Best of the Spectator

<div>Sam's guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the distinguished Irish historian Roy Foster, talking about his new book <em>On Seamus Heaney</em>. He tells Sam how 'Famous Seamus'’s darkness has been under-recognised, how he negotiated with the shade of Yeats and the explosive politics of Ireland to find an independent space to write from, and just how 'certus' the man who signed himself 'Incertus' 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>Which are the companies that will rewrite the rules and help rebuild the economy in 2020 and beyond? <em>The Spectator</em> and Julius Baer have come together once again to celebrate creative entrepreneurship across the UK. On this podcast, The Spectator's business columnist Martin Vander Weyer talks to a panel of high profile judges from the business world about the finalists in the West and the South West - from contactless payment for the charities sector to 'haptic' technology which allows users to touch virtual screens.<br><br>The guest judges were Angela Luger, a newcomer to these Awards who has had a long career in consumer-facing businesses, latterly as chief executive of the online retailer N Brown until 2018 and currently as a non-exec at New Look and chair of Edinburgh-based The Paint Shed. Hugh Campbell, founder and managing partner of investment bank GP Bullhound — which advises and invests in ‘future unicorns’ — rejoined us for the third year. And the panel was completed by Dawn Li Wan Po, an executive director of Julius Baer and senior portfolio manager there. </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 the world's largest polluter. At the same time, it accounts for a quarter of international investment into renewable energy, and it's the leading exporter of solar panels. So are ideas of China's eco-unfriendliness outdated? Journalist Isabel Hilton, who received an OBE for her contribution to raising environmental awareness in China, joins the podcast. She paints a complicated picture: of a country undergoing rapid industrial revolution; of a one-party state divining public opinion to solve public health issues; and of a country trying to use climate change as a jumping board into global leadership.<br><br>Chinese Whispers is a fortnightly podcast on the latest in Chinese politics, society, and more. Presented by Cindy Yu. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/chinese-whispers">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, Jeff Fynn-Paul argues that land taken over by European colonialists in North America wasn't 'stolen'; Christopher Snowdon says the economic scars of coronavirus will define the decade; and Jo Deacon explains the drink being hailed as a Covid cure by Madagascar's president. </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>Emily Sheffield is the editor of the Evening Standard. She was formerly deputy editor at Vogue, and has started her own journalistic venture at This Much I Know. She also happens to be sister of Samantha Cameron. On the podcast, she talks about the real story behind why she was kicked out of Marlborough as a teenager (spoiler: it was unrequited love gone wrong); battling sexism on her first day at the Guardian; and her two pennies on Sasha Swire's diary.<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>Another Conservative civil war threatens to bubble over, so will the government start taking its backbenchers seriously? (00:55) Plus, the contentious fight over the next Supreme Court nominee (15:25) and what is it like to be in Madagascar during the pandemic? (29:05)<br><br>With Political Editor James Forsyth; Chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers Sir Graham Brady; Professor Charles Lipson from the University of Chicago; USA Editor Freddy Gray; and writer Jo Deacon.<br><br>Presented by Cindy Yu.<br><br>Produced by 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 Kate Summerscale, here to talk about her latest book <em>The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story</em>. Kate uses the true story of an eruption of poltergeist activity in 1930s Croydon to give what turns into a thoughtful and poignant look at the mental weather of interwar Britain, and the shifting meanings of the occult in light of new ideas about physics and the psychology of trauma. She tells Sam about the story's enduring mysteries and ambiguities, how spookily it chimed with its historical background - and about flying Bovril and a talking mongoose called Gef.</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>Which are the companies that will rewrite the rules and help rebuild the economy in 2020 and beyond? <em>The Spectator</em> and Julius Baer have come together once again to celebrate creative entrepreneurship across the UK. On this podcast, The Spectator's business columnist Martin Vander Weyer talks to a panel of high profile judges from the business world about the finalists in the Midlands and the North East - from desks made out of honeycomb paper to batteries that can sustain entire fleets of electric buses.<br><br>Our guest judges on this occasion were all veterans of these Awards. Representing the Midlands, Clive Bawden is COO of past regional winner Warwick Music and has a hand in a wide range of entrepreneurial and social projects. From Yorkshire, Gordon Black is former chairman of his family’s manufacturing business, Peter Black, and an active venture capitalist. And from Newcastle, Caroline Theobald is chair of Northumbria University’s business school and founder of First Face to Face, which connects early-stage entrepreneurs to money and markets. Representing Julius Baer was Martin Cuthbert, head of region for the North East.</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>Mike Pompeo has guided Donald Trump's foreign policy, and has been hailed with bringing the president's ideology to life. In the latest US edition of the Spectator, Dominic Green interviews the secretary of state. Freddy Gray speaks to Dominic about Pompeo's Middle East strategy, and the philosophy that guides his decisions.<br><br>Americano is a series of in-depth discussions on American politics with the best pundits stateside. Presented by Freddy Gray, editor of Spectator USA. Click <a href="https://audioboom.com/channel/americano">here</a> to listen to previous episodes.<br><br><em>Subscribe to The Spectator's first podcast newsletter </em><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights"><em>here</em></a><em> and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.</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, Swedish journalist Paulina Neuding talks about Sweden's crime surge; Toby Young on why he has given up on Boris; and Lloyd Evans on going to the theatre in the age of Covid.</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 Covid to Brexit to even the culture wars, Boris's performance seems to have been lacklustre. Where is the effervescent leader he was promised to be? (00:45) Sweden's violent crime is spiking - and are politicians afraid to say why? (16:45) And on the other side of the world, why are the Japanese so much happier to wear masks? (27:55)<br><br>With Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson; Director of Political Insight Stewart Jackson; journalist Paulina Neuding; the FT's Nordic Bureau Chief Richard Milne; Professor Jordan Sand; and Spectator Assistant Editor Lara Prendergast.<br><br>Presented by Cindy Yu.<br><br>Produced by 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 books podcast Sam's guest is the writer Ysenda Maxtone Graham, whose new book casts a rosy look back at the way children used to spend their summer holidays. <em>British Summer Time Begins: The School Summer Holidays 1930-1980 </em>is a work of oral history that covers everything from damp sandwiches and cruelty to animals to tree-climbing, messing about in boats or endless games of Monopoly; intimidating fathers, frustrated mothers and grandparents who, if you weren't careful, would eat your pet rabbit. The good old days, in other words. Ysenda tells Sam why she sees 'spiritual danger' in iPads, how she longed to visit a motorway service station on the M2 - and how a childhood of constant hunger and warmed-through digestive biscuits may have shaped the psychology of our current Prime Minister. </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>Has the government found the magic money tree? It certainly seems like it when the furlough scheme and various other Covid measures have taken government debt to above £2 trillion. The crazy amount of spending has been kept afloat by quantitative easing, the Bank of England’s policy of choice since the financial crisis. Some have called this ‘money-printing’ and warned of a reckoning, yet none has come. So what does this new financial environment mean for investors, savers, and the less well off? Fraser Nelson talks to a panel of special guests in this podcast, sponsored by Charles Stanley.<br><br>With Harriett Baldwin, Conservative MP who sits on the Treasury Select Committee; David Miles, an economist at Imperial College London, formerly a member of the Monetary Policy Committee; and Paul Abberley, CEO of Charles Stanley.</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's said that Bicester Village is the second most popular attraction for Chinese tourists in the UK, coming just behind Buckingham Palace. The pandemic recovery figures show much the same - while retail is still struggling to recover, luxury goods sales is leading the bounceback. In this episode, I find out why the Chinese love luxury goods just so much. My guests tell me about why Chanel just doesn't cut it anymore for the most fashionable housewives of Beijing; how President Xi's anti-corruption drive recalibrated wealth flaunting among the elite; and why fashionistas are leaving Beijing for Shanghai.<br><br>With Sara Jane Ho, founder of the Chinese finishing school, Institute Sarita; and Gregory Cole, co-founder of the consultancy firm CDGL.<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>On this week's episode, Douglas Murray asks - why would anyone want to be a government adviser, given what's happened to Tony Abbott? The historian Francis Pike reads his piece on Thailand's Caligula; and Philip Hensher reviews a new book on Wagner.<br><br>Spectator Out Loud is a weekly audio collection of three Spectator writers reading their pieces in the latest issue.</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>Sarah Sands is the former editor of the Today programme. On the podcast, she talks to Katy Balls about her departure from the Sunday Telegraph after just nine months as Editor; giving John Humphreys a pay cut; and what it was like to find out on election night that the Boris Johnson government intended to boycott Today.<br><br>Women With Balls is a podcast series where Katy Balls speak to women at the top of their respective games. To hear past episodes, visit <a href="http://spectator.co.uk/balls">spectator.co.uk/balls</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>Vaccines are normally in the realm of scientists; but not this time as world leaders race to be the first. (00:50) Brexit is heating up, but is the government in a stronger position than it seems? (13:35) And a modern day Caligula - the life and times of the Thai king Rama X. (22:40)<br><br>With journalist Matthew Lynn; immunologist Beate Kampmann; our political editor James Forsyth; YouGov pollster Marcus Roberts; and Asia historian Francis Pike.<br><br>Presented by Cindy Yu.<br><br>Produced by 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>Sam's guest in this week's books podcast is the former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Along with the economist and former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Julia has written a new book called <em>Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons</em>, which includes interviews with women who've reached the top roles in global institutions, from Christine Lagarde and Joyce Banda to Michelle Bachelet and Theresa May. Sam asks her about her own time in politics, what she'd have done differently, whether Australia is more sexist than the UK, and her notorious 'misogyny' speech - plus, what she thinks her old sparring partner Tony Abbott has to offer the UK as a trade adviser.</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 last episode of this miniseries on climate change, Bjorn Lomborg argues that climate change is important, but solving it shouldn't come above all else. So what are the trade offs involved with a green agenda, especially when it comes to lifting the poorest in the world out of poverty? Kate Andrews discusses with Bjorn and Matt Ridley and asks - is it really an either/or?<br><br>Bjorn Lomborg is the President of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and author of <em>False Alarm</em>. Matt Ridley is a Conservative peer, journalist, and author of <em>How Innovation Works.</em> To hear all episodes in this series, click <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/climate-change-special">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 Thompson is joined by Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, Hungary's ambassador to the Holy See. A member of one of Europe's most historically influential families, Eduard explains how his religious practices have adapted to the acceleration of new technologies, and tells Damian how the Habsburgs keep in contact.<br><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>On this week's podcast, Lloyd Evans argues that the state should stop subsidising the National Theatre and start funding bingo halls (00:41). Then Lionel Shriver explains the trouble of taking back control (08:15). And finally, Will Heaven explores the dissolution of the Downside monastery (16:48). </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 Annie Nightingale - Britain’s first female DJ, occasional Spectator contributor, and longest serving presenter of Radio One. Ahead of the publication of her new book <em>Hey Hi Hello</em>, Annie tells Sam about the Beatles’ secrets, BBC sexism, getting into rave culture, the John Peel she knew - and how when most people never get past the music they love in their teens, she’s never lost her drive to hear tunes she’s never heard before.</div><div><br></div><div><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>Governments around the world have adopted extraordinary powers to deal with coronavirus – but could they end up doing more damage than good? (01:00) Next, is the best way to deal with the threat of Scottish secession to negotiate a hypothetical Scottish exit deal? (16:04) And finally, are Britain's graveyards suffering a spate of indecent behaviour? (31:38)<br><br>The Spectator's deputy political editor Katy Balls is joined by historian Johan Norberg and the Wall Street Journal's Gerard Baker; The Spectator's political editor James Forsyth and Scotland editor Alex Massie; and journalist Andrew Watts alongside the Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie.<br><br>Produced by Gus Carter, 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>As the UK faces its worst economic contraction in 300 years, there have been growing calls to adopt a ‘green recovery’. But what does that mean? While renewable energy may be getting cheaper, can it really meet our energy demands? And has the Covid crisis set back the government on its path to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050? To answer all this and more, Kate Andrews, the Spectator’s economics correspondent, is joined by Kemi Badenoch MP, minister for equalities; Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change; and Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish Power. This podcast is kindly sponsored by Scottish Power.</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 human innovation stop climate change, or will it simply manage and delay the challenges it poses? In the second of this mini podcast series featuring Bjorn Lomborg and Matt Ridley, host Kate Andrews discusses with Bjorn and Matt whether their optimism is misplaced. <br><br>Bjorn Lomborg is the President of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and author of <em>False Alarm</em>.<br><br>Matt Ridley is a Conservative peer, journalist, and author of <em>How Innovation Works.</em><br><br>To hear all episodes in this series, click <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/climate-change-special">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>You can’t get far doing serious business in China without having friends in powerful places. So when her husband’s company, Jardine Matheson (which once upon a time had smuggled opium into the country), was invited back into a liberalising China in the 1990s, Tessa Keswick had rare access to the country’s top leadership. On the podcast, she recounts seeing Bo Xilai, the disgraced Chongqing party secretary, days before he was arrested by Xi Jinping; the prank that Zhu Rongji, the then Prime Minister, played on Henry Keswick; and what it was like inside Zhongnanhai, the secretive Beijing compound that China’s leaders work from.<br><br>Tessa Keswick's book, <em>The Colour of the Sky after Rain</em>, is out now and she is pictured above with Cai Qi, Party Secretary of Beijing.<br><br>Chinese Whispers is a fortnightly podcast on the latest in Chinese politics, society, and more. Presented by Cindy Yu. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/chinese-whispers">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 podcast, Freddy Gray explains how Trump could still pull his greatest trick yet (00:45) Emma Byrne considers whether she will be bankrupted by the next housing scandal (12:30) Lara Prendergast argues that wearing floral masks isn't worth the hassle. (19:11)</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>With protests in American cities continuing and the Democrat and Republican conventions drawing to a close - are there signs that Donald Trump could win again? (00:45) Plus, could planning reforms be the next Tory battle? (13:05) And finally, can daily commutes really be enjoyable? (25:45)<br><br>With editor of the Spectator's US edition Freddy Gray; the Spectator's economics correspondent Kate Andrews; the Spectator's political editor James Forsyth; economist and author Liam Halligan; the Spectator's features editor; and author Sara Yirrell.<br><br>Presented by Cindy Yu. Produced by 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 Leith talks to Paul Edmondson and Stanley Wells about their new book All The Sonnets of Shakespeare - which by collecting the sonnets that appear in the plays with the 154 poems usually known as 'Shakespeare's Sonnets', and placing them in chronological order, gives a totally fresh sense of what the form meant to our greatest poet-dramatist. They tell Sam what sonnets meant to Elizabethans, why so much of what has been said about 'the sonnets' has been wrong - they're not a sequence, and it's vain to look for a Dark Lady or Fair Youth in these candidly bisexual poems - and how they provide perhaps the most intensely inward view of the poet we have.</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 the conversation around climate change all too often get heated, hysterical, and panicked? Should we be appealing for more calm in the climate debate? In the first of this mini podcast series featuring Bjorn Lomborg and Matt Ridley, host Kate Andrews challenges Bjorn and Matt on their views over the best way to conduct what some say is the most important debate of our lifetimes.<br><br>Bjorn Lomborg is the President of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and author of <em>False Alarm</em>.<br><br>Matt Ridley is a Conservative peer, journalist, and author of <em>How Innovation Works.<br><br></em>To hear all previous episodes in this series, click <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/climate-change-special">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 podcast, Lionel Shriver says that the real determinant of coronavirus isn't race - it's obesity (01:00) Simon Cooper asks whether the return of beavers to English rivers is really something to be celebrated (09:35) Gerri Peev asks why the European Union keeps backing Bulgaria's kleptocratic government (15:40)</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 accepted the Democratic Party's nomination at their virtual convention last night, bringing his three-day coronation to an end with a well-received speech. Throughout this year's DNC, speakers have warned that America's political foundations are at stake in the upcoming election - Barack Obama urged voters not to let the Republicans 'take away your democracy'. Is the country on the brink, and what's the verdict on the Democratic convention? Matt McDonald, managing editor of Spectator USA, speaks to Matt Purple, senior editor at the American Conservative. </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>While the government’s U-turn on A-level and GCSE results has been widely welcomed, universities are still in a dire state – why? (00:55) Plus, has Boris Johnson got the right approach in his war on fat? (15:00) And finally, are illegal raves during the pandemic socially irresponsible, or just young people sticking it to The Man? (25:45) <br><br>With academic and author Matthew Goodwin; chair of the Education Select Committee Robert Halfon; Spectator columnist Lionel Shriver; weight loss doctor Andrew Jenkinson; Spectator contributors Leaf Arbuthnot and James Delingpole.<br><br>Presented by Cindy Yu. Produced by Cindy Yu, Max Jeffery 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>The virtual Democratic National Convention kicked off this week with an agenda packed full of the party's most well-known and experienced figures. But with a controversial appearance from Bill Clinton and a barnstorming speech from Michelle Obama, who is the convention really for? Matt McDonald, managing editor of the Spectator USA, speaks to Emily Larsen, political reporter at the Washington Examiner.</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 books podcast, Sam's guest is that man of parts Loyd Grossman. Loyd's new book is <em>An Elephant in Rome: Bernini, the Pope, and the Making of the Eternal City</em>, which explores the titanic influence of Bernini on the Rome we see today, and his partnership with Pope Alexander VII. Loyd tells Sam why you couldn't bring Italian Baroque home to meet your parents, about Bernini's far from congenial character - and why you'd stick an obelisk on top of an elephant anyway.</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 don't hear much about his wall with Mexico anymore, but Trump seems to be building a digital wall to shut out Chinese tech. WeChat and TikTok are the two victims to his latest ban. On the episode, Cindy Yu talks to Chinese business expert Duncan Clark, author of <em>Alibaba</em>, and Rui Ma, host of the TechBuzz China podcast. They tell Cindy about how WeChat has created a cashless society in China, and why banning it would be more significant than banning TikTok.<br><br>Chinese Whispers is a fortnightly podcast on the latest in Chinese politics, society, and more. Presented by Cindy Yu. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/chinese-whispers">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, Douglas Murray reads his column on how if everything is racist, then nothing is; Reverend Steve Morris campaigns for the return of the British holiday camp; and Toby Young on his new dating website for lockdown sceptics.</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>Poll after poll is showing the surge in support for Scottish independence - so what can Boris Johnson do about it? (00:35) Plus, how many more pandemics does nature have in store for us? (13:20) And finally, is it time to bring back the British holiday camp? (28:00).<br><br>With our Scotland Editor Alex Massie; commentator Angela Haggerty; author of <em>The Pandemic Century </em>Mark Honigsbaum; ecologist Peter Daszak; Reverend Steve Morris; and historian Kathryn Ferry.<br><br>Presented by Cindy Yu.<br><br>Produced by Cindy Yu 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 I'm joined by the philosopher, scientist and broadcaster Sam Harris - host of the hugely popular <em>Making Sense </em>podcast. Sam's new book is a selection of edited transcripts of the very best of his conversations from that podcast with intellectual eminences from Daniel Kahneman to David Deutsch, and explores some of the issues that preoccupy him most: to do with consciousness, human cognition, artificial intelligence and the political spaces in which these subjects come to bear. He tells me why civilised conversation is what the world needs now more than ever, why 'cancel culture' is real and J.K. Rowling's trans-rights-activist opponents are 'insane', how 'bad philosophy' has ruined the social sciences, the circumstances under which totalitarianism might be okay - and why, as a liberal, he thinks the left is in danger of destroying America.</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>Annie Gray is a historian, cook and writer who specialises in food from 1600 to present day. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Olivia about a childhood of eating 'frisbee-like' omelettes, why male hares are inedible, and how an episode of Antiques Roadshow nearly jeopardised the release of her new book. Annie Gray's <em>Victory in the Kitchen: The Life of Churchill's Cook</em>, is out now. <br><br>Table Talk is a series of podcasts where Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts talk to high profile 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>.<br><br><em>Subscribe to The Spectator's first podcast newsletter </em><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights"><em>here</em></a><em> and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.</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>The polls are tightening, meanwhile Joe Biden is on the back foot over another gaffe about African American voters. Is the Democratic challenger blowing the election? Editor of the National Interest Jacob Heilbrunn joins Freddy Gray, editor of Spectator USA.</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 edition, Joanna Lumley recalls her meeting with Mongolia’s former champion wrestler – now the country’s president – and reflects on the joys of eating birdseed (01:14). Lionel Shriver argues that the true novelty of coronavirus is just how scared it's made us all (07:14). Andrew Doyle suggests that the SNP's hate crime bill could lead to the criminalisation of the bible (15:34). And Low Life's Jeremy Clarke shares his sadness at seeing an old neighbour and friend moving on (20:14).</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>Next month, the Vatican will talk to Beijing about renewing its 2018 deal with the Chinese Communist Party that effectively allowed President Xi to choose the country's Catholic bishops. He has used this power to force Catholics loyal to Rome to join the puppet Catholic church set up by Chairman Mao in the 1950s. They can no longer refuse on the grounds that they recognise only the Pope's Church because Francis himself has validated the orders of Xi's party stooges. </div><div><br></div><div>But the Holy Father has done more than that: he has ostentatiously failed to condemn China's savage assaults on human rights, the worst of which is its attempt to eradicate the country's Muslim Uyghurs ethnic minority by herding them into concentration camps and forcing Uighur women to have abortions. </div><div><br></div><div>As I say in this episode of Holy Smoke, the Pope's behaviour is not just a disgrace but also a mystery. The Catholic Church has gained nothing from the 2018 pact. On the contrary, it has given Beijing a handy excuse to intensify its harassment of Catholics. So why is the Vatican apparently keen to renew a deal that so badly reflects on it? </div><div><br></div><div>One plausible explanation is money. Rome hasn't got any. China enjoys nothing more than buying influence. This year, claims surfaced that the Communist Party is quietly slipping the Vatican £1.6 billion a year in order to buy the Pope's silence about the Uyghurs, the subjugation of Hong Kong and the demolition of churches. But no evidence has been produced to support this conspiracy theory. </div><div><br></div><div>My guests are the journalist Catherine Lafferty and Fr Benedict Kiely, a campaigner on behalf of persecuted religious minorities.</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>London is the motor to Britain’s economy, so how can it rebuild after the pandemic? (00:55) How can the new Tory leader in Scotland, Douglas Ross, keep the United Kingdom together? (17:50) And why the looming conflict between India and China isn’t in Kashmir, but rather in the Bay of Bengal. (29:33) <br><br>With economist Gerard Lyons; historian Simon Jenkins; The Spectator’s Scotland editor Alex Massie; The Spectator’s political editor James Forsyth; historian Francis Pike; and author Jonathan Ward. <br><br>Presented by Katy Balls. <br><br>Produced by Gus Carter 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 podcast, we're replaying an episode that first aired earlier this year, but seems more relevant now than ever. Sam is joined by two writers to talk about the perennially fraught issue of race. There’s a wide consensus that discrimination on the basis of race is wrong; but what actually *is* race? Does it map onto a meaningful genetic or scientific taxonomy? Does it map onto a lived reality - is it possible to generalise, say, about 'black' experience? And can we or should we opt out of or ignore it? Adam Rutherford and Thomas Chatterton Williams approach these issues from very different angles: the former, in How To Argue With A Racist, brings genetic science to bear on the myths and realities of population differences; while the latter describes in Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race how after half a lifetime strongly attached to the idea of his own blackness, the arrival of his blonde haired and blue eyed daughter made him rethink his worldview.<br><br><em>Subscribe to the Spectator's first podcast newsletter </em><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights"><em>here</em></a><em> and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.</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>Statistics released this week showed that England had the worst excess death rate in Europe during the first half of 2020. Katy Balls speaks to Kate Andrews and Carl Heneghan, professor of Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University about what's behind the numbers. <br><br><em>Subscribe to the Spectator's first podcast newsletter </em><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights"><em>here</em></a><em> and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.</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>Earlier this year, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson gave credence to the conspiracy theory that the US military took coronavirus to China. It's just one example of a new school of diplomacy that has dominated Chinese foreign policy - the 'wolf warriors'. But does this approach work, or does it merely antagonise the world? Professor Todd Hall is a Chinese foreign policy expert at Oxford University, and tells Cindy Yu about what the wolf warriors say about China's view of the world.<br><br>A fortnightly podcast on the latest in Chinese politics, society, and more. Presented by Cindy Yu. Listen to past episodes <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/chinese-whispers">here</a>.<br><br><em>Subscribe to the Spectator's first podcast newsletter </em><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights"><em>here</em></a><em> and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.</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 the episode this week, Freddy Gray, editor of the Spectator's US edition, reads his cover piece on the real Joe Biden. We also hear from Douglas Murray on the trial of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp - and about allegations that can't be proved or disproved. At the end, Katy Balls relays the government's anxiety over a second wave.<br><br><em>Subscribe to the Spectator's first podcast newsletter </em><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights"><em>here</em></a><em> and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.</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>Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump in the polls, so what is at the root of his appeal? (00:50) The government is anxious about a second wave - can it avoid repeating its mistakes? (11:15) And Rachel Johnson on her generation of high flyers and early retirees (23:30).<br><br>With editor of the Spectator's US edition, Freddy Gray; our economics correspondent Kate Andrews; deputy political editor Katy Balls; former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt; journalist Rachel Johnson; and comedian Dominic Frisby.<br><br>Presented by Cindy Yu.<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 books podcast, Sam's guest is Kate Teltscher, who tells the fascinating story of one of the greatest showpieces of Victorian Britain: the Palm House in Kew Gardens. Though the gardens and their glassy centrepiece are now a fixture of London's tourist map, as her new book Palace of Palms reveals, they very nearly weren't. She tells Sam how a team of brilliant mavericks used cutting-edge science and engineering to build one of the greatest constructions of its era... in just the wrong place. With walk-on parts for Darwin, Humboldt and Alfred Russel Wallace, she reveals the way in which Victorian botany extended its tendrils through the whole Empire, shows how the palm was seen as the "prince of plants", and describes the quest for the palm of all palms, the elusive coco-de-mer.<br><br><em>Subscribe to the Spectator's first podcast newsletter </em><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast-highlights"><em>here</em></a><em> and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Tuesday.</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>