www.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>On this week's episode, Matthew Lynn describes the first great geopolitical battle of the century: the vaccine wars. (00:40) Plus, Anthony Seldon makes his case for a museum of British premierships. (09:35) Finally, Sam Leith says Doc Martins are the only footwear you'll ever need. (18:30)</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 Joe Weisenthal, co-host of the Odd Lots podcast and presenter of What'd You Miss on Bloomberg TV, about the GameStop short squeeze. Where did wallstreetbets start, have they revolutionised the stock market, and do they know what they're doing?</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 has the vaccine rollout turned nasty? (00:45) What's the sex abuse scandal rocking France's elite? (16:55) Have artists run out of new ideas? (28:35)<br><br>With Daily Telegraph columnist Matthew Lynn; science journalist and author of <em>Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 </em>Laura Spinney; <em>Spectator</em> contributor Jonathan Miller; journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet; Dean Kissick, New York editor of <em>Spike Art Magazine</em>; and Eddy Frankel, visual art editor of <em>Time Out </em>magazine.<br><br></div><div>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br></div><div>Produced by Max Jeffery, Alexa Rendell and Matt Taylor.</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 writer Simon Winchester, whose new book takes on one of the biggest subjects on earth: earth. <em>Land: How The Hunger For Ownership Made The Modern World </em>starts from the author's own little corner of New England - what he proudly calculates at a bit more than three billionths of the earth's surface that he can call his own - and roams worldwide and through time and from the first prehistoric boundary lines to the modern age. Simon asks whether capitalism is possible without land rights, whether climate change will alter our relationship to property, why the pioneering map makers of the nineteenth century are now barely heard of - and just what the Dutch are up to. </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 November, the IPO of Jack Ma's fintech company Ant Financial was abruptly stopped by Chinese regulators (listen to the episode of Chinese Whispers from then <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/how-china-s-richest-man-flew-too-close-to-the-sun">here</a>). But while the move has been seen as counter-productive and political in the West, many Chinese cheered the clipping of Jack Ma's wings. It's in no small part thanks to the consumer lending wing of his company, which is often blamed for a spiralling debt culture in China. Are we seeing the beginnings of a backlash against Big Fintech in the country? Cindy Yu talks to Rui Ma, a former venture capitalist and co-host of the podcast Techbuzz China.</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, Andrew Neil is joined by Trevor Philips, managing director of Webber and Phillips and columnist for <em>The Times</em>; author and journalist Owen Matthews; and a team of <em>Spectator</em> journalists.<br><br>We discuss whether Joe Biden can unite America, the latest coronavirus data, why less black people want to be vaccinated, and what's next for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.<br><br>To watch the show, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/tv">www.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>On this week's episode, Kate Andrews says the challenges of Joe Biden's administration go beyond governing. (00:35) Plus, Liam Kennedy explains the history of Irish-American identity. (09:25) Finally, Jeremy Clarke wonders why everyone is a log expert (18:20)</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>Claire Williams OBE is the former Deputy Team Principal of Williams, family-run the Formula One racing team set up by her father, Frank Williams. On the podcast, she talks about what it was like to be seen as 'Frank's daughter', the struggles of trying to turn around an ailing F1 team and how none of her family actually passed their driving test, first time.</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>Can Joe Biden unite America? (01:05) Why is the UK's vaccine rollout its most important economic policy? (12:10) And how can re-enactments bring history to life? (22:15)<br><br>With The Spectator's economics correspondent Kate Andrews; US editor Freddy Gray; political editor James Forsyth; Capital Economics chairman Roger Bootle; re-enactor Chris Brown and historical consultant Justin Pollard.<br><br></div><div>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br></div><div>Produced by Max Jeffery, Alexa Rendell, Sam Russell and Matt Taylor.</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 guests on this week's Book Club podcast are the writer and Women's Equality Party co-founder Catherine Mayer, and her mother, the arts publicist Anne Mayer Bird. They are mother and daughter -- but a year ago they became 'sister widows', as both lost their husbands within a few weeks of one another. Their new book is called <em>Good Grief: Embracing life at a time of death</em>, and they join me to talk about grief in the time of Covid, how social perceptions of widowhood put pressure on the bereaved, and what they think needs to change at a societal and personal level with regards to how we treat death and bereavement.</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>Alison Roman is an American food writer, cook, and author of <em>New York Times</em> bestseller <em>Nothing Fancy</em>. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Livvy about the recipes she learnt from her mum, how she plans a dinner party, and craving pizza in lockdown.<br><br>This episode is sponsored by Berry Brothers and Rudd.</div><div><br>Table Talk is a series of podcasts where Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts talk to celebrity guests about their life story, through the food and drink that has come to define it. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://audioboom.com/channels/4985181">here</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 episode, Andrew Neil is joined by Peter Greenberger, former head of political advertising at Google and Twitter; Francis Balloux, director of UCL's Genetics Institute; Anshel Pfeffer, a correspondent at The Economist; and a team of Spectator journalists.<br><br>We discuss whether Twitter was right to ban Trump, what we know about the Brazilian Covid strain, and how Israel has vaccinated so many people.<br><br>To watch the show, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/tv">www.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>On this week's episode, Lionel Shriver says we believe what we want to believe. (00:45) Then, Matthew Parris says Peter Mandelson, infamously nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, could have been prime minister. (09:50) And finally, Father Jonathan Beswick explains why he's keeping his church open during lockdown. (17:10)</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>Helen Andrews is Senior Editor at the American Conservative and author of <em>Boomers: The Men and Women Who Promised Freedom and Delivered Disaster</em>. On this episode, Freddy Gray interviews her about the Boomer generation and why she argues they are to blame for the chaos of today's world.</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>Joe Biden won the US election, but is Big Tech really in power? (00:45) Churches are allowed to open during lockdown, but should they? (13:20) And can comfort eating and cosy socks replace human connections? (25:50)<br><br></div><div>With historian Niall Ferguson; New York Times editorial board member Greg Bensinger; Father Jonathan Beswick; The Very Reverend Peter Howell-Jones; journalist Laura Freeman and psychology professor Dr Shira Gabriel.<br><br></div><div>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br></div><div>Produced by Max Jeffery, Sam Russell and Matt Taylor.</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 first Book Club podcast of the year, we’re marking the moment that George Orwell comes out of copyright. I’m joined by two distinguished Orwellians — D. J. Taylor and Dorian Lynskey — to talk about how the left’s favourite Old Etonian speaks to us now, and how his reputation has weathered. Was he secretly a conservative? Was he a McCarthyite snitch? How would he be remembered had he died before writing <em>Nineteen Eighty-Four</em>? And does 'Orwellian' mean anything much at all?</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>Since 2017 a succession of re-education camps have sprung up across Xinjiang, the home of the Uyghur people. It's estimated that one in ten Uyghur people are incarcerated to be subjected to patriotic education, but there are reports of forced labour, forced sterilisation and even torture. Much has been written about what is happening in the region, but this episode sheds light on <em>why</em> it's happening. Cindy Yu speaks to Professor James Millward, a renowned historian of the region, to break down China's historic relationship with its ethnic minorities and what Beijing hopes to get out of its treatment of the Uyghurs.</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, Andrew Neil is joined by Jeremy Hunt, chair of the health and social care committee and former foreign secretary, alongside a team of <em>Spectator</em> journalists.<br><br>This week, we discuss the implications of the Capitol riots and whether the UK's vaccine rollout has been fast enough.<br><br>To watch the show, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/tv">www.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>On this week's episode, author and financial columnist Matthew Lynn begins by arguing that the EU has already botched its Covid vaccine rollout. (00:25) Then, Will Knowland, formerly an English teacher at Eton, explains why he was dismissed from the school and criticises its 'stifling monoculture'. (08:20) And finally, Mary Wellesley reflects on the lives of 13th-century hermits. (13:55)</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>Christina Lamb is an award-winning journalist who has reported on conflicts and politics across the world, for more than three decades. Her latest book is <em>Our Bodies, Their Battlefields</em>, highlighting especially the treatment of women in war.</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>Coronavirus vaccines are now being distributed across the world, but what are the challenges posed by its delivery? (01:30) Is Boris Johnson the SNP's greatest weapon? (13:55) And is Prince Harry becoming more and more like his mother? (23:35)<br><br></div><div>With financial columnist Matthew Lynn; former director at the McKinsey Global Institute Richard Dobbs; the UK's former director of immunisation David Salisbury; <em>The Spectator</em>'s deputy political editor Katy Balls; <em>The Spectator</em>'s Scotland editor Alex Massie; journalist Melanie McDonagh; and royal biographer Angela Levin.<br><br></div><div>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br></div><div>Produced by Max Jeffery, Alexa Rendell, Sam Russell and Matt Taylor.</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>Leroy Logan is a former superintendent at the Metropolitan Police, former chair of the Black Police Association, and author of <em>Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop</em>. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about his love of apple crumble, his wife's lunchboxes, and why police officers should always stay dry.<br><br>Table Talk is a series of podcasts where Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts talk to celebrity guests about their life story, through the food and drink that has come to define it. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://audioboom.com/channels/4985181">here</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>Damian's guest, the celebrated Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright Mary Kenny, offers a nuanced analysis of the powerful and paradoxical world in which she grew up: one in which Catholic clergy and lay people could be simultaneously fervently pious, warm-hearted and yet paralysed by petty snobbery. She talks about how the Irish Free State handed far too much power to bishops and priests. In effect, they replaced the disappearing Anglo-Irish nobility as the new aristocracy of rural Ireland, exercising an authority over people's lives that could be generous or malevolent and sometimes a mixture of both. </div><div><br>Holy Smoke is a series of podcasts where Damian Thompson dissects the most important and controversial topics in world religion, with a range of high profile guests. Click <a href="https://audioboom.com/channel/holy-smoke">here</a> to find previous episodes.</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 a year battling coronavirus, the UK's debt now totals more than £2 trillion. In an effort to keep the economy afloat, the Treasury has paid wages, given tax relief, and even paid for people to eat out. As recently as five years ago, Conservatives would have thought this spending unsustainable. But with Boris Johnson's government being elected on a promise to 'level up' the country, will this high-spending, high-debt economy become the new normal?<br><br>With Paul Abberley, CEO of Charles Stanley Wealth Managers; Jake Berry, Conservative MP and chair of the Northern Research Group; and David Miles, an economist at Imperial College London and former member of the Monetary Policy Committee. <br><br>Presented by Kate Andrews. <br><br>Sponsored by Charles Stanley Wealth Managers.</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>Douglas Murray, the author of <em>The Madness of Crowds</em>, joins the last Americano of the year. On the episode, he and Freddy chat through the most important trends and events of the year, from China and the pandemic, to whether or not 'neocon' is still a usable term.</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>2020 is drawing to a close but none of us will forget this year anytime soon. For China, has it also been a watershed year? Western rhetoric hasn’t been so hawkish on China in a very long time, with talk of a second Cold War gracing commentary pages and calls to decouple supply chains. Lost in the noise is China's own turning away from the world. In a new strategy called 'dual circulation', the government is encouraging economic self-reliance. On this episode, Cindy Yu talks to Chatham House's Dr Yu Jie to find out how China is instigating its own decoupling.</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, Andrew Neil is joined by Professor Tim Spector, principal investigator of ZOE at Kings College London; Andrew Wilson, former SNP finance spokesperson and founding partner of Charlotte Street Partners; Rod Liddle, associate editor of <em>The Spectator</em>; and a team of <em>Spectator</em> journalists.<br><br>This week, we discuss whether all the data supports increased coronavirus restrictions, if there's a case for Scottish independence, and the highs and lows of 2020.<br><br>To watch the show, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/tv">www.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>For the Christmas triple issue, there are four authors in this week's Spectator Out Loud. Fraser Nelson reads the leading article in our Christmas edition; Matt Ridley talks about how mRNA vaccines could revolutionise medicine; Ian Rankin reads his short story; and Cressida Bonas reflects on what it was like to have a lockdown wedding.<br><br>To read more brilliant pieces from the Christmas issue, subscribe online at <a href="http://spectator.co.uk/voucher">spectator.co.uk/voucher</a> and get a free £20 Amazon gift voucher; or pick it up at all good newsagents.</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 Beethoven celebrates his 250th birthday. To mark the day, Damian Thompson talks to the composer Sir James MacMillan about how Beethoven's faith impacted his music.</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>How will the UK's economy recover from Covid-19, and what has the pandemic revealed about the West? (01:20) Was 2020 the year we dealt a mortal blow to future viruses? (15:05) And finally, what makes Mary Gaitskill a brilliant writer, and why does Elif Shafak work to heavy metal music? (29:25)<br><br>With <em>The Spectator</em>'s political editor James Forsyth, deputy political editor Katy Balls, writer and biologist Matt Ridley, behavioural psychologist Dr Stuart Ritchie, <em>The Spectator</em>'s literary editor Sam Leith and writer Elif Shafak.<br><br>Presented by Lara Prendergast. <br><br>Produced by 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, we remember the great John Le Carre. I'm joined by one of the late writer's longest standing friends, the novelist Nicholas Shakespeare. He tells me about Le Carre's disdain for - and debt to - Ian Fleming, his intensely secretive and controlling personality, his magnetic charm, his thwarted hopes of the Nobel Prize... and why at the end of his life he acquired an Irish passport.<br><br>The Book Club is a series of literary interviews and discussions on the latest releases in the world of publishing, from poetry through to physics. Presented by Sam Leith, <em>The Spectator</em>'s Literary Editor. Hear past episodes <a href="https://audioboom.com/dashboard/4905582">here</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>Last month the government released its ten point plan for what it dubs 'The Green Industrial Revolution'. At the top of the list was offshore wind, with a pledge to produce enough power for every home by 2030. Offshore wind currently constitutes over 50 per cent of the renewables in the UK, with costs coming down considerably over recent years. But does offshore wind have its limits? Is it always a good deal for the consumer? And how far can it realistically advance us on our road to Net Zero by 2050?<br><br>With Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth; Benj Sykes, VP for UK Offshore at Orsted; and Sir David King, the former chief scientific adviser to the UK government.<br><br>Presented by Kate Andrews.<br><br>Sponsored by Orsted.</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>Jeffrey Archer is a novelist, former politician, and peer of the realm. He has sold 275 million copies of his books - in 97 countries and more than 30 languages. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about food in prison, his wife's jacket potato, and why he loves shepherd's pie. </div><div><br></div><div>Table Talk is a series of podcasts where Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts talk to celebrity guests about their life story, through the food and drink that has come to define it. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://audioboom.com/channels/4985181">here</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, Andrew Neil is joined by Philip Rycroft, permanent secretary of the Department for Exiting the European Union from 2017 to 2019; Stephen Bush, political editor of the New Statesman; Andrew RT Davies, Wales's shadow health minister and former leader of the Welsh Conservatives; and a team of Spectator journalists.<br><br>On this week's episode, we discuss whether a Brexit deal will really be broken by fish and state aid, whether Wales's 'firebreak' lockdown worked, and why China isn't shouting about it's Covid vaccine.<br><br>To watch the show, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/tv">www.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>On this week's episode, the <em>Spectator</em>'s deputy US editor, Dominic Green, argues that if Joe Biden departs from Donald Trump’s foreign policy, American interests will be harmed. (01:00) After, Tanya Gold reads her interview with Belle Delphine, the 21-year-old who earns more than $1 million a month from videos she posts online. (13:25) Lionel Shriver features next; she says that nobody wins from identity politics. (20:00) And finally, Bruce Anderson explains why you can’t trust supermarket cheese. (28:45)</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>Barbara Amiel, Baroness Black, is a journalist, writer and socialite. She's been married four times - her fourth to the newspaper proprietor Conrad Black. On the podcast, she talks to Katy Balls about her difficult childhood (which she describes as 'slightly unorthodox'), establishing her journalistic career in Toronto and London, comparing bathrooms with Ghislaine Maxwell, her glamorous marriage to Black and their fall from grace when he was jailed for fraud. Her new book, <em>Friends and Enemies: A Memoir,</em> is and out now.<br><br>Presented by Katy 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>Joe Biden wants his administration to be a departure from the days of Donald Trump, but will a change in foreign policy harm American interests? (01:00) Why is it taking so long to reach a Brexit deal? (17:10) And finally, should cyclists be given priority on London's roads? (29:35)<br><br></div><div>With <em>The Spectator</em>’s deputy US editor Dominic Green, Chatham House's Leslie Vinjamuri, <em>The Spectator</em>'s political editor James Forsyth, EurasiaGroup's managing director Mujtaba Rahman, journalist Christian Wolmar and writer, actor, and comedian Griff Rhys Jones.<br><br></div><div>Presented by Lara Prendergast.<br><br></div><div>Produced by Max Jeffery, Matt Taylor and Alexa Rendell.</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 the journalist Ed Caesar, whose new book <em>The Moth and the Mountain</em> tells the story of a now forgotten solo assault on Everest that ended in disaster. But as Ed argues, the heroic failure can be a richer and more resonant story than any triumph -- and as he painstakingly excavated the story of Maurice Wilson, it was just such a rich and resonant story he discovered: of a character who became fixated on the mountain as a means of redeeming wartime trauma and a chequered and at times disgraceful romantic history, of getting his own back on hated authority figures, and -- just possibly -- of finding a safe space for his darkest secret of all.</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>Henry Jeffreys is features editor of <em>Masters of Malt</em>, and author of <em>The Cocktail Dictionary</em>. On the podcast, he tells Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about living like the Goodfellas in Leeds, being 'portly' at university, and enjoying his mum's apple and bramble pie.<br><br>Table Talk is a series of podcasts where Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts talk to celebrity guests about their life story, through the food and drink that has come to define it. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://audioboom.com/channels/4985181">here</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>When thinking about Chinese student protests, you'll inevitably think about Hong Kong or Tiananmen. But there's one that kicked it all off in modern Chinese history, and its reverberations are still felt throughout the century, not least because of its role in the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. It's the May Fourth Movement of 1919, which is the topic of this episode. Professor Rana Mitter, former head of the China Centre at the University of Oxford and author of numerous books on Chinese history, joins the podcast on why China is no stranger to student protests.<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>Andrew Neil is joined by Trevor Phillips, managing director of Webber and Phillips, and columnist for The Times; Mark Harper, Conservative MP and former chief whip; Emily Gray, managing director of Ipsos MORI Scotland; and a team of Spectator journalists.<br><br>On this week's episode, we discuss why Tory MPs rebelled against the tiered restrictions, whether Scottish independence is inevitable and if critical race theory is flawed.<br><br>To watch the show, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/tv">www.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>