{"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: why Quentin Letts fears for the parish church","slug":"holy-smoke-why-quentin-letts-fears-for-the-parish-church","published_at":"2026-08-23T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373/holy-smoke-why-quentin-letts-fears-for-the-parish-church","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373","url":"https://shows.acast.com/best-of-the-spectator/episodes/holy-smoke-why-quentin-letts-fears-for-the-parish-church","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68358fb5e1abc4be6b0308eb/e/6a88eda1e96a6b6c1935c678/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=fzGkTvJQS2QQwnoNficmXK0v1JrtLJS27vK2gxK88_4","summary":"Is the Church of England slowly abolishing the parish priest? A new model of ‘oversight ministry’ promises team-based leadership and a greater role for lay volunteers – but critics fear it will leave priests increasingly invisible in the communities they serve. Meanwhile, those volunteers face an expanding regime of training, safeguarding requirements and diocesan bureaucracy. This week on Holy Smoke , Damian Thompson is joined by Daily Mail sketchwriter Quentin Letts, who has written a provocative piece for The Spectator on what he calls the rise of ‘plastic parsons’. They discuss the Church’s shortage of priests, whether safeguarding has become a vehicle for bureaucratic overreach, the money spent on central initiatives rather than struggling parishes – and whether the sight of a vicar in a dog collar could soon become as unusual as an old-fashioned policeman on the beat. Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Is the Church of England slowly abolishing the parish priest? A new model of ‘oversight ministry’ promises team-based leadership and a greater role for la…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1011,"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-why-quentin-letts-fears-for-the-parish-church/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-why-quentin-letts-fears-for-the-parish-church.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}