The Critic Show

Outpost Studios
  • 4.5 (17)
  • ARTS
  • UPDATED FORTNIGHTLY

Weekly podcast from the Critic, Britain’s most civilised magazine. www.outpoststudios.net

  1. Why Europe Can’t Defend Itself.

    1 DAY AGO

    Why Europe Can’t Defend Itself.

    This week, Tom and Chris look at foreign policy, and the widening gulf between Britain’s ambitions and its means. Defence spending is constantly under strain, artillery stockpiles are dangerously low, and Europe still relies heavily on Washington for its security. What happens if America’s defence commitments start to get transactional, particularly under Donald Trump? If a major war broke out tomorrow, does Britain have the industrial muscle or economic stamina to see it through? Is the US returning to realism, or simply making ad hoc deals as it goes, whether with China and the Indo-Pacific or Greenland, or Ukraine? As Europe looks static, Washington looks unpredictable. Britain under Keir Starmer is running up against the limits of soft power, the only weapon it seems to want to wield, hamstrung by the Chagos question, and its habit of outsourcing strategic judgment to international courts. What leverage does the UK actually retain, and can it rediscover hard-edged pragmatism of the past? Or is it doomed to decline, stooped in self-loathing nostalgia? Subscribers can listen to or watch the full uncensored episode here: https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/why-europe-cant-defend-itselfor on the Substack app.Subscribers will gain access to not only the full uncensored versions of The Critic Show, but the full suite of Outpost podcasts and documentaries.Subscribe now, at www.outpoststudios.net This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outpoststudios.net/subscribe

    30 min
  2. The Critic Show Special: Wine Club

    9 FEB

    The Critic Show Special: Wine Club

    This month’s Wine Club has Henry Jeffreys in notably good company, Tom Harrow, better known as the WineChap, in town for Burgundy Week and armed with a trio of Italians that cheerfully make the case for looking south rather than east. While the merchants of St James’s are earnestly pouring tiny glasses of rain-thinned Pinot Noir and murmuring about yields, here we are with bottles that feel gloriously, unapologetically alive. Tom’s also takes us along on his journey into wine, via schoolboy tastings at Millfield, a spell in the army, Lee & Sandeman, and eventually Honest Grapes. The sort of anecdotes that make you wish wine education were still considered an acceptable extracurricular for fourteen-year-olds. As he puts it, learning to smell properly is a life skill criminally underrated. If you’d like a mixed case with two bottles of each featured in the episode, (for just £94.60 with free delivery!), follow the link: https://www.honestgrapes.co.uk/collections/the-critic-wine-club And don’t forget to subscribe to Outpost at www.outpoststudios.net. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outpoststudios.net/subscribe

    33 min
  3. The Cricket Revolution is Eating Itself

    26 JAN

    The Cricket Revolution is Eating Itself

    This week, Chris and Tom are joined by Critic associate editor, Patrick Porter, to talk Cricket. Fresh from another disappointing Ashes series, England seem lacking and out of ideas - except for one, the high-velocity aggressive style known as “Bazball”. The only problem being its not actually bringing England much success on the field. The failure the net Test wins is compounded, Patrick argues, by the corporatised, Year Zero philosophy of a team which thinks it has nothing to learn from the past. This arrogance, rejecting outright the notion they have anything to learn from the great England cricketers of the past, and obsession with Moneyball-esque sporting fads, will only lead to more failure. Patrick also brings to the show his specialism in International Relations, asking if the shock of Trump’s threatening behaviour focuses European minds on longer term strategic realities, then he’ll be the president Europe needs and whether they are about to embark on a costly rediscovery of why great power competition existed in the first place. Subscribers can listen to or watch the full uncensored episode here: https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/the-cricket-revolution-is-eating or on the Substack app. Subscribers will gain access to not only the full uncensored versions of The Critic Show, but the full suite of Outpost podcasts and documentaries. Subscribe now, at www.outpoststudios.net This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outpoststudios.net/subscribe

    30 min
  4. Do White Britons owe Black Britons reparations?

    19 JAN

    Do White Britons owe Black Britons reparations?

    In this episode of The Critic Show, Tom and Chris discuss Samuel Rubinstein’s review of Sir Lenny Henry’s new book The Big Payback, which calls for Britain to pay £18.62 trillion in reparations in penance for its colonial legacy. Whilst economically absurd, and historically myopic, ideas like these are rapidly gaining credibility in the western world, and within the British Labour party in particular, in thrall to the politics of celebrity. With the Chagos handover baked in, are proposals like this, though economically ruinous, inevitable? Subscribers can listen to or watch the full uncensored episode here: https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/do-white-britons-owe-black-britons or on the Substack app. Subscribers will gain access to not only the full uncensored versions of The Critic Show, but the full suite of Outpost podcasts and documentaries. Subscribe now, at www.outpoststudios.net This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outpoststudios.net/subscribe

    34 min
  5. Is a Reform Government Inevitable?

    11 JAN

    Is a Reform Government Inevitable?

    For decades, Nigel Farage was the ultimate political outsider, yet, after a year of topping the polls by some margin, it is slowly dawning on Westminster that, for the first time in a century, he might break the two-party system. How has he been able to do this? And why are the political currents of the mid-twenty twenties so different from the waters that UKIP swam in a decade before? You can subscribe to listen to the full episode at www.outpoststudios.net For subscribers, listen or watch the full uncensored episode here: https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/is-a-reform-government-inevitable or on the Substack app. Subscribers will gain access to not only the full uncensored versions of The Critic Show, but the full suite of Outpost podcasts and documentaries. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outpoststudios.net/subscribe

    35 min
  6. The Secret Cult Behind AI

    5 JAN

    The Secret Cult Behind AI

    Has western policy-making been broken by AI? Andrew Orlowski thinks so. The writer and journalist believes that our governing elites have become obsessed by artificial intelligence and Large Language Models in particular, yet, he argues, these technologies have singularly failed to live up to their promise. Orlowski explains how the techno-utilitarian impulse behind this obsession also has much deeper roots, and many its advocates are entwined in a modern day cult of twisted morality. You can subscribe to listen to the full episode at www.outpoststudios.net For subscribers, listen or watch the full uncensored episode here: https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/the-secret-cult-behind-ai-full-episode or on the Substack app. Subscribers will gain access to not only the full uncensored versions of The Critic Show, but the full suite of Outpost podcasts and documentaries. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outpoststudios.net/subscribe

    30 min
  7. The Palace of Westminster is Falling Down.

    29/12/2025

    The Palace of Westminster is Falling Down.

    The creaking edifice of British politics, without urgent intervention, is about to come crashing down. But enough about the Labour party, the Palace of Westminster is in a state of disrepair, and the cost of restoration is projected in the multiple billions. Why? And why can’t we seem to get architecture right in this country anymore? To answer this, and so much more, Tom is joined this week by Nicholas Boys Smith, founder of Create Streets, the design practice, town-builder and think tank, campaigning to bring beauty and liveability back to our built environment. You can subscribe to listen to the full episode at www.outpoststudios.net For subscribers, listen or watch the full uncensored episode here: https://www.outpoststudios.net/p/the-palace-of-westminster-is-falling-61a or on the Substack app. Subscribers will gain access to not only the full uncensored versions of The Critic Show, but the full suite of Outpost podcasts and documentaries. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.outpoststudios.net/subscribe

    22 min
  8. Why is the Right So Bad At Culture?

    22/12/2025

    Why is the Right So Bad At Culture?

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.outpoststudios.net Whilst the high culture of classical art and music has often been associated with conservatism, there has, nevertheless, been a slow decline of culture on the right. Nearly every single great cultural institution is effectively owned and operated by the left, and rightist attempts to create art and institutions of their own have been somewhat underwhelm…

    23 min
See All (186)

4.5
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

Weekly podcast from the Critic, Britain’s most civilised magazine. www.outpoststudios.net

Information

  • Creator
    Outpost Studios
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    186
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Outpost Studios
  • Show Website
    The Critic Show

You Might Also Like