Freddy Gray

Freddy Gray

Freddy Gray is deputy editor of The Spectator and the editor of the US edition. He hosts Americano on YouTube.

Thursday

Freddy Gray

The Art of the Dealmaker-in-Chief

Who really thought Donald Trump’s America was about to join the stampede of first-world powers promising to recognize Palestine at the United Nations?  "Wow!" He exclaimed this morning on Truth Social. "Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them."  All over the world, commentators convinced themselves that Trump’s expression of concern on Monday about "real starvation" in Gaza meant he was pivoting with global opinion and against Israel.  It turns out, however, that Team Trump is not for turning when it comes to the Middle East. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has accused the countries now embracing Palestinian statehood of falling for "Hamas propaganda".

Trump deals

Monday

Freddy Gray

What should we make of Trump’s trip to the UK?

From our UK edition

Donald Trump is in Scotland, holding court at Turnberry. He's welcomed Sir Keir and Lady Victoria Starmer to his golf course, and had a long discussion with reporters at a wide ranging press conference, that covered Russia, Gaza, and his long running feud with London mayor Sadiq Khan. To unpack it all, Freddy is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, and deputy US editor Kate Andrews.

Freddy Gray

What should we make of the Starmer-Trump relationship?

From our UK edition

It’s often the rotator blades of Marine One that blare over Donald Trump’s voice as he stands near the helipad on the south lawn of the White House. In Turnberry, Scotland, it was bagpipes. Trump, playing host to the British Prime Minister in Britain, performed his now familiar ingratiation ritual as he welcomed Sir Keir and Lady Victoria Starmer to his golf course. “Our relationship is unparalleled,” he said, above the din. He flattered the PM’s wife and even suggested, in his delightful nonsensical way, that she is a well-known figure all over the United States.   Lucy Dunn is joined by US editor Freddy Gray and political editor Tim Shipman to discuss what the trip means, and what we should make of the Starmer-Trump relationship.

Freddy Gray

Starmer’s disingenuousness on free speech won’t fool Trump

From our UK edition

It’s often the rotator blades of Marine One that blare over Donald Trump’s voice as he stands near the helipad on the south lawn of the White House. In Turnberry, in Scotland, it was bagpipes. Trump, playing host to the Prime Minister, performed his now familiar ingratiation ritual as he welcomed Sir Keir and Lady Victoria Starmer to his golf course. 'Our relationship is unparalleled,' he said, above the din. He flattered the PM’s wife and even suggested, in his delightful nonsensical way, that she is a well-known figure all over the United States. Finally, the bagpiping stopped and the world could hear as Trump and the reporters rattled through the news-points. Somebody fired off a question about free speech.

Friday

Freddy Gray

Is Epstein the new Russiagate?

From our UK edition

28 min listen

Freddy Gray is joined by Spectator writer Roger Kimball. They delve into the Epstein claims, the media's handling of the story, Trump’s economic agenda, and whether the MAGA movement is holding strong or starting to splinter.

Thursday

Freddy Gray

Will AI have rights?

From our UK edition

17 min listen

Freddy Gray speaks to Spectator writer Paul Wood about his piece this the latest edition of Spectator World on AI and whether it will soon have rights. This first came about when Paul went to live in Rome and discovered some of the work the Vatican has been doing in AI.

Tuesday

Freddy Gray

Trump – the conventional foreign policy President?

From our UK edition

28 min listen

Trump has said he's "very, very unhappy" with Russia, and threatened severe tariffs against them if there's no deal on Ukraine within 50 days. He's also sending more weapons to Ukraine in coordination with NATO. What's behind his change of heart on foreign policy, and how's his MAGA base responding? Freddy Gray is joined by deputy US editor Kate Andrews, and Sergey Radchenko, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. You can watch this episode here.

Freddy Gray

Why does Trump like Starmer so much?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

It can now be revealed that a Ministry of Defence data leak has cost the UK some £7 billion and put thousands of Afghans at risk of death. A dataset containing the details of nearly 19,000 people who applied to move to the UK following the Taliban takeover was released in error by a British defence official in February 2022. Ministers were informed of the debacle in August 2023; since then, an unprecedented super-injunction has been in place to stop the press from reporting details. What does this mean for successive governments?

Freddy Gray

Is Texas eating Hollywood?

From our UK edition

20 min listen

Freddy Gray is joined by editor-at-large of The Spectator World, Ben Domenech. They discuss why Hollywood productions are being drawn away from California to states like Texas, and what this could mean for the future of filmmaking in America. Ben writes about this in the new edition of Spectator World, and you can subscribe to the print magazine here: https://thespectator.

Monday

Freddy Gray

The end is AI: the August issue of The Spectator coming soon

Artificial intelligence can be an elusive topic for good journalism. Everybody wants to talk about it; nobody has much to say. Yet it is the biggest – and potentially scariest – subject of our time. We are hurtling towards potentially the biggest technological shift in history and nobody knows quite what to do about it. That’s why we have decided to make AI the focus of our August edition. We believe it’s another gem. Inside, we have Marc Warner, CEO of the AI company Faculty, warning that we may be on the cusp of developing an alien intelligence far beyond our control. Rachel Tyrell (a pseudonym) looks at the furious race between tech moguls to reach the super-intelligence finish line.

AI

Thursday

Freddy Gray

Is Ghislaine Maxwell serving time for Epstein’s crimes?

From our UK edition

35 min listen

The FBI has declared there is no client list linked to Jeffrey Epstein—an announcement that pours cold water on years of speculation about a secret roster of powerful figures tied to his sex trafficking crimes. But what does this mean for Ghislaine Maxwell, who remains behind bars for her role in Epstein’s network? Ian Maxwell, British businessman and brother of Ghislaine Maxwell, responds to the FBI’s statement and argues that his sister’s conviction was the result of a deeply flawed trial. Ian describes Ghislaine’s harsh prison conditions, her ongoing legal battles—including a possible Supreme Court appeal—and maintains that she is innocent, determined to clear her name, and still paying the price for Epstein’s crimes.

Crooks
Freddy Gray

Will the FBI shed light on the Trump shooting?

Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have this week found out the painful way that running the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a lot harder than podcasting. Having spent years on endless shows suggesting that the "Epstein Files" could reveal the Deep State’s darkest secrets, the now Director and Deputy Director of the FBI find themselves insisting that, contrary to what they may have said, Jeffrey Epstein did, in fact, kill himself; that he did not have a list of blackmailable clients; and that he sexually abused more than 1,000 girls pretty much all by himself.Nobody believes that, of course, and Donald Trump’s angry reaction on Tuesday to a reporter who dared to ask about the most famous sex offender of all time, has done nothing to put the conspiracy theories to rest.

Tuesday

Freddy Gray

Can Keir defrost the ‘entente glaciale’?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Zut alors! The French are in town. Emmanuel Macron is on his state visit this week, spending time today with the King and tomorrow with the Prime Minister. His itinerary includes a state dinner and an address to both Houses of Parliament this afternoon. All the pageantry, of course, is for a reason: to defrost what Tim Shipman calls the ‘entente glaciale’ and the stalemate over migration. Keir will be hoping to get the French to sign a ‘one in, one out’ migration deal – with Labour seemingly surprised that, upon coming into power, the French didn’t roll over and make concessions on small boats when a left-wing government took office. Can we expect a new entente cordiale? Is there anything in it for Macron when it comes to stopping the boats?

Friday

Freddy Gray

Did Condé Nast shape the world?

From our UK edition

35 min listen

In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray speaks with New York Times writer and debut author Michael Grynbaum about his new book Empire of the Elite, a sweeping history of Condé Nast – the media empire that once dictated American taste, fashion, and celebrity. From Anna Wintour’s carefully staged exit to the vanished world of glossy magazine grandeur, Grynbaum charts how the institution that once crowned cultural royalty is struggling to stay relevant in an era of TikTok stars and Substack columnists. On the podcast they explore the rise of celebrity culture, the influence of British identity on Condé’s editorial direction, and the complex relationship between Donald Trump and the house that built (and later disowned) him.

Thursday

Freddy Gray

Trump scrambles to close the deal

In the early hours of this morning, Donald Trump must have been thinking that, compared to passing legislation through Congress, Middle Eastern diplomacy was a doddle. "FOR REPUBLICANS THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE!" he Truth-Socialled at about 1 a.m., as a small band of conservative rebels threatened to block the passage of his big, beautiful bill in the House of Representatives. "RIDICULOUS!!" Trump desperately wants to celebrate Independence Day at the White House tomorrow with a flamboyant signing ceremony for his domestic spending mega-bill. It would mark, in his mind, another week of winning bigly. Of course, the rule of Republican politics in the 2020s is simple: what Donald wants, Donald gets.

Big beautiful bill
Freddy Gray

Claws out for Keir, Mamdani’s poisoned apple & are most wedding toasts awful?

From our UK edition

46 min listen

This week: one year of Labour – the verdict In the magazine this week Tim Shipman declares his verdict on Keir Starmer’s Labour government as we approach the first anniversary of their election victory. One year on, some of Labour’s most notable policies have been completely changed – from the u-turn over winter fuel allowance to the embarrassing climb-down over welfare this week. Starmer has appeared more confident on the world stage but, for domestic audiences, this is small consolation when the public has perceived little change on the problems that have faced Britain for years. Can Starmer turn it around? Tim joined the podcast alongside the Spectator’s editor Michael Gove.

Tuesday

Thursday

Freddy Gray

So who won the ‘12-day war?’

The Trump administration wants the world to know that it is angry about the military intelligence leaks suggesting its big, beautiful bombing of Iran may not have been a total success. “The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed!” said President “Daddy” Trump, from the NATO summit in the Netherlands. Any suggestion to the contrary, he averred, is “an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history.”Defense secretary Pete Hegseth added that any reports that Iran’s nuclear program had not been destroyed were an affront to “the dignity of our great American pilots.

Freddy Gray

Why Venice deserves Jeff Bezos’s wedding

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Jeff Bezos is getting married in Venice – but not everyone is celebrating. Venetians have staged small protests, accusing the billionaire of symbolising the city’s takeover by the ultra-rich. But is this anything new? Associate editor Owen Matthews joins Freddy Gray to discuss.

Wednesday

Freddy Gray

How did Zohran Mamdani win?

From our UK edition

20 min listen

Against all odds, Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old state assemblyman and proud 'Muslim democratic socialist' won as as the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor. Aidan McLaughlin wrote about this for Spectator World. On this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray speaks to Aidan about how Mamdani defeated the favourite Andrew Cuomo, whether his success is attributed to TikTok and whether Zohran is really the voice of the 'oppressed'.