The Edition: can Macron still outplay Le Pen?
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.3 • 826 Ratings
🗓️ 13 June 2024
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Our cover piece looks at the big news following the European elections at the weekend, President Macron’s decision to call early parliamentary elections in France. Madness or genius, either way the decision comes with huge risk. And can he still outplay Le Pen, asks writer Jonathan Miller. Jonathan joins the podcast to analyse Macron’s decision alongside Professor Alberto Alemanno, who explains how the decision is realigning French politics, and argues it must be seen in its wider European context. (01:58)
Then: Will and Gus take us through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine, including Catriona Olding’s Life column and Sam McPhail’s notes on Madri.
Also on the podcast: who decides how we see the past? Niger Biggar writes in the magazine this week about organisations which are being given a veto over the representation of Britain's history. Nigel takes issue with those from formerly marginalised communities having the final word on our shared history and joins the podcast to explain why there should be more scrutiny on such groups. (18:14)
And finally: do historians talk down to children? In her column for the magazine this week Mary Wakefield writes about her experience trying to find engaging and challenging history books for her 8-year-old. She says that most children’s history books have dumbed down, in comparison to the classic ladybird books of the 60s. She joined the podcast to discuss with the author of the Adventures in Time children’s book series and host of the Rest is History podcast, Dominic Sandbrook. (31:16)
Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Spectator magazine is the greatest magazine of English language. Subscribe today for just £12, |
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| 0:32.5 | Hello and welcome to the edition podcast from The Spectator, where each week we shed a little |
| 0:37.1 | light on the thought process behind putting the world's oldest weekly magazine to bed. |
| 0:42.2 | I'm William Moore, the Spectator's Features Editor. |
| 0:44.6 | And I'm Gus Carter, the Spectator's Deputy Features Editor. |
| 0:47.9 | This week, what should we make of Macron's election gamble? |
| 0:51.4 | Who gets to decide how we see the past and have children's history books been |
| 0:55.2 | dumbed down? |
| 1:03.0 | So, Will, we're speaking on Thursday morning. The magazine went to press yesterday afternoon |
| 1:08.3 | and our cover piece looks at President Macron and France's |
| 1:11.7 | decision to call an early parliamentary election following the European elections last weekend. |
| 1:18.6 | Can you tell us a little bit more about the cover? |
| 1:20.8 | It is just nice to get away from the general election in this country, isn't it, as the cover? |
| 1:25.0 | It's nice to do something away from Britain. |
| 1:28.4 | And I think Macron's decision did catch everyone by surprise, political allies as well as his political |
| 1:33.9 | enemies. It does all seem quite mad. And it needed, I think, someone to explain what the thinking |
| 1:40.4 | might be, which is why Jonathan Miller's written this excellent piece, and he joined |
| 1:45.6 | us, talk about it alongside Alberto Alamano, Professor of EU Law at the HSC Paris Business |
... |
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