The Book Club: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe
My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is science writer Carl Zimmer, whose new book Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe explores the invisible world of the aerobiome – the trillions of microbes and particles we inhale every day. He tells me how Louis Pasteur's glacier experiments kicked off a forgotten scientific journey; how Cold War fears turned airborne research into a bioweapons race; and why the COVID-19 pandemic exposed a century-long misunderstanding about how diseases spread through the air.
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44:03
Coffee House Shots: 'what the f***' is going on in Iran?
It is rare to see the President so visibly frustrated (see The Apprentice, circa 2004), but after Iran and Israel seemingly ignored his ceasefire announcement – and his plea on Truth Social, ‘PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!’ – Donald Trump has come down hard on both sides. In a clip taken this afternoon he exclaimed: ‘These are countries who have been fighting so long and so hard, that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.’ Succinctly put by the President.The exchange of fire could be the expected tit-for-tat seen after the announcement of ceasefires in other global conflicts, but it has dampened the mood at Nato, which world leaders were approaching with cautious optimism, believing the road to de-escalation was clearing. What happens next?Also on the podcast, Keir Starmer is facing a huge rebellion less than a year after coming into power. Overnight, scores of Starmer’s MPs have signed a reasoned amendment to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. This would effectively kill the bill at its second reading in the Commons on Tuesday. Can he de-escalate the precarious domestic situation?Lucy Dunn speaks to James Heale and Michael Stephens.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
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13:26
Spectator Out Loud: Owen Matthews, Bijan Omrani, Andrew Hankinson, Laurie Penny & Andrew Watts
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Owen Matthews says that Venice’s residents never stop complaining (1:11); Bijan Omrani reads his church notebook (7:33); Andrew Hankinson reviews Tiffany Jenkins’s Strangers and Intimates: The Rise and Fall of Private Life (13:54); as 28 Years Later is released, Laurie Penny explains the politics behind Alex Garland’s film franchise (18:25); and, Andrew Watts provides his notes on Angel Delight (25:09). Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.
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The Edition: Starmer at sea, Iran on the brink & the importance of shame
Starmer’s war zone: the Prime Minister’s perilous positionThis week, our new political editor Tim Shipman takes the helm and, in his cover piece, examines how Keir Starmer can no longer find political refuge in foreign affairs. After a period of globe-trotting in which the Prime Minister was dubbed ‘never-here Keir’, Starmer’s handling of international matters had largely been seen as a strength. But as tensions escalate in the Iran–Israel conflict, global events are beginning to create serious challenges. They threaten not only to derail the government’s economic plans but also to deepen divisions within the Labour party, particularly between the leadership and much of the parliamentary party. Tim joined the podcast alongside The Spectator US editor Freddy Gray. (02:08)Next: is it a mistake to try and topple Iran’s Supreme Leader?Justin Marozzi asks if we are seeing ‘an ominous mission creep in Israel’s blistering attack on Iran’. Donald Trump has been calling for the ‘UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER’ of Iran, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been directly addressing the Iranian people. The regime may be unpopular, but how realistic is the expectation of regime change? Marozzi joined the podcast alongside Michael Stephens, a Middle East expert at the defence and security thinktank Rusi. (19:07)And finally: should we embrace feeling shame?Stuart Jeffries reviews a new book by the French philosopher Frédéric Gros in the books section of the magazine this week. A Philosophy of Shame: A Revolutionary Emotion argues that shame should be embraced, rather than avoided. So, in an era of ‘cancel culture’ and public shaming – not to mention some of the shamelessness exhibited by social media influencers – can ‘shame’ be a good thing? Stuart joined the podcast to discuss. (34:31)Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.
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45:57
Americano: what does Sam Altman want?
Freddy Gray speaks to writer and author Karen Hao, whose new book Empire of AI looks at a new, ominous age of empire with OpenAI. On the podcast they discuss the impacts of artificial intelligence on society and democracy and how Open AI founder Sam Altman has become a controversial figure.
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