Best of the Spectator

• Holy Smoke: Holy War and Antichrist, the rise of extremist rhetoric inside the Russian Orthodox Church

  The subject of Ukraine shattered the unity of Eastern Orthodoxy long before Russia’s full-scale invasion began. In 2018 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church declared independence from Moscow with the approval of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. In response, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow broke off all relations with Constantinople, creating arguably the greatest schism in Orthodoxy for 1,000 years. There are now two main Ukrainian Orthodox Churches: one that supports independence and one still loyal to Moscow. As The Spectator’s Ukraine correspondent Svitlana Morenets points out, Ukrainians who previously didn’t care which church they attended now have to decide which to attend. Meanwhile, Dr Yuri Stoyanov, a fellow at SOAS, describes the alarming escalation of apocalyptic rhetoric encouraged by Kirill, whose talk of a Holy War against the forces of Antichrist is popular with soldiers but means little to the average Russian.  As we approach the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Svitlana and Yuri join host Damian Thompson to discuss the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in perpetuating the conflict. Has Holy War returned to Europe? And is it true that President Putin has secretly been taking part in bizarre quasi-shamanistic rituals?  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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• The Edition: new world disorder, cholesterol pseudoscience vs scepticism & the magic of Dickens

  This week: the world needs a realist reset Donald Trump’s presidency is the harbinger of many things, writes The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove, one of which is a return to a more pitiless world landscape. The ideal of a rules-based international order has proved to be a false hope. Britain must accept that if we are to earn the respect of others and the right to determine the future, we need a realist reset. What are the consequences of this new world order? And is the Trump administration reversing the tide of decline, or simply refusing to accept the inevitable? Michael Gove joined the podcast alongside the geopolitical theorist Robert Kaplan, author of the new book Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis. Robert argues that the true understanding of realism has been corrupted, and that democracy ‘can easily become the tyranny of the majority’. (1:06) Next: when does healthy scepticism over cholesterol become pseudoscience? With ‘sky-high’ cholesterol, the journalist Paul Wood has gone down an internet rabbit-hole to improve his heart health. He declares ‘I was convinced by the cholesterol sceptics’. There was once a time when it felt like the front pages of newspapers had a story raising doubts about statins – a type of medication to control cholesterol – every week. Now, the internet is full of medical misinformation around high cholesterol, an issue that will affect over half of Britons. So, what is the truth behind cholesterol? And when does healthy scepticism tip over into pseudoscience? Paul joined the podcast alongside the cardiologist Dr Christopher Labos, author of Does coffee cause cancer? (25:24) And finally: with a love of magic, is it any wonder Dickens could conjure up worlds full of surprises? When people hear ‘the magic of Charles Dickens’ they undoubtedly think about the words - and the worlds - he created. Yet, many won’t realise that the great writer had a love of showmanship and stage magic himself. Peter Conrad says that Dickens could have even been an actor. What makes Dickens’s worlds so compelling? And how did his love of stagecraft influence his writing? Peter has authored a new book on the subject, Dickens the Enchanter: Inside the Explosive Imagination of the Great Storyteller, and joins the podcast. (37:10) Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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• The Book Club: The World in the Ocean

  My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is the novelist and critic James Bradley whose new book is Deep Water: The World in the Ocean. He tells me how we need to rethink our relationship with the sea and the life it contains, why fish are much more intelligent than we are used to imagining, and why – amid planetary doom – there’s still room for hope.

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• Americano: Rob Henderson on Musk, monogamy & meritocracy

  Political commentator, and author of Troubled, Rob Henderson joins Freddy Gray from the ARC conference in London. They discuss the political reaction to the news that Elon Musk has allegedly had his 13th child – are there signs of a new, more permissive conservatism? They also discuss Trump’s administration so far – particularly his flurry of executive orders – with critics decrying them as the tactics of a populist, yet supporters approving of the speed of activity. What’s the psychology underpins these political viewpoints? Vice-President J.D. Vance’s speech in Munich over the weekend has also left many European leaders reeling – but should they really have been surprised? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

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• Holy Smoke: Why militant atheists don’t understand religion, a conversation with Alister McGrath

  In his new book Why We Believe: Finding Meaning in Uncertain Times, Prof Alister McGrath rejects the notion that belief is a relic of the past and takes aim at the ‘new atheists’ who attack religion without even knowing what it is. Prof McGrath, emeritus Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University, has had a unique journey to religion. A former Marxist atheist with a doctorate in molecular biology, he’s now a world-renowned theologian and Anglican priest.  In this lively discussion with Damian Thompson he talks about the boundary between science and religion, something poorly understood by aggressive atheists such as Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens. He suggests that, while we all look for meaning, the safety of science doesn’t provide the sense of belonging that we all crave.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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