The Edition: Easter special – assisted dying, ‘bunny ebola’ & how do you eat your creme egg?
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 17 April 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
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Summary
Six months after Kim Leadbeater MP launched the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a group of Labour MPs have pronounced it ‘irredeemably flawed and not fit to become law’. They say the most basic aspects of the bill – having gone through its committee stage – do not hold up to scrutiny. Dan Hitchens agrees, writing in the magazine this week that ‘it’s hard to summarise the committee’s proceedings except with a kind of Homeric catalogue of rejected amendments’ accompanied by a ‘series of disconcerting public statements’.
With a third reading vote approaching, what could it tell us about the country we live in? Dan joins the podcast alongside the Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie, who provides the Spectator’s diary for the week. (1:34)
Next: where are all the rabbits?
If you’ve noticed fewer rabbits across the countryside that might be due to a killer pandemic that has appeared on Britain’s shores. Henry Williams raises awareness in the magazine this week about Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD), which has a mortality rate of between 70 and 100% and has already left rabbits endangered in countries like Spain. The disease can kill suddenly and is particularly prolific within wild rabbits, which are less likely to be vaccinated than household pets. How concerned should we be? Henry joined the podcast to discuss. (20:56)
And finally: are creme eggs delicious – or disgusting?
‘How do you eat yours?’ asks the famous Cadbury's advert for creme eggs. James Innes-Smith, writing his notes on creme eggs in the magazine this week, responds ‘stamping on them in disgust’. James might not be a fan but most of the British public are – over 220 million of them are sold in the UK each year. Even more astonishing given they’re only available to buy for a third of the year. Why are they loved so much? James joined the podcast alongside The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan, who makes the case for creme eggs. (27:09)
Presented by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we get started, I would like to bring your attention to the next Americano Live event. |
| 0:06.8 | The last one was a huge success, and we anticipate this one will be as big, if not bigger, to get all Trumpy about it. |
| 0:14.3 | It's Americano Live, Trump's first 100 days. I will be hosting it, and I will be joined the great Lionel Schrever. We will be talking about |
| 0:23.0 | all things Trump. There's a hell of a lot to cover, but we'll do our best to cover the lot. |
| 0:28.5 | Do join us. It's at the Emanuel Centre on Wednesday the 30th of April and the discussion, |
| 0:35.8 | according to the blurb here. discussion starts at 730pm book your |
| 0:40.6 | tickets at spectator.com.uk forward slash Shriver which is spelled S-H-R-I-V-E-R as I'm sure you already knew. |
| 0:50.8 | Please come. |
| 1:04.9 | Hello and welcome to the edition podcast from The Spectator, where each week we shed a little light on the thought process behind putting the world's oldest weekly magazine to bed. |
| 1:10.2 | I'm William Moore, the Spectator's Features Editor. |
| 1:12.6 | And I'm Narra Prendergast, the Spectator's Executive Editor. |
| 1:15.8 | On this week's Easter special, we ask, |
| 1:18.7 | should the assisted suicide bill survive in its current form? |
| 1:22.5 | Where are all the rabbits? |
| 1:24.3 | And are Cabri's Cream Eggs delicious or disgusting? |
| 1:27.5 | Music rabbits and are cabrie's cream eggs delicious or disgusting? |
| 1:38.1 | I'm fully respectful of the different range of views that there are on what is a really important subject. I'm also very clear that the law needs to change because the status |
| 1:42.5 | quo is not acceptable. |
| 1:48.0 | Looking back, is there anything that you would do differently when it comes to this process, |
| 1:49.6 | the committee stage we've just gone through? |
| 1:51.6 | No, I don't think there is, to be honest, Katie. |
| 1:54.4 | I mean, it's a really important part of the process. |
... |
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