Best Mark Rees Podcasts (2025)

1
EP155 Ghosts, Goblins & Graveyard Dogs: A Paranormal Lucky Dip | Welsh Lore | Haunted History | Uncanny Encounters | Paranormal Activity | Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast with Mark Rees 26:41

12d ago26:41

26:41

What kind of spectral creature leaps onto a corpse, rides in the hearse, and disappears into the mourners at the graveside? In this folkloric lucky dip of ghostly odds and ends, Mark Rees unearths the eerie tales too strange, too short, or too scattered to fit anywhere else… until now. Why did a grand Welsh mansion blaze with phantom lights long af…

1
The Edition: the real Brexit betrayal, bite-sized history & is being a bridesmaid brutal? 43:58

2h ago43:58

43:58

The real Brexit betrayal: Starmer vs the workers ‘This week Starmer fell… into the embrace of Ursula von der Leyen’ writes Michael Gove in our cover article this week. He writes that this week’s agreement with the EU perpetuates the failure to understand Brexit’s opportunities, and that Labour ‘doesn’t, or at least shouldn’t exist to make the lives…

1
The Book Club: Geoff Dyer, the Proust of prog rock and Airfix 38:35

8m ago38:35

38:35

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Geoff Dyer, who’s talking about his memoir Homework, in which he describes growing up as an only child in suburban Cheltenham, and how the eleven-plus and the postwar settlement irrevocably changed his life – propelling him away from the timid and unfulfilled world of his working-class parents. Geoff, in…

1
Low Life: The Spectator columns of Jeremy Clarke 28:14

10m ago28:14

28:14

To mark the second anniversary of the death of Jeremy Clarke – one of the Spectator’s most loved writers – we’ve compiled some of his Low Life columns, as read by Jeremy in 2016, for this special episode of Spectator Out Loud. Included in this compilation are: New Man (00:42); Virgin (5:16); Debauchery Competition (9:32); Buddhism (14:12); The Beac…

1
Table Talk: Daria Lavelle, author of 'Aftertaste' 32:26

24m ago32:26

32:26

Daria Lavelle was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in New York. Her work explores themes of identity and belonging and her short stories have appeared in The Deadlands, Dread Machine, and elsewhere. Daria is the author of the critically acclaimed new novel Aftertaste which explores food, grief and the uncanny. On the podcast she tells Liv about he…

1
Americano: was Zbigniew Brzezinski a Cold War prophet? 30:00

22m ago30:00

30:00

Polish émigré Zbigniew Brzezinski – known as ‘Zbig’ – rose to prominence in America during the Cold War as a key intellectual architect of US foreign policy. He was National Security Advisor to President Carter and was a trusted advisor to many US presidents from John F Kennedy onwards. Yet, despite helping to shape American foreign policy during c…

1
Novel Approaches: ‘North and South’ by Elizabeth Gaskell 25:04

11h ago25:04

25:04

In North and South (1855), Margaret Hale is uprooted from her sleepy New Forest town and must adapt to life in the industrial north. Through her relationships with mill workers and a slow-burn romance with the self-made capitalist John Thornton, she is forced to reassess her assumptions about justice and propriety. At the heart of the novel are a s…

1
Show 392. Alan Rhodes 59:55

16h ago59:55

59:55

Alan Rhodes A few weeks ago Reform took control of Nottinghamshire County Council on a landslide. How did this happen and why didn't Nottinghamshire vote Labour instead? Alan Rhodes has been a Labour councillor in Nottinghamshire for nearly 40 years. He understands the shifting politics of the county and the country. This is a fantastic analysis of…

1
Spectator Out Loud: Michael Gove, Max Jeffery, Paul Wood, Susannah Jowitt and Leyla Sanai 37:26

1d ago37:26

37:26

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Michael Gove interviews Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood (1:17; Max Jeffery shadows the police as they search for the parents of three abandoned babies (14:41); Paul Wood asks if this is really the end of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (20:57); Susannah Jowitt reports that death has come to the Chelsea Flo…

1
Coffee House Shots: should Kemi Badenoch go? 30:36

2d ago30:36

30:36

Kemi Badenoch has come in for criticism since becoming leader of the opposition – for her energy, her performances at PMQs and her inability to galvanise her shadow cabinet. On this podcast, James Heale hosts the trial of Kemi Badenoch and asks whether someone else might be better placed to take the Tories into the next election and – more importan…

1
Americano: what is Trump doing in the Middle East? 28:33

3d ago28:33

28:33

President Trump is an America Firster, but he has an undeniable affinity for the Arab world. He would have made a good sheik: he doesn’t drink, he loves developing flashy properties to show off his power and wealth, and he’s brutally realistic about the role of oil (and other commodities) in world politics. On his tour of the Middle East, he signed…

1
The Edition: Britain's billionaire exodus, Michael Gove interviews Shabana Mahmood & Hampstead's 'terf war' 41:53

4d ago41:53

41:53

The great escape: why the rich are fleeing Britain Keir Starmer worries about who is coming into Britain but, our economics editor Michael Simmons writes in the magazine this week, he should have ‘sleepless nights’ thinking about those leaving. Since 2016, nearly 30,000 millionaires have left – ‘an outflow unmatched in the developed world’. Tax cha…

1
The Albion Roar - 14th May 2025 with guest Mark Brailsford 1:04:40

5d ago1:04:40

1:04:40

Hot on the trail of another win at Wolves (just three defeats in 21 league matches up there), The Treason Show's Mark Brailsford joins Ady & Al to discuss the game, plus his latest shows as part of the Brighton Festival and into the summer.By RadioReverb

1
The Book Club: Julie Bindel 47:59

5d ago47:59

47:59

My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is the writer, activist and Spectator contributor Julie Bindel. In her new book Lesbians: Where Are We Now?, Julie asks why lesbian liberation seems – as she sees it – to have taken one step forward and two steps back. She traces the history of lesbian activism, explains why we’re wrong to assume that lesbi…

1
Show 391. Wes Streeting - LIVE 1:21:20

6d ago1:21:20

1:21:20

Wes Streeting - LIVE The Health Secretary is on cracking form as he defends Labour's progress so far but demonstrates a clear impatience to deliver change as quickly as possible. We discuss all the big questions: What is Labour getting right? Are the government scared of Reform? What is that cucumber for? It'll all make sense... COME AND SEE THE PO…

1
Americano: how to revive the American mind 32:39

6d ago32:39

32:39

Freddy Gray speaks to Spectator World's Editor-at-Large Ben Domenech about this month's issue, the Reviving of the American Mind, and Ben's interview with Christopher Rufo.By The Spectator

1
Love and Death: Self-Elegies by Plath, Larkin, Hardy and more 14:05

7d ago14:05

14:05

Philip Larkin was terrified of death from an early age; Thomas Hardy contemplated what the neighbours would say after he had gone; and Sylvia Plath imagined her own death in vivid and controversial ways. The genre of self-elegy, in which poets have reflected on their own passing, is a small but eloquent one in the history of English poetry. In this…

1
Americano: is the trade deal a coup for Starmer? 26:20

7d ago26:20

26:20

Trump has announced a beautiful new deal with the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and President shared a phone call to congratulate one another. It is the first trade deal agreed after Mr Trump began his second presidential term in January, and after he imposed strict tariffs on countries around the world in April. Freddy Gray speaks to Sarah El…

1
Olenka Hamilton, Melanie McDonagh, Hannah Moore, James Delingpole and William Atkinson 30:24

8d ago30:24

30:24

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Olenka Hamilton ponders whether Poland’s revival is a mirage (1:24); Melanie McDonagh asks who killed the postal service (9:52); Hannah Moore argues that family cars aren’t built for families any more (14:35); James Delingpole reviews Careme from Apple TV and Chef’s Table from Netflix (21:15); and, William Atkinso…

1
Coffee House Shots Live: Zia Yusuf and Jacob Rees-Mogg 1:27:40

9d ago1:27:40

1:27:40

The post-mortem has begun on a historic set of local elections – but where does each party go from here? Is Reform unstoppable? Is Kemi the one to lead the Conservative rebuild? Do Labour really ‘get it’? Michael Gove, James Heale and Lucy Dunn are joined by special guests Zia Yusuf and Jacob Rees-Mogg to unpack these questions – as well as the bro…

1
Holy Smoke: Does Pope Leo XIV represent continuity or change? 19:45

10d ago19:45

19:45

From Rome Fr Benedict Kiely and Damian Thompson react to the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as the successor to Pope Francis. The first American Pope, Prevost is also a citizen of Peru, having spent years working as first a parish pastor and teacher, and later as a bishop. The 267th Bishop of Rome is also the first native English-speaking pope…

1
The Edition: Scuzz Nation, the death of English literature & are you a bad house guest? 40:39

11d ago40:39

40:39

Scuzz Nation: Britain’s slow and grubby decline If you want to understand why voters flocked to Reform last week, Gus Carter says, look no further than Goat Man. In one ward in Runcorn, ‘residents found that no one would listen when a neighbour filled his derelict house with goats and burned the animals’ manure in his garden’. This embodies Scuzz N…

1
The Albion Roar - 7th May 2025 with guests Darren Balkham and Gregg Marshall 1:04:57

11d ago1:04:57

1:04:57

After 25 years in the role of Sussex Police Liaison Officer (or Sussex Dedicated Football Officer these days), PC Darren Balkham is hanging up his truncheon (no tittering at the back) to be put to work by Mrs Balkham. Darren joined us with his replacement PC Gregg Marshall, to talk about his time with the club. And the grief he gets every time we b…

1
The Golden Age Of Children's TV - "Get Your Singing Ringing Tree Here!" 1:57:50

12d ago1:57:50

1:57:50

Tim Worthington has a new book out called The Golden Age Of Children's TV - all about the best, worst and most just plain baffling shows you grew up with in the sixties, seventies and eighties - and the lines are open now for an hour of fun, facts, laughs and thrills. Juliet Brando will be getting out her binoculars for a look at some of Britain's …

1
The Book Club: The Making of William Shakespeare 50:09

12d ago50:09

50:09

My guest in this week’s Book Club podcast is Daniel Swift. Daniel’s new book, The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare, tells the fascinating story of a theatrical innovation that transformed Elizabethan drama – and set the stage, as it were, for the rise of our greatest playwright.…

1
Table Talk: Mary-Ellen McTague 24:45

13d ago24:45

24:45

Mary-Ellen McTague is a chef based in Manchester. She is the culinary driving force behind Aunbury, 4244, the Creameries and her newest venture, Pip at the Treehouse Hotel. Mary-Ellen is also the co-founder of Eat Well MCR, which has delivered almost 100,000 meals across Greater Manchester since 2020 to those sidelined by poverty. On the podcast, s…

1
A compilation of Chinese Whispers: understanding China 1:37:57

14d ago1:37:57

1:37:57

As Chinese Whispers comes to an end, here is a compilation of some of the best discussions Cindy Yu has had across the podcast to understand modern China and President Xi. On this episode you can hear from: journalist Bill Hayton on what it means to be Chinese (1:10); writer and actor Mark Kitto and author Alex Ash on being foreign in China (13:07)…

1
Show 390. John McTernan 45:54

15d ago45:54

45:54

Local Elections Analysis with John McTernan Why were the local elections so bad for Labour and how do they reverse their fortunes? Is there a ceiling on Nigel Farage's popularity? Does Labour lack confidence? This is a dose of mega political strategy with Tony Blair's former Political Secretary. It's electric. COME AND SEE THE POLITICAL PARTY LIVE!…

1
Fiction and the Fantastic: Stories by Franz Kafka 16:06

15d ago16:06

16:06

In the stories of Franz Kafka we find the fantastical wearing the most ordinary, realist dress. Though haunted by abjection and failure, Kafka has come to embody the power and potential of literary imagination in the 20th century as it confronts the nightmares of modernity. In this episode, Marina Warner is joined by Adam Thirlwell to discuss the w…

1
Holy Smoke: who is likely to succeed Francis? 40:39

15d ago40:39

40:39

The papal conclave is due to begin on Wednesday 7 May to elect a successor to Pope Francis. As host Damian Thompson says, Rome – and the entire Church – is in a state of ‘fevered excitement’. While this is to be expected, most commentators agree that this conclave will be one of the most consequential elections for centuries. At stake are both the …

1
Coffee House Shots: is Reform unstoppable? 15:33

17d ago15:33

15:33

The word ‘unprecedented’ is often overused in politics, but these local elections have proved to be just that. The headline is: sweeping success for Reform. Nigel Farage's 'teal tsunami' comes at the expense of the main parties – turning the two-party consensus on its head. The recriminations for Labour and the Tories have already begun. On the lef…

1
Special Announcement The Matt Forde Focus Group 0:39

17d ago0:39

0:39

The Matt Forde Focus Group is my new comedy series for Radio 4 and tickets are now available! We are recording a run though on May 7th at The Bush Hall is London. For tickets visit sroaudiences.com or click on this link The Matt Forde Focus Group See you there! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

1
Spectator Out Loud: Ian Williams, Philip Patrick, Guy Stagg, Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Mark Mason and Catriona Olding 36:50

17d ago36:50

36:50

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Ian Williams looks at Chinese influence in the UK (1:39); Philip Patrick interviews Japan’s last ninja (9:35); Guy Stagg reviews Damian Le Bas and explores the myths behind the city of Atlantis (18:23); Ysenda Maxtone Graham reviews an exhibition on school dinners at the Food Museum in Stowmarket (23:38); Mark Mas…

1
Americano: Victor Davis Hanson on DEI, counter revolutions and why Trump is a 'tragic hero' 48:44

18d ago48:44

48:44

Victor Davis Hanson joins Spectator TV to talk about the first 101 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency, describing it as a bold counterrevolution against decades of cultural, political, and economic drift. He discusses Trump’s sweeping agenda—from closing the border and challenging DEI initiatives to confronting foreign policy orthodoxy and tr…

1
The Edition: Chambers of horrors, the ‘Dubai-ification’ of London & the enduring obsession with Diana 36:44

19d ago36:44

36:44

This week: the left-wing radicalism of Garden Court Garden Court Chambers has a ‘reassuringly traditional’ facade befitting the historic Lincoln’s Inn Fields in the heart of London’s legal district. Yet, writes Ross Clark in the cover article this week, ‘the facade is just that. For behind the pedimented Georgian windows there operates the most rad…

1
The Albion Roar - 30th April 2025 with guests Andy Bass and Jim Frank 1:02:19

19d ago1:02:19

1:02:19

Victory from the jaws of defeat - limbs, beers, sunshine. Andy & Jim join Ady & Al to discuss just that.By RadioReverb

1
The Book Club: The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz 37:09

20d ago37:09

37:09

My guest on this week’s podcast is the historian Anne Sebba. In her new book The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival, Anne tells the story of how a ragtag group of women musicians formed in the shadow of Auschwitz’s crematoria. She tells me about the moral trade-offs, the friendships and enmities that formed, and what it meant to tr…

1
Coffee House Shots: Revenge of the centrists – Carney wins in Canada 13:03

20d ago13:03

13:03

Mark Carney has won the Canadian election, leading the Liberal Party to a fourth term. Having only been Prime Minister for 6 weeks, succeeding Justin Trudeau, this is an impressive achievement when you consider that Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives were over 20 percentage points ahead in the polls earlier this year. Trump’s rhetoric against Canada …

1
Conversations in Philosophy: 'My Station and Its Duties' by F.H. Bradley 14:44

21d ago14:44

14:44

T.S. Eliot claimed that he learned his prose style from reading F.H. Bradley, and the poet wrote his PhD on the English philosopher at Harvard. Bradley’s life was remarkably unremarkable, as he spent his entire career as a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, where his only obligation was not to get married. Yet in over fifty years of slow, meticulous…

1
Women With Balls: Kirsty Wark 29:12

22d ago29:12

29:12

Kirsty Wark has worked for the BBC for almost 50 years and is one of the UK’s most recognisable broadcasters. In 1976 she joined BBC Radio Scotland as a graduate researcher. Having produced and presented several shows across radio including The World At One and PM, she switched to television, and went on to present shows such as Breakfast Timeand T…

1
Show 389. Julie Bindel 1:07:47

24d ago1:07:47

1:07:47

Following the unanimous Supreme Court ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law, Julie tells us how and why we got here. This is a fascinating history not just of women's rights, but of the distinct needs of the lesbian and gay communities. If you've wondered how this issue became so big and how it's come to dominate so …

1
Holy Smoke: What can we expect from the papal conclave? 53:22

22d ago53:22

53:22

Earlier this year Dr Kurt Martens, Professor of Canon Law at the Catholic University of America, joined Damian Thompson on Holy Smoke to unpack what happens during a papal conclave. There was heightened interest in the process due to the film Conclave, which swept the awards season, but also because Pope Francis was hospitalised at the time. Despit…

1
Coffee House Shots: John Curtice on the local elections 20:35

23d ago20:35

20:35

Legendary pollster Prof Sir John Curtice joins the Spectator’s deputy political editor James Heale to look ahead to next week’s local elections. The actual number of seats may be small, as John points out, but the political significance could be much greater. If polling is correct, Reform could win a ‘fresh’ by-election for the first time, the mayo…

1
Spectator Out Loud: Owen Matthews, Matthew Parris, Marcus Nevitt, Angus Colwell and Sean Thomas 30:46

24d ago30:46

30:46

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Owen Matthews reads his letter from Rome (1:21); Matthew Parris travels the Channel Islands (7:53); Reviewing Minoo Dinshaw, Marcus Nevitt looks at Bulstrode Whitelocke and Edward Hyde, once close colleagues who fell out during the English civil war (15:19); Angus Colwell discusses his Marco Pierre White obsession…

1
#71: Harold Sackeim - The founding editor of Brain Stimulation and a founding figure in modern electroconvulsive therapy 2:01:33

25d ago2:01:33

2:01:33

Today we had the privilege of speaking with a true pioneer in the field of neuropsychiatry and brain stimulation— Dr. Harold Sackeim. Dr. Sackeim is perhaps best known for his extensive research on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), but his contributions span a wide range of topics from treatment-resistant depression to the placebo effect in neurosti…

1
The Edition: See change, A.I. ghouls & long live the long lunch! 37:43

25d ago37:43

37:43

This week: the many crises awaiting the next pope ‘Francis was a charismatic pope loved by most of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics’ writes Damian Thompson in the cover article this week. But few of them ‘grasp the scale of the crisis in the Church… The next Vicar of Christ, liberal or conservative’ faces ‘challenges that dwarf those that confront…

1
The Albion Roar - 23rd April 2025 with guest Nick Szczepanik 1:03:29

26d ago1:03:29

1:03:29

More heartache, petulance and fatigue - on and off the field - on the road as the Albion succumb in London once again. Nick joins Ady & Al for some not-too-heavy relief.By RadioReverb

1
The Book Club: why are Gen Z turning to Christianity? 40:13

26d ago40:13

40:13

My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is Lamorna Ash, author of Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever: A New Generation’s Search for Religion. She describes to me how a magazine piece about some young friends who made a dramatic conversion to Christianity turned into an investigation into the rise in faith among a generation that many assumed would b…

1
#70: Rees Cosgrove – When Neurosurgery Chooses You: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Lesions and the Future of Brain Stimulation 1:50:08

27d ago1:50:08

1:50:08

In this episode, we journey through the remarkable career of Dr. Rees Cosgrove—a trailblazer in functional neurosurgery, Director of Epilepsy and Functional Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Cosgrove reflects on his formative years training in the very halls that were roamed b…

1
Table Talk: Roger Pizey, Head of Pastry at Fortnum and Mason 20:14

27d ago20:14

20:14

Roger Pizey is a baker, chef and one of the most influential pâtissiers in the UK. He started his culinary journey as an apprentice at La Gavroche under Albert Roux before taking on the role of head of pastry at Marco Pierre White’s Harveys, during the time it achieved three Michelin stars. He has since worked at a number of London institutions and…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Mark Rees Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen