The Spectator Podcast

This week, an election has officially been called – so what do the major parties need to do to win (00:55)? Plus, Trump goes back into Syria – we look at how pressures back home are shaping up his foreign policy (16:15). And last: does this video give you the shivers (28:00)?With Stephen Bush, Will Tanner, Sir Christopher Meyer, Sarah Elliott, Mary Wakefield and Dr Giulia Poerio.Presented by Lara Prendergast and Katy Balls.Produced by Cindy Yu.With special thanks to ASMRtists WhisperRed and SAS-ASMR.

In this week’s Spectator Books, Sam talks to the award-winning historian Thomas Penn about his new book The Brothers York: An English Tragedy — in which he argues that the 'Wars of the Roses' weren’t determined by a struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster so much as by the catastrophic white-on-white conflict that cause the House of York to implode. He tells the story of three brothers — Edward IV; George, Duke of Clarence; and Richard III — and their extraordinary and ultimately disastrous relationship. How did Tudor history — including, of course, Shakespeare — distort the real story of those years? Who really drowned the Duke of Clarence in that butt of wine? And did anyone, like Sam, have their sense of this vital period in history shaped by, er, playing the board game Kingmaker?Spectator Books 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 epi

From outrage mobs to public shaming, our politics have never been angrier. But what's driving this new culture war - and how can we end the hysteria?The Spectator's Douglas Murray and Lionel Shriver spoke in front of a live audience in Westminster this week. Tune in for an enlightening discussion. See our other events at spectator.co.uk/events.

With James Forsyth and Katy Balls, presented by Fraser Nelson.Join Fraser, James, Katy, Liam Halligan and Sam Gyimah for Coffee House Live at the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster on 12 November. Visit spectator.co.uk/liveshots for details.Coffee House Shots is a series of podcasts on British politics from the Spectator's political team and special guests. Brought to you daily, click here to find more episodes that are not released on Spectator Radio.

With Isabel Oakeshott, journalist and commentator, and Katy Balls.Presented by Cindy Yu.Coffee House Shots is a series of podcasts on British politics from the Spectator's political team and special guests. Brought to you daily, click here to find more episodes that are not released on Spectator Radio.

Katharine is the headmistress of Michaela Community School, dubbed by some as 'Britain's strictest school'. She talks to Katy about why she regrets speaking at Conservative Party Conference, her school's 'tiger teacher' philosophy, and why she would ban smartphones for everyone under the age of 18.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 spectator.co.uk/balls.

This week, the government looks close to the finishing line – now all Boris needs is an election (00:40). And as months of grenade attacks blight Swedish neighbourhoods, we get to the bottom of why Sweden doesn’t want to talk about its rise in violent crime (17:40). And last, is there really a right way to speak English (27:30)?With James Forsyth, James Mills, Paulina Neuding, Amir Rostami, Mark Mason, and Sam Leith.Presented by Lara Prendergast and Katy Balls.Produced by Cindy Yu and Christy Cooney.

The Spectator was delighted to host Charles Moore, author of an acclaimed three-part biography of the former prime minister, and John Humphrys, former presenter of Today, for a special conversation on recent history. They talk about politics from the fall of Margaret Thatcher to the Brexit era, the BBC's bias (or lack thereof), and much much more.

Alexandra Shulman is the former Editor-In-Chief of British Vogue. On the podcast, she talks to Olivia and Lara about her mother Drusilla Beyfus's etiquette tips, wining and dining as a journalist in the 80s, and how doughnuts never lasted long at Vogue.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 here.

With Andrew Bacevich, President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.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 here to listen to previous episodes.

With Kate Hoey MP and Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute.Presented by Fraser Nelson.Coffee House Shots is a series of podcasts on British politics from the Spectator's political team and special guests. Brought to you daily, click here to find more episodes that are not released on Spectator Radio.

This week, Boris Johnson agrees a Brexit deal – but can he get it through parliament (00:40)? Plus, who are the biggest beneficiaries from the Turkish incursion into Syria (22:25)? We look at how Russia is consolidating its influence in the Middle East.With Paul Mason, James Johnson, Paul Wood, and Tracey German.Presented by Katy Balls and Cindy Yu.Produced by Cindy Yu.

Sam's guest in this week’s Spectator Books is Peter Pomerantsev. Peter lived in Moscow for a decade as a TV producer, and chronicled the metastasis in that country of 'post-truth politics' in his bestselling Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible. His fascinating and dismaying new book, This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality, describes how Russia’s surreal new information politics turned out not to be a weird exception, but the harbinger of a worldwide phenomenon. In this new book, part travelogue, part reportage, part memoir, he travels from the Philippines to Ukraine, from Mexico to Beijing, to investigate how the internet — which we once thought would be the great political disinfectant — has been weaponised by criminal regimes worldwide.Spectator Books 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 of Spectator Books h

With Katy Balls and James Forsyth.Presented by Cindy Yu.Coffee House Shots is a series of podcasts on British politics from the Spectator's political team and special guests. Brought to you daily, click here to find more episodes that are not released on Spectator Radio.

With Melissa Chen, Spectator USA's New York Editor.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 here to listen to previous episodes.

With Sienna Rodgers, Editor of LabourList, and Katy Balls.Presented by John Connolly.Coffee House Shots is a series of podcasts on British politics from the Spectator's political team and special guests. Brought to you daily, click here to find more episodes that are not released on Spectator Radio.

Lynn Barber is an award-winning journalist known for her incisive interviews and her best-selling books An Education and How to Improve Your Man in Bed. On this episode, she talks to Katy about her lifetime of interviewing the great and the good, from Salvador Dali to Katie Price; the death threats she received from Rafa Nadal's fans; and her favourite (and least favourite) BBC journalists.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 spectator.co.uk/balls.

As the clock ticks down to the European Council, can Boris get a last minute deal with the EU (00:35)? Plus, is Extinction Rebellion just the latest iteration of millenarianism (18:25)? And last, what’s the right way to shoot a pheasant (33:35)?With James Forsyth, Peter Foster, Toby Young, Will Skeaping, Patrick Galbraith and Charlie Jacoby.Presented by Lara Prendergast and Katy Balls.Produced by Cindy Yu.

In this week’s Spectator Books podcast Sam's guest is Jung Chang — whose latest book is the gripping story of three sisters whose political differences put the Mitford even the Johnson clans in perspective. In Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister, Jung narrates the lives of the Soong Girls — one of whom was married to Chiang Kai-shek, another of whom became one of the richest women in the world and helped run Chiang’s government; and the other one of whom (the widow of the founding father of modern China, Sun Yatsen) threw her lot in with Chiang’s deadly enemy and eventual usurper, Mao Zedong. Every family has its little ups and downs! In the episode, Jung describes how — amazingly — the three sisters never stopped being close; the role they took in China’s turbulent 20th century; and the human story behind it. Including the birthday present that showed Chiang Kai-Shek’s romantic side…Spectator Books is a series of literary interviews and discussions on the latest releases in the world of publishing, from po

Isabel Vincent is an author and Canadian investigative journalist for the New York Post. Her book, 'Dinner with Edward', charts the unlikely friendship she struck up with her recently widowed ninety-something neighbour. Theirs is a friendship struck through mutual grief (Vincent's own marriage was breaking down at the time) and good food. The film adaption, starring David Souchet, is under production.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 here.