Best of the Spectator

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s associate editor and director of the Free Speech Union Toby Young, journalist and author Esther Walker, and Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens.

This week: the men on the spectrum who rule the world. Charles Steel writes in the magazine about the wealthy, obsessive and often unconventional figures who increasingly shape politics and technology – from Elon Musk to the crypto billionaire Ben Delo. Is autism a useful way of understanding these men or has society become too obsessed with diagnosing people? Toby argues that traits such as hyper-focus and an indifference to what others think can be an advantage in competitive professions, while Peter dismisses our enthusiasm for putting people on ‘spectrums’ altogether. And, as tech leaders issue increasingly apocalyptic warnings about artificial intelligence, should we take them seriously or be suspicious of calls for greater regulation?

Also: should parents really be worried about the ‘manosphere’? Esther argues that the moral panic surrounding online influencers such as Andrew Tate is already out of date. Teenage boys, she says, are perfectly capable of recognising when misogyny is being used as a business model – and many are more interested in mocking influencers than following them. But with ‘looksmaxxing’, bodybuilding and increasingly extreme attempts at self-improvement taking off online, are boys becoming more like the teenage girls of previous generations?

Plus: Peter reveals why he has fallen out of love with America – and in love with Canada, while Toby marks 35 years since the launch of the Modern Review.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.