Welcome to this festive episode of the Edition podcast, where we will be taking you through the pages of The Spectator’s special Christmas triple issue.  Up first: What a year in politics it has been. 2023 has seen scandals, sackings, arrests and the return of some familiar faces. It’s easy to forget that at the start of the year Nicola Sturgeon was still leader of the SNP! To make sense of it all is editor of The Spectator, Fraser Nelson, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls, and...

In her cover piece for the magazine this week, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls writes that whilst Keir Starmer’s accession seems certain, his agenda is less so. She tries to piece together what a Labour government would look like and which areas they will chose to prioritise. Katy joins the podcast alongside Paul Mason, the journalist who is seeking a Labour seat at the next election. They debate: does Keir Starmer stack up?  Also on the podcast: Journalist and scriptwriter...

On the podcast: In her cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator's assistant editor Cindy Yu – writing ahead of the COP28 summit this weekend – describes how China has cornered the renewables market. She joins the podcast alongside Akshat Rathi, senior climate reporter for Bloomberg and author of Climate Capitalism: Winning the Global Race to Zero Emissions, to investigate China's green agenda. (01:22) Also this week: Margaret Mitchell writes in The Spectator about the uncertainty she...

On the podcast: Anshel Pfeffer writes The Spectator’s cover story this week. He voices concern that support from Israel’s allies might begin to waver if they don’t develop a viable plan after the war finishes. Paul Wood – former BBC foreign correspondent – and Dennis Ross – former Middle East coordinator under President Clinton and advisor to President Obama – join the podcast to debate whether Israel can rely on its allies. (01:18) Also this week: In the Books section of the magazine...

On the podcast: It's been a busy week in Westminster. On Monday, Rishi Sunak's first major reshuffle saw Suella Braverman sacked and David Cameron make a surprise return to politics.  Then two days later, the Supreme Court's Rwanda ruling left the government's pledge to 'stop the boats' in tatters. It was meant to be the week in which Rishi Sunak had hoped to stamp his authority on a fracturing party, but it seems to have only added to the narrative of Tory disrepair. Katy Balls writes...

On the podcast: In his cover piece for The Spectator Ian Acheson discusses the potential disruption to Armistice Day proceedings in London this weekend. He says that Metropolitan Police Chief Mark Rowley is right to let the pro-Palestine protests go ahead, if his officers can assertively enforce the law. He joins the podcast alongside Baroness Claire Fox to discuss the problems of policing protest.  Next: are smartphones making us care less about humanity?  This is the question that Mary...

This week: The Covid Inquiry has reached its more dramatic stage this week with the likes of Domic Cummings, Lee Cain and Martin Reynolds giving evidence. But in his cover piece for the magazine Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford and director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, says that the Hallett Inquiry is asking all the wrong questions, and is preoccupied with who said what on WhatsApp. He joins the podcast alongside Tom Whipple,...

On the podcast: In his cover piece for the mag this week, political scientist, Yascha Mounk has written about why identity politics has polarised our understanding of race. And why the left has come to divide groups into oversimplified categories of ‘the oppressors’ and ‘the oppressed’.  Also this week:  Can we trust photographs to paint a true picture of a story? The Israel-Palestine conflict has been one of the most documented wars to date. But with AI manipulation and staged imagery, is...

On the podcast: In The Spectator's cover piece Jonathan Spyer writes that as America's role in international security diminishes history is moving Iran’s way, with political Islam now commanding much of the Middle East. He is joined by Ravi Agrawal, editor in chief of Foreign Policy and host of the FP Live podcast, to discuss whether America is still the world's policeman.  Also this week: In the magazine this week, The Spectator’s literary editor Sam Leith speaks to Jacques Testard,...

This week: Paul Wood writes for The Spectator about the role that Iran potentially played in the Hamas attack on Israel over the weekend. He says that it is unlikely that the proscribed terrorist group acted alone and joins the podcast alongside Uzi Arad, former national security advisor to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (01:22) Also this week:  Labour conference in Liverpool has come to end and, as always with conference season, the best events took place on the fringes. Katy...

This week: Katy Balls writes in her cover piece that after Tory conference the battle lines have now been drawn between the two main parties. She says we should prepare for a 'presidential campaign' ahead of the 2024 election and joins the podcast alongside The Spectator’s editor Fraser Nelson to discuss the dividing lines between Labour and the Conservatives. (01:17).  Also this week: In her column Lionel Shriver says that she is leaving the UK for the sunnier climes of Portugal. She...

On the podcast this week: Lord Sumption makes the case for leaving the ECHR in The Spectator's cover piece. He says that the UK has strong courts and can pass judgement on human rights by itself and joins the podcast alongside Dr Joelle Grogan – legal academic and head of research at UK in a Changing Europe – to discuss whether the Strasbourg has lost its appeal. (01:22). Also this week:  Rory Sutherland takes a look at the rise of dynamic pricing in the magazine, a new trend where prices...

This week: Christopher Caldwell writes The Spectator's cover piece on Italy’s new wave of migrants. This is in light of the situation in Lampedusa which he argues could upend European politics. Chris joins the podcast alongside Amy Kazmin, Rome correspondent at the Financial Times, to debate Europe’s escalating migrant crisis. (01:23) Also this week: In his column, Matthew Parris writes about Australia’s Voice vote, a yes/no referendum being held on whether to establish a new body which...

On the podcast this week: Boris Johnson writes The Spectator’s cover piece, urging the West to supply more military assistance to Ukraine, in order to bring a swift end to the war. Former commander of the joint forces Sir Richard Barrons and The Spectator’s Svitlana Morenets join the podcast to ask why aren't we giving Ukraine what it needs? (01:21) Also on the podcast:  Charlie Taylor, His Majesty’s chief prisons inspector, writes in the magazine about the state of crisis in British...

On the podcast:  In her cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews writes that political short termism has broken Britain. She joins the podcast alongside Giles Wilkes, former number 10 advisor and senior fellow at the Institute for Government, to ask what went wrong? (01:12) Also this week:  In his column Douglas Murray writes about Burning Man, the festival which has left Silicon Valley’s finest stuck in the mud. He is joined by David Willis, who has been...

This week: In his cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator’s political correspondent James Heale writes that the PM’s visit to New Delhi for the G20 Summit next week could be a defining moment in the special relationship between Britain and India. He is joined by Shanker Singham, former advisor to UK Secretary of State for International Trade, to discuss Rishi's Indian summer. (01:18) Also on the podcast: Owen Matthews The Spectator’s Russia correspondent expresses his concern about...

On the podcast this week:  In his cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator’s deputy editor Freddy Gray says that he was hardly surprised that Donald Trump chose not to participate in last night’s Republican candidates debate. He argues that Trump no longer needs the TV networks and joins the podcast alongside Douglas Murray, who profiles the no-hoper Republican candidates looking to pip Trump to the nomination in his column. (01:21) Also this week:  Mark Millar, the comic book writer...

This week:  The cover of The Spectator magazine looks at whether after years of Covid-based disruption, rising cost and lecturer strikes, university students are getting what they paid for. The Spectator’s data editor Michael Simmons writes a sidebar in which he rails against some of the changes that are happening to university freshers’ week and joins the podcast alongside Emma de Saram, Guild president at the Exeter University Student’s Guild. (01:26)  Also this week: In the magazine we...

This week:  It’s a special episode of the Edition podcast because our very own William Moore writes The Spectator’s cover piece, on how rural pursuits are being threatened by lawfare from countryside groups. Jonathan Roberts, who leads the external affairs team at the Country Land and Business Association, joins us to discuss whether disillusioned rural Tories could look to Labour at the next election.  Also this week:  In his piece in The Spectator, journalist Andrew Kenny writes about...

In this week’s cover article, The Spectator's political editor Katy Balls takes a look at the bottom-up reform that’s happening in some parts of the country, and asks whether tough policing is making a comeback. Katy joins the podcast together with Kate Green, Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor of Crime and Policing. (00:50) Next, the war has finally gone to Moscow. Recently, a number of drone strikes have hit targets in the Russian capital. Though Ukraine hasn’t explicitly taken...

In this week’s cover story, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls writes about Labour’s new paymasters – Keir Starmer’s party now receives more money from private donors than it does from trade unions. What do the new donors want, and what does Starmer want from them? Katy joins Will and Lara alongside the writer and Labour supporter Paul Mason. (01:00) Next up, Webb Keane, from the University of Michigan, and Scott Shapiro, from Yale, write in the magazine this week about the dawn of...

This week:   In his cover piece for the magazine Ross Clark writes about ‘the war on motorists'. He argues that the backlash against London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s expansion of Ulez is just the beginning, as motorists – and Labour MPs – prepare to revolt. He joins the podcast alongside Ben Clatworthy, transport correspondent at the Times, to discuss whether the Ulez expansion is just a money-grab. (01:11).  Also this week: In his piece for The Spectator, journalist Ian Williams compares both...

This week: Ahead of the release of the Barbie movie, Louise Perry writes in her cover piece about how social media is fuelling the cosmetic surgery industry. She argues that life in plastic is not, in fact, fantastic. She joins the podcast alongside the Times’s Sarah Ditum, author of the upcoming book: Toxic: Women, Fame and the Noughties, to discuss the normalisation of plastic surgery. (01:11) Also this week: In anticipation of the BBC Proms Philip Hensher writes in The Spectator that...

This week: In the magazine we look at the recent protests in France. The Spectator's Douglas Murray argues that racism is not the problem but that a significant chunk of the unintegrated immigrant population is. He is joined by Dr Rakib Ehsan, author of Beyond Grievance: What the Left Gets Wrong about Ethnic Minorities, to investigate why Europe riots. (01:16) Also this week: Journalist Ivo Dawnay and The Spectator’s associate editor Toby Young discuss the plight of 'politically exposed...

This week: In the magazine we look at the Wagner Group’s failed coup and its implications for Putin’s reign. The Spectator’s Russia correspondent Owen Matthews examines why the Kremlin permits the existence of private armies such as Prigozhin’s Wagner Group, and joins the podcast alongside Jim Townsend, former deputy secretary of defence for European and NATO policy under the Obama administration. (01:15) Also this week: The Spectator’s special projects editor Ben Lazarus writes this week...