The Edition: war and peace, why restaurants are going halal & the great brown furniture transfer

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The Spectator

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4.4 • 785 Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

This week: war and peace

Despite initial concerns, the ‘Complete and Total CEASEFIRE’ – according to Donald Trump – appears to be holding. Tom Gross writes this week’s cover piece and argues that a weakened Iran offers hope for the whole Middle East. But how? He joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside Gregg Carlstrom, the Economist’s Middle East correspondent based in Dubai. (01:51)

Next: why are so many restaurants offering halal meat?

Angus Colwell writes about the growing popularity of halal meat in British restaurants. This isn’t confined to certain food groups or particular areas – halal is now being offered across restaurants serving all sorts of cuisine, from Chinese to Mexican. But why is it so popular? And is it just a trend, or part of a wider shift for British restaurants? Angus joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside restaurateur James Chiavarini, owner of Il Portico and La Palombe, both in Kensington. (23:46)

And finally: millennials, the brown furniture is on its way

The ‘great wealth transfer’ – the transfer of trillions in wealth from boomers to millennials – is oft-discussed, but Arabella Byrne argues this goes far beyond just money. Brown furniture, from desks to cabinets to mirrors, will be passed on as inheritance by boomers who downsize – and Arabella says this is ‘the abject symbol of generational misalignment’. Arabella joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons. (33:07)

Hosted by Lara Prendergast and William Moore.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

Transcript

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0:51.9	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.
0:57.4	I'm Laura Prendergast, the Spectator's Executive Editor.
1:00.3	And I'm William Moore, the Spectator's Features Editor.
1:02.9	On this week's podcast, we ask, could a weakened Iran mean hope for the Middle East?
1:09.0	Why are more restaurants serving halal meat,
1:11.7	and are millennials about to inherit a plethora of brown furniture?
1:21.1	In the magazine this week, Tom Gross and Peter Francapan write about how in the last week
1:26.9	Trump and Netanyahu have remade
1:29.6	the Middle East. For Tom, who writes the cover piece in this week's magazine, a weakened Iran
1:35.6	offers hope for the whole Middle East. But how? He joined the podcast to discuss further alongside
1:41.3	Greg Karlstrom, the economist's Middle East correspondent, based in Dubai.
1:46.2	I started by asking Tom just how important the past week has been to the future of the Middle East.
1:52.0	Yes, good to be with you. Well, obviously, it's a work in progress. I don't want to be too optimistic.
1:59.2	But overall, one of the, I would actually argue, the biggest
	...

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