Roger Pizey is a baker, chef and one of the most influential pâtissiers in the UK. He started his culinary journey as an apprentice at La Gavroche under Albert Roux before taking on the role of head of pastry at Marco Pierre White’s Harveys, during the time it achieved three Michelin stars. He has since worked at a number of London institutions and now serves as the head of pastry at Fortnum and Mason.

On the podcast he tells Liv and Lara about childhood memories of Manchester tart, what he learnt from Albert Roux and Marco Pierre White, and why Fortnum’s rose éclair is the perfect dessert.

Photo credit: Michael Barrow

Deborah Mattinson joined the House of Lords as a Labour peer in February. Her involvement in politics began when she worked alongside Peter Mandelson and Philip Gould to create Labour’s Shadow Communications Agency for Neil Kinnock. In 1992 she co-founded Opinion Leader Research, and she went on to advise Tony Blair ahead of the 1997 election and later became Gordon Brown’s chief pollster. In 2021 she was appointed Director of Strategy for Keir Starmer, a position she held until stepping down following last year’s landslide victory.

On the podcast, Deborah tells Katy Balls about growing up as a Labour supporter with a father active in local Tory politics, the work hard/play hard culture of advertising in the 1980s and how to decipher what voters really think during focus groups. They also talk about the differences between the 1987, ‘92, and ‘97 campaigns, the ‘Hero voters’ that were key to Labour’s electoral success in 2024 and how Labour can best tackle the threat from Reform today. With experience working with Labour spanning four decades, they touch on the Labour giants she worked with, including Alf (now Lord) Dubs, Peter (now Ambassador – also Lord) Mandelson and, more recently, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has died.

The Argentinian, the first Latin American – and the first Jesuit – to lead the Church, has been the head of the Holy See for 12 years, succeeding Pope Benedict XVI who resigned in 2013. Francis presided over the funeral of his predecessor, who died in 2022 – a first in modern history. But Francis’s leadership has been historic for many other reasons. In fact, says Damian Thompson, his reign has been ‘one of the most memorable, if controversial – not just in recent years but in recent centuries’. Liberals lauded his position on a number of social issues, while Conservatives saw the papacy as over-reaching and out of touch with every-day Catholics. But is it really that simple?

Catholic priest and theologian Father Alexander Lucie-Smith joins Damian to react to the news of the Pope’s death. Fr Alexander says that while Francis ‘defies summary’, it is incredible to consider how far the papacy has changed when comparing him to his predecessors, even those of the 20th Century like Pope Pius XII. What will his legacy be?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller, elected as the new MP for Bicester and Woodstock last year, joins James Heale to talk about the ambitions of the party that became the largest third party in Parliament in 100 years at the 2024 general election. They want to overtake the Conservatives to be the second party in local government – could they one day overtake the Tories to become the official opposition? 

A former civil servant, Oxford University policy manager and councillor, Calum joins Coffee House Shots to talk about why he got into politics, how Brexit radicalised his desire for good governance and why, for all the fun, there is a serious point behind Ed Davey’s stunts. 

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Easter issue of the Spectator includes two provocative articles exploring aspects of Christianity.

Nigel Biggar, Regius professor emeritus of moral theology at Oxford University, now a Conservative peer, celebrates the heroic ‘faithful dissent’ of Christian heroes such as Thomas More and Helmuth von Moltke, who lost their lives rather than defend injustice.

Meanwhile Spectator columnist Mary Wakefield interviews Roman Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury. She’s inspired by his holiness but depressed by his use of ‘C of E bureaucratese’ to uphold liberal orthodoxy on subjects such as gender ideology. But, she says they can share an uncomfortable space together within faith.

In this episode of Holy Smoke, Nigel and Mary join Damian Thompson, who asks them: how can Christians embrace ‘faithful dissent’ in an era of conformist Christian leaders who parrot the platitudes of secular opinion?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Katy Balls joins Coffee House Shots for the last time as the Spectator’s political editor. Having joined the magazine ten years ago – or six prime ministers in Downing St years – what are her reflections on British politics? Katy’s lobby lunch partner from the Financial Times Stephen Bush joins Katy and Patrick Gibbons to try and make sense of a turbulent political decade, work out where the greatest risk is to the current Labour government, and attempt to make some predictions for the next ten years. 

Produced by Patrick Gibbons. 

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Would Trump really bomb Iran, asks Paul Wood (1:38); Katy Balls interviews Health Secretary Wes Streeting on NHS reform, Blairism and Game of Thrones (8:38); Olivia Potts examines the history – and decline – of the Easter staple, roast lamb (18:25); the explorer Benedict Allen says Erling Kagge and Neil Shubin were both dicing with death, as he reviews both their books on exploration to earth’s poles (22:13); Cosmo Landesman reflects on what turning 70 has meant for his sex life (28:46); and, Aidan Hartley takes us on an anthropomorphic journey across Africa (33:55). 

Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Six months after Kim Leadbeater MP launched the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a group of Labour MPs have pronounced it ‘irredeemably flawed and not fit to become law’. They say the most basic aspects of the bill – having gone through its committee stage – do not hold up to scrutiny. Dan Hitchens agrees, writing in the magazine this week that ‘it’s hard to summarise the committee’s proceedings except with a kind of Homeric catalogue of rejected amendments’ accompanied by a ‘series of disconcerting public statements’.

With a third reading vote approaching, what could it tell us about the country we live in? Dan joins the podcast alongside the Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie, who provides the Spectator’s diary for the week. (1:34)

If you’ve noticed fewer rabbits across the countryside that might be due to a killer pandemic that has appeared on Britain’s shores. Henry Williams raises awareness in the magazine this week about Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD), which has a mortality rate of between 70 and 100% and has already left rabbits endangered in countries like Spain. The disease can kill suddenly and is particularly prolific within wild rabbits, which are less likely to be vaccinated than household pets. How concerned should we be? Henry joined the podcast to discuss. (20:56)

‘How do you eat yours?’ asks the famous Cadbury's advert for creme eggs. James Innes-Smith, writing his notes on creme eggs in the magazine this week, responds ‘stamping on them in disgust’. James might not be a fan but most of the British public are – over 220 million of them are sold in the UK each year. Even more astonishing given they’re only available to buy for a third of the year. Why are they loved so much? James joined the podcast alongside The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan, who makes the case for creme eggs. (27:09)

Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Sam Leith’s guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is the lawyer and writer Philippe Sands, whose new book 38 Londres Street describes the legal and diplomatic tussle over the potential extradition of the former Chilean dictator General Pinochet. Philippe tells Sam why the case was such an important one in legal history, and presents new evidence suggesting that the General’s release to Chile on health grounds may have been part of a behind-the-scenes stitch-up between the UK and Chilean governments. He sets out some of that evidence and pushes back on our reviewer Jonathan Sumption’s scepticism about the case. Here’s an old case, but not yet a cold case.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

Freddy Gray speaks to Peter Wood who is the President of the National Association of Scholars about Trump's decision to block Harvard funding after the university denied the President's DEI demands.