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Hello and welcome to the edition podcast from The Spectator.

Every week we take a look at some of the most important and intriguing stories from the issue

with the writers behind them.

I'm William Moore, the Spectator's Features Editor.

And I'm Laura Prendergars, the Spectator's executive editor.

This week, what is the next act in Putin's theatre of war? Plus, how important is Gallo's humour?

And finally, why have we stopped whistling?

First up, for this week's cover story, James Forsyth writes about Putin's dangerous

dramatics on the Russian-Ukrainian border and where they might lead.

James joins us now, along with Paul Wood, who writes in this week's magazine that Putin's bluff may be backfiring.

James, we're recording this at 11 on Thursday morning, and at the beginning of this week, we learned

that American intelligence believed Putin could invade Ukraine within 48 hours.

That hasn't happened, at least at the time of recording.

And although NATO say they see no signs of de-escalation on the ground, do you think that the threat of invasion is starting to ease, or is it hard to say?

I think what the US was trying to say is that Russia would have the option of invading from Wednesday.

And I think what Putin's military buildup has given him is that he has a whole spectrum

of options now. I personally think a full-on invasion is unlikely in the grounds that Putin knows

that that would create the most unified Western response. I think you can see Russia trying to do

other things. Note, for example, the Duma motion

calling on Putin to recognise the two breakaway republics in the Dombas. Look at Putin saying in his

...