Podcast

Americano

American politics is ever more divisive and The Spectator’s Americano podcast delivers in-depth discussions with the best American pundits to keep you in the loop. Presented by Freddy Gray.

American politics is ever more divisive and 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

Which way will the swing states go?

Freddy Gray speaks to JL Partners Director Scarlett Maguire about America’s swing states which could decide the general election. 

Play 12 mins

Americano

How bad is the border crisis?

Freddy is joined by Todd Bensman, fellow at the Centre for Immigration Studies and author of Overrun: how Joe Biden unleashed the greatest border crisis in US history. They discuss how to solve what is perhaps the issue of our time, why meaningful reform doesn’t seem to happen on immigration, and the extent of Biden’s physical

Play 33 mins

Americano

Is 2024 a ‘flip election’?

Freddy Gray is joined by pollster and writer Patrick Ruffini. They talk about why the strengthening economy isn’t improving Biden’s numbers, and the other factors that will influence the 2024 election.

Play 31 mins

Americano

Can Trump ever get a fair trial?

Last week Donald Trump was ordered to pay more than seventy million dollars to E. Jean Carroll, the writer who accused him of sexual assault. Freddy speaks to Spectator columnist Lionel Shriver about some of the oddities of this case against the former president. 

Play 15 mins

Americano

Does the Biden administration know what it’s doing with Iran?

Freddy Gray is joined in the office by Mike Baker a former CIA operations officer, CEO of the global intelligence and security firm Portman Square Group and host of the popular news podcast the President’s Daily Brief. 

Play 45 mins

Americano

Could Taylor Swift swing the election?

Freddy Gray sits down with host and producer of the 538 Politics podcast Galen Druke to discuss whether a Taylor Swift endorsement could sway the general election.

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Americano

Will Jon Stewart still be funny?

Freddy Gray speaks to Jonathan Askonas, assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America about Jon Stewart’s return to TV, and what role, albeit inadvertent, he played in Tucker Carlson’s success.

Play 35 mins

Americano

What went wrong with Ron?

Freddy Gray is joined in New Hampshire by Ben Domenech, editor at large of Spectator World. On the podcast they discuss the pro-Trump establishment of the Republican party; how the Republican cohort have changed since the Obama election and what issues Trump can identify that appeal to voters. 

Play 40 mins

Americano

Is New Hampshire a Potemkin primary?

For this special Americano podcast, Freddy Gray is in New Hampshire with the Spectator US team, Matt McDonald and Zach Christenson covering the chilly primaries. Are both Ron De Santis and Nikki Haley’s defeat a foregone conclusion?

Play 18 mins

Americano

Is the Republican race over?

Freddy Gray speaks to Republican strategist Luke Thompson about Trump’s landslide Iowa win; how much Trump’s legal proceedings will interfere with his campaign and who could be his deputy. The Spectator is hiring! We are looking for a new producer to join our broadcast team working across our suite of podcasts – including this one

Play 32 mins

Americano

Is 2024 the ‘regime referendum’?

Freddy Gray speaks to Daniel McCarthy, editor of the conservative review Modern Age, about all things Donald Trump. Do his ongoing trials help or hinder his campaign? Do the Democrats want him to be the Republican candidate or not? And is there a bureaucratic ‘permanent power’ that Trump would overthrow if he succeeds? The Spectator

Play 36 mins

Americano

Do Trump’s Republican rivals have any hope?

Freddy Gray is joined by pollster James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners. They speak about the upcoming Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, and whether Trump’s opponents have any chance of beating him. They also discuss the impact of Trump’s trials, and JL Partners’ viral word cloud which both Biden and Trump have been attempting

Play 23 mins

Americano

Is America heading towards Civil War?

Freddy Gray speaks to classicist, military historian and author Victor Davis Hanson.  In an end of year review, they talk about antisemitism in the US today, the battle between right and left since 2016, and a potential future Trump presidency. 

Play 52 mins

Americano

Is an impeachment inquiry good for Biden?

The House of Representatives has voted to open an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, after three Republican-led committees alleged bribery and corruption during his time as vice-president. Could it actually be good news for Biden? Freddy speaks to Jacob Heilbrunn.

Play 25 mins

Americano

Does the legacy of Prohibition still haunt America?

Freddy Gray speaks to journalist and author Niko Vorobyov who wrote Dopeworld: Undercover in the secret war on drugs. 90 years after Prohibition ended, what are some of the biggest misperception about that era? And what has been the legacy of repealing the 18th amendment?

Play 21 mins

Americano

Is Cop a busted flush?

World leaders are in Dubai this weekend to discuss climate change, but are these Cop summits pointless? Joe Biden isn’t attending this year’s get together, allegedly because he’s focusing on the war between Israel and Hamas. Meanwhile, there have been reports that the Emiratis are using the convening power of the summit to sign new

Play 25 mins

Americano

Have we seen the last of Mitt Romney?

Freddy Gray talks to McKay Coppins, author of the New York Times bestselling book ‘Romney: A Reckoning’. Romney has announced he will not seek reelection in 2024. What next for the ‘never-Trumper’, could he support the creation of a new centrist party? And how does he feel about the significant losses in his career?

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Americano

Is it time to take Nikki Haley seriously?

Freddy Gray is joined by Patrick Ruffini, pollster and author of Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP to discuss who could be a serious competitor to Trump.

Play 42 mins

Americano

Biden’s Middle East approach – and is he in trouble at home?

Freddy Gray is reunited with Charles Lipson and Jacob Heilbrunn to debate the impact of Biden’s Middle East policy, and his shaky reputation at home. Is he a Cold War liberal, out of touch with the modern Democratic Party?

Play 24 mins

Americano

Is net zero leading to economic ruination?

Freddy Gray speaks to Robert Bryce who is an author and expert on energy, power and politics. On the podcast, Robert talks about the economic implications of Europe’s net zero targets; why we should push for nuclear energy; and shares the human stories behind electrification. 

Play 36 mins

Americano

Who is the new House Speaker?

Amber Athey and Daniel McCarthy editor of Modern Age Journal and columnist at The Spectator join the Americano podcast to breakdown the long House speaker battle which has finally culminated in Trumpist Mike Johnson getting selected.  

Play 29 mins

Americano

How is Joe Biden handling the Israel-Palestine crisis?

This week Freddy speaks to Dennis Ross, former Middle East coordinator under President Clinton and current Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. They discuss Biden’s visit to Israel this week, how his policy towards the Middle East borrows from Trump and Obama, and how we can discern between the public posturing and

Play 27 mins

Americano

How are Democrats reacting to the war in Israel?

This week Freddy speaks to Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine, about America’s response to the developments in the Middle East. On the podcast they discuss the ‘squad’ (a section of Democrats who have been making pro-Palestinian noises), how America and Israel’s surveillance system allowed the attack to happen, and the importance of the

Play 31 mins

Americano

What’s going on in the Republican party?

Freddy speaks to Roger Kimball, editor of the New Criterion and columnist for The Spectator’s US edition. After Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker of the House this week, they discuss why the Republican party is such a mess. 

Play 23 mins

Americano

Who is winning America’s class war?

This week Freddy is joined in The Spectator offices by regular contributor and fellow of urban studies at Chapman University, Joel Kotkin. They discuss Biden and Trump’s respective attempts to burnish their credentials with the unions this week, how the cultural agenda is alienating voters, and whether technology could prevent the coming of neo-feudalism.

Play 38 mins

Americano

Have relations thawed between US and Iran?

Freddy Gray is joined by Charlie Gammell, a historian and former diplomat who was on the Iran desk at the foreign office. On the podcast they discuss this week’s Iran-US deal where six prisoners have been released on either side and $6 billion sent back to Iran. There has been political backlash with the Republicans

Play

Americano

Are the Republicans wrong to impeach Biden?

Freddy Gray speaks to author and lawyer Alan Dershowitz who wrote Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law. On the podcast Freddy speaks to Alan about the Republican’s formal impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, claiming they have unearthed a ‘culture of corruption’ surrounding the president. 

Play 7 mins

Americano

Could Hunter Biden be a big problem for the Democrats?

This week Freddy Gray speaks to politics lecturer and writer Damon Linker about the ongoing investigations into Hunter Biden. With Trump facing his own criminal charges, will stories about potential Biden corruption muddy the waters for voters?

Play 36 mins

Americano

What does Vivek Ramaswamy stand for?

This week Freddy speaks to Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of the National Interest, about Vivek Ramaswamy. What does he stand for? Could he be the ideal candidate for Trump’s vice president? 

Play 22 mins

Americano

Is Donald Trump untouchable?

Kate Andrews speaks to Freddy Gray and CEO of Truth Social, Devin Nunes in the week that Donald Trump refused to attend the Republican Fox News debates. Instead, the Presidential candidate who is leading in the polls was interviewed by Tucker Carlson on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Play 20 mins