Max Jeffery

Max Jeffery

Max Jeffery is The Spectator’s writer-at-large.

Thursday

Max Jeffery

Is Nato ready for war with Russia?

38 min listen

Welcome to a slightly new format for the Edition podcast! Each week we will be talking about the magazine – as per usual – but trying to give a little more insight into the process behind putting The Spectator to bed each week. On the podcast: TheSpectator’s assistant foreign editor Max Jeffery writes our cover story this week, asking if Nato is ready to defend itself against a possible Russian invasion. Max joined Nato troops as they carried out drills on the Estonian border. Max joins us on the podcast along with historian Mark Galeotti, author of Putin's Wars. (00:55)  Then: Lionel Shriver talks to us about the sad case of Jennifer Crumbley, the mum who's just been convicted of manslaughter – for her son carrying out a school shooting.

Max Jeffery

Is Nato ready for a Russian invasion?

Tapa, Estonia In a pine forest two hours from Estonia’s border with Russia, preparation for war is under way. British, French, American and Estonian soldiers are rehearsing what Nato would do if Vladimir Putin invaded. They’ve brought Challenger II tanks, an F-16 fighter jet and Himars artillery systems – some of the best equipment the West has – for a fortnight of battle simulations. It means preparing for trench warfare, minefields, ambushes and mortar strikes in -20°C and a foot of snow. Not long ago, the idea of fighting a war against Russia was dismissed as a joke. When Mitt Romney ran for US president he said Moscow was a threat, and Barack Obama mocked him: ‘The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back. The Cold War has been over for 20 years!

Tuesday

Max Jeffery

Dmitri Trenin: the pro-West Russian radicalised by Putin’s war in Ukraine

The circus of American and European diplomats in Moscow loved Dmitri Trenin while he was on their side. Trenin was a former colonel in a Soviet intelligence agency. He became known in the early 2000s for writing books that argued Russia, diminished after the Cold War, should get friendly with the West by joining Nato and the European Union. He was a pro-West Russian, and it earned him the directorship of the Moscow branch of a rich American think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Trenin built contacts in the Kremlin, wrote for the New York Times, and was in the phone book of every foreign ambassador in the Russian capital. He was telling westerners what they wanted to hear.

Saturday

Max Jeffery

Would Trump and Starmer get on?

12 min listen

Donald Trump seems to have the Republican primaries wrapped up. He’ll almost certainly be up against Joe Biden on 5 November in the general election. If Trump wins, and in Britain’s own elections in the second half of 2024, Starmer wins, the two will make an odd pair. Will they get on? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Freddy Gray, The Spectator’s deputy editor and host of the Americano podcast.

Friday

Max Jeffery

Fraser Nelson: governments should never own our press

16 min listen

NHS consultants have (narrowly) rejected another pay increase offered to them by the government. They will not immediately go back on strike, and will instead negotiate further with the government. Kate Andrews takes us through the details. Also on the podcast, Fraser Nelson responds to Spectator chairman Andrew Neil's comments on BBC's Newsnight last night, on the potential sale of our magazine to UAE-backed RedBird IMI.  Produced and presented by Max Jeffery.

Tuesday

Max Jeffery

Are the Houthi strikes working?

12 min listen

The UK launched a new set of strikes on eight Houthi targets last night. Typoon jets dropped £30,000 Paveway bombs on an underground storage site and surveillance and missile capabilities controlled by the Yemeni rebel group. But are the strikes working? The Houthis have continued to attack ships in the Red Sea, and a row has also started about whether government properly briefed Keir Starmer and Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman.

Friday

Max Jeffery

Why won’t the Tories back Birbalsingh?

15 min listen

Katharine Birbalsingh, headteacher at the Michaela community school in Brent, is being challenged in the High Court over a policy which allegedly bans students from praying. Ms Birbalsingh has defended the policy, arguing that it is vital to 'maintain a successful learning environment where children of all races and religion can thrive.' Should the Tories step in? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Heale.  Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Thursday

Max Jeffery

Are the Saudis really ruining boxing?

There’s a new mantra in championship boxing. Try speaking to anyone from that world – a big-time promoter, trainer or fighter – and before you can get a word in, they’ll say something like: ‘I’d like to thank His Royal Highness King Salman Abdulaziz al-Saud, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and, of course, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Turki Al al-Sheikh.’ In the last few years, the Saudis have spent hundreds of millions, more than anyone else can offer, to stage the world’s greatest bouts on their holy sand. They’re trying to take over golf and football too. Everyone in the fight business is getting rich, and no one wants it to end.

Tuesday

Max Jeffery

Paula Vennells hands back her CBE

10 min listen

Paula Vennells, the former head of the Post Office, has handed back her CBE. Will her decision put more pressure on politicians like Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader who has so far refused to resign? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.

Saturday

Max Jeffery

The sad world of the online influencer

Walid Sharks is taking a nasty beating at the AO Arena in Manchester. It’s the second round of his fight against ‘Deen the Great’, and he has just been knocked down by a punch to the face. ‘His eyes are rolling right now,’ says a commentator. ‘He doesn’t know where he is!’ But Sharks doesn’t mind: he’s fighting before a sell-out crowd, with a million people livestreaming at home, and they’ll be loving the drama. ‘Hit ’is jaw off!’ someone in the stands shouts to Deen The Great, wishfully. Sharks isn’t a professional boxer, but a social media ‘influencer’. Being used as a punchbag is worth it to grow his internet following. This is the industry turning online attention into cash and celebrity.

Tuesday

Max Jeffery

Sunak gets tetchy during Rwanda and Israel grilling

13 min listen

Rishi Sunak appeared in front of the Liaison Committee this afternoon. In an interview with The Spectator last week, the PM said that he was enjoying the job. So why did he seem so agitated at the grilling today? Max Jeffery speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Heale.

Wednesday

Max Jeffery

Has Robert Jenrick gone rogue?

12 min listen

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, long thought of as one of Rishi Sunak's closest allies in Parliament, hinted yesterday at a row with the Prime Minister. He had a plan to reduce immigration ready ‘last Christmas’, he said. Why didn’t Sunak take it anywhere? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Paul Goodman.

Friday

Max Jeffery

What happened in Dublin?

11 min listen

There were riots in Dublin last night. Looters smashed shops, and burnt police cars in a night of unrest in the capital of Ireland. What provoked the angry crowd, and should the police have done a better job at stopping them? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Pat Leahy, political editor of the Irish Times.

Wednesday

Max Jeffery

‘My show is like life and death to people’: meet TalkTV’s Mike Graham

Hair combed and slicked, Mike Graham sits at his big shiny desk and waits on his cue. When his guest goes rogue backstage and starts swearing at a minion, it barely registers. He remains placid. Unruffled. It’s only his second week doing TV but Mike is in the zone. Three, two, one, zero. ‘Welcome to The Independent Republic of Mike Graham.’ He grins. ‘With you for the next three hours, of course!’ Of course. Independent Republic is a daily celebration of subversive tabloid television, beamed out on TalkTV to a dependable and swelling citizenry. Mike is the republic’s leader. During those three hours he skewers a museum for cancelling Santa, jokes about a ‘mystery eye-bleeding virus’ in France, and derides our brainless politicians.

Saturday

Max Jeffery

What will fix Britain’s prisons?

19 min listen

HMP Bedford was issued with an urgent notification yesterday, meaning it must immediately make reforms to improve. It’s the fifth prison to receive such a notification this year. What’s going wrong in Britain’s prisons, and what will fix them? Max Jeffery speaks to former prison governor Ian Acheson and former prisoner David Shipley.

Thursday

Max Jeffery

What is Suella Braverman up to?

10 min listen

Suella Braverman has again dominated conversation with her controversial rhetoric, this time comparing the pro-Palestinian marches to the Orange Marches of Northern Ireland in a punchy op-ed for the Times. Has she finally gone too far for this government? Max Jeffery talks to Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Max Jeffery and Cindy Yu.

Wednesday

Max Jeffery

‘It’s a necessity that the Middle East fears us’

Micah Goodman is done being nice and even-handed. He became a best-selling philosopher by telling Israelis that the Palestinians needed more freedom. He said if the West Bank had better roads and an airport and more land and fewer checkpoints, relations between Israelis and Palestinians would improve. There was a way through the stalemate, if only people worked together. But now he wants war. Goodman is rageful about what Hamas did to his Israeli brothers and sisters ‘It’s a necessity that the Middle East fears us’, Goodman says, calling from Jerusalem. ‘That Hezbollah gets a panic attack when it pronounces the word Israel. That in Iran they have a panic attack from the thought of a military interaction with Israel.

Wednesday

Max Jeffery

Can Labour really overhaul the NHS?

16 min listen

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said in a speech today that this NHS must ‘modernise or die’. But will a Labour government under Keir Starmer have the cash to really reform? Max Jeffery speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman.

Wednesday

Max Jeffery

Would Labour grant more oil licences?

12 min listen

The UK's largest untapped oil and gas field has been given the green light in a move that has been criticised by Labour, although Keir Starmer has said he will honour the Tories' approval of the controversial Rosebank site should Labour enter government next year. Has the language changed around net zero?  Also on the podcast, new polling suggests that Sadiq Khan holds only a slender lead ahead of Susan Hall in the London mayoral race, should he be worried?  Max Jeffery speaks to James Heale and Fraser Nelson.  Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Thursday

Max Jeffery

What is Starmer’s small boats plan?

14 min listen

Keir Starmer today unveiled Labour’s plan to stop illegal migration. Trying to deport migrants to Rwanda is a waste of money, he said – the millions would be better spent on a ‘new security agreement’ with Europe. But what does that mean? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.