{"podcast":{"title":"Best of the Spectator","slug":"best-of-the-spectator-45373","podcast_index_feed_id":45373,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/68358fb5e1abc4be6b0308eb","website_url":"https://audioboom.com/channels/4905579-best-of-the-spectator","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/68358fb5e1abc4be6b0308eb/1784644240973-f772404a-63ed-4eb8-95e0-a70bfba0b3ab.jpeg","author":"The Spectator","episode_count":2753,"summary":"Home to the Spectator's best podcasts on everything from politics to religion, literature to food and drink, and more. A new podcast every day from writers worth listening to. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-21T02:21:32.640045+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373"},"episode":{"title":"Holy Smoke: Catholic Burnham barred – should the law change?","slug":"holy-smoke-catholic-burnham-barred-should-the-law-change","published_at":"2026-09-13T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373/holy-smoke-catholic-burnham-barred-should-the-law-change","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373","url":"https://shows.acast.com/best-of-the-spectator/episodes/holy-smoke-catholic-burnham-barred-should-the-law-change","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68358fb5e1abc4be6b0308eb/e/6aa42f2eeeff2d17d3565c78/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=BZMWYf-TwV29z9tnBzdyAIkphxCL_kNGMNVQ4Whmn9k","summary":"Andy Burnham has announced his intention to change a law which bars him from advising the King on appointments to the Church of England. The Victorian-era law explicitly bars Catholics like Burnham, as well as Jews – but doesn't prevent those of other Christian denominations, other faiths – like Hindu Rishi Sunak, or atheists like Keir Starmer. So, if the law is going to be changed to address this anomaly, should it allow all Prime Ministers of any faith to provide advice – or should all non-Anglicans be barred? And what does Burnham's interest in the power tell us about his relationship with his faith – and his approach to the job? The Spectator 's James Heale and William Moore join Damian Thompson to discuss. Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Andy Burnham has announced his intention to change a law which bars him from advising the King on appointments to the Church of England. The Victorian-era…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":883,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/best-of-the-spectator-45373/episodes/holy-smoke-catholic-burnham-barred-should-the-law-change/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373/holy-smoke-catholic-burnham-barred-should-the-law-change.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}