A safe space for dangerous conversations, from The Spectator Australia.
The Spectator is the world’s longest-running magazine of news, arts and ideas.
Hosted by Will Kings
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By The Spectator Australia
A safe space for dangerous conversations, from The Spectator Australia.
The Spectator is the world’s longest-running magazine of news, arts and ideas.
Hosted by Will Kings
4.8
66 ratings
The podcast currently has 96 episodes available.
London’s famously gloomy weather reflects the national mood. Farmers are marching on Westminster to protest crippling changes to inheritance tax laws. They are one of countless segments of the population that the new Starmer government has alienated in its early days in power. Illegal migrants continue to cross the channel in unprecedented numbers. Journalists are being investigated for thought crimes. And the long-term economic outlook is anemic.
At the same time, the new Trump administration may provide a blueprint for how to shake up a country in decline. The question is, how can we make Britain great again? To help Will with an answer, he is joined by comedian, podcaster and GB News host, Leo Kearse.
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Read The Spectator Australia here.
There has been no real, society-wide reflection on the way we responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to reflect on it, because the responses of Western governments were characterised by some of the most flagrant abuses of political power in history. We also witnessed shocking failures in the pharmaceutical industry; all in the pursuit of gigantic profits at the expense of public safety.
Fortunately, Naomi Wolf is talking about it. Naomi’s most recent, and perhaps most important, contribution to the public debate has been editing the now released collection of papers, collectively called 'The Pfizer Papers – Pfizer’s Crimes Against Humanity.'
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Donald Trump will be the 47th President of the United States. He will be the second President in history to be elected for non-consecutive terms, after Grover Cleveland. Whether you like him or not, Trump has confirmed his position as the most remarkable American political figure of the 21st century.
To discuss what we’ve just seen, and what is to come, Will is joined by writer and commentator, Melissa Chen.
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In a recent episode with Lord Frost, Will asked him if he was hopeful for the future of the United Kingdom. He acknowledged that it feels doom and gloom in 2024, but that the country has a history of getting itself into difficulties, and then finding the strength to overcome them. It is a great country with great traditions, and we just need to draw on them once again.
If the UK is to draw strength from its history, it should talk more about it. There’s no one better in the world to have that conversation with than the co-host of the cultural phenomenon that is The Rest Is History podcast, Dominic Sandbrook.
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We are 10 days out from the most important US election of our lifetimes. Of course that’s what they always say, but this time it feels like it may just be true. In this special bonus episode, Will chatted to Former White House Press Secretary, and now host of The Sean Spicer Show, Sean Spicer. Sean reflected on the campaign, and gave his prediction for who will win on the 5th of November. And spoiler alert, he thinks he'll win bigly.
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Watch The Sean Spicer Show here.
The start of a new government sets a tone that is often difficult to change. And the tone of Keir Starmer’s first 100 days has been dire, reinforcing a feeling of malaise across the United Kingdom.
To help with his first report card, Will is joined by David Frost, a Conservative member of the House of Lords and previously the Europe adviser to Boris Johnson and his Chief Negotiator for Exiting the EU in 2019 and 2020.
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Read The Spectator Australia here.
There are many things that are depressing about the modern culture wars, but none more so than the war on the past. There is a concerted, fierce and increasingly successful effort to not just make us ashamed of our history, but to disconnect us from it entirely.
How did this war start, and more importantly, how can it be won by defenders of Western civilisation? To answer these questions, Will is joined by sociologist, author, and commentator Frank Furedi. Frank’s new book is titled, “The War on the Past: Why the West Must Fight for its History.”
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In some respects, October 7 and the events that have followed is the continuation of a story that is almost as old as time itself. But in many others, the conflict, and the response to it, has been a reflection of our times.
Identity politics, the loss of confidence in western civilisation, the ideological capture of our institutions, the corruption of the media, and the self-flagellating instinct to atone for the sins of the past can all be seen in the response to October 7.
There has been no one better in the world at analysing this conflict through the prism of our contemporary culture than Brendan O’Neill. His new book is titled, “After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel, and the Crisis of Western Civilisation.”
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There is a feeling of pessimism in the UK at present, and it seems to be getting worse each day under the Starmer regime. A sense that the country has forgotten who it is. A feeling of helplessness that things are getting worse. And a rage that leaders on both sides of politics just don’t seem to care.
Calvin Robinson has, sadly, said enough is enough. With a heavy heart the popular priest and broadcaster moved from his home in England to the US earlier this month. In this conversation with Will, he explains why.
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For many voters, the upcoming US election isn’t really about the border, or the deficit, or guns, or healthcare, or abortion. As many pundits have now suggested, it’s about the vibes. It raises an unsettling question: does policy even matter anymore? Is the spin more important than the substance?
There’s no one better to answer that question than the Chairman and Co-Founder of Purple Strategies, a bipartisan public affairs firm, Alex Castellanos. Alex is one of the America’s best known and most successful media consultants and strategists. He has served as media consultant to seven U.S. Presidential campaigns, and has been credited with the discovery of the “political soccer mum” and called the father of the attack ad.
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Read The Spectator Australia here.
The podcast currently has 96 episodes available.
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