Podcast

Americano

The next chapter in American politics has begun, but is it going to be any less crazy? The Spectator’s Americano podcast delivers in-depth discussions with the best American pundits to keep you in the loop. Presented by Freddy Gray.

The next chapter in American politics has begun, but is it going to be any less crazy? The Spectator’s Americano podcast delivers in-depth discussions with the best American pundits to keep you in the loop. Presented by Freddy Gray.

Americano

Will peace in Ukraine elude Trump?

With a Gaza ceasefire deal, President Trump’s attention has turned to ending the war in Ukraine. A meeting with Putin was suggested, before coming to nothing. Owen Matthews joins Freddy Gray to talk about the fundamental differences between Trump and Putin, the limits on Ukraine’s President Zelensky when it comes to negotiation and why the

Play 28 mins

Americano

James Orr on the ascendancy of JD Vance

Freddy Gray sits down with academic James Orr at the Battle of Ideas in London for a live Americano podcast to discuss Vice President JD Vance. Having been described as ‘Vance’s British sherper’, James responds to how likely it is that JD Vance will be President one day, which weaknesses could hold him back, and

Play 90 mins

Americano

Is Trump on a roll?

Was this Donald Trump’s most phenomenal week yet? Freddy Gray and Kate Andrews discuss the President’s success in orchestrating a Gaza peace plan, his ‘Mean Girls style’ of dealing with world leaders, and how to interpret his comments about not being ‘heaven bound’. They also talk about how Trump might bailout Argentina – but only

Play 30 mins

Americano

Has Trump secured peace in the Middle East?

Following the ceasefire brokered between Israel and Hamas, Donald Trump arrived triumphantly in Israel and delivered a speech to a rapturous Israeli parliament – some of whom wore red MAGA-style hats adorned with the words ‘Trump the peace president’. Trump is now in Egypt for further negotiations over securing a long-term peace in Gaza –

Play 20 mins

Americano

Is AI satanic?

Max Tegmark is an author and professor doing AI and physics research at MIT. He joins Freddy to discuss the moral and spiritual dangers of artificial intelligence, the rise of Silicon Valley’s ‘tech overlords’, and why he believes technology must remain a tool – not a master.

Play 28 mins

Americano

Does Pete Hegseth know what he’s doing?

Pete Hegseth has declared war on ‘fat generals’ and DEI in the US army – but why have standards slipped? Chris Caldwell joins Freddy Gray to discuss why the current administration feels so passionately about forcing a ‘major cultural shift’ in the military, plus the legacies of Bill Clinton’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy and

Play 35 mins

Americano

Could Mamdani win through a ‘conspiracy of cock ups’?

Zohran Mamdani is widely expected to win the race to be the next New York City mayor. The contest is now a three horse race between Mamdani, the Republican candidate Curtis Silwa and Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic governor. Current democratic mayor Eric Adams was also running but pulled out this week. David Kaufman, who

Play 41 mins

Americano

Is James Comey going to jail?

Freddy Gray speaks to Jacob Heilbrunn, a longstanding friend of Americano to discuss James Comey, violence in Washington and Tucker Carlson’s new series. 

Play

Americano

Does paracetamol cause Autism?

Freddy Gray speaks to The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons about Trump’s announcement at the Oval Office on Monday night that taking Tylenol, known as paracetamol, ‘is no good’ and that pregnant women should ‘fight like hell’ to only take it in cases of extreme fever. They discuss the data behind the claims, whether the

Play 15 mins

Americano

Has Trump been taken over by Big Tech?

Donald Trump has arrived in Britain with promises of billions in tech investment. But is this AI boom real growth — or just another bubble? Oren Cass, chief economist at American Compass and editor of The New Conservatives, joins Freddy Gray to discuss whether the Trump administration has been taken over by big tech. Click

Play 54 mins

Americano

Iryna Zarutska & America’s inner-city violence epidemic

Freddy Gray is joined by Heather Mac Donald, fellow at the Manhattan Institute. They discuss how race and crime grips America, and the epidemic of violence in inner-cities.

Play 36 mins

Americano

What’s driving political violence in America?

Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from south-west Utah, has been detained over the shooting of Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of Donald Trump. Author and anthropologist Max Horder joins Freddy Gray to discuss the cocktail of online hate and tribal divisions that’s fuelling America’s new era of political violence.

Play

Americano

Eyewitness: inside the shooting of Charlie Kirk

Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk was shot dead while taking questions at Utah Valley University. Kate Andrews speaks to eyewitness and reporter Eva Terry about the chaos on campus, the reaction across America, and what comes next.

Play

Americano

How worried are Americans about Britain?

In Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, Britain has a double-edged sword: one of the most anglophile U.S. administrations of all time – but a greater awareness of UK domestic politics. From Lucy Connolly to the recent arrest of Graham Linehan at Heathrow airport, there is much chatter in America about free speech in Britain and

Play 20 mins

Americano

How scary is China’s military?

Freddy is joined by Harry Kazianis, editor in chief of the National Security Journal, to assess China’s military rise. He argues Beijing aims to dominate the Indo-Pacific with missiles, drones and naval power, posing a growing threat to U.S. influence and Taiwan.

Play

Americano

How authoritarian is Trump 2.0?

On this episode, Nick Gillespie, Reason’s editor at large, joins Freddy to discuss whether Trump 2.0 is really as authoritarian as people say. Is he closer to a gangster than a dictator? They also discuss tariffs, the weaponisation of the Justice Department, and the state of free speech in the UK.

Play 33 mins

Americano

Do mass shootings begin online?

Freddy Gray is joined by writer and internet ethnographer Katherine Dee. She’s written about the Minneapolis school shooting and Robin Westman for Spectator World. Two children were killed and 17 others injured by a killer with a bizarre online footprint: a mix of memes, nihilism, politics and gore references. Katharine argues ‘these shooters are radicalised,

Play 32 mins

Americano

Can the Democrats save themselves?

Freddy Gray speaks to Semafor journalist David Weigel about the Democrat’s summer meeting in Minnesota which was cut short following the tragic shooting at a school today. They discuss what we know about the shooting so far, how the Democrats can reset their stance on law and order, and whether they can unify their stance

Play 17 mins

Americano

Will Trump fall for Putin’s trap?

Donald Trump has met both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky this week, raising hopes of progress in ending the Ukraine war – but is it really a breakthrough, or a trap? US deputy editor Kate Andrews speaks with associate editor Owen Matthews – author of this week’s cover story Putin’s Trap – and Sergey Radchenko,

Play 29 mins

Americano

Did Putin get the upper hand in Alaska?

Donald Trump hasn’t left his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska with a deal to end the war in Ukraine. He told reporters that ‘great progress’ was made but ‘we didn’t get there’. To discuss who really got the upper hand, Freddy Gray is joined by Spectator associate editor and Russia correspondent Owen Matthews.

Play

Americano

How dangerous is Washington, D.C.?

US President Donald Trump claims Washington, D.C. has been “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals”. There are lots of stories about crime, including one very bizarre incident involving a sandwich. Just how unsafe is D.C.? Freddy Gray is joined by US managing editor Matt McDonald and Isaac Schorr, staff writer at Mediaite, who has

Play

Americano

Why are Trump and Putin meeting in Alaska?

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Alaska this week. On the table: a discussion on how to end the war in Ukraine. Trump has been pushing hard to end the war. What’s the significance of meeting in Alaska, what are the prospects of the war ending, and what are both sides

Play

Americano

What’s the matter with Candace Owens?

Freddy Gray speaks to podcast host and commentator Candace Owens about her story investigating whether Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte is a man, why she remains firm on her views about Gaza, and how Trump is doing in his presidency.

Play 28 mins

Americano

How deep does the Russia, Russia, Russia scandal go?

Freddy Gray is joined by US editor at large Ben Domenech. They discuss the return of Russiagate – what’s behind the new inquiry, who could be implicated, and what it means for the legacy of the Trump-Russia scandal.

Play 25 mins

Americano

Why Trump wins and why Reform can win

Freddy Gray is joined by author Ann Coulter in London, to discuss why she backs the rise of Reform UK, how immigration main issue voters care about this election and why she’s supports Trump in his second term. Ann Coulter’s Substack can be found at: anncoulter.substack.com

Play 28 mins

Americano

How progressivism killed American Protestantism

Freddy Gray speaks to Christopher Mondics who is a legal affairs writer about how the left-wing orthodoxy has destroyed Protestantism in America. They discuss the mainline denominations in America, how ‘wokeness’ infiltrated the churches and why, despite some drop off, religion is still so present in America.

Play

Americano

Trump, MAGA, and US foreign policy

Kate Andrews speaks to Damir Marusic, assignment editor at The Washington Post and co-founder of Wisdom of Crowds. They examine Donald Trump’s surprising foreign policy moves in his second term: his position on the Israel-Gaza conflict, why he’s armed Ukraine despite MAGA frustration, and whether his instincts are reshaping Republican foreign policy for good.

Play

Americano

What should we make of Trump’s trip to the UK?

Donald Trump is in Scotland, holding court at Turnberry. He’s welcomed Sir Keir and Lady Victoria Starmer to his golf course, and had a long discussion with reporters at a wide ranging press conference, that covered Russia, Gaza, and his long running feud with London mayor Sadiq Khan. To unpack it all, Freddy is joined by

Play

Americano

Lionel Shriver on Trump’s vendetta, Mamdani’s ‘stupid’ ideas & sentimental immigration

Deputy US editor Kate Andrews is joined by author and Spectator columnist Lionel Shriver to assess Donald Trump’s turbulent second term. They discuss the rise of socialism in New York, why fairness is warping immigration policy, and whether Trump’s obsession with lawfare and vengeance is undoing his own presidency.

Play 36 mins

Americano

Douglas Murray on conspiracy America, lawfare & the new age of suspicion

Donald Trump promised to release the Epstein files – so why hasn’t he? Spectator columnist Douglas Murray joins Kate Andrews to discuss the scandal that won’t go away, what it says about trust in institutions, and why even Trump’s most loyal supporters are starting to turn on him.

Play