The Edition The Spectator

This week: Lawfare

Our cover piece examines how Keir Starmer’s legal experience will influence his politics. Ross Clark argues that Starmer will govern through the courts, and continue what he describes as the slow movement of power away from elected politicians. As poll after poll predicts an unprecedented Labour majority, what recourse would there be to stop him? Ross joined the podcast to discuss alongside solicitor and commentator Joshua Rozenberg (02:15).

Next: we’ve become accustomed to the police wearing cameras, but what’s behind the rise in bodycams in other industries? In her article this week, Panda La Terriere highlights the surprising businesses that have begun using them, but what are the implications for daily life and how concerned should we be? Panda joined us to discuss with Silkie Carlo, director of civil liberties NGO Big Brother Watch (19:39).

And finally: why do we love to be baffled? Mark Mason argues it is more to do with the thrill of deception than a desire to problem-solve. Mark joined us to try and demystify the world of magic with Gustav Kuhn, associate professor of psychology at the University of Plymouth and author of Experiencing the impossible: the science of magic (28:32).

Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

Join The Spectator for a special Live edition of Coffee House Shots on Thursday 11th July at 7pm in Westminster. Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews will be making sense of the election results, a new government, and discussing what comes next. Tickets are £35, or £25 for subscribers. Book online at spectator.co.uk/shotslive

This week: Macron’s game.

Our cover piece looks at the big news following the European elections at the weekend, President Macron’s decision to call early parliamentary elections in France. Madness or genius, either way the decision comes with huge risk. And can he still outplay Le Pen, asks writer Jonathan Miller. Jonathan joins the podcast to analyse Macron’s decision alongside Professor Alberto Alemanno, who explains how the decision is realigning French politics, and argues it must be seen in its wider European context. (01:58)

Then: Will and Gus take us through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine, including Catriona Olding’s Life column and Sam McPhail’s notes on Madri. 

Also on the podcast: who decides how we see the past? Niger Biggar writes in the magazine this week about organisations which are being given a veto over the representation of Britain's history. Nigel takes issue with those from formerly marginalised communities having the final word on our shared history and joins the podcast to explain why there should be more scrutiny on such groups. (18:14)

And finally: do historians talk down to children? In her column for the magazine this week Mary Wakefield writes about her experience trying to find engaging and challenging history books for her 8-year-old. She says that most children’s history books have dumbed down, in comparison to the classic ladybird books of the 60s. She joined the podcast to discuss with the author of the Adventures in Time children’s book series and host of the Rest is History podcast, Dominic Sandbrook. (31:16)

Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter. 

Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

The Spectator will be hosting a special Live edition of Coffee House Shots in the aftermath of the election. Taking place on Thursday the 11th July - a week after the election - at 7pm here in Westminster, you can join Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews as they try to dissect the election results, a new government, and what comes next. 

Tickets are £35, or £25 for subscribers. If you’re interested, you can book online at spectator.co.uk/shotslive   

This week: The Farage factor. Our cover piece looks at the biggest news from this week of the general election campaign, Nigel Farage’s decision to stand again for Parliament. Farage appealed to voters in the seaside town of Clacton to send him to Westminster to be a ‘nuisance’. Indeed, how much of a nuisance will he be to Rishi Sunak in this campaign? Will this boost Reform’s ratings across Britain? And could it be eighth time lucky for Nigel? The Spectator's political editor Katy Balls joins the podcast to discuss, alongside former Clacton and UKIP MP, Douglas Carswell (2:32).

Then: Gavin Mortimer reports from France ahead of the European and local elections this weekend, where the country is moving to the right. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is expected to do well, but, he argues, this has as much to do with the Le Pen brand, as it does Macron’s unpopularity. Joining Gavin to discuss is the French journalist Anne-Elisabeth Moutet (19:25).

And finally: what could the future of tourism look like? Travel writer Sean Thomas explores the growing backlash to tourist overcrowding worldwide, and the recent trend to charge fees to some of the most sought-after locations. Will it solve the issue? Venice-based food and travel correspondent Monica Cesarato joins the podcast to discuss alongside Sean (34:50). 
 
Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

Join The Spectator for a special post-election Coffee House Shots Live on Thursday 11 July. For more information, head to spectator.co.uk/shotslive 

This week: Wannabes - are any of them ready? Our cover piece takes a look at the state of the parties a week into the UK general election campaign. The election announcement took everyone by surprise, including Tory MPs, so what’s been the fallout since? To provide the latest analysis, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls joins the podcast (2:00). 

Then: Angus Colwell reports on how the election is playing out on social media, and the increasing role of the political ‘spinfluencer’. These accounts have millions of likes, but how influential could they be during the election? Alongside Angus, Harry Boeken, aka @thechampagne_socialist on TikTok, joins us to share their thoughts on who is winning the social media war (15:08). 

And finally: are we in the midst of a new space race? Author of Space 2069, the Future of Space Exploration, Dr David Whitehouse writes in the magazine this week about China’s latest lunar mission. What are the geopolitical implications, and should the global west be paying more attention? David joins us to discuss, alongside journalist and author of The Future of Geography, Tim Marshall (25:12).  

Hosted by Lara Prendergast and Gus Carter. 

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

It’s a bumper edition of The Edition this week. After Rishi Suank called a surprise – and perhaps misguided – snap election just a couple of hours after our press deadline, we had to frantically come up with a new digital cover. To take us through a breathless day in Westminster and the fallout of Rishi’s botched announcement, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls joins the podcast. (01:35)

Next: Our print magazine leads on the electric car bust. Ross Clark runs through all the issues facing electric cars today – from China flooding the market with discounted EVs to Rishi Sunak dropping the unrealistic target of banning new petrol car sales by 2030. ‘Could the outlook suddenly improve for British EVs?’ asks Ross. ‘It’s hard to see how.’ Already, car-makers from Aston Martin to Fiat are delaying or scaling back their EV plans. Ross joins the podcast alongside Spectator columnist Lionel Shriver, to ask whether the great EV revolution is over. (07:35)

Then: Matthew Parris writes his column this week on the myths around ultra-processed foods. These are foods which are engineered to be hyper-palatable and typically include many preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, artificial colours, flavours etc. Such additives are considered to be detrimental to our health, but Matthew says we shouldn’t be worried. He joined the podcast along with Dr Christoffer Van Tulleken, associate professor at UCL and author of the bestselling book Ultra-Processed People. (19:33)

And finally: why is the government making it harder to get an au pair? This is the question which Philip Womack asks in The Spectator. He says that the government’s new childcare plans are pricing regular dual income families out of the traditional agreement between family and au pair. He is joined by the journalist Lucy Denyer. (39:45)

Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter. 

Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

This week:

Veep show: who will Trump pick for his running mate? Freddy Gray goes through the contenders – and what they say about America (and its most likely next president). ‘Another thought might be buzzing around Trump’s head: he can pick pretty much whoever he wants because really it’s all about him. He might even choose one of his children: Ivanka or Donald Junior. What could sound better than Trump-Trump 2024?’ Freddy joins the podcast. (02:10)

Next: Will and Lara take us through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine, including David Shipley’s piece on the issues in the criminal justice system and Patrick Kidd’s article on the C of E’s volunteering crisis. 

Then: Everest. This year marks 100 years since George Mallory’s doomed expedition. On the 8th June 1924 George Mallory and his climbing partner Sandy Irvine were seen through binoculars 800 ft from the summit of Mount Everest, but sadly were never seen again. Whether they did reach the top – almost 30 years prior to Edmund Hillary’s confirmed summit – has been the source of debate and myth for a century. Two new books will be released this year revisiting the attempt, and the man behind them. One by former political editor at the Sun, Tom Newton Dunn (great nephew of Mallory) and the other by mountaineer Mick Conefrey – which is reviewed this week in The Spectator. Tom and Mick joined the podcast to discuss. (17:51)

And finally: Next week marks the anniversary of the death of Spectator’s Low Life columnist Jeremy Clarke. And on Tuesday a new collection of his columns is being published: Low Life: The Final Years. The book begins with his cancer diagnosis in 2013 and goes up until his last column, published two weeks before his death last year. Regular readers will know that Jeremy’s genius was to capture the beauty and absurdity of the everyday – he chronicled it all with extraordinary frankness and brilliant wit. And so to remember Jeremy, and his peerless writing, we were joined by his widow, the artist Catriona Olding, who writes a guest Life column in this week’s magazine, and his friend Con Coughlin, defence editor at the Telegraph. (33:35)

Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

If readers would like to buy Low Life: The Final Years, copies are available on the Spectator Shop - go to spectator.co.uk/shop.