In this week’s books podcast Sam is joined by one of the doyennes of crime writing, the brilliant Donna Leon. She talks about her latest Commissario Brunetti novel, Unto Us A Son Is Given, about what Venice gives her as a setting, why she welcomes snobbery towards crime writers, and why she never lets her books be published in Italian.

Spectator Books is a series of literary interviews and discussions on the latest releases in the world of publishing, from poetry through to physics. Presented by Sam Leith, The Spectator's Literary Editor. Hear past episodes of Spectator Books here.

With Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Presented by Fraser Nelson.

Coffee House Shots is a series of podcasts on British politics from the Spectator's political team and special guests. Brought to you daily, please subscribe here to find more episodes that are not released on Spectator Radio.

With Caroline McCarthy, contributor to Spectator USA.

Americano is a series of in-depth discussions on American politics with the best pundits stateside. Presented by Freddy Gray, editor of Spectator USA.

Kay Burley is a Sky News founding member, host of The Kay Burley Show, and holds the record for hosting more hours of live television than any other news presenter. Kay tells Katy about how she 'knocked the rough edges' off her accent, her love for Jane Fonda, and why the BBC couldn't afford her these days.

Women With Balls is a podcast series where Katy Balls speak to women at the top of their respective games. To hear past episodes, visit spectator.co.uk/balls.

It has been yet another crazy week in the Brexit saga, with May and the EU negotiating an extension. And with a possible third meaningful vote in the horizon, what happens now? And who is to blame for the uncertainty - May, or parliament? (00:47)

Plus, with the majority of doctors in the NHS now coming from abroad, why are we not training enough doctors in the UK? (16:00)

And last, we take a look inside of the world of The Archers’ superfans. (33:00) 

With Katy Balls, James Forsyth, Sam Gyimah, Saffron Cordery, J. Meirion Thomas and Nicola Headlam. 

Presented by Lara Prendergast. 

Produced by Cindy Yu and Siva Thangarajah.

In this week's books podcast, Sam Leith is joined by the Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri. Someone whose own fiction has negotiated the cross-cultural territory of her Bengali-American identity, Jhumpa in the last few years has been negotiating a new crossing of cultures after settling in Rome with her family and starting to write fiction and memoir in Italian. She joins the podcast to discuss the Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories, which she edited, and talk about what a new language gives a writer, how the war shaped Italian literature, and why - as a professor of creative writing at Princeton - she refuses to teach creative writing.

Spectator Books is a series of literary interviews and discussions on the latest releases in the world of publishing, from poetry through to physics. Presented by Sam Leith, the Spectator's Literary Editor.

Journalist and author Rachel Johnson joins Lara and Livvy on this episode to talk about what it was like to share with a student house with Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, then budding student chef, about cooking rice found in a Greek bin for her children, and why 'American food' is an oxymoron.

Table Talk is a series of podcasts where Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts talk to celebrity guests about their life story, through the food and drink that has come to define it.

With James Forsyth and Katy Balls. 

Presented by Fraser Nelson.

For 30 years Damian Thompson has been bored senseless by the public pronouncements of bishops – Anglicans and Catholics. Why do they feel the need to speak in such dreary jargon? Why do interesting clergy never make it to bishop? He's joined by Harry Mount, editor of The Oldie.

Holy Smoke looks at the most important and controversial topics in world religion, thoroughly dissected by a range of high profile guests. Presented by Damian Thompson.

It's been a somewhat bonkers week in Westminster. The government seems to be going into a full Brexit meltdown and it's likely that Brexit will be delayed. So, where do we go from here (00:45)? We also take a look at the Democratic Party's anti-Semitism problem (17:35) and at the end, Lara Prendergast is given a tarot reading (26:10).

With Katy Balls, James Forsyth, Peter Foster, Freddy Gray, Kate Andrews and Jennifer Cownie.

Presented by Lara Prendergast.

Produced by Cindy Yu and Alastair Thomas.