The Edition: Labour’s Terminator, Silicon Valley’s ‘Antichrist’ obsession & can charity shops survive?
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 26 September 2025
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
First: who has the Home Secretary got in her sights?
Political editor Tim Shipman profiles Shabana Mahmood in the Spectator’s cover article this week. Given Keir Starmer’s dismal approval ratings, politicos are consumed by gossip about who could be his heir-apparent – even more so, following Angela Rayner’s defenestration a few weeks ago. Mahmood may not be the most high-profile of the Starmer movement, but she is now talked about alongside Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham as a potential successor to Starmer.
But – it all depends on what she can achieve at the Home Office. So, who does she have in her sights? Tim joined the podcast
Next: why the philosopher king of Silicon Valley is reinventing the ‘Antichrist’ theory
What do Mohammed, Martin Luther, King George III, Adolf Hitler, Henry Kissinger and Bill Gates have in common? They have all been identified as the Antichrist. And now the theory is back, preoccupying the mind of billionaire Peter Thiel, who believes that ‘a globe-trotting liberal elite… are using their billions to manufacture a new world order’.
So why is Thiel, the co-founder of Paypal and Palantir, so obsessed with the Antichrist? Damian Thompson joins the podcast to discuss.
And finally: the cost-of-giving crisis
Rupert Hawksley, the Spectator’s new opinion editor, examines the crisis facing charity shops. Over 50 stores have shut this year with the big four – the British Heart Foundation, Barnado’s, Oxfam and Cancer Research UK – struggling to maintain healthy sales. This isn’t just a crisis for the charities, he argues, but also for the consumers who rely on the shops.
Rupert joined the podcast alongside another charity shop enthusiast, the Spectator’s editor Michael Gove. What’s the most prized charity shop find?
Plus: Henry Jeffreys discusses the horror of wine lists and Angus Colwell reviews a new BBC Sounds podcast on David Bowie, ahead of the ten year anniversary of his death next year.
Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, Sweaterweather. |
| 0:02.1 | Bring on cozy duvet days, crisp air and crunchy leaves. |
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| 0:13.1 | Handcrafted with our signature espresso and seasonal pumpkin flavors, |
| 0:17.7 | then topped with whipped cream, cinnamon and nutmeg. |
| 0:21.2 | Hot or iced? |
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| 0:23.8 | It's here. |
| 0:25.2 | Only at the Starbucks coffee company. |
| 0:27.5 | Subject to availability while stocks last. |
| 0:50.0 | Hello and welcome to the edition podcast from The Spectator, where each week we shed a little light on the thought process behind putting the world's oldest weekly magazine to bed. |
| 0:53.4 | I'm Laura Prendergast, the Spectator's executive editor. |
| 0:56.0 | And I'm William Moore, the Spectator's Executive Editor. And I'm William Moore, the Spectator's Features Editor. |
| 1:01.1 | On this week's podcast, who does Shabana Mahmoud have in her sights? |
| 1:05.0 | Why is Silicon Valley reinventing the Antichrist Theory? |
| 1:07.7 | And can charity shops survive? Music shop survive. |
| 1:21.9 | First up, who does the Home Secretary have in her sights? |
| 1:26.0 | In his cover piece for The Spectator this week, our political editor Tim Shipman, |
| 1:27.7 | says that increasingly Shabama Mahmood, the Home Secretary, is being viewed as a possible heir apparent to Kier Stama. |
| 1:34.0 | Mahmood may not be the most high-profile figure of the Labour government, |
| 1:37.2 | but she has now talked about alongside Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham as a potential successor to Stama. |
... |
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