Join me, Toby Young, on Wednesday the 18th of February for another installment in the Spectator's Speaker series.

I'll be joined by the star of Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones, John Reese Davis.

We'll be covering his fascinating childhood in Tanzania, the secrets behind his lasting success,

and what he sees as the challenges facing Western civilization.

Join us in the library at Old Queen Street Cafe at 7pm on Wednesday the 18th of February.

Book your tickets at spectator.com forward slash book now.

Hello, welcome to the special Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots.

Of course, it's Valentine's Day today, so why not talk about the most famous love-hate relationship from modern British politics? I'm referring, of course, to the friendship-turned

sort of rivalry between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. And to mark that, and of course reflect on

the recent scandal evolving Peter Mandelson, we've got James McIntyre here, who's got a new book out on

Gordon Brown, power with purpose, and it's an unauthorised count, a biography of Gordon Brown's life,

but he has had some cooperation. So James, welcome to the podcast. First question I want to say is

why this book and why now?

Yes, well, I think Gordon Brown was due a reappraisal and a kind of reassessment.

I think his reputation has evolved for the better since he left office.

Some polling, particularly within the Labour Party, suggests that he's well respected and popular,

including sort of compared to other living former prime ministers.

As for the timing, this February with the whole Peter Mandelson saga, that was, I confess,

probably accidental.

But why now?

I think, you know, there have been many books about Gordon Brown, a couple of biographies, couple of books relating to his place in New Labour,

but I think it was time for another look. And you've mentioned about the timing of the

...