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

Inside the court of Carrie Symonds, princess of whales

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

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

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.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

Macron alone: where are France’s allies in the fight against Islamism?

36 min listen

First, France has been shaken by a series of gruesome terror attack – yet western leaders seem remarkably reluctant to support President Emannuel Macron. (01:04) Lara speaks to The Spectator's associate editor Douglas Murray and writer Ed Husain. Next, this year's US election was truly remarkable – but what was it like to report on it? Lara is joined by the editor of The Spectator's US edition Freddy Gray and Washington editor Amber Athey. (17:31) And finally, the British pub has historically been remarkably adept at circumventing restrictions on drinking – but how has it dealt with lockdown? Lara talks to journalist John Sturgis and Spectator writer Mark Mason. (27:21) Presented by Lara Prendergast. Produced by Gus Carter and Matthew Taylor.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Dan Keeling

23 min listen

Dan Keeling is a wine writer behind the magazine and restaurant Noble Rot. He tells Lara and Livvy about how he discovered his love of wine; working in the music industry; and how to start a restaurant with zero experience. Presented by Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

Is this the end for Trumpism?

28 min listen

What are the latest developments in the US presidential election? (01:15) - Lara is joined by the Spectator's economics correspondent Kate Andrews and the Spectator US's editor Freddy Gray, who is currently in Pennsylvania.What is it like to care for a disabled child during a time of lockdown? (09:19) - The journalist Sam Carlisle discusses the lack of support for her daughter Elvi with the Education Select Committee Chairman Robert Halfon. And finally, should churches keep their doors open throughout the pandemic? (20:42) - Journalist Laura Freeman thinks so, and considers the issue with Reverend Steve Morris from St Cuthbert's Church in North Wembley.Presented by Lara Prendergast.

Lara Prendergast

In defence of Emily in Paris

A frothy new drama called Emily in Paris arrived on Netflix last month. Starring Lily Collins — daughter of Phil — it tells the story of a pretty social media ‘expert’ who moves from Chicago to Paris, where she manages to offend almost everybody she meets, and yet somehow triumphs. It is Eloise in Paris for the Instagram/Trump generation. The show is a croquembouche-esque fantasy of Frenchness. Anorexic-looking chicks eat croissants and pretend to enjoy them. There are pre-war apartments with parquet flooring, and windows decorated with twinkling fairy lights. The men are handsome bastards who know how to cook omelettes.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Olia Hercules

20 min listen

Olia Hercules is a chef and food writer. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Livvy about growing up in Cyprus; being disappointed by British ingredients; and teaching her son to love Ukrainian cooking.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

The long winter – why Covid restrictions could last until April

39 min listen

Why does the government think the second wave will be worse than the first? (00:49) Will a Biden presidency restore America's fortunes? (18:45) And finally, does Covid mark the end for the silver screen? (30:10)Spectator editor Fraser Nelson talks to Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford; editor of The Spectator's US edition Freddy Gray is joined by columnist Lionel Shriver; and reviewer Tanya Gold is in discussion with The Spectator's arts editor Igor Toronyi-Lalic.Presented by Lara Prendergast.Produced by Gus Carter, Max Jeffery and Sam Russell.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Ian Rankin

20 min listen

Ian Rankin is a bestselling crime writer, most known for his Inspector Rebus novels. On the podcast, he tells Lara and Livvy about living in a motel during his first year at university; how eating curry for the first time was 'a revelation'; and the snacks that keep him going while he writes. Tell us your thoughts on our podcasts and be in for a chance to win a bottle of Pol Roger champagne by filling out our podcast survey. Visit spectator.co.uk/podcastsurvey.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Dolly Alderton

44 min listen

Dolly Alderton is an author, journalist and podcaster who hosts 'The High Low' podcast. On the episode, she talks to Lara and Livvy about campaigning for gender equality (and cooked breakfasts) at her boarding school; how taste in food can make or break the attractiveness of a man; and the importance of planning a desert island dish.

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

Where’s Boris? A government at sea

37 min listen

From Covid to Brexit to even the culture wars, Boris's performance seems to have been lacklustre. Where is the effervescent leader he was promised to be? (00:45) Sweden's violent crime is spiking - and are politicians afraid to say why? (16:45) And on the other side of the world, why are the Japanese so much happier to wear masks? (27:55)With Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson; Director of Political Insight Stewart Jackson; journalist Paulina Neuding; the FT's Nordic Bureau Chief Richard Milne; Professor Jordan Sand; and Spectator Assistant Editor Lara Prendergast.Presented by Cindy Yu.

Saturday

Thursday

Lara Prendergast

The problem with pretty floral 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. Once you start spotting them, you will see them all over town, normally covering the faces of women between the ages of 30 and 50.

Monday

Lara Prendergast

With Annie Gray

37 min listen

Annie Gray is a historian, cook and writer who specialises in food from 1600 to present day. On the podcast, she tells Lara and Olivia about a childhood of eating 'frisbee-like' omelettes, why male hares are inedible, and how an episode of Antiques Roadshow nearly jeopardised the release of her new book. Annie Gray's Victory in the Kitchen: The Life of Churchill's Cook, is out now.

Monday

Lara Prendergast

With Skye McAlpine

29 min listen

Skye McAlpine is a Sunday Times columnist and the author of two cookbooks. She joins Lara and Olivia down the line from Venice, where she grew up. On the podcast, she talks about moving to the city as a child, her favourite Venetian meals, and why, despite being a dinner party maestro, she doesn't believe in starters.Subscribe to The Spectator's first podcast newsletter here and get each week's podcast highlights in your inbox every Monday.

Monday

Lara Prendergast

With Rory Sutherland

45 min listen

Rory Sutherland is the vice-chairman of the renowned advertising firm, Ogilvy, and the Spectator's 'Wiki Man' columnist. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about everything and anything from the dreadful British food of the 70s, why he loves chain restaurants, and the best and worst kitchen gadgets. As well as his incredibly eclectic and international death row meal.

Monday

Lara Prendergast

With poet and actress Greta Bellamacina

27 min listen

Greta Bellamacina is an actress and poet, who has published numerous collections and made her acting debut in Harry Potter. On the podcast, she talks to Lara and Olivia about what it was like to be on set for Harry Potter, growing up with four siblings, and why her favourite restaurant is an over-priced Chinese restaurant in Paris. Greta also mentions her favourite restaurant in London - the Indian restaurant Paradise in Hampstead. If you can't get a takeaway from there, try this recipe for a lamb vindaloo from Olivia's column The Vintage Chef.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With author Rhik Samadder

24 min listen

Rhik Samadder is an actor and columnist for the Guardian, where his column Wellness or Hellness? reviews kitchen gadgets and life hacks. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Olivia about his mother's adventurous dinner table, his teenage battles with anorexia, and the worst kitchen gadgets he ever reviewed (including a mug which had a biscuit compartment). Rhik tells Lara and Olivia that he grew up on a diet of frozen pancakes. For a make-from-scratch alternative, here's a recipe for buttermilk blueberry pancakes from Olivia's Vintage Chef column for Spectator Life.

Tuesday

Lara Prendergast

With Ritz chef John Williams

46 min listen

John Williams is the ebullient Executive Chef at the Ritz. On the podcast, he talks to Lara and Livvy about breaking into the London fine dining scene as a boy from Tyneside, how the Ritz is as far from rustic as you can get, and his friendship with Margaret Thatcher, when she lived at the hotel in her last years.