Kate Andrews speaks to Michael Cannon, the director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, to discuss how the US government prevents medical professionals and entrepreneurs from offering higher-quality, lower-cost care. Michael explains what policies can improve access to healthcare – both in America and Europe.
53 min listen
Freddy Gray speaks to Jeremy Carl, Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute. They discuss his book, The Unprotected Class: how anti-white racism is tearing America apart. They also cover affirmative action, and where America goes from here. Watch this episode on Spectator TV.
Joe Biden is a pragmatist. With just five months to go until his rematch against Donald Trump, the veteran Democrat is making political decisions based on an electoral calculation. These decisions, intended to undermine Trump’s appeal among wavering voters, cross into economic, domestic and foreign policy. They are taking him closer to the views of his Republican opponent. A case in point is immigration – one of Trump’s electoral strengths, and one of Biden’s biggest weaknesses. Biden, who is lagging behind Trump in the polls, has just signed an executive order denying asylum to migrants who enter the United States illegally. Michigan has become a major problem for Biden Immigration
29 min listen
Freddy Gray is joined by Alex Castellanos, Republican Party strategist who has served as media consultant to seven U.S. Presidential campaigns. They discuss Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, his search for a vice president, and if there’s any way Joe Biden can tarnish his image.
28 min listen
Freddy Gray speaks to Ben Smith and Nayeema Raza from the Mixed Signals podcast. They discuss the state of American media, whether the US has any appetite for public service broadcasting, and whether America is too cynical about the press.
23 min listen
Donald Trump has been found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. The Spectator columnist Lionel Shriver joins Freddy Gray to respond to the news. Was it a fair trial? What could it mean for the 2024 presidential election? And what are the wider implications for American democracy? Produced by Megan McElroy, Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.
This is an extremely strange moment for American democracy. Polls suggest that independent voters – the people who decide American elections – will not vote for a man who is a convicted felon. But now Donald Trump, currently the favourite to win re-election in November, has been found guilty, on 34 counts, of falsifying business records – and nobody knows if that verdict will make him more popular or less. On the one hand, a court has decided that, yes, he deliberately altered his financial accounts, possibly for election campaign reasons back in 2016. He is now a convict. Trump has a murky past, and his dodgy history now appears
48 min listen
Professor John Mearsheimer joins Freddy Gray to talk about the powder keg situation in Eastern Europe, why Putin is possibly the least hawkish of possible Russian leaders and why Israel has lost escalation dominance. This was originally broadcast on SpectatorTV.
He has created a major automobile company. He has built space rockets, taken over X, made himself hundreds of billions, and even found time to father lots of children. Elon Musk has plenty of achievements. And yet he may soon have one more. A cabinet post in the next Trump administration. But hold on: Musk may look an attractive candidate, but it will surely ends badly. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Musk and Trump have been discussing an advisory role for the billionaire if he wins the White House in the election in November. Musk apparently might help out on economic policy, as well as border
26 min listen
Freddy Gray speaks to author Jacob Heilbrunn about what another term in office for Donald Trump might mean for America’s foreign policy, its relationship with Israel, and the war in Ukraine. How have his views changed since last time? And what will his relationship with Putin be like?
31 min listen
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Quentin Letts takes us through his diary for the week (1:12); Owen Matthews details the shadow fleet helping Russia to evade sanctions (7:15); Michael Hann reports on the country music revival (15:05); Laura Gascoigne reviews exhibitions at the Tate Britain and at Studio Voltaire (21:20); and, Michael Simmons provides his notes on the post-pub stable, the doner kebab (26:20). Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.
24 min listen
Next week the world may know whether Donald Trump becomes the first US President to receive a criminal conviction. But could this verdict help or hinder him? Tom Lubbock, co-founder of pollsters J L Partners, joins Freddy Gray to discuss. They also analyse the dynamics at play in current polling: why is Trump doing better in the sun-belt states? And is this election a referendum on Biden? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.
23 min listen
New York Post writer Miranda Devine joins Freddy Gray to discuss Joe Biden’s unpopularity. Why are Americans increasingly not supporting him? And how have Biden family scandals and rumours affected trust in the President? In a week that Biden gave a commencement speech, they also discuss the recent controversy over NFL kicker Harrison Butker’s speech. What insight does the reaction to the speech tell us about America today? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.
19 min listen
Matt McDonald, managing editor of the US edition of The Spectator, joins Freddy Gray to discuss whether Biden is losing the swing states, the potential outcome of the Trump-Biden TV debates, and who the polls are spelling trouble for. Produced by Megan McElroy.
Ding ding ding! Trump vs Biden, the debate rematch, is on – so brace yourselves for the worst presidential tussle in history! This time, ladies and gentlemen, they’re four years older. The truth is Trump does not have a very good record in presidential debates In 2020, in the first presidential debate of a Covid-riven election, the two old men set a new low for American politics by shouting over each other like drunk slobs in a bar. Trump, who may have been suffering from Covid himself, decided to attack Joe Biden for among other things his handling of the swine flu in 2009, when Joe was vice-president. ‘Don’t ever use the
32 min listen
Freddy Gray talks to American columnist and commentator Guy Benson about who is in the running to be Trump’s Vice President. Who does Trump want? But more importantly what does the Trump ticket need? Also: Biden/Trump debates appear to have been confirmed. Who will the debates benefit most? And how relevant are they in the digital age? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.
If there is one thing that Harry and Meghan excel at, it is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Their much-hyped trip to Nigeria – a royal visit in all but name – had, from their perspective, gone exceptionally well. Not only did Harry manage to deliver a well-received speech about mental health to a group of students, but the pair were besieged by admirers and well-wishers everywhere they went, all desperate for a selfie, a handshake or a hug. Little wonder, then, that Meghan – never shy about jumping on a bandwagon or seizing an opportunity – solemnly declared that she had taken a DNA test that revealed
32 min listen
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Philosopher Slavoj Zizek takes us through his diary including his Britney Spears Theory of Action (1:08); Angus Colwell reports from the front line of the pro-Palestinian student protests (8:09); Svitlana Morenets provides an update on what’s going on in Georgia, where tensions between pro-EU and pro-Russian factions are heading to a crunch point (13:51); Cindy Yu analyses President Xi’s visit to Europe and asks whether the Chinese leader can keep his few European allies on side (20:52); and, Philip Hensher proposes banning fun runs as a potential vote winner (26:01). Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.
Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro has terminated diplomatic relations with Israel and described the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as ‘genocidal’. Thankfully, not all Colombians share Petro’s view of the Jewish State. Many of the ten million or so evangelical Christians in Colombia are outraged at the message Petro’s outburst sends to the 4,000-strong Jewish Colombian community. Prominent Colombians have also expressed dismay at Petro’s self indulgent proclamation. When I visited Colombia for ten days as a guest of the Israeli ambassador Gali Dagan last month, I met many Colombians who apologised for Petro’s comments. ‘He doesn’t represent us,’ they said. Colombia is turning its back on Israel in its hour
President Biden doesn’t give many sit-down television interviews, but when he does, he tends to make news. This week he sat down for an on-air session with CNN’s Erin Burnett, who asked him point-blank whether US bombs given to Israel have caused civilian casualties in Gaza. Biden’s response was notable not necessarily because the answer was a mystery (of course US bombs have killed civilians there) but rather because Biden showed a considerable degree of frustration with Israel’s war strategy. ‘Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they [Israel] go after population centres,’ the President said. ‘I’ve made it clear to