Best of the Spectator

This week: Tali Fraser gives the definitive answer to what Andy Burnham’s ‘Manchesterism’ actually is; Damian Thompson asks if there is any route back for the Society of St Pius X; Matthew Wilson discusses whether Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey can live up to the 2,700-year history of artworks depicting Homer’s epic; and Christa d’Souza reads her Notes on … Tans.

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From idolising players to faithfully following a club, football is often described as the world’s secular religion. But religion has long been woven into the fabric of the game itself. From the sectarian roots of Glasgow’s Old Firm rivalry between Catholic Celtic and Protestant Rangers to Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in 1986, faith has repeatedly shaped football’s biggest moments.
This year’s World Cup has offered plenty more examples. Players have prayed openly during matches; images of Lionel Messi as a saint have appeared at Argentina games; and Muslim footballers have performed the sujood on the pitch after victory. Meanwhile, following Brazil’s earlier-than-expected exit, some distraught supporters blamed the country’s rapid growth of Protestantism, lamenting: ‘If we pray like a gringo, we play like a gringo.’

So how has religion shaped the world’s most popular sport? And why is Christianity becoming increasingly visible in modern football?

Produced by Patrick Gibbons & Oscar Edmondson.

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The Tories will not stand a candidate against Nigel Farage in the Clacton by-election – and on today’s podcast Conservative party chairman Kevin Hollinrake explains why.
Hollinrake also reveals what is behind the turnaround in the Conservatives’ fortunes and their bump in the polls, as well as how the party plans to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past: namely, talking right but governing left. Can Kemi really hold back the Tory wets? And how exactly do the Conservatives plan to take the fight to Reform?
Noa Hoffman speaks to Kevin Hollinrake.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s political editor Tim Shipman, deputy editor of the US edition Gus Carter and the Mail on Sunday’s restaurant critic Tom Parker Bowles.
This week: Nigel Farage’s greatest gamble. After resigning as MP for Clacton to trigger a by-election, Farage has tried to turn questions over his finances into a referendum on the establishment. Tim explains why the move may already have backfired, with the main parties refusing to stand against him and leaving him to spend the summer ‘arguing with a bin’. But he also argues that Farage is returning to what he does best: insurgency, grievance and campaigning against the political class. Has he reclaimed the narrative – or retreated from the idea of becoming prime minister?
Also: can Andy Burnham export the Manchester model to the rest of Britain? As the incoming prime minister prepares for Downing Street, Gus looks at the property developers behind Manchester’s rise.
Plus: Tom Parker Bowles on the crisis in British hospitality, why pubs matter and what the government keeps getting wrong about restaurants.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

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Gavin Newsom has spent the last two years building a national profile for himself beyond his controversial leadership of California as its Governor. But is he equipped to take on the challenges that would be faced by a Presidential run in 2028, that go beyond the left-wing political bubble of The Golden State? Freddy Gray speaks to Christopher Rufo, author of the Christopher Rufo Substack, and a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Project, about the real Gavin Newsom and the decay of California under his watch.

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