Britain is defenceless, declares the Spectator's cover piece this week. From the size of the armed forces to protection against cyber warfare, the government is not spending fast enough to meet the UK's security challenges. But is the public ready to choose warfare over welfare? And can we blame the young people who don't want to fight for their country?

For this week's Edition, host William Moore is joined by opinion editor Rupert Hawksley, columnist Matthew Parris, and Whitehall editor of the Financial Times Lucy Fisher.

As well as meeting Britain's defence challenge, they discuss: whether the Mandelson scandal is bigger than the Profumo affair; the organised gangs terrorising rural farmers in the UK; and, why some people just can't get enough of conspiracy theories.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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‘Authority is like virginity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone’ – that's just one of the damning quotes about Keir Starmer that Tim Shipman has extracted from sources inside the Labour government. Much of Starmer's bad luck this week is arguably of his own making, so why is he seemingly so bad at being the Prime Minister?

For this week's Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, associate editor – and Conservative peer – Toby Young, and the broadcaster Guto Harri, who – as a former director of communications at Number Ten himself – knows a thing or two about the brutal reality of being at the heart of government.

As well as Starmer's torrid week, they discuss: why defence minister Al Carns of the 2024 intake is being talked up as a potential successor to Starmer; whether Kemi Badenoch has improved as Tory leader – and can she avoid being the Iain Duncan-Smith of the 2020s; how the Epstein files have proven royal biographer Andrew Lownie right; why we are seeing a boom in children's toys for adults and whether it matters; what the panellists make of the new Wuthering Heights adaptation; and finally, is there anything wrong with a man wearing a wig?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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Is Britain ready for Artificial Intelligence? Well, bluntly, 'no'; that's the verdict if you read several pieces in this week's Spectator – from Tim Shipman, Ross Clark and Palantir UK boss Louis Mosley – focused on how Britain is uniquely ill-placed to take advantage of the next industrial revolution. Tim Shipman's cover piece focuses on how the Labour government is approaching AI – there are some positives but, overall, Britain's creaky bureaucracy is blocking progress.

To discuss this week's Edition, features editor William Moore is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, commissioning editor Lara Brown and the Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine. Are you a tech-optimist or part of the 'analogue resistance' that Sarah professes to head?

Also on the episode: why is Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel obsessed with the antichrist – and is he the Isaac Newton of the 21st century; what does the Peter Mandelson scandal reveal about politics – and has Sarah Ferguson fallen further than the Prince of Darkness; is the new documentary Melania a genius PR move or a vain symptom of Trump's love of classic Hollywood; and finally, have you experienced 'elder-speak'?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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Who really runs Britain: the government, foreign courts or international lawyers? This question is at the heart of Michael Gove’s cover piece for the Spectator this week, analysing the role of those at the centre of Labour’s foreign policy. Attorney general Lord Hermer, national security adviser Jonathan Powell and internationally renowned barrister Philippe Sands may seek to uphold international law but is this approach outdated as we enter an era of hard power? For Gove, they are the three ‘guilty men’ who are undermining Britain’s national interest at the expense of a liberal international law that never really existed. 

For this week’s Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by deputy editor Freddy Gray, columnist Douglas Murray and editor of the Spectator’s Life section Arabella Byrne. 

The also discuss: whether Labour’s reset can really work ahead of next month’s by-election; how taking in so many disaffected Tories could backfire for Reform; why people care more about ICE in America than Iran – and if this proof that society has become conditioned; whether we should bemoan the demise of the landline; and finally, how parents should approach the issue of their children drinking.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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Another week, another foreign policy crisis – this time over Greenland. America's European allies watched as Trump increased the tension over the Arctic territory, only to announce he 'won't use force' in a set-piece speech in Davos. For the Spectator's cover this week, Paul Wood examines the strategic role of the Arctic, both against Russia and China and from nuclear energy to the space race. With a deal supposedly done between Denmark and the US, is there method in Trump's madness?

For this week’s Edition, host William Moore is joined by deputy editor Freddy Gray, online commissioning editor Lara Brown and broadcaster Miriam Cates. Saying she feels sorry for Keir Starmer, the former Conservative MP argues that Britain is a 'vassal state' and needs to wake up to the fact America is not benevolent. Is Britain's attitude towards the special relationship realistic or naive?

The also discuss: how 'Brand Britain' is losing its value by cosying up to the Chinese; how – despite the defection of Robert Jenrick – Reform is still very vulnerable to an anti-Farage pact; the merits of banning social media for children under the age of 16; and finally, how concerned the global west should be about the radicalisation of young women.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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As the world watches events in Iran, and wonders whether the US will intervene, the Spectator’s cover this week examines 'British complicity in Tehran’s terror’. When thinking about what could happen next in the crisis, there is a false dichotomy presented between regime survival and revolution; the reality is more complicated, though there is no doubt that this is the biggest threat to the theocratic regime in decades. 

For this week’s Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, columnist Rachel Johnson and features editor – and Edition co-host – William Moore. They commend the bravery of Iran’s protestors but criticise the ‘inept, naive and wrong’ response of the Foreign Office. Are some Brits proving to be Iran’s ‘useful idiots’? 

As well as the crisis in the Middle East, they discuss: whether the Starmer administration should be considered Gordon Brown’s second term; the growing obsession with race in Britain – particularly by the right; Rachel’s reflections on her travels to the US – from transatlantic cruise liners to partying with our former colleague Katy Balls; why some men lament the loss of their libido; and finally, the controversy over Elon Musk’s AI tool ‘Grok’. 

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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Can Farage plot a route to Number 10, asks Tim Shipman in our cover article this week. He might be flanked by heavyweights – such as his head of policy Zia Yusuf and Conservative Party defector Danny Kruger MP – but he will need a lot more people to pull off his biggest upset for British politics yet. Where will they come from? And what’s the balance he needs to strike between being radical enough to win power but also without alienating significant chunks of the electorate?

Plus, as former UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson breaks his silence – in this week's Spectator – to argue that Europe needs to adapt to a new reality, Freddy Gray ponders what Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ is actually all about. Immigration? Drugs? Oil? Or just plain chaos? 

For this week’s Edition, host William Moore is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, deputy editor and editor of our US edition Freddy Gray and columnist Mary Wakefield. As well as domestic and foreign politics, they examine Generation Z’s attitude towards sex – or rather their lack of it. Are politics and porn making them too anxious? Is this another example of the cultural ‘boring twenties’ young people are living through? And how will each of the guests approach the sex education of their own children?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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A far cry from the ‘roaring twenties' of the early 20th Century, the 2020s can be characterised as the ‘boring twenties’, argue Gus Carter and Rupert Hawksley in our new year edition of the Spectator. Record numbers of young people are out of work but even those with jobs face such a dire cost-of-living situation that they have no money left over to spend on fun. Traditional cultural outings – like going to the theatre – are increasingly confined to older, richer generations. This is long-standing issue, but compounded by Labour’s economic policies. A slightly downbeat start to the new year here at the Spectator, but at least the episode provides a free dose of fun.

For this week’s Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by opinion editor Rupert Hawksley, economics editor Michael Simmons and author and academic Philip Hensher. Rupert points out the perceived lack of fairness across the Budget, Matthew thinks we shouldn’t be surprised that a Labour government delivered a Labour Budget and Igor makes the case that artists thrive as a consequence of an inefficient state.

As well as the cover, they discuss: the demographic decline challenging British policy-makers; the merits of having young people engaged in politics; the etiquette around leaving theatre shows (and even funerals!) early; and finally, ‘BuzzBallz’ – the alcoholic drink that the Spectator team enjoyed before our Christmas party.

Plus: what new years’ resolutions have our contributors made?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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The Spectator’s senior editorial team – Michael Gove, Freddy Gray, Lara Prendergast and William Moore – sit down to reflect on 2025. From Trump’s inauguration to the calamitous year for Labour, a new Pope and a new Archbishop of Canterbury, and the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the year has not been short of things to write about.

The team take us through their favourite political and cultural topics highlighted in the magazine this year, from the Assisted Dying debate, the ongoing feud over Your Party and Reform’s plan for power, to Scuzz Nation, Broke Britain – and Porn Britannia.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.  

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The Spectator’s bumper Christmas issue is a feast for all, with offerings from Nigel Farage, Matthew McConaughey and Andrew Strauss to Dominic Sandbrook, David Deutsch and Bonnie Blue – and even from Her Majesty The Queen.

To take us through the Christmas Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by deputy political editor James Heale, associate editor Damian Thompson and writer of the Spectator’s new morning newsletter, Morning Press, Angus Colwell. 

They discuss: the state of British politics as we leave 2025 behind, and who will have a worse year ahead between Kemi and Keir; what physicist David Deutsch’s enthusiasm for humanity can teach us all in the age of AI; why the Sherlock Holmes stories have maintained such enduring appeal; whether England cricket fans will be celebrating good news from Down Under; as well as the best places to visit in London at Christmastime.

Plus: who does Damian think is the ‘most repugnant, left-wing extremist leader’ in British politics, and who described Bonnie Blue as the ‘Emma Hamilton of the 21st century'?

Happy Christmas from The Spectator. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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