This week: 



In her cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls writes that as Labour prepares for government, Keir Starmer is rooting out the far left sections of his party and replacing them with moderates. She is joined by John McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair, to discuss the return of the Blairites (01:06). 



Also this week: 



The Spectator’s Russia correspondent Owen Matthews writes about Putin's three most prominent political prisoners. He joins the podcast alongside The Spectator’s assistant online editor Lisa Haseldine to consider the cost of speaking up against the regime (17:50). 



And finally: 



Damian Thompson, associate editor at The Spectator, writes this week about the rise of America’s Satanists. He is joined by Chaplain Leopold, who co-runs the Global Order of Satan UK, to debate the rifts in modern Satanism (28:41). 



Hosted by William Moore. 



Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

The Starmtroopers: Labour's new recruits

The Spectator's flagship podcast featuring discussions and debates on the best features from the week's edition. Presented by Lara Prendergast and William Moore.

News

This week:



Survival plan: is Rishi ready for the rebels? Ever since his election, Rishi Sunak has been preparing for this weekend – where the most likely scenario is that dire local election results are slow-released, leaving him at a moment of maximum vulnerability. He has his defences ready against his regicidal party, says Katy Balls: the Rwanda plan, a welfare reform agenda and a 4p NI cut (with hints of 2p more to come). And while the rebels have a (published) agenda they do not – yet – have a candidate. Katy joins the podcast alongside Stephen Bush, associate editor of the Financial Times. (02:12)



Next: Lara and Gus take us through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine, including Damian Thompson's Life column, and Joel Golby’s notes on ⅓ pints. 



Then: Everyone has heard of the ‘Essex Man’ that helped the Conservatives win in 1992, but what about the Hillingdon man? Journalist William Cook identifies a new swing voter in the magazine, the disgruntled Hillingdon man from sleepy Ruislip and the surrounding villages. He says that the reliably Tory voters of Hillingdon could change the habit of a lifetime and vote for Starmer. William joined the podcast to discuss. (15:46)



And finally: Mary Wakefield writes in defence of Victorian parenting in this week's magazine. She says that kids these days could benefit from some 'stiff upper lip' parenting and the resilience she learnt from her time at boarding school. She also warns against encouraging children to focus on their feelings and sending them to therapy. To debate, we were joined by Jean Twenge, author of the Generation Tech substack and the book Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future and The Spectator’s literary editor Sam Leith. (23:29)



Hosted by Lara Prendergast and Gus Carter. 



Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 






Survival plan: is Rishi ready for the rebels?

This week: The Xi files: China’s global spy network. 



A Tory parliamentary aide and an academic were arrested this week for allegedly passing ‘prejudicial information’ to China. In his cover piece Nigel Inkster, MI6’s former director of operations and intelligence, explains the nature of this global spy network: hacking, bribery, manhunts for targets and more. To discuss, Ian Williams, author of Fire of the Dragon - China's New Cold War, and historian and Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins joined the podcast.. (02:05)



Next: Lara and Gus take us through some of their favourite pieces in the magazine, including Douglas Murray’s column and Gus’s interview with the philosopher Daniel Dennett. 



Then: Tim Shipman writes for The Spectator about ‘hyper history’. This refers to the breathless last ten years in political history, encompassing the breakdown of old electoral coalitions, the formation of new ones and decisive prime ministers who all suffer from the same ‘power failure’ – as he calls it. Tim joined the podcast to discuss further. (17:34)



And finally: How the Jilly Cooper Book Club turned toxic. Flora Watkins joined a Jilly Cooper Book Club whose members got along famously – until lockdown and the ensuing culture wars. Debates over vaccines, lockdown and gender split them up more violently than any of their heroine’s books. Flora is joined by the author and journalist Elisa Segrave to examine the toxicity of women-only book groups. (27:50)



Hosted by Lara Prendergast and Gus Carter. 



Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 

The Xi files: how China spies

This week: the usual targets



First: Trump is on trial again – and America is bored rather than scandalised. This is his 91st criminal charge and his supporters see this as politicised prosecution. As an American, Kate Andrews has seen how the law can be used as a political weapon – so why, she asks, is Britain importing the same system? In less than 18 months, the police have been sent to investigate Rishi Sunak for his seat-belt, Nicola Sturgeon for campaign funds, and Angela Rayner over her electoral registry: each time, the complainant is political and the process is the punishment. Kate joins the podcast alongside The Spectator’s editor Fraser Nelson to discuss. (01:34)



Then: Confessions of a defecting Starmtrooper. Katy Balls speaks to Jamie Driscoll, the former Labour North of Tyne mayor, who failed Keir Starmer’s selection process to be mayor of the soon-to-be-created North East metro mayoralty. He’s now running as an independent, backed by Andy Burnham, while half of the Labour council groups are refusing to endorse the official Labour candidate. ‘I know people who have left the Labour party who describe it as leaving an abusive relationship,’ he says. You can read the full interview in the magazine, but we have a short extract of their discussion on the podcast. (13:44)



And finally: Our reporter Max Jeffery gatecrashed a party of the Extinction Rebellion youth offshoot Youth Demand!, whose stunts have included targeting MPs’ houses and dousing the Ministry of Defence in red ink. ‘I’m so ketty!’ one of the partygoers told him (referring to the drugs she was on). ‘They wrote ideas on big sheets of paper and left them lying at the back of the bar while they celebrated. “Rishi Sunak pool/pond – dyeing it red – pool party?” someone wrote. “CEOs’ houses”; “water (Thames)”; “Planes/private jets”; “Eton”; “Transgressive stuff”.’ Max joins the podcast alongside Youth Demand! spokesperson Ella Ward. (24:18)



Hosted by Lara Prendergast and Gus Carter. 



Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

The dangers of political prosecution

This week: will Biden support Ukraine’s attacks on Russia?



Owen Matthews writes the cover piece in light of the Zelensky drone offensive. Ukraine’s most successful strategy to date has been its ingenious use of homemade, long-range drones, which it has used to strike military targets as well as oil refineries and petrol storage facilities in Russia. The strikes are working but have alienated the US, who draw a red line when it comes to attacks on Russian soil. Owen joins the podcast alongside Svitlana Morenets, author of The Spectator’s Ukraine in Focus newsletter to debate what comes next. (01:44)



Next: Will and Lara take us through some of their favourite pieces in the magazine, including Rachel Johnson’s thoughts on women’s only clubs and Angus Colwell’s notes on wild garlic and the new foragers. 



Then: who is the greater threat to democracy, Biden or Trump? This is the question that Lionel Shriver grapples with in her column, where she expresses total disbelief that the grim state of politics in the US hasn’t thrown up an alternative third party. Lionel joins the podcast to discuss what’s left for American voters. (19:47)



And finally: Astronomer David Whitehouse bids a fond farewell to the Voyager 1 space probe which, due to technical difficulties, may soon stop transmitting back to earth. On the podcast, he looks back on what we’ve learnt about space during the 50 years that Voyager has been travelling through the cosmos with Sasha Hinkley, astrophysicist at the University of Exeter and leading a team of scientists on James Webb Telescope. (33:25)



Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.



Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons. 



We are always looking for ways to improve the podcast, please send any feedback to podcast@spectator.co.uk

Will Biden support Ukraine’s attacks on Russia?

On the podcast this week: what could achieving a large majority at the next election mean for Labour; how much should parents worry about picky eating; and why are humans fascinated with the apocalypse? 



First up: The Starmer supremacy.



If the polls are correct, Labour could be on to a record landslide at the next general election. Any political leader would relish such a win. But can achieving such a large majority present internal problems of its own? Labour MP Harriet Harman joins The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls to discuss. (1:32)



Then: Lara and Gus discuss some of their favourite pieces from the magazine, from Charles Moore’s column to Christopher Matthew’s piece on A. A. Milne’s time at Punch magazine. (16:21)



Next: how much should parents’ fuss over their children? Spectator contributor Hannah Moore argues in the magazine this week that parents shouldn’t worry about picky eating. Hannah joins the podcast, alongside The Spectator’s commissioning editor, Mary Wakefield to discuss this. Look out for a surprise revelation about our usual host William Moore… (18:27)



And finally: why are we so obsessed with the apocalypse? Dorian Lynskey’s new book ‘Everything Must Go’ is reviewed in this week’s magazine. It explores the stories humans tell about the end of the world. Dorian joins us with archaeologist and author Chris Begley who wrote ‘The Next Apocalypse’ about what humans can learn from past disasters. Is there hope for humanity yet? (28:34)



Hosted by Lara Prendergast and Gus Carter.



Produced by Patrick Gibbons. 



We are always looking for ways to improve the podcast, please send any feedback to podcast@spectator.co.uk

The Starmtroopers: Labour's new recruits

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