Lara Prendergast

Lara Prendergast

Lara Prendergast is executive editor of The Spectator. She hosts two Spectator podcasts, The Edition and Table Talk, and edits The Spectator’s food and drink coverage.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

The tech supremacy: Silicon Valley can no longer conceal its power

From our UK edition

36 min listen

Joe Biden won the US election, but is Big Tech really in power? (00:45) Churches are allowed to open during lockdown, but should they? (13:20) And can comfort eating and cosy socks replace human connections? (25:50)With historian Niall Ferguson; New York Times editorial board member Greg Bensinger; Father Jonathan Beswick; The Very Reverend Peter Howell-Jones; journalist Laura Freeman and psychology professor Dr Shira Gabriel.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Max Jeffery, Sam Russell and Matt Taylor.

Monday

Lara Prendergast

A honeymoon in Berlin

In December 2019, I arrived in Berlin by train. I was just married and on honeymoon. The most precious item in my luggage was my Interrail ticket. My husband and I hoped to visit as much of the Continent as we could in three weeks. We did not know that soon such a trip would be impossible, thanks to the infamous virus from China. We were keen to see what remained of the Berlin Wall. One of the longest still standing parts is on Niederkirchnerstrasse, next to the site of the former headquarters of the SS and the Gestapo, now home to the Topography of Terror, an indoor and outdoor museum dedicated to the Nazi era.

berlin

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

A race against time: can the vaccine outpace the virus?

From our UK edition

34 min listen

Coronavirus vaccines are now being distributed across the world, but what are the challenges posed by its delivery? (01:30) Is Boris Johnson the SNP's greatest weapon? (13:55) And is Prince Harry becoming more and more like his mother? (23:35)With financial columnist Matthew Lynn; former director at the McKinsey Global Institute Richard Dobbs; the UK's former director of immunisation David Salisbury; The Spectator's deputy political editor Katy Balls; The Spectator's Scotland editor Alex Massie; journalist Melanie McDonagh; and royal biographer Angela Levin.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Max Jeffery, Alexa Rendell, Sam Russell and Matt Taylor.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Leroy Logan

From our UK edition

29 min listen

Leroy Logan is a former superintendent at the Metropolitan Police, former chair of the Black Police Association, and author of Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about his love of apple crumble, his wife's lunchboxes, and why police officers should always stay dry.

Wednesday

Lara Prendergast

Most-read 2020: The problem with pretty floral face masks

From our UK edition

We're closing 2020 by republishing our ten most-read articles of the year. Here's No. 2: Lara Prendergast on face masks Now that we must all wear face masks, it is hardly surprising that they have started to become a fashion accessory. An Israeli jeweller has created a gold and diamond-encrusted mask that is said to be worth $1.5 million. According to the designer, the man who commissioned the extravagant mask — which weighs nearly 100 times as much as a typical surgical mask — had two demands: that it be completed by the end of the year and that it be the most expensive mask in the world. Diamond-encrusted face masks may not yet be everywhere, but floral ones certainly are.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Tom Kerridge

From our UK edition

30 min listen

Tom Kerridge is a Michelin-starred chef. He opened The Hand & Flowers in 2005, and now has another restaurant and a butchers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, alongside spots in London and Manchester. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about growing up on free school meals, falling in love with hospitality, and catering for NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

The Christmas Special

From our UK edition

49 min listen

How will the UK's economy recover from Covid-19, and what has the pandemic revealed about the West? (01:20) Was 2020 the year we dealt a mortal blow to future viruses? (15:05) And finally, what makes Mary Gaitskill a brilliant writer, and why does Elif Shafak work to heavy metal music? (29:25)With The Spectator's political editor James Forsyth, deputy political editor Katy Balls, writer and biologist Matt Ridley, behavioural psychologist Dr Stuart Ritchie, The Spectator's literary editor Sam Leith and writer Elif Shafak.Presented by Lara Prendergast. Produced by Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.

Lara Prendergast

Why charity begins in shops

From our UK edition

When everything re-opened after the first lockdown, I didn’t immediately head to a restaurant, bar or hairdresser. I went to the Second Chance charity shop on Blackstock Road in north London. It wasn’t that I was feeling particularly charitable. If anything, my visit came from a place of selfishness. I wanted to rootle around, alone, and find something unexpected — and probably pointless — in the piles of bric-à-brac. Out I came with a milk jug (£2.50) and a book titled Cool Names for Babies (50p) written by two women called Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz. I instantly felt better, as though the past few months had been a bad dream. I can’t be the only person who has missed this sort of experience.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Jeffrey Archer

From our UK edition

21 min listen

Jeffrey Archer is a novelist, former politician, and peer of the realm. He has sold 275 million copies of his books - in 97 countries and more than 30 languages. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Liv about food in prison, his wife's jacket potato, and why he loves shepherd's pie.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

Biden’s Burden: can he save the free world?

From our UK edition

42 min listen

Joe Biden wants his administration to be a departure from the days of Donald Trump, but will a change in foreign policy harm American interests? (01:00) Why is it taking so long to reach a Brexit deal? (17:10) And finally, should cyclists be given priority on London's roads? (29:35)With The Spectator’s deputy US editor Dominic Green, Chatham House's Leslie Vinjamuri, The Spectator's political editor James Forsyth, EurasiaGroup's managing director Mujtaba Rahman, journalist Christian Wolmar and writer, actor, and comedian Griff Rhys Jones.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Max Jeffery, Matt Taylor and Alexa Rendell.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Henry Jeffreys

From our UK edition

26 min listen

Henry Jeffreys is features editor of Masters of Malt, and author of The Cocktail Dictionary. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about living like the Goodfellas in Leeds, being 'portly' at university, and enjoying his mum's apple and bramble pie.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

The Sturgeon paradox: how is she so popular?

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 adviser Gilbert Greenall, former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell, journalist Melanie McDonagh and editor of The Oldie, Harry Mount. Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Max Jeffery, Cindy Yu and Matt Taylor.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Pen Vogler

From our UK edition

25 min listen

Pen Vogler is the author of Scoff, which describes the history of food in the British class system. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Liv about being vegetarian for a year, eating at Oxford colleges in the 1980s, and why avocados are so popular.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

Aftermath: when will the country truly recover from the virus?

From our UK edition

31 min listen

The vaccine might be just around the corner, but can the country truly recover? (01:00) How can the Labour party win back the working class? (11:15) And finally, should we celebrate the new statue of Mary Wollstonecraft? (23:10)With The Spectator's political editor James Forsyth, chair of the Health Select Committee Jeremy Hunt, firefighter and writer Paul Embery, Times Radio presenter and former Labour MP Gloria de Piero, The Spectator's radio critic Kate Chisholm, and Spectator contributor and feminist writer Julie Bindel. Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Cindy Yu, Max Jeffery, Matt Taylor and Sam Russell.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Marcus Wareing

From our UK edition

36 min listen

Marcus Wareing is a celebrated, Michelin-starred chef, a judge on Masterchef: The Professionals and Chef Patron at Marcus in Knightsbridge. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about eating in school canteens, working with Gordon Ramsay, and catering during coronavirus.

Saturday

Lara Prendergast

Spectator Out Loud: Douglas Murray, Lara Prendergast and Andrew Wilson

From our UK edition

20 min listen

On this week's episode, Douglas Murray is first, reflecting on the US election, and wondering why people who see the same thing can come to different conclusions. (00:51) Lara Prendergast is next, with her profile of the Prime Minister's fiancee, Carrie Symonds. (09:07) Finally, Andrew Wilson, who makes the case for an independent Scotland.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

Boris in a spin: can the PM find his way again?

From our UK edition

36 min listen

After two of Boris Johnson's most influential advisers left Downing Street last week, can the PM reset his relationship with the Tory party and find his way again? (00:58) Lara is joined by the Spectator's deputy political editor, Katy Balls, and former director of communications for David Cameron, Craig Oliver.A coronavirus vaccine seems to be the only way out of continued lockdowns, so should everyone be forced to have the jab? (13:49) The Spectator's literary editor, Sam Leith, joins the podcast with Professor Mona Siddiqui, who sits on the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.And finally, should we start referring to people by their surnames again? (25:30) Historian Guy Walters thinks so, and he's joined by the Spectator's etiquette expert, Mary Killen.Presented by Lara Prendergast.

Lara Prendergast

Inside the court of Carrie Symonds, princess of whales

From our UK edition

Carrie Symonds, the Prime Minister’s fiancée, ‘gets’ the media. That’s what her friends are quick to tell you. She’s a PR professional. If she doesn’t like the thrust of a story, she lets you know. She contacts journalists to tell them how ‘disappointed’ she is in their sloppy work. And she doesn’t seem all that scared of senior newspaper editors, perhaps because her father co-founded the Independent. It’s said she even thinks she can ‘edit what goes in the Mail on Sunday’.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Sharmadean Reid

From our UK edition

35 min listen

Sharmadean Reid is an entrepreneur and the founder of Beautystack. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Livvy about her grandfather's allotment, cooking roasts and trying crab for the first time.

Lara Prendergast

10 of the best florists that deliver

From our UK edition

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is on this week. The gardens are impressive, but my favourite part of the show has always been the enormous tent in the middle of it all, in which flowers from all round the British Isles are displayed. Radiant pots of daffodils sit alongside obscene-looking collections of orchids – and people come from around the world to ogle at them. So at this time of the year, thoughts naturally turn to flowers. If, like me, you only have limited space in your garden – or window box (where I am currently attempting to grow sweet peas) – then you may find yourself in need of a few reliable places from which you can always buy a handsome bunch of flowers for yourself or someone more deserving. There are plenty of mediocre florists around.