The Edition: 'Boring twenties', population decline & happy new year
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 2 January 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A far cry from the ‘roaring twenties' of the early 20th Century, the 2020s can be characterised as the ‘boring twenties’, argue Gus Carter and Rupert Hawksley in our new year edition of the Spectator. Record numbers of young people are out of work but even those with jobs face such a dire cost-of-living situation that they have no money left over to spend on fun. Traditional cultural outings – like going to the theatre – are increasingly confined to older, richer generations. This is long-standing issue, but compounded by Labour’s economic policies. A slightly downbeat start to the new year here at the Spectator, but at least the episode provides a free dose of fun.
For this week’s Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by opinion editor Rupert Hawksley, economics editor Michael Simmons and author and academic Philip Hensher. Rupert points out the perceived lack of fairness across the Budget, Matthew thinks we shouldn’t be surprised that a Labour government delivered a Labour Budget and Igor makes the case that artists thrive as a consequence of an inefficient state.
As well as the cover, they discuss: the demographic decline challenging British policy-makers; the merits of having young people engaged in politics; the etiquette around leaving theatre shows (and even funerals!) early; and finally, ‘BuzzBallz’ – the alcoholic drink that the Spectator team enjoyed before our Christmas party.
Plus: what new years’ resolutions have our contributors made?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Subscribe to The Spectator and get 12 weeks of Britain's most incisive politics coverage, |
| 0:04.8 | unrivaled books and arts reviews, and so much more, all for just £12. |
| 0:09.7 | Not only that, but we'll also send you a £20 Amazon gift card absolutely free. |
| 0:14.9 | As a subscriber, you'll also be able to listen to all our other podcasts, ad-free. |
| 0:20.6 | Go to www.w.sp.com.uk-w forward slash |
| 0:26.4 | voucher to claim this offer now. Terms apply. |
| 0:34.1 | Hello and welcome to the edition from The Spectator. |
| 0:40.3 | I'm Lara Prendergars, the Spectator's executive editor and the latest issue of the magazine has just gone to press. |
| 0:47.3 | The headline is The Boring Twenties and it's written by Gus Carter and Rupert Hawksley. To discuss that piece and some of the other pieces in the issue, |
| 0:57.7 | I'm joined now by Rupert, our opinion editor, |
| 1:00.6 | by our economics editor Michael Simmons, |
| 1:03.2 | and by the author and academic, Philip Hensh. |
| 1:18.4 | Rupert, your argument is that essentially we are living through a very boring era, |
| 1:22.9 | not the roaring 20s, but the boring 20s. And you and Gus have put this cover piece together. |
| 1:26.6 | Can you start by setting out the argument that you make in it? |
| 1:28.9 | Yeah, of course. Happy New Year, everyone. |
| 1:35.4 | So we wanted to start the new year with a sort of broader look at the decade that we're living through. |
| 1:42.5 | And depressingly, the phrase that we came up with to sort of define that decade was the boring 20s. |
| 1:45.3 | Gus and I were discussing it at length in the office, |
| 1:51.1 | and we just sort of noticed that the price of everything has rocketed. So drinking is more expensive. Pub landlords are being hit with increased taxes. Buying a packet of fags is now |
| 1:58.1 | sort of 21, 22 quid. Theatre tickets. |
| 2:01.7 | I mean, God, where to start with that. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 17 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Spectator, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Spectator and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.