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20/09/2019

The Kremlin's persecution of Jews

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.Presented by Damian Thompson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20/09/2019

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24 min
07/08/2019

Lessons learned from Carl Beech and what they mean for Cardinal Pell

Damian speaks to journalist Catherine Lafferty, who was in court for Carl Beech's trial, about the sensitivities surrounding sex abuse allegations. Have the police jumped to conclusions in Cardinal Pell's case too?Presented by Damian Thompson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

07/08/2019

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13 min
18/10/2018

Divide and rule: how has the EU taken control of Brexit?

This week, Brexit negotiations grind to a halt again as Brussels and the UK draw mutually exclusive red lines on the Irish border problem. We talk to James Forsyth and Dan Hannan on what next for Brexit (00:40). We also look a little deeper into the methods and mission of Bellingcat, the investigators that unveiled the true identities of the Salisbury suspects (13:20). And last, we investigate a sex industry that is trying to become more ethical (25:20). With James Forsyth, Dan Hannan, Owen Matthews, Mary Dejevsky, Cosmo Landesman, and Renée Denyer. Presented by Isabel Hardman. Produced by Cindy Yu and Alastair Thomas. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18/10/2018

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35 min
21/11/2024

Streeting vs Starmer, medical misinformation & the surprising history of phallic graffiti

This week: Wild Wes.Ahead of next week’s vote on whether to legalise assisted dying, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is causing trouble for Keir Starmer, writes Katy Balls in the magazine this week. Starmer has been clear that he doesn’t want government ministers to be too outspoken on the issue ahead of a free vote in Parliament. But Streeting’s opposition is well-known. How much of a headache is this for Starmer? And does this speak to wider ambitions that Wes might have?Katy joins the podcast to discuss, alongside Labour MP Steve Race. Steve explains why he plans to vote in favour of the change in the law next week (00:57).Then: how concerned should we be about medical misinformation?President-elect Donald Trump has announced vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services in the US. In the magazine this week, Matt Ridley explains that it’s not the man himself that’s as interesting, as the reasons how he has ended up in such a position: scientific misinformation has fuelled his rise. So how concerned should we be about medical misinformation? Firstly, Matt joined the podcast to explain his thesis and why reactions to the covid pandemic are to blame (16:24).Later, Sander van der Linden, professor of social psychology at the University of Cambridge, also joins the podcast to discuss his concerns and how susceptible we are here in Britain to misinformation (23:46).And finally: did you know that crude graffiti has a storied history?Harry Mount examines the notorious penis gang that has appeared in Dulwich, daubing penises across trees. Whatever you think of such graffiti, scribbling phalluses, and even erotic art, are actually as old as time – from ancient Rome to India. What’s the line between graffiti and erotic art? And should Westerners be less prudish when confronted with these images? Harry joins the podcast alongside academic, and author of Pha(bu)llus: A Cultural History, Dr Alka Pande (30:50).Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21/11/2024

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43 min
21/04/2017

Pope is planning to retire, say allies – but only once he's appointed enough liberal cardinals

With Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith.Presented by Damian Thompson and Cristina Odone. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21/04/2017

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15 min
28/02/2020

Why the collapse of Christian Science should worry mainstream churches

In this week’s Holy Smoke podcast, Damian talks to Jon Anderson, an expert on religious and political sects, about the collapse of Christian Science – whose followers included Joyce Grenfell and Doris Day – and the scary lessons it holds for today’s mainstream religions.Presented by Damian Thompson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28/02/2020

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16 min
17/03/2023

Is Abu Dhabi's multi-faith 'Abrahamic Family House' a beacon of hope or a creepy PR exercise?

The Abrahamic Family House is the name for three giant concrete cubes – a church, a mosque and a synagogue – that have just officially opened their doors in Abu Dhabi. The project is the fruit of a controversial agreement signed there in 2019 by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, that disturbed many Christians with its statement that the existence of separate religions is God's will. But it's a spectacular coup for the government of the United Arab Emirates and will no doubt reassure expats that there's freedom of religion in the UAE. In fact, I wonder how many of them are even aware that 'apostasy' – for example, a Muslim converting to Christianity – remains a capital offence in the Emirates. But is this sort of carping justified? Since Sharia was adopted by the UAE in 1978, no one has actually been executed for apostasy. And surely the big story here is that Jews, for so long the targets of Muslim anti-semitism, are now welcome to practise their religion in an officially Islamic country. The synagogue of the Abrahamic Family House is the first purpose-built Jewish house of worship to open its doors in the Arab world since the 1930s. There's no doubt that the UAE is moving quickly in the direction of religious toleration, and perhaps we shouldn't be too worried by the boilerplate multi-faith jargon emanating from the pompously named 'Higher Community of Human Fraternity' that presides over the Abrahamic Family House. In this episode of Holy Smoke I weigh the pros and cons of this lavish project with Nathan Eckersley, who's joining the podcast as our new researcher. He's excited by the Abrahamic Family House. I think the jury's still out and I remain to be convinced that the concept of 'Abrahamic faiths' is anything more than an irritating fiction. But listen for yourself. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17/03/2023

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19 min
19/06/2020

Suicide by secularisation: how the churches are dying

Today’s episode of Holy Smoke exposes the extent to which ordinary Christians have been betrayed by their own bishops. This is a process that began decades ago – but it is only this year, during the coronavirus pandemic, that we’ve seen just how corrupted church leaders have become by secularisation. The need to close churches for public worship during the lockdown meant that, for the first time in many decades, Anglican and Catholic bishops were able to exercise a small but significant degree of secular power – something they desperately crave. In doing so, they displayed a mixture of ruthlessness, vanity, hypocrisy and stupidity that will accelerate the decline of their own institutions. This episode will tell you things that bishops – in Rome and America as well as Britain – are anxious to conceal from their flocks. Please tune in! Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19/06/2020

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34 min
29/06/2021

The tyranny of bad hymns

Christian music lovers of all denominations – Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, whatever – know only too well that they enter their local churches at their peril. In this week's episode I talk to the irrepressible Lois Letts, a wedding and funeral organist for C of E churches in rural Herefordshire, about bad hymns. The funerals are appropriate, since when I first met Lois she wrote obituaries for the Times. Pity the wet vicar who tries to force her to play a bad hymn! We don't mince our words: our discussion is a euphemism-free zone and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. And there's a musical coda, a treat in store for those many Holy Smoke listeners who are devoted to the memory of Dame Clara Butt. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29/06/2021

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25 min
29/09/2020

The humiliation of Becciu and the return of Pell

The Vatican is this week in the grip of a paranoia reminiscent of the days when Renaissance popes (and their dinner guests) were forced to employ food-tasters. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, until 2018 the sostenuto at the Secretariat of State – that is, the Pope's hugely powerful chief of staff – has been sacked by Francis, who has accused him of stealing vast amounts of money. The Pope, who once showered him with favours, stripped Becciu of all the privileges associated with the position of cardinal – a twist of the knife worthy of a Netflix drama, or perhaps one of the Godfather films. And now, in an equally extraordinary sequel, Becciu's arch-foe Cardinal George Pell, until recently languishing in an Australian jail cell, is heading back to Rome to advise Francis on resuming the Pell financial reforms that Becciu torpedoed. My guest for this episode of Holy Smoke is the journalist who can take the most credit for uncovering Becciu's activities: Ed Condon, Washington Bureau Chief of the Catholic News Agency. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29/09/2020

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24 min

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