Best of the Spectator

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Tina Brown explains her bafflement at how Jeff Bezos destroyed the Washington Post; Travis Aaroe warns against Britain putting its hopes in military man Al Carns MP; Genevieve Gaunt explores survival of the fittest as she reviews books by Justin Garcia and Paul Eastwick; and finally, Deborah Ross declares herself a purist as she reviews Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

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James Macintyre joins James Heale to discuss his new biography of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown: Power With Purpose. While the book has been years in the making, little did James know that it would end up published at the same time that its themes and subjects could never be more relevant.

James tells our deputy political editor about the relationship between Brown and Blair, what the Labour leader makes of Keir Starmer’s problems today and his reflections – with hindsight – about bringing the now-disgraced Peter Mandelson back into government in 2008.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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‘Authority is like virginity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone’ – that's just one of the damning quotes about Keir Starmer that Tim Shipman has extracted from sources inside the Labour government. Much of Starmer's bad luck this week is arguably of his own making, so why is he seemingly so bad at being the Prime Minister?

For this week's Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, associate editor – and Conservative peer – Toby Young, and the broadcaster Guto Harri, who – as a former director of communications at Number Ten himself – knows a thing or two about the brutal reality of being at the heart of government.

As well as Starmer's torrid week, they discuss: why defence minister Al Carns of the 2024 intake is being talked up as a potential successor to Starmer; whether Kemi Badenoch has improved as Tory leader – and can she avoid being the Iain Duncan-Smith of the 2020s; how the Epstein files have proven royal biographer Andrew Lownie right; why we are seeing a boom in children's toys for adults and whether it matters; what the panellists make of the new Wuthering Heights adaptation; and finally, is there anything wrong with a man wearing a wig?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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In this week’s Book Club podcast Sam Leith's guest is Eric Schlosser, the investigative journalist whose Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is being reissued as a Penguin Modern Classic 25 years after its first publication. He tells Sam what’s changed and what hasn’t since he first published this groundbreaking exposé of fast food’s effects on so many aspects of American society, why he was destined to suffer the fate of Upton Sinclair, how Keir Starmer fits in – and how he proudly built a chapter around six vital words.

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To hear to this week's episode in full, search 'Quite right!' wherever you are listening now.
This week: Michael and Maddie examine the crisis engulfing the Labour party and ask whether Keir Starmer is facing a Boris-style collapse of authority.
They explore what could be to come in the continued fallout from the Peter Mandelson affair, the rebellion over the release of government files, and what Starmer’s pattern of scapegoating aides reveals about his grip on power. Is this a corruption scandal – or something more damaging: a failure of judgment?
Finally, they look ahead to what comes next. If Starmer’s authority is ebbing, who could replace him? From Angela Rayner to Wes Streeting – and the outsiders hovering on the edge – will internal revolt mark the beginning of a wider realignment in British politics?
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, visit spectator.com/quiteright

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