# become spectator (audio feeds) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover become spectator. Page: Feed: --- ## [Does anyone in Burnham’s government understand economics?](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/does-anyone-in-burnhams-government-understand-economics) _2026-08-21 · Coffee House Shots_ There’s more gloomy economic news for Andy Burnham as unemployment disappoints, inflation rises and the public finances take another hit. With welfare spending and debt interest climbing, how much room does the government really have to deliver on its promises? Meanwhile, Burnham has pledged to be the ‘cost of living’ Prime Minister – but one Treasury insider tells Michael Simmons that there is… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a882856b0d5e24ea419cd05/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=dauVGMDpiW2q44sIxyl1kIGL4L7CUBohBkZ7kt-PnUQ) ## [Zia vs Shippers – and Sue Gray breaks her silence](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/zia-vs-shippers-and-sue-gray-breaks-her-silence) _2026-08-20 · Coffee House Shots_ It continues – thankfully – to be an interesting summer: there’s devolution news, Reform taking lumps out of each other and Sue Gray has broken her silence. But first, Andy Burnham is shifting the machinery of government north, promising to put growth at the heart of his new Manchester operation. Will moving power out of Whitehall actually make a difference? Elsewhere, tensions inside Reform spill… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a870972dcddb5e3cf441af2/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=K_eZxyDzew_Zz7dMi-3PA9KI9U6_1q7u3OWZcxPXadU) ## [Has the Green civil war finally begun?](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/are-the-greens-finally-at-war-with-one-another) _2026-08-19 · Coffee House Shots_ There was never an expectation that Zack Polanski's alliance between the progressive left, the ecological environmentalists, and the conservative muslim factions of the Green Party would last forever, but today it seems that the war of dissolution may have finally begun. Noa Hoffman is joined by Andrew Gilligan to discuss what has been going down inside the Greens under Polanski, and how a boiling… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a85b982b9d83ea9cc45e6a4/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=UMm8RG6Oy57MOkUs0EXuTxpwu16MdyJJtSo6CCAW1Ck) ## [Reform suspends Tim Montgomerie after Spectator interview](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/reform-suspends-tim-montgomerie-after-spectator-interview) _2026-08-18 · Coffee House Shots_ After saying that Zia Yusuf needed to 'become a team player' in an interview on Coffee House yesterday, Reform UK responded, and decided that they would rather Tim Montgomerie were not in their squad at all. After the story broke this morning that Montgomerie had his membership of the party suspended, Noa Hoffman is joined by Tim Shipman and James Heale to react to the latest developments on the… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a846fd639e73ea8f3db9bd4/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=SOM2nAR5vxJi2ln17iOqAelTH0wAtxdkXH_7H5pMCtI) ## [Wandering bishops, rival popes & schismatic churches](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/the-wandering-bishops-rival-popes-of-catholicism) _2026-08-18 · Holy Smoke_ What happens when a bishop breaks with Rome but still claims apostolic succession? Damian Thompson is joined by historian Magnus Lundberg, Professor of Church and Mission History at Uppsala University in Sweden, to explore the strange world of ‘wandering bishops’, rival popes and tiny schismatic churches. They trace the tangled web of consecrations that have produced thousands of bishops outside… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a8396b6ff328abd84b0295e/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=7MD7GSp4ItjqFadfvumThLV6jzJ-mKVlr0e57Tnck2Y) ## [EXCLUSIVE | 'Zia needs to be a team player' – Tim Montgomerie](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/tim-montgomerie-zia-needs-to-be-a-team-player) _2026-08-17 · Coffee House Shots_ Reform UK's Zia Yusuf spent last week putting a few noses out of joint, not least by calling the former Conservative defence secretary, Sir Ben Wallace, a traitor, a tweet Nigel Farage took the unusual step of criticising in public and which Yusuf declined to take down. Tim Shipman and James Heale are joined by Tim Montgomerie, founder of Conservative Home and now a Reform UK member, to ask… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a8315c9c2cc087689e09e50/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=bWNplVH3VKFOLSQ3halRdntl4uVh94z3dJ_5wmcKklI) ## [One year of Polanski: more continuity than change?](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/has-zack-polanski-proven-more-continuity-than-change-for-the) _2026-08-15 · Coffee House Shots_ Almost one year on from his election as leader of the Green Party, has Zack Polanski broadened its appeal? Communications strategist and Green Party insider Russell Warfield joins Noa Hoffman to discuss his new book The Green Socialist: Zack Polanski & the Battle for Britain’s Future. In it, Warfield makes the argument that Polanski marks more of a continuum for the modern British Green Party – a… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a7ee71983128ee3d237abab/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=1z4G4GFg7aEuK2oZSBaNKxZ2l2nr_0S98DObEUC3NQI) ## [Farage beats the bin! – Clacton results unpacked](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/farage-beats-the-bin) _2026-08-14 · Coffee House Shots_ Shock horror: Nigel Farage has won the by-election in Calcton. Although you may be shocked by the scale of the victory. The Reform leader received 22,239 votes – 1,000 more than his total at the 2024 general election. His main rival, Count Binface – the ‘uniparty candidate’ as Farage says – secured a respectable 9,455 votes, a 26.7 per cent share. Turnout stood at 44.37 per cent, the… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a7ecd58049c692a6b3755ad/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=FsA5SGo1hwg9Dn5a4HuW1cto30lIXdD68AmiwVR5B9I) ## [‘This is not a war!’ – why politicians are turning on the media | with Gabriel Pogrund](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/this-is-not-a-war-why-politicians-are-turning-on-the-media-w) _2026-08-13 · Coffee House Shots_ Politicians are increasingly turning on the journalists who scrutinise them. After investigations into Nigel Farage’s finances, Reform figures have accused reporters of waging a political ‘war’ – while Arron Banks has hired private investigators to look into Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund. Is hostility towards the media becoming a feature of modern politics? And is the relationship between… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a7dc95ef8e81c4395757229/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=TFBoPqgS4VSvS1akwOyiQopcmNsPdgBpEMLEoBzec8M) ## [Andy's migration muddle & can he fix the High Street?](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/andys-migration-muddle-can-he-fix-the-high-street) _2026-08-12 · Coffee House Shots_ Andy Burnham's summer bonanza continues as he announces plans to empower local councils and hopefully improve Britain's High Streets. The government wants to make it easier for councils to refuse certain types of businesses – but is the plethora of vape shops, betting shops and barbers a cause of Britain's High Street decline, or just a symptom? If there are no businesses to replace those, will… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a7c67f491cf66ecf88e5e76/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=gTl4HWUFuWlc-IRKBoCFvlIOWog2BBsvanF9MYYoYrA) ## [Watch chovy live code (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/yWSs8btNbDEi) _2026-08-12 · **Sponsored**_ Join Mosh Coding streams with collaborative screen sharing and remote control, open source. ## [Clacton by-election: what you need to know](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/clacton-by-election-what-you-need-to-know) _2026-08-11 · Coffee House Shots_ Nigel Farage is heading back to the polls in Clacton after resigning to trigger a by-election over questions surrounding his £5 million gift. With the main parties refusing to stand, Farage looks set for a comfortable victory – but will his popularity in Clacton translate to the rest of the country? And have voters simply stopped caring about the controversy? Meanwhile, Andy Burnham is facing the… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a7b18baf91cd396b37a6fb5/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=wHP6oMT15j4kdl45DrsCR3MKDY-Pkwy6Cvzsu3l7W2c) ## [What does Lowe actually want from Farage?](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/what-does-lowe-actually-want-from-farage) _2026-08-10 · Coffee House Shots_ Nigel Farage is trying to seize the summer agenda with a new crackdown on crime and immigration. Reform wants to send foreign national prisoners to countries such as El Salvador, deploy the Navy in the Channel and leave the ECHR – but how much of the plan could actually work? Meanwhile, hopes of a reconciliation between Reform and Rupert Lowe’s Restore appear to be fading. Farage has ruled out a… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a79dc5b446de273c0e89685/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=cEkpYL1GB30_XrGdUd0rX497u3kJ-xnk7tHSnl3hOXg) ## [How Project Spire will hurt England's parishes](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/how-project-spire-will-hurt-englands-parishes) _2026-08-08 · Holy Smoke_ In this week’s episode of Holy Smoke , Damian Thompson is joined by Madeline Grant to dive into the contentious topic of Project Spire, the Church of England's ambitious plan to allocate £100 million in reparations for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. They will shed light on the Church's insistence on proceeding with this plan despite significant opposition from both the public… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a7602802578a0c7e25a2e86/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=dXXcWoS87VfN1J_cXc5rhmMMsMc_KGZnGydGq37Mbzw) ## ['The Tories remain the existential threat to Labour' – interview with Jonathan Ashworth](https://shows.acast.com/coffee-house-shots/episodes/the-tories-are-and-remain-the-existential-threat-to-labour-i) _2026-08-08 · Coffee House Shots_ Jonathan Ashworth is a former Labour MP and shadow cabinet minister. On today's podcast James Heale and Jonathan discuss Andy's first few weeks as Prime Minister, how he's changed since the Blair-Brown era, whether Burnham's promises in devolution stack up and they discuss whether Morgan McSweeney is right to change his mind on the Conservatives, rather than Reform being the greatest threat to… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68359028e1abc4be6b032cd1/e/6a76f38191f158549e7f98f0/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=qSYxHZLSGuR8P2P7s3bTooUWAHjCAKnmR-bm0B8TL9I) ## [Coffee House Shots: Britain's first Catholic PM](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/britains-first-catholic-pm-with-patrick-maguire) _2026-07-31 · Holy Smoke_ 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… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a6cb64e61ae402f61293f4a/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=uts--SQlr8Wd8dgD-ON5hafgVdNLayhIMkInMg-Grp4) ## [When Mary Calls: why Protestants are praying to the Mother of God](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/mary-why-is-a-figure-associated-with-healing-so-divisive) _2026-07-19 · Holy Smoke_ For many Christians, devotion to the Virgin Mary is deeply moving. For others, it raises uncomfortable theological questions. Is the veneration of Mary a vital part of Christian faith or does it risk elevating her to something resembling a goddess? And why are growing numbers of Protestants, as well as Catholics and Orthodox Christians, rediscovering Marian devotion today? Damian Thompson is… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a5c7c507a878a3380f7c699/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=BuhXf_DYYZCWmsHaHhlI0q0FQF5dQOHYWcXNKXoW0pc) ## [How religion shapes football](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/how-religion-shapes-football) _2026-07-10 · Holy Smoke_ From idolising players to faithfully following a club, football is often described as the world’s secular religion. But religion has long been woven into the fabric of the game itself. From the sectarian roots of Glasgow’s Old Firm rivalry between Catholic Celtic and Protestant Rangers to Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in 1986, faith has repeatedly shaped football’s… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a5105058716ffeabec27399/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=f53CyGY7kLXUE-sTTnIOvtYuqF-FxyVQysC6VPEL4-E) ## [Was America meant to be a Christian nation?](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/was-america-meant-to-be-a-christian-nation) _2026-07-04 · Holy Smoke_ It might be 250 years since the Declaration of Independence but the document continues to prove controversial, with political groups arguing over the intention behind the document – just watch any Supreme Court case. To mark the 4th of July, Professor Gregg Frazer joins Damian Thompson to talk about the intention of the founding fathers in terms of religion – did they really want America to become… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a484a220069388b7a6310d0/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=7ryKTu7sSl9JHX_VcDXGXu75IyKk_kbeojaMat0q3cw) ## [The Pope & the SSPX: is this a permanent schism?](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/the-pope-the-sspx-is-this-a-permanent-schism) _2026-07-02 · Holy Smoke_ On Wednesday morning the ultra-traditionalist Society of St Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four bishops in defiance of Pope Leo XIV. Those bishops and the two who consecrated them were immediately excommunicated and the Vatican warned the society’s priests and members that they face a similar fate. The SSPX, whose services are all in Latin, now seems headed for permanent schism. In this episode of Holy… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a46a4a52d7a15a9793646ee/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=gspIPksQ_gFKN1BJ1gkbofoh3LpU7bsC6aOjNQZ_1OM) ## [Pope Leo, Max Weber & the dark side of charisma](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/pope-leo-max-weber-and-the-dark-side-of-charisma) _2026-06-26 · Holy Smoke_ Is Pope Leo XIV quietly reversing the mistakes of his predecessor – or is he a Francis II, a ‘Bergoglio in nicer vestments’? Damian Thompson presents his argument in favour of the former position, arguing that ‘although Leo has appointed both liberal and conservative bishops and often pays tribute to his predecessor, he has not followed Francis’s example of catapulting controversial progressives… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a3e56a8a3fa9782375c9c8e/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=PvEAD4vPAx14m8w5H_ZdCVbGEhP12qTK6l1X_9Kj93E) ## [Reach prospects with real signals (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/evNOKorGHuc9) _2026-06-26 · **Sponsored**_ Find prospects talking about your problem and get context-backed moments to engage ## [Are Mormons Christian?](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/are-mormons-christian) _2026-06-16 · Holy Smoke_ For Christians and non-Christians alike, Mormons remain a bit of an enigma – especially in the UK. In the US however there are almost 7 million and they punch above their weight in terms of political influence; notable members of congress include former senator, and one-time presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. This influence meant that a row erupted in the past fortnight when the Pentagon… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a312dc8d54529738e9323f6/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=9N5ittMiBfjtFxCf79CruNLk728MIgqeJ6idDkAxuE0) ## [Mexico, the Catholic Church & the rise of the cartel cults](https://shows.acast.com/holy-smoke/episodes/mexico-the-catholic-church-the-rise-of-the-cartel-cults) _2026-06-08 · Holy Smoke_ Friend of Holy Smoke Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith joins Damian Thompson to talk about the complicated relationship between the drug cartels in Mexico and the Catholic Church. The violence of the cartels has led to a flourishing of shrines – and also cults – which have seen Catholic and pagan beliefs fuse together, and which are not always condemned by all church leaders. What motivates the Mexicans… [Listen](https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6835905c2780b226c72e9d0d/e/6a2670e3e61b94e79c098ef0/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=J4zbw1k5kdI73HlHKRfY-JApqgN8x4pk_sTMh-o-L0Q)