Best of the Spectator5 Elo 2024

Chinese Whispers: how oil became the latest food scandal

The Chinese middle class can now be very discerning about the food that they eat, and who can blame them? In the last twenty years, there seems to have been a steady stream of food safety and hygiene scandals – most infamously melamine-laced milk powder in 2008, which poisoned tens of thousands of babies. Since then, we’ve heard about pesticides being put into steamed buns to improve their texture, used cooking oil being retrieved from gutters to be reused, and lamb meat that might contain rat or fox.

The latest scandal, breaking over the last couple of months, is that of fuel tankers being used to carry cooking oil without the tankers being cleaned in between.

So what gives? Are these scandals a particularly Chinese phenomenon? Why hasn’t government regulation or punishment worked? And how does this impact political credibility in the eyes of the middle class?

Cindy Yu is joined by two brilliant guests to discuss all of these questions and more.

Dali Yang is a political scientist and sinologist at the University of Chicago, whose research has focused on Chinese regulations when it comes to food and medicine. His latest book is Wuhan: How the Covid-19 Outbreak in China Spiralled Out of Control.

James Palmer is deputy editor at Foreign Policy and author of numerous books on China. He worked for years as a journalist inside China.

For further listening, check out the Chinese Whispers episode on the gig economy – another huge labour rights issue in the country today: Algorithms and lockdowns: how China’s gig economy works.

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Americano: is China winning the AI race now?

Gus Carter is joined by Geoffrey Cain to speak about the ongoing developments in Chinese AI, and how it stacks up to its American rivals. Gus and Geoffrey talk about the emergence of Kimi K3, and how ...

6 Elo 24min

Spectator Out Loud: Lara Brown, Patrick Kidd, Tali Fraser & Ella Veakins

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Lara Brown explains the ongoing dissolution of the British private education sector; Patrick Kidd asks whether sporting curses are actually possible, or simply just ...

4 Elo 25min

Reality Check: could women be the solution to Britain's prison problem?

Amid rising backlash over the early prisoner release scheme, Kemi Badenoch has called for emergency legislation to stop the plans going ahead. The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has already halted th...

4 Elo 19min

Americano: How will Team Burnham deal with Team Trump?

Freddy Gray is joined by Ben Judah, a former Labour Special Advisor to discuss the new government's outlook on foreign affairs. Freddy and Ben examine how Andy Burnham's appointment of Ed Miliband as ...

3 Elo 23min

Coffee House Shots: Britain's First Catholic PM? — with Patrick Maguire

Is Andy Burnham the country's first catholic Prime Minister, and how might it influence his leadership? Despite his faith drawing him to Labour, he doesn’t attend mass and rarely emphasises his religi...

2 Elo 19min

The Edition: Rory Sutherland on private schools, early election & death doulas

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s columnist Rory Sutherland, political editor Tim Shipman and drinks editor Jonathan Ray.This week: What has been the damage of Lab...

1 Elo 1h 2min

Reality Check: how to reform social care – with David Goodhart

Andy Burnham has launched a major push to overhaul adult social care in England, seeking cross-party consensus for a new National Care Service. He has refused to rule out tax rises to fund the reforms...

31 Heinä 23min

Americano: Is the radical left taking over the Democratic Party?

Freddy Gray is joined by David Weigel to discuss the Democratic primary battle taking place in Michigan between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens. Freddy and David examine how the contest has become a ...

30 Heinä 41min