The Edition: Israel's revenge, farewell Fraser & the demise of invitations

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🗓️ 3 October 2024

⏱️ 37 minutes

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Summary

This week: Israel’s revenge and Iran’s humiliation.

As the anniversary of the October 7th attacks by Hamas approaches, the crisis in the Middle East has only widened. Israel has sent troops into southern Lebanon and there have been attempted missile strikes from the Houthi rebels in Yemen and from Iran. Is there any way the situation can de-escalate? And how could Israel respond to Iran? Former BBC foreign correspondent Paul Wood and defence and security research Dr Limor Simhony join the podcast (1:03).

Next: it’s the end of an era for The Spectator. This issue is Fraser Nelson’s last as he hands over the reins to Michael Gove. Having spent 15 years as editor, with 784 issues to his name, what are his reflections on his time here at 22 Old Queen Street? You can also hear an extract from Toby Young’s column, where he reveals a coincidental dinner that took place last week (13:25).

And finally: should we mourn the demise of the physical invitation? Yes, says Philip Womack in his Notes on in the magazine this week, as he declares ‘bring back the stiffy!’. They’re a ritual, a pleasure, a memento that will be most missed. Philip joined the podcast to ponder their decline, alongside our Dear Mary columnist Mary Killen (29:00).

Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Spectator magazine is home to wonderful writing, insightful analysis and unrivaled books and arts reviews.
0:06.2	Subscribe today for just £12 and receive a 12-week subscription in print and online,
0:11.5	along with a free £20 £10,000 or waitrose voucher.
0:15.0	Go to spectator.co.uk forward slash voucher.
0:28.9	Hello and welcome to the edition podcast from The Spectator,
0:32.4	where each week we shed a little light on the thought process behind putting the world's oldest weekly magazine to bed.
0:36.3	I'm William Moore, the Spectator's Features Editor.
0:38.9	And I'm Laura Pendergast, the Spectator's Executive Editor.
0:42.5	This week, how far will Israel go in search of revenge?
0:46.9	It's all changed here at The Spectator as Fraser Nelson's time as editor comes to an end
0:51.6	and Michael Gove begins.
0:53.4	And should we mourn the decline of the
0:55.7	traditional invitation?
1:02.7	In his coverpiece for the magazine this week, Paul Wood writes that Israel is reshaping
1:08.0	the Middle East in its favour. Well, next week marks the anniversary of
1:12.4	the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel's incursion into Gaza. Following the assassination
1:19.3	of the leaders of Hezbollah, retaliation was only expected from Iran. This retaliation
1:24.7	was bigger than in April of this year, but still pretty ineffective.
1:30.0	Paul asks, is there nothing short of humiliation for Iran?
1:33.7	Well, he joined me earlier to discuss, along with the spectator's contributor and defense
1:38.8	and security researcher, Dr. Lemoor Simony.
1:41.7	Paul's article starts by saying that Iran has fallen into the trap set by
	...

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