The Spectator Podcast

With Katy Balls and James Forsyth.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.

In this week's episode of Holy Smoke Damian is joined by Jamie Bartlett, one of the world’s leading experts on the dark web, radical politics and technology, whose gripping podcast series The Missing Cryptoqueen is currently being broadcast by the BBC. It tells the story of a shady Bulgarian tech entrepreneur, Dr Ruja Ignatova, who vanished just as her dodgy cryptocurrency OneCoin was raking in billions of euros from investors – or true believers – all over the world.Despite her disappearance, it still has footholds in African villages, the Chinese business community, Scottish housing estates and Britain’s Muslims – it claims to be Sharia-compliant. Not only does Dr Ruja's operation resemble a religious cult, it also gives us a glimpse of how technology and belief are combining in ever stranger patterns, often inspired by the utopians of Silicon Valley,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 g

With Pat Leahy, Political Editor of the Irish Times, and James Forsyth.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.

With Daniel McCarthy, Contributing Editor of Spectator USA and Editor of Modern Age.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.

As the debate about violent language in Westminster rumbles on, have MPs accidentally stumbled on to something? In this week’s episode, we take a look at what’s happened to civilised debate with people you disagree with (00:45). Plus, could Boris Johnson request an extension and still win a general election (17:00)? And last, is recycling all it’s made out to be (31:25)?With Douglas Murray, Sam Leith, James Forsyth, Ben Page, Laurie Graham and Julian Kirby.Presented by Lara Prendergast and Katy Balls.Produced by Cindy Yu and Matt Lee.

Sam's guest in this week’s books podcast is Benjamin Moser, author of an acclaimed new biography of one of America’s most celebrated (and controversial) intellectuals of the twentieth century: Sontag: Her Life.Sam asked Benjamin how he sorted fact from myth, about tracking down the inventor of that haircut, and about Annie Leibovitz’s take on their stormy love affair. Why could someone as brave as Sontag never come out? Did she have a sense of humour? And what of her will last?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 here.

With former Justice Secretary David Gauke, Director of CER Charles Grant, James Forsyth, Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson.Please accept our apologies for the low volume of this podcast, due to the venue's AV team.

Is plastic the enemy? To watch Blue Planet and listen to Greta Thunberg, you might think so. But there are some things that plastic simply does better than the alternatives, which are not necessarily more eco-friendly in any case. So should we be looking for a better way to use the material, rather than to get rid of it altogether? To this end, we've brought together a few people who might know what they're talking about - Julie Hill, Chair of the charity, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), Michelle Norman, Director of Sustainability at Lucozade Ribena Suntory, and Kate Geraghty, Director of Sustainability at Dow - to see what the future for plastic usage might look like.Presented by Fraser Nelson.Sponsored by Dow.

Liz Truss is the Secretary of State for International Trade and holds the Women and Equalities brief. In this special edition of Women With Balls for Conservative party conference, she talks about why Boris picked her for the job (having heard her speech about cheese exports), the limitation to trans rights, and how punchy language is all just a part of politics.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.

Margaret Hodge is the Labour MP for Barking and Dagenham, and well-known for her role as former head of the Public Accounts Committee, in which she scrutinised senior civil servants and politicians alike. She has also been one of the most vocal critics of Labour's anti-Semitism problem. On the podcast, she tells Katy about how boarding school made her rebellious, her remorse for supporting Tony Blair on Iraq, and what fighting the BNP on her own turf taught her about racism.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, as Boris Johnson is hauled back into parliament, we ask – is Brexit ever going to happen (00:40)? Plus, what should London do about Riyadh (14:10)? And finally, we take a sneak peek into the angry world of knitting (24:15).With Rod Liddle, Anand Menon, Sir John Jenkins, Madawi Al-Rasheed, Isabel Hardman and Bonnie Greer.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Cindy Yu and Matt Lee.

This week’s podcast features the Israeli writer Etgar Keret, talking about his new collection of short stories Fly Already. Topics on the agenda: how an Israel writer can address the Holocaust, why one of Etgar’s stories caused a dear friend of his to have to change his name, whether writing stories is a useful thing to do, whether smoking dope is a help or a hindrance to creativity, and why — alas — Brits so far don’t seem to 'get' Etgar’s sense of humour.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 here.

Jessie Burton is the bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse. In this episode of Table Talk, she tells Lara and Livvy about growing up with her dad's packed lunches, the diet of a budding actress, and her dislike for marzipan (despite The Miniaturist!). Jessie's new book, The Confession, is out now.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.

Martin Vander Weyer, our Business Editor, speaks to three leading businesspeople for Scotland and Northern Ireland about the Economic Disruptor finalists in this region. Tune in to find out more about underwater wifi, a digital 3D map of the entire world, and more.---Human progress has depended on economic disruptors since long before the advent of the internet. Motor cars remained rare luxuries until a disruptor called Henry Ford perfected the Model T assembly line. Today’s online auction, home-stay, ride-share and crowdfunding sites have generated markets and money flows that barely existed before, to the great benefit of providers and consumers. Today’s manufacturing methods — from 3D printing to advanced bioscience — have dramatically reduced the time and capital required to produce vital products.So, who are the companies that are rewriting the rules in 2019? Following the success of last year's inaugural Economic Disruptor of the Year Awards, The Spectator and Julius Baer has come together again to cele

Comedian Simon Evans joins journalist Benedict Spence and comedy club founder Andy Shaw on a new podcast from Spectator Life. 'That's Life' is a sideways look at the events, people, words and ideas that shape the news agenda. Andy and Benedict talk to Simon about cancel culture, Boris’s hospital debacle and why Guy Verhofstadt is his unlikely hero (or villain) of the week.Simon has performed stand-up comedy at Live at the Apollo and the Edinburgh Fringe. He also hosts and writes Radio 4’s Simon Evans goes to Market. As well as writing for Spectator Life, Andy is the co-founder of London's free-thinking comedy club Comedy Unleashed. Benedict is a regular contributor for Spectator Life, Sky News and The Telegraph.

With John Rick MacArthur, president of Harpers Magazine.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.

Damian talks to Jewish pianist Ariel Lanyi about the cruel cat-and-mouse game that the Soviet Union played with Jewish classical musicians at a time when it was sneakily trying to extinguish both their religion and their ethnic identity.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 here to find previous episodes.

As the Supreme Court wraps up its trial into prorogation, we ask – are the courts overreaching (00:25)? We also find out about the prevalence of mental illness in the homeless and the rough sleeping (10:20). And last, Mary Killen tells us why she’s no longer a Remainer (20:45).With Richard Ekins, Jack Simson Caird, Mary Wakefield, Dominic Williamson, Mary Killen, and Rachel Johnson.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Cindy Yu and Adam Cherry.

Sam's guest in this week’s podcast is the Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, whose latest novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World has just been shortlisted alongside Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood for this year’s Man Booker Prize. Elif talks to Sam about living in exile, writing in a second language, her relationship with Istanbul, and how the West’s culture war over 'free speech' looks to someone from a country where free speech can get you thrown in jail or worse.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 here.

With James Forsyth and Katy Balls.Presented by Cindy Yu.