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This week: After leaked EHRC guidance threw Labour’s position on biological sex into disarray, Michael and Maddie ask whether Bridget Phillipson is deliberately delaying clarity on the law – and why Wes Streeting appears to be retreating from his once ‘gender-critical’ stance. Is Labour quietly preparing to water down long-awaited guidance? And has the return of puberty-blocker trials pushed the culture war back to square one?

Then: Shabana Mahmood unveils her first major moves as Home Secretary. But as the Labour left cries foul and legal challenges loom, Michael and Maddie assess whether her plans will really bring order to the asylum system – or whether Labour’s attachment to ‘process over principle’ will scupper the reforms before they bite. Is Mahmood the Iron Lady Labour never expected? Or is this simply Starmerism in its purest form: government by quango, review and delay?

And finally: Christmas arrives early… far too early. Michael sets out the case for a ‘dry Advent and festive January’, while Maddie laments Black Friday brawls and the loss of an older, saner rhythm to the year.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, go to: spectator.co.uk/quiteright

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On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: William Atkinson reveals his teenage brush with a micropenis; Andreas Roth bemoans the dumbing down of German education; Philip Womack wonders how the hyphen turned political; Mary Wakefield questions the latest AI horror story – digitising dead relatives; and, Muriel Zagha celebrates Powell & Pressburger’s I Know Where I’m Going!

Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To submit your urgent questions to Michael and Maddie, go to: spectator.co.uk/quiteright

This week on Quite right! Q&A: Is the Treasury still fit for purpose – or has ‘Treasury brain’ taken over Whitehall? Michael and Maddie dig into the culture and power of Britain’s most influential department, from the Oxbridge-heavy ‘Treasury boys’ to a ‘visionless’ Chancellor.

Then: after Michael’s suggestion that Piers Morgan should be the next director-general of the BBC – why, in his view, could cnly a disruptive outsider could shake the organisation out of its complacency.

Plus: the rise of ‘Mar-a-Lago face’ in US conservative politics, and whether Britain has its own aesthetic quirks – from Ozempic-thinned MPs to the enduring Labour ‘power bob’.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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In the space of a month, the Church of England acquired its first female Archbishop of Canterbury, a majority of the world’s Anglicans have left the Anglican Communion in protest at the mother Church’s willingness to bless same-sex relationships – and the House of Bishops has suddenly backed away from introducing stand-alone gay blessings. The situation is chaotic. Theologian Andrew Graystone talks to Damian Thompson about the almost insoluble problems that will face Archbishop Mullally after she is enthroned in January.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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Chris Curtis and Maxwell Marlow may have different political ideologies, but they agree on one key diagnosis: Britain is broken. Their solution can be found on baseball caps and bucket hats across social media and SW1: ‘Build Baby Build’. Less than a week before the Budget, Chris – MP for Milton Keynes and chair of the Labour Growth Group – and Maxwell – policy fellow of the Yimby Initiative, alongside his day job at the Adam Smith Institute – join our economics editor Michael Simmons to talk about the pro-growth measures they champion to radically change Britain.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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It’s time to scrap the budget, argues political editor Tim Shipman this week. An annual fiscal event only allows the Chancellor to tinker round the edges, faced with a backdrop of global uncertainty. Endless potential tax rises have been trailed, from taxes on mansions, pensions, savings, gambling, and business partnerships, and nothing appears designed to fix Britain’s structural problems. Does our economics editor Michael Simmons agree?

Host Lara Prendergast is joined by co-host – and the Spectator’s features editor – William Moore, alongside associate editor Owen Matthews and economics editor Michael Simmons.

As well as the cover, they discuss: the corruption scandal that has weakened Ukraine’s President Zelensky – could he be forced out; how global winds are taming meaning we’re living through a ‘great stilling’; with new research alleging that Hitler had a micropenis – does it matter; how grief is natural and dead relatives shouldn’t be digitised; whether Artificial Intelligence could be useful in schools; and finally, what Turkey could teach the UK about luxury healthcare.

Plus: what did Owen learn on a mushroom retreat in Amsterdam – and why did William wait ten years to go to the dentist?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The Spectator is trialling new formats for this podcast, and we would very much welcome feedback via this email address: podcast@spectator.co.uk

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Ben Myers joins Sam Leith to discuss his book Jesus Christ Kinski, which he describes as a ‘novel about a film about a performance about Jesus’. Klaus Kinski was one of Germany’s biggest actors of the 20th Century – but he was also one of the most controversial, and Ben questions if he was one of the worst people to have ever lived. In this novel, Kinski returns for a one-man performance about Jesus Christ, and it nearly becomes his last as the audience turn on him and violence is threatened.

Ben tells Sam about how he came to be fixated on Kinski, why the worst people can be some of the most compelling and why there are no great movies about writers. Plus, how exposed are artists to cancel culture when making art about evil characters?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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