Spectator Out Loud: Catherine Lafferty, Michael Simmons, Paul Wood, Philip Hensher, Isabel Hardman and Damian Thompson

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The Spectator

News Commentary, News, Daily News, Society & Culture

4.4 • 785 Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Catherine Lafferty argues that the drive to reduce teenage pregnancies enabled grooming gangs (1:27); following Luke Littler’s world championship victory, Michael Simmons says that Gen Z is ruining darts (6:32); Paul Wood looks at the return of Isis, and America’s unlikely ally in its fight against the terrorist group (10:35); Philip Hensher reviews a new biography of the Brothers Grimm by Ann Schmiesing, and looks at how words can be as dangerous as war (17:57); Isabel Hardman highlights the new garden now open at the Natural History Museum (26:57); and, Damian Thompson reveals he watched videos of plane crashes to distract himself from the US election coverage – why? (31:40).

Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Spectator magazine is home to wonderful writing, insightful analysis and unrivaled books and arts reviews.
0:06.4	Subscribe today for just £12 and receive a 12-week subscription in print and online,
0:11.7	along with a free £20 £10 £1.8.org or Waitrose voucher.
0:14.6	Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher.
0:28.6	Hello and welcome to Spectator Out Loud.
0:33.6	Each week we choose some of our favourite pieces from the magazine and ask their writers to read them aloud.
0:36.2	I'm Patrick Gibbons and on this week's podcast.
0:40.0	Catherine Lafferty argues that the drive to end-end teen pregnancies aided the grooming gangs.
0:42.5	Following Luke Littler's win at the World Darts Championships last week,
0:46.8	Michael Simmons says that Gen Z are ruining darts.
0:50.3	Paul Wood examines America's unlikely new ally
0:53.0	in the battle against the terrorist group ISIS.
0:55.8	Philip Henscher takes us through the history of the Brothers Grimm and says that the words once upon a time once proved more dangerous than war or revolution.
1:04.9	Isabel Hardman takes us through the new garden at the Natural History Museum and says that one of the most beautiful buildings in London
1:11.0	has gained a wonderful garden to match its stature. And finally, why would anyone spend so much
1:16.5	time looking at airplane crashes on YouTube, while Damien Thompson reveals why in his
1:21.5	guest life column this week? Up first, Catherine Lafferty. How did the deprave cruelty of Britain's grooming gangs go on for so long, so openly, with such seeming impunity?
1:33.3	One overlooked but vitally important element of the scandal is that over the past 30 years,
1:38.4	the lines of defence girls had against sex crimes were deliberately taken down in the drive
1:43.5	to reduce the country's number of
1:45.0	teenage pregnancies. The first and most important line of defence any girl will have against
1:50.5	male predation is usually her own family. The first step in dismantling these defences came in
	...

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