Freddy Gray is deputy editor of The Spectator
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‘Here be dragons’ declares the Spectator’s cover story this week, as it looks at the continuing fallout over the collapse of the trial of two political aides accused of spying for China in Westminster. Tim Shipman reveals that – under the last Conservative government – a data hub was sold to the Chinese that included
As Donald J. Trump flew to the Holy Land on Sunday to declare peace, his Vice-President took to the airwaves to address the rumbling civil conflict on the home front. J.D. Vance did not rule out invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act in order to quell the violent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in
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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 –
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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.
Of course, Donald Trump has not won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Scandinavian grandees on the committee wouldn’t dream of honouring him. It was silly to think that they would. The award has gone instead to María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition figure, so well done to her. Still, it speaks to the fundamental vanity
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The Spectator’s cover story this week looks at ‘the fear’ gripping Jewish people amidst rising antisemitism. Reflecting on last week’s attack in Manchester, Douglas Murray says that ‘no-one in the Jewish community was surprised’ – a damning inditement on Britain today. How do we tackle religious intolerance? And is there room for nuance in the
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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
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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
Freddy Gray speaks to Jacob Heilbrunn, a longstanding friend of Americano to discuss James Comey, violence in Washington and Tucker Carlson’s new series.
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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
Political Islam is a powerful global force. Wahhabism, the Muslim Brotherhood and Shia theocracy are different yet successful strands of the same impulse to govern according to the will of Allah. Political Christianity, by contrast, has in recent decades, even centuries, taken a back seat when it comes to public affairs. With some exceptions, Christians have
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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
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Donald Trump has been in the UK this week on an unprecedented second state visit – an honour that he said last night at a state dinner he ‘hopes’ is reserved only for him, to much amusement in the room. Humility doesn’t come naturally to the President, but he does seem genuinely humbled by the
‘I detest lateness,’ texts Tristan Tate, who’s offered to pick me up from a hotel in Bucharest. ‘So I’ll either be 15 minutes early or right on time.’ Minutes later, he messages again: ‘All my talk on being late and cops pull me over haha.’ Tristan and his older brother Andrew seem to have a
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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.
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.
When King Charles hosts Donald Trump for the state banquet at Windsor Castle next week, the dignitaries should know better than to mention Jeffrey Epstein. Inevitably, however, Epstein’s ghost will hang over proceedings, the paedo-Banquo at the feast. In the coming days, the details of Mandelson’s bond with Epstein may end up overshadowing all talk
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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
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First: Reform is naff – and that’s why people like it Gareth Roberts warns this week that ‘the Overton window is shifting’ but in a very unexpected way. Nigel Farage is ahead in the polls – not only because his party is ‘bracingly right-wing’, but ‘because Reform is camp’. Farage offers what Britain wants: ‘a
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.