Best of the Spectator

Britain wants to become an AI superpower – but does it have the electricity to power one? Data centres underpin everything from online banking and streaming to artificial intelligence, and demand for them is exploding. The government has designated them as critical national infrastructure and is promising billions of pounds of investment, but Britain’s ageing grid is already struggling to keep up.
Michael Simmons asks whether the UK can build enough power stations, transmission lines and substations to support the AI revolution – and what the consequences could be for electricity bills, water supplies and local communities. He is joined by entrepreneur Michael Tobin and American energy journalist Robert Bryce to discuss why Britain needs data centres, the growing backlash against them and whether the country risks being left behind in the global AI race.
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On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Tim Shipman argues that politicians’ contempt for the press is really contempt for the public; Arabella Byrne asks if you have old money face; Alex Burghart says that Harold Godwinson has a touch of the Viking about him, as he reviews Harold: Warrior King by Tom Licence; and finally, Lloyd Evans reads his confessions of a dog hater.

Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

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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 natural next step for a party seeking to broaden its appeal, rather than the more radical change candidate he has been portrayed as across parts of the media.

Polanski undoubtably achieved new heights for the party – Gorton & Denton was their first ever by-election win – but recent polls show them losing momentum, and the election of Andy Burnham as Labour leader is seen to have stunted their progress. What should Polanski do next?

Produced by Henry Lloyd and Patrick Gibbons.

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William Moore is joined by The Spectator’s associate editor Toby Young, commissioning editor Lara Brown and newsletter editor and restaurant critic Angus Colwell.
This week: What has gone wrong with British universities? Lara unpacks the wider academic crisis in the wake of the Jason Arday scandal, from ‘surviving the apocalypse’ courses at Warwick to maths departments promising to ‘decolonise’ the subject. Has the sector lost its nerve?
Also: Balding. Toby explains why he’s trying to talk his three sons out of hair transplants, while Angus and Lara weigh in on whether men vastly overestimate the importance of their hair on the dating market.
Plus: is Indian the best cuisine? Angus argues it’s surprisingly hard to find a truly great curry in London, while the the panel ask whethe Indian food is unfairly low-status because it’s too cheap.
Produced by Henry Lloyd and Oscar Edmondson.

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In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray speaks to physicist and Spectator contributor Steve Hsu about the uncomfortable realities of modern warfare. Why are cheap missiles and drones so difficult and expensive to intercept?
Freddy asks Steve about just how depleted are America’s missile stocks, and can the West rebuild its defence industry quickly enough?
They also discuss China’s dominance of critical supply chains, the vulnerability of energy infrastructure and shipping, the strategic threat posed to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, and why missile defence may be losing its long-standing race against missile technology.
Steve also speaks to Freddy about the future of autonomous warfare, including the development of AI-powered drones capable of making decisions on the battlefield.
Learn how to earn yield on gold, paid in gold, at Monetary-Metals.com/Americano

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