Best of the Spectator

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Reality Check: Andy Haldane on Burnham, Badenoch & the Budget

Andy Burnham’s first Budget as Prime Minister is approaching – but higher borrowing costs have already made the sums more difficult. Former Bank of England chief economis

Oct 22
43 min

Quite right!: France is burning – could Britain be next?

France is burning. Over the weekend, students protesting about school conditions were joined by rural voters angry at fuel prices and a violent hard-left fringe. Michael

Oct 20
41 min

Americano: Trump’s decade of power – what went wrong?

Freddy Gray speaks with Spectator columnist Christopher Caldwell about the ten-year legacy of Donald Trump since his 2016 election victory, assessing his second administr

Oct 20
31 min

Spectator Out Loud: Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lara Brown, Matthew Parris & William Atkinson

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Jacob Rees-Mogg talks all things Tory Conference and Tucker Carlson; Lara Brown explores the growing rebellion against screens in schoo

Oct 19
27 min

Holy Smoke: Should we worry about Pope Leo?

Pope Leo XIV is recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery for lung cancer, with doctors removing the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican says his recovery is

Oct 18
20 min

The Edition: Are we failing the next generation?

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s commissioning editor Lara Brown, Financial Times columnist and peer Camilla Cavendish and broadcaster

Oct 17
51 min

Reality Check: Fraser Nelson exposes Britain's welfare pipeline

Is Britain’s welfare state still a safety net or has it become a pipeline for long-term dependency? Almost one in ten six-year-olds are now categorised as disabled throug

Oct 16
47 min

Quite right!: Simon Schama Interview

Michael Gove is joined by historian Simon Schama to discuss the resurgence of antisemitism in Britain, why many British Jews increasingly feel unsafe, and what history ca

Oct 14
49 min

Book Club: Shaun Bythell – Return of the Bookseller Diarist

For this week’s Book Club, Sam Leith, the Spectator’s literary editor, is joined by Shaun Bythell, proprietor of The Book Shop in Wigtown, Scotland, and author of The Dia

Oct 14
31 min

Quite right! LIVE: Nick Timothy on Islamist extremism

Michael Gove is joined by shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy, live at Conservative party conference in Birmingham, to discuss prisons, policing and the fight against I

Oct 13
37 min

Spectator Out Loud: Prue Leith, John Connolly, Flora Watkins & Lloyd Evans

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Prue Leith covers her foray into fashion and her life post-Bake Off; John Connolly explores Manchester's close links with the UAE; Flor

Oct 11
25 min

Holy Smoke: Charles Owen on hearing God through Liszt

Franz Liszt is remembered as one of the great showmen of the 19th century: a dazzling virtuoso, breaker of pianos and notorious womaniser who inspired a frenzy among his

Oct 11
26 min

Reality Check LIVE: Why aren't Britain's young people working? | with Laura Trott

For this special edition of Reality Check, economics editor Michael Simmons hosts a panel from Conservative Party conference on Britain’s growing NEETs crisis: the hundre

Oct 10
39 min

The Edition: Why is antisemitism rising in Britain? – with Andrew Roberts & Peter Hitchens

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator’s commissioning editor Tali Fraser, Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens and the historian and Con

Oct 9
46 min

Book Club: Matthew Sweet – The Great Dictator

In this week’s Book Club podcast, Sam Leith is joined by author Matthew Sweet to discuss his new biography, The Great Dictator, about the bestselling novelist Barbara Car

Oct 7
44 min

Quite right! LIVE: Are the Tories back?

Kemi Badenoch has opened Conservative party conference 2026 with statement on her political philosophy, and Michael and Maddie are in Birmingham to go through it. Michael

Oct 7
30 min

Spectator Out Loud: James Heale, Angus Colwell, Lisa Haseldine & Chas Newkey-Burden

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: James Heale reflects on Labour party conference; Angus Colwell goes on the hunt for Britain’s wokest bar; Lisa Haseldine reveals what s

Oct 6
18 min

Coffee House Shots LIVE: Antisemitism, Man City & abolishing the Triple Lock

James Heale, Tim Shipman and Tali Fraser record live from Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. As we pass the two year mark of Kemi Badenoch's leadership of the T

Oct 5
33 min

Quite right!: Jeffrey Archer on his extraordinary life – and his biggest regrets

Michael Gove is joined by novelist and former Conservative Party deputy chairman Jeffrey Archer to discuss his final novel, Adam and Eve, and a life spent close to the ce

Oct 5
47 min

Coffee House Shots: can Kemi win the battle for the right?

James Heale is joined by Tim Shipman and Liam Halligan, Telegraph columnist and the new director of the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), to look ahead to Conservative par

Oct 4
20 min

Chart trend

Position in the News Commentary chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#101#200JulAugSepOct

#124

all-time peak

267

days in the top 200 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where Best of the Spectator ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 23, 2026).

#149 ▲ 39 News Commentary US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

All of the Spectator’s podcasts have the feeling of an interesting conversation you’d have with an intelligent friend. Oscar Wilde used to say that the only unpardonable sin is to be boring — this podcast never commits that sin.

Mulligan’s · Feb 2022

My fave of all the great Spectator podcasts. As an expat its a lovely little window back on all that is good and what I most miss about the UK. Livvy and Lara’s voices provide a perfect example to my my teen daughter with whom I listen to the show, that her ghastly American accent is a lot less desirable than a lovely British one.

Fussy Fella · Jan 2020

The conversations on here are normally well informed and very interesting. As an American, it’s useful to see what the Conservatives are thinking over in the UK and the Spectator does a great job. You can detect a hint of pro-Tory bias here and there, but it doesn’t matter much. My only gripe is how the regular guests are all wet talkers! Lots of slurps and smacks into the microphone. Other than that minor quibble, it’s a wonderful podcast.

JC852 · Nov 2019

I love the podcast content, but the audio post-production is really poor. Each person has a different volume level. If my volume is set high enough to hear the softest voice, the loudest voice distorts my (high quality) speakers. I'd rate it 5/5 if it weren't for this problem.

Yank Spectator Fan · Jun 2016

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.