Best of the Spectator

Oliver Shah is a former journalist at The Sunday Times and now runs Newcome Advisory. On this week's Reality Check Oliver and Michael discuss why Labour can't build trust with the businesses, how the National Insurance tax hike was the poison pill for the private sector and whether it is still worth being an entrepreneur in Britain today.This episode is brought to you by Alliance Witan investment trust. To learn more about the trust and how we’re helping investors find their comfort zone, please visit Alliance Witan (ALW) | Investment Trust.

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove, deputy editor Freddy Gray, and associate editor Toby Young.This week the episode and magazine is dedicated to our beloved Rod Liddle, who died aged 66. The Spectator journalists reflect on some of their favourite memories of Rod, what his legacy will be and how is writing, wit and intelligence will be irreplaceable.

Gus Carter is joined by Geoffrey Cain to speak about the ongoing developments in Chinese AI, and how it stacks up to its American rivals. Gus and Geoffrey talk about the emergence of Kimi K3, and how Chinese models will become inherently more competitive to global audiences, not just those the United States. They also discuss the OpenAI model that went rogue, and how other US models refused to undertake research to prevent the same from happening again.Learn how to earn yield on gold, paid in gold, at Monetary-Metals.com/AmericanoProduced by Henry Lloyd

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Lara Brown explains the ongoing dissolution of the British private education sector; Patrick Kidd asks whether sporting curses are actually possible, or simply just a fiction; Tali Fraser goes to a death cafe to explore the world of positivity after death; and finally, Ella Veakins outlines why we should all stand in opposition the the potted plastic plant. Produced and presented by Henry Lloyd.

Amid rising backlash over the early prisoner release scheme, Kemi Badenoch has called for emergency legislation to stop the plans going ahead. The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has already halted the plans until a review has been conducted. The situation with prison overcrowding is a ticking timebomb – what options are available? To alleviate the risk, some suggest women should be prioritised as candidates for early release, and women's prisons repurposed. To discuss, Michael Simmons is joined by the CEO of the Prison Reform Trust Pia Sinha.This episode is brought to you by Alliance Witan investment trust. To learn more about the trust and how we’re helping investors find their comfort zone, please visit Alliance Witan (ALW) | Investment Trust.

Freddy Gray is joined by Ben Judah, a former Labour Special Advisor to discuss the new government's outlook on foreign affairs. Freddy and Ben examine how Andy Burnham's appointment of Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary will shape the way Britain builds on its special relationship with the United States and the Trump Whitehouse. They also discuss the implications of Miliband's past positions on net zero and fresh drilling for oil and gas, and how that might come to affect his personal relationship with Marco Rubio and Donald Trump.Learn how to earn yield on gold, paid in gold, at Monetary-Metals.com/AmericanoProduced by Natasha Feroze and Henry Lloyd.

Is Andy Burnham the country's first catholic Prime Minister, and how might it influence his leadership? Despite his faith drawing him to Labour, he doesn’t attend mass and rarely emphasises his religion publicly. To unpack his faith and where it might take him, Lara Brown, The Spectator's commissioning editor, is joined by the chief political commentator at The Times, Patrick Maguire, and The Spectator's religion editor, Damian Thompson.Produced by Henry Lloyd and Ed Parker.

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s columnist Rory Sutherland, political editor Tim Shipman and drinks editor Jonathan Ray.This week: What has been the damage of Labour’s punitive war on private education? Rory questions whether the sector had helped itself in the years prior, but did the policy itself ever represent more than ‘class warfare?’ Tim explores the vigour to which the (now former) Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson embraced that label, whilst Jonathan reflects on ‘canny approaches’ to game the system.Also: Election? What election? The panel discuss rumours that the PM may call an early general election in the wake of the ‘Burnham bounce’ in the polls giving Labour a narrow lead over Reform. If not, how does he escape the straitjacket of the 2024 manifesto? Rory further explains how government has been transformed from a ‘policeman to a traffic warden,’ and gives Burnham his top tips for an easy re-election. Plus: The death doulas movement. To what extent does this growing trend – of which figures such as Caroline Lucas, Davina McCall and Nicole Kidman are now subscribers – represent a broader point of death positivity, or in the end, is it all just ‘mumbo jumbo?’

Andy Burnham has launched a major push to overhaul adult social care in England, seeking cross-party consensus for a new National Care Service. He has refused to rule out tax rises to fund the reforms. Michael Simmons speaks to the author and journalist David Goodhart about why social care should be reframed as prevention, whether salaries should be increased in social care and why the public isn't as worried as politicians tend to panic about.This episode is brought to you by Alliance Witan investment trust. To learn more about the trust and how we’re helping investors find their comfort zone, please visit https://www.alliancewitan.com/