Cindy Yu

It seems that everyone, young or old, has a smartphone these days. But why are the brightest in Silicon Valley taking screen time away from their children? Have they realised that we’re addicted? Also on this podcast, Tory MEPs recently voted in favour of the Viktor Orbán government in European Parliament. Are British Tories flirting with the far right? If they are, it could be because the Conservative Party has no attractive policies. Should we return to One Nation Toryism? First, it’s time for a wake-up call. Smartphones now seem so attached to us that they may as well be organically grown. Both adults and children are addicted, and it’s having an impact on their mental health.

This week antagonism between Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Matteo Salvini ratcheted up over immigration – are they the leaders of an ideological battle in Europe? But pro-immigration or not, both Macron and Salvini smashed through conventional politics in the global surge of populism. As we reach the tenth anniversary of the 2008 crash, we ask, did the financial crisis lead to greater populism? And last, why have Americans been boycotting Nike? First, is there a battle brewing in Europe over immigration?

Despite the numerous photos doing the rounds of girls celebrating their exam results today, one of the main headlines from A-Level results day is the news that boys are outperforming girls in the highest grades of A*s and As. This is the second year that boys have done better than the girls (and just by 0.4 percentage points, mind). However, when it comes to the bigger picture things aren’t looking up for boys just yet. The gender gap in academic achievement has only been getting bigger in recent years, though its rate is slowing.

Are young men becoming too self-conscious of their body image? We discuss the trend to diet and use food replacement powders in a bid to become superhuman. We also talk about the Crocodile’s election victory in Zimbabwe – is British foreign policy in Africa too negligent? And last, how are pale rosés driving dark rosés into extinction? Huel – short for ‘human fuel’ – is taking the world by storm. This powdered food claims to have all the nutrients a human needs to survive, while being vegan, environmentally friendly, and cheap. But Lara Prendergast isn’t convinced, and in this week’s cover piece, she argues that Huel is a symptom of a wider phenomenon of male dieting and self-consciousness.

Happy birthday to the Spectator. This week, we’re celebrating our 190th birthday. Lara Prendergast takes a walk down memory lane with three editors of the Spectator, past and present. But before that, it’s the podcast as usual. This week, we’re asking - do anti-Trump protests achieve anything other than virtue signalling? And are driverless cars on a road to nowhere? Donald Trump is soon to visit the UK, and after two false alarms, this time, it will actually happen. Next Friday, Trump will be welcomed by May in London and greeted with major protests. There is a carnival of resistance organised, with special guests such as Lily Allen and a giant inflatable blimp of Trump in a nappy.

As anti-migrant sentiment sweeps across Europe, is the continent turning against Angela Merkel for her open-door policy, and is this the end of Merkel? Meanwhile, Donald Trump announced his new mission – to establish a sixth branch of the US military, the Space Force. Is this such a bad idea? And last, while it may be greedy and corrupt, should Fifa be celebrated for making the World Cup truly global? Angela Merkel is struggling. On the continent, anti-migrant sentiment is being whipped up by leaders like Austria’s Sebastian Kurz and Italy’s Matteo Salvini. At home, her re-election results were less than ideal and her coalition partner has pushed for a firmer stance on migration. Is this the end of the Merkel project?

In Britain today, home ownership rates stand at a 30-year low. More and more families with young children are renting, while recent research from the Resolution Foundation found that one in three millennials are unlikely to ever own their own home. At the same time, Britain ranks fifth on infrastructure spending when compared to its G7 counterparts. How can the government solve problems in housing and infrastructure, and how can the private sector help in the fix? M&G Prudential brought together a group of politicians, economists and fund managers to determine the strategy, going ahead, at a recent Spectator roundtable. Fraser Nelson, Editor of the Spectator, chaired the roundtable.

In the last few days, world order seems to have been turned on its head as Trump antagonised his western allies at the G7 Summit, and then shook the hand of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. We ask, how will Trump treat his allies in the July Nato summit? We also talk to Peter Hitchens and Paul Mason about Marxism in the modern day – are there any left in Britain? And last, what is it like to be homeless in London? Over the weekend, the G7 Summit ended in a worse way than anyone could have predicted. As soon as he left, Trump tweeted harsh criticism of Justin Trudeau, and bashed Germany’s commitment to Nato.

In this week’s episode, we talk about Russia’s hidden fragility, and ask, is Putin surviving on luck? We’ll also be getting to the bottom of Trump’s tariffs – is there really no rhyme or reason to them? And last, with all that’s going on in the world, is kindness what we all need more of? The Russia World Cup is due to start in a week, and as the streets of Moscow are cleaned up in preparation, things seem to be going pretty well for Putin’s Russia. Russia has been asked to fill the void left by Trump in the Iran nuclear deal, Russophile parties are wreaking havoc to the EU establishment across Europe, and Russia’s involvement in Syria has established the country as a serious power broker in the region.