BBC
The human condition
Opera buffs enjoy their jargon. We all do it, scattering words like ‘spinto’ and ‘Fach’ like an enthusiastic pizza waiter…
Men and sheds
The interview podcast is a genre immoderately drawn to gimmicks, as the logical space of possible formats is gradually exhausted.…
Revealed: the BBC guide for covering climate change
Climate change is once again dominating the news agenda. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that even if…
Marathon man
I’ve not been allowed anywhere near the TV remote control this week because of some kind of infernal sporting event…
The Spectator’s Notes
On Monday 2 August, the BBC Today programme offered its ‘Countdown to COP26’. For the rest of the month, Amol…
Serial offenders
Modern soap operas have lost the plot
The Spectator’s Notes
If it is true, as Lords Hall and Birt told a Commons committee this week, that Martin Bashir succeeded in…
A breath of fresh airwaves
A couple of decades back the Radio Society asked me to moderate a debate for its summer festival. ‘Between who?’…
How the BBC can save itself
All those esteemed generals of hindsight screeching ‘more governance’ as the cure to BBC’s cover-up of the Martin Bashir’s dishonesty…
Big hooks but no mackerel
The narrative podcast remains a form in search of a genre. The template set by the hit show Serial —…
Under the radar
I’d been expecting the BBC to make a dreadful hash of The Pursuit of Love, especially when I read that…
Who is more upset about Labour’s results: Starmer or the BBC?
It’s not just the Labour Party which is institutionally incapable of understanding why the Conservative Party kicked the hell out…
Time to dust off my old records
In the introduction to an anthology of his jazz record reviews, the poet Philip Larkin imagines his readers. They’re not…
Inside stories
Prison-based podcast Banged Up, now in its second series, is far more uplifting — and less soapy — than its…
My rekindled love for the BBC
Here’s a thought that will make you feel old. Or worried. Or both. The poke-fun-at-celebrity-houses series Through the Keyhole —…
Diary
I have just had my second jab and it poses a dilemma. As an assiduous Covid rule-taker, I have been…
The Spectator’s Notes
The conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd makes last summer’s Black Lives Matter mania in British…
Simon McCoy’s warning shot to the Beeb
It was just a fortnight ago that the BBC’s grumpiest new presenter Simon McCoy announced he was off to join…
Cooking the books
Agatha and Poirot was one of those programmes that had the annoying effect of making you feel distinctly snooty. ITV’s…
Faux fury against the race report is unsurprising
Back in the 1960s, my brother, Asim, and I were smitten by the magical Manchester United trio of Law, Best…
Why Gen-Z is turning its back on the BBC
Do 16-34 year olds still watch terrestrial TV? More importantly, will they still be watching in a year’s time when…
Intelligent design
In Our Time is the best thing on Radio 4, possibly the best thing on the radio full stop. It…
Clive Myrie, the BBC and the trouble with Ofcom
Ofcom’s tight grip on current affairs broadcasts has been likened by some observers to a choking collar. Clive Myrie, one of…
Why is going to Oxford being held against me?
Should going to Oxford be held against you? In my experience, some employers think it should. A month before the…
Lightbulb moments
Last Saturday on Radio 2 Claudia Winkleman was inaugurated as the host of what was formerly Graham Norton’s mid-morning spot.…
