Harry Mount is a barrister, editor of The Oldie and author of How England Made the English (Penguin) and Et Tu, Brute? The Best Latin Lines Ever (Bloomsbury).
From our UK edition
43 min listen
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
From our UK edition
23 min listen
Writer Guy Stagg threw in his job to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem via Rome – choosing a hazardous medieval route across the Alps. It nearly killed him: at one stage, trying to cross a broken bridge in Switzerland, he ended up partially submerged in the water, held up only by his rucksack. On this
From our UK edition
36 min listen
This week: how forgiveness was forgotten, why the secular tide might be turning, and looking for romance at the British museum. Up first: The case of Frank Hester points to something deep going on in our culture, writes Douglas Murray in the magazine this week. ‘We have never had to deal with anything like this
From our UK edition
29 min listen
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud, Harry Mount reads his diary, in which he recounts a legendary face-off between Barry Humphries and John Lennon (00:45); Lara Prendergast gives her tips for male beauty (06:15); Owen Matthews reports from Kyiv about the Ukrainians’ unbroken spirit (12:40); Catriona Olding writes on the importance of choosing how to
From our UK edition
32 min listen
On this week’s episode, Lionel Shriver asks if Donald Trump can get a fair trial in America (00:39), Angus Colwell speaks to the Gen-Zers who would fight for Britain (08:25), Matthew Parris makes the case for assisted dying (13:15), Toby Young tells the story of the time he almost died on his gap year (20:43),
From our UK edition
37 min listen
This week: In the magazine we look at the Wagner Group’s failed coup and its implications for Putin’s reign. The Spectator’s Russia correspondent Owen Matthews examines why the Kremlin permits the existence of private armies such as Prigozhin’s Wagner Group, and joins the podcast alongside Jim Townsend, former deputy secretary of defence for European and NATO policy
From our UK edition
43 min listen
In this week’s episode: can the new Aukus alliance contain China? In his cover piece this week, James Forsyth writes that the new Aukus pact has fixed the contours of the next 30 years of British foreign policy. Britain, he says, is no longer trying to stay neutral in the competition between America and China.
From our UK edition
38 min listen
We’re still none the wiser about the origins of coronavirus, but has the lab leak theory just got more credible (00:55) Also on the podcast: are English tourists welcome in Scotland (15:25)? And is being rude the secret to success? With author Matt Ridley, virologist Dr Dennis Carroll, deputy political editor Katy Balls, hotelier Gordon
From our UK edition
37 min listen
Despite her government’s underperformance on education, health and Covid-19, Nicola Sturgeon’s popularity continues to climb – why? (01:10) Does spending more on overseas aid mean we care more? (14:05) And finally, are we all followers of the cult of casualness? (26:25) With The Spectator’s Scotland editor Alex Massie, former SNP finance spokesperson Andrew Wilson, development
From our UK edition
32 min listen
China has come out on top from this pandemic year – what does this mean for the world? (00:50) Was Test and Trace doomed from the start? (12:35) And what’s with all these Covid excuses? (22:35) With historian Rana Mitter; security expert Nigel Inkster; analyst Richard Dobbs; virologist Elisabetta Groppelli; editor of the Oldie Harry
From our UK edition
38 min listen
White working class boys consistently perform worse than other demographics in the UK’s education system – why? (00:45) What is it like to be ‘cancelled’? (14:20) And is it time to return to the office? (24:50) With the IEA’s Christopher Snowdon; former Ucas head Mary Curnock Cook; journalist Kevin Myers; the Spectator’s columnist Lionel Shriver;
From our UK edition
26 min listen
Harry Mount, the editor of The Oldie, is appalled that thanks to the coronavirus regulations, he can’t seek spiritual comfort in any of Britain’s glorious churches. And he’s not a religious believer. Last week he wrote a short but withering piece on his magazine’s website, with the headline ‘Unlock the churches!’ It began: At a
