Cindy Yu is an assistant editor of The Spectator and presenter of our Chinese Whispers podcast. She was brought up in Nanjing. She tweets at @CindyXiaodanYu
14 min listen
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch could replace Gavin Williamson as education secretary in the next reshuffle, according to reports today. Should he be moved, and how is he making his case for staying? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.
23 min listen
It might be an understatement to say that China has a difficult relationship with drugs. Most infamously, the opium wars of the 1800s saw British soldiers fight against the Qing dynasty to protect the British right to sell opium to China. When the Qing lost, it wasn’t just the sobriety of their people that they
15 min listen
In a ConservativeHome poll on who should replace Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak came out on top. It comes as the Chancellor is reportedly pushing the PM to relax travel restrictions. Is this a problem for No. 11? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
10 min listen
A row is brewing with France over the government’s decision to put the country on an ‘amber plus’ list, where restrictions on quarantine are tighter. But the reasoning for this has been ill-communicated by the government – is the measure worth the trouble? On the podcast, Katy Balls summarises the reasons for a backlash succinctly:
19 min listen
This week we’ll hear Charlotte Eagar on how the arrival of the alpha migrants may be the solution to our labour shortage (00:56), Lionel Shriver on her bewilderment about people still having the Covid app (07:09) and finally Tom Ough’s brief history of bidets (15:40).
41 min listen
For most people, Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping stand out as the two Communist leaders of the People’s Republic of China. But growing up, it was actually a third man, by the name of Deng Xiaoping, whose legacy I felt the most. Though less than 5 foot tall, his impact on China’s trajectory was arguably
13 min listen
Daily cases have fallen again today, leading to cautious optimism that – perhaps – cases in this exit wave have peaked. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
13 min listen
Today the CBI gave a stern warning that the test and trace app is ‘closing down the economy’. Despite this, the government’s key workers list – promised on Monday – has still not been released. What’s the hold up, and what will this mean for Boris Johnson’s summer as MPs head home for recess? Cindy
12 min listen
The Prime Minister looked visibly uncomfortable at Prime Minister’s Questions today, as Keir Starmer accused him of ‘giving racism the green light’ with the Conservative party’s stance on footballers taking the knee. It comes after a week in which other Tories – notably Priti Patel – have been criticised by footballers and begs the question
29 min listen
Tangping, or ‘lying flat’, is a new lifestyle tempting China’s millennials. Describing a minimalist stress-free life where one opts out of a career and raising family, lying flat is the young person’s desperate answer to the infinite rat race of modern Chinese workplaces and society. But while there are few lie-flatters as of yet, the
11 min listen
State pensions may rise by 8pc this year due to the Conservative policy of the pensions triple lock. But can the government keep to it, given the extraordinary economic circumstances we are in? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.
35 min listen
In the 12 months since the enactment of the National Security Law on Hong Kong, opposition leaders, journalists and activists have been arrested; reforms on education and elections begun; and last week saw the emotional closure of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily. On this episode, I speak to Jennifer Creery, who works for the Financial
24 min listen
Cindy Yu talks to Fraser Nelson and Guido Fawkes blogger Paul Staines about the Matt Hancock revelations and how reporting on sex scandals has changed over the years.
23 min listen
On this week’s episode, Jessica Douglas-Home wants to know why modern British architecture is just so ugly. (01:03) After, Paul Wood warns what Western withdrawal means for Afghanistan (09:23) and finally Andrew Watts explores the history of the ever-updated Pride flag. (19:23) Presented by Cindy Yu
How do you make an emotional appeal for a united United Kingdom? So far, unionists have tried flag flying, resolutely refusing another referendum and bussing members of the royal family north of the border. All to no avail. The one thing that hasn’t been tried so far? A song. Today, on One Britain One Nation day (nope, me neither),
14 min listen
The Sun broke the news this morning that Health Secretary Matt Hancock has seemingly been up to some extra-marital exploits with his aide Gina Coladangelo, possibly breaking many of the Covid restrictions that he himself put in place. What will be the consequences of his hypocrisy? ‘This simply demonstrates that we’ve been through a period where
10 min listen
Daily new cases are just under 17,000 today, and Angela Merkel has advised other EU leaders to make British tourists quarantine upon entry to the bloc. So even if the British government allows a more liberal green list, would British tourists be welcomed abroad? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. Katy points
11 min listen
In a political upset the Liberal Democrats have won the by-election in Chesham and Amersham in a massive poll swing from the Tories. ‘What they’ve done is overturned a majority of 16,000 and then they’ve had quite a few votes to boot!’ – Katy Balls And in other political the new DUP leader Edwin Poots
39 min listen
Exactly 20 years ago, China acceded to the World Trade Organisation. In the decades since, the globalised world became what we know today, with hundreds of millions of Chinese and people around the world lifted out of poverty through free trade. But the promised liberalisation – both economic and political – doesn’t seem to have
18 min listen
Boris Johnson is expected to announce a delay to reopening later today. How will the Prime Minister make his case, and will his backbenchers support him? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth. On the podcast, Katy says uneasy Conservatives may give him the benefit of the doubt this time: ‘There are some Tory