The Spectator magazine combines incisive political analysis with books and arts reviews of unrivaled authority. absolutely free. Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher.

Hello and welcome to Spectator Out Loud. I'm Lyndon Cancaren, part of the Spectator's

broadcast team and each week we choose our favourite pieces from the magazine and ask our writers

to read them aloud. Coming up on the podcast this week, the spectators deputy editor, Freddie

Gray, on why Ron DeSantis is no longer de future in the race for the presidency. Mary Wakefield

recounts the train journey from hell as she and her young son

gets stuck en route from Durham to London. We hear from Gareth Roberts about the screenwriters and

actors striking over AI potentially taking their jobs. And Rachel Johnson shares her diary,

which is full of SAS adventures and mishaps in New Zealand. But first up, it's Freddie Gray.

It's widely acknowledged that as Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis has been a success. As a

presidential candidate, however, he has been a disaster, at least so far. Last weekend, amid

reports that his bid for the White House was floundering

desantis sacked a dozen of his staff and scaled back his travel plans he may have

raised some 20 million between April and June but some of the biggest Republican

donors who flocked towards him at the end of last year are starting to turn away his

campaign is now concerned

about funds running out. DeSantis disputes the doom and gloom characterizations of his candidacy.

When a politician starts complaining about the media's predetermined narratives, however,

the real message is clear. He knows he's losing. The polls tell the story.

In March, DeSantis was only 10 percentage points behind the inevitable frontrunner

for the Republican nomination, Donald J. Trump.

Today, the gap is more than 30 points.

...