Nick Carter

General Sir Nick Carter served as chief of the general staff from 2014 to 2018 and chief of the defence staff from June 2018 to November 2021.

Thursday

Nick Carter

How prepared is Britain for war? – with Gen Sir Nick Carter

From our UK edition

35 min listen

General Sir Nick Carter, former chief of the defence staff, joins Tim Shipman to discuss Britain's military preparedness – or rather, lack thereof. While a friendlier US presence at the Munich Security Conference may have provided some relief, the military threats to the UK and to Europe presented are still stark. So what choices need to be addressed to ensure that Britain is equipped to deal with these threats? Is the government doing enough to address the awareness gap with the public? And how could AI change warfare? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

How prepared is Britain for war? – with Gen Sir Nick Carter

Wednesday

Nick Carter

Our armed forces are hollow – and our enemies know it

From our UK edition

When you’re the chief of the defence staff, the head of the British armed forces, it’s never a good sign if your phone rings on a Sunday evening and it’s the permanent secretary. On this particular Sunday, in March 2021, the reason for the call was the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, which was due to be published the following week. Although we had been closely involved in the work, the permanent secretary had been told that the chancellor had approved a settlement that would lead to punishing cuts. Something had to be done. I fully expected to get sacked or resign in protest when I made my way to Downing Street the next morning.

Friday

Nick Carter

John Power, Nick Carter, Elisabeth Dampier, Maggie Fergusson & Mark Mason

From our UK edition

26 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: John Power argues the Oxford Union has a ‘lynch-mob mindset’; Elisabeth Dampier explains why she would never date a German; Nick Carter makes the case for licensing MDMA to treat veterans with PTSD; Maggie Fergusson reviews Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island by Mike Pitts; and, Mark Mason provides his notes on guided walks. Mark will also be hosting a guided walk for the Spectator, for tickets go to spectator.com/events Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Thursday

Nick Carter

MDMA should be licensed for veterans with PTSD

From our UK edition

‘Stuff starts to get real, real quick,’ recalls former US Marine, Tyler Flanigan. An Iraqi sniper had just shot out the tyres of his truck and a key member of his team had been killed. ‘We were sitting ducks.’ ‘I couldn’t easily name a single day in Iraq that I wasn't shot at or didn’t have something explode next to me,’ says his fellow US Marine veteran, Nigel McCourry. Combat experience is hard to forget. Civilian life offers daily triggers that throw you back down ‘IED alley’, reliving the flailing feeling of being blown up and the horror of gathering friends’ body parts in bags. These former US Marines discussed their trauma in the documentary Dead Dog on the Left.