45 min listen
In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray hosts a debate between Daniel McCarthy of the Heritage Foundation and Robby Soave of Reason magazine to examine whether libertarianism has effectively died as a vital political force or remains quietly triumphant through tech deregulation, AI innovation, and unprecedented levels of individual freedom.
From our US edition
Donald Trump’s greatest strength is his indefatigability. The grumblings within his administration grow louder. Inflation is stubborn, the price of oil too high, the Democrats ahead in the polls for all the key Senate election races. Yet the President is out and about, doing what he perhaps does best, which is campaigning. "Pretend I’m running, please. If we don’t win, they’ll end up impeaching me," Trump told a rally in Oklahoma yesterday. His aim is to turn the midterms into another presidential-style contest, and he’s right that the name Trump continues to be the key factor in American politics, something far more potent than the Republican party brand. As ever, though, the Donald divides opinions – and according to some surveys, his net approval rating is -23.
23 min listen
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Freddy Gray delves into how a smooth-talking Democrat could win the Michigan mid-terms; Michael Simmons explores where the billionaires who leave Britain actually go; Elisabeth Braw explains how we will soon be in a battle for the sea bed; and Angus Colwell reflects on the food on offer at Reform conference. Produced and presented by Abigail Brierley.
29 min listen
In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray speaks with Dr. Edward Howell, an Oxford University lecturer in international relations, about the high-stakes summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, examining Beijing’s strategic desire for global parity, its covert role in enabling an anti-Western alignment alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, and the escalating geopolitical tensions surrounding Taiwan, trade and economic coercion. Get A New Axis of Upheaval: North Korea, Russia, China, Iran here.
From our US edition
Few people had heard of Jacob Coxon, the 28-year-old British AI researcher, on the morning of September 8, 2026. His X account had fewer than 100 followers. By September 10, he was world famous, after he published a social-media thread on X about resigning from Anthropic because the company is not "acting responsibly." The post has now been viewed 174 million times. It triggered a tsunami of news panic about the dangers of artificial intelligence. Suddenly, Jacob was everywhere: doing prime-time interviews; a celebrity whistleblower, the casus tumultus of a global conversation about the dangers of AI, which in turn led to a public fight among various tech overlords urging for more government regulation, and angry pushback from the Trump administration.
41 min listen
For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s deputy editor and editor of Spectator World Freddy Gray, commissioning editor Lara Brown, and deputy political editor James Heale. This week: will Andy Burnham call an early general election? Tim Shipman’s cover story asks whether the Prime Minister might go to the polls before 2029, as Labour faces a worsening fiscal situation and an increasingly difficult choice over tax and spending. With the government’s budget looming, does Burnham need a fresh mandate – or is an election simply too risky? And with Reform and the Conservatives competing for voters on the right, could an early contest catch his opponents off guard? Also: the coming AI backlash.
Twenty years ago, as America fought in the Middle East, a junior Democratic senator from the Midwest, a forty-something man with a Muslim name, decided he was going to run for president. Against the odds, Barack Hussein Obama of Illinois, who’d dabbled in Marxist academia and whose father was born in Kenya, went on to become the first non-white commander-in-chief. Two decades on, as America fights another war in the Middle East, an even more unconventional Midwestern Democrat is rapidly advancing. Dr Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, whose father was born in Egypt, is currently the favourite to win his senate race in Michigan in November – even as Republican campaigners spend millions of dollars branding him a terrorist sympathiser.
11 min listen
Andy Burnham is off to meet Donald Trump. What can he expect from his first face-to-face with the US president? Tim Shipman and Freddy Gray discuss the diplomatic choreography behind the meeting, the issues likely to come up – from Ukraine and Iran to the Houthis – and whether Burnham risks upsetting the Labour left with his stance on Saudi Arabia. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
44 min listen
In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray speaks with former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci about his new book 'All the Wrong Moves', breaking down the systemic failures driving American populism, the economic fallout of foreign conflicts and rising national debt, and his sharp critique of Donald Trump's political strategy and economic policies.
From our US edition
"GREAT NEWS," hollered @realDonaldTrump on Truth Social yesterday. "Thanks to the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland, major progress is being made toward establishing a US Army base in Poland." A lot is going on on Europe’s Eastern Front. The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared around the same time that Russia is planning "hybrid strikes using drones and missiles against countries supporting Ukraine, including Poland.
23 min listen
In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray speaks with Steve Bannon - former White House chief strategist for Donald Trump - about the ideological convergence between national populists and progressive Leftists as they confront the existential risks of unbridled AI, the suppression of internal whistleblower warnings by Silicon Valley elites, and the urgent necessity of cutting off Chinese access to Western microchips and capital.
Freddy Gray is joined by Michael P. Gibson, co-founder of the 1517 Fund, to discuss the weekend's warnings about AI catastrophe from Anthropic's Dario Amodei, Elon Musk and others, and the Trump administration's insistence on a light touch. Freddy and Michael discuss why Michael thinks the warnings should be read alongside Anthropic and OpenAI's plans to go public in the next six to nine months; how the role of Silicon Valley villain passes to whichever lab has the strongest model; why data centres, and now AI safety, have become Democratic talking points ahead of the midterms; why Michael believes existing product liability law already does the job; and why Peter Thiel suspects a one world body to regulate AI, sold in the name of peace and safety, could be the project of the Antichrist.
Freddy Gray is joined by Rep. Randy Fine, the Republican congressman for Florida's 6th district, to speak about his viral post, calling for a four-state solution for the United Kingdom. The post which parodies a popular pro-Palestinian chant, 'From the river to the sea', targeted the British government's fresh sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Freddy and Rep. Fine discuss his claim that 38 states are ready to boycott British companies that comply with the sanctions, why he blames European allies for a war with Iran he insists is being won, whether the Falklanders' votes to remain British count for anything, and why he says Britain's Israel policy is a play for voters who 'never should have been in the country in the first place'.
From our US edition
“We gotta take care of business this November,” said Vice President J.D. Vance, demurely, at the Republican convention last night, “then we’ll worry about what comes next.” He was referring to the chants of “28! 28!” that emanated from the exuberant MAGA crowd – an appeal for him to be the next Republican presidential nominee. The message of the night was clear, though. Following something of a wobble in the early months of 2026, Vance has re-emerged as the clear favorite to succeed Donald Trump. For now, the MAGA inheritance, and all its problems, seems to be his. Trump has reportedly stopped doing his private “Marco or J.D.?” polls among house guests, friends and Rupert Murdoch.
19 min listen
What is behind Albania’s so-called ‘Flamingo Revolution’, and why has Jared Kushner found himself at the centre of it? Freddy Gray is joined by Ian Thomson to discuss Kushner’s controversial plans to build luxury resorts on Albania’s coastline, the protests they have sparked, and the country’s long-running battles over land and property. They also explore Albania’s turbulent history, the legacy of communism, and why the country’s ancient traditions and rapid growth as a tourist destination are colliding with Trump-era ambitions for real estate development. Learn how to earn yield on gold, paid in gold, at Monetary-Metals.com/Americano Produced by Abigail Brierley.
"People don’t need no jobs," said Mike Judge’s marvelous comic creation, President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. "I’m gonna tell you what people need, people need money, lots and lots of money… we gonna print so much damn money, I’m gonna give every single American one million dollars. Ain’t gonna be no more one percenters. Everybody’s gonna be million percenters." President Donald Trump hasn’t yet gone full Camacho. But he’s getting there. Last night, at the glitzy Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, he introduced the "Trump Dividend" – a $5,000 reward for every adult US citizen on the condition that his party keeps the House and Senate in November.
If Andy Burnham, Britain’s new and surprisingly well-liked Prime Minister, were looking for another quick popularity boost, he might decide to order the deployment of a flotilla of Royal Navy vessels towards the South Atlantic today – so as to warn the Argentinians off the Falkland Islands. A good bit of gunship diplomacy is exactly what Britain needs at this point in history. Nothing would delight the public more than sticking one up the Argies again, especially after the England football team lost to a particularly unpleasant Argentinian side in the World Cup this summer. Of course, Burnham will not channel his inner Margaret Thatcher when it comes to the Falklands. Partly that’s because his entire political mission is to undo the harms of Thatcherism.
19 min listen
Is Pete Hegseth positioning himself for a 2028 presidential run….or is he on the verge of being fired? The Spectator’s Sarah Beth Spraggins joins Americano to discuss the Secretary of War’s future, his loyalty to Trump, and the growing questions over his handling of the Iran war. They also explore Hegseth’s evangelical faith and Washington church, as well as his controversial personal and romantic history. Learn how to earn yield on gold, paid in gold, at Monetary-Metals.com/Americano Produced by Abigail Brierley and Henry Lloyd.
Freddy Gray is joined by James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, on why the midterms are looking increasingly grim for the Republicans. Trump's approval is trending down, the war is dragging on it, and James expects differential turnout to hand the Democrats the House, possibly with more than 230 seats. Freddy and James discuss why a Senate map that should have been safe for Republicans is now a toss-up, which six states will decide it, why prediction markets are not the answer, and why Michigan and its DSA-aligned candidate may be the one seat that saves Trump's majority. Learn how to earn yield on gold, paid in gold, at Monetary-Metals.
From our US edition
Are Donald Trump and his wife secretly estranged – or is Melania just a bit strange? That somewhat grubby question cuts to the heart of one of the more mysterious subplots of the Great Trump Saga, the longest-running American tabloid show. One Trumpworld source told me that "Melania spends too much time online" Yesterday, the First Lady magically reappeared for a public event at the White House. "I heard you missed me," she began, before giving a speech about some goodly fostering initiative. "Here I am." It was a joke her husband might have composed. Melania hadn’t been spotted in public since the World Cup final a month ago, and the "Where’s Melania?
