Coffee House Shots

Coffee House Shots (CHS) is a unique podcast, aimed at commuters who want a bitesize 15-minute download on the main news from Westminster and beyond. CHS is one of the few podcasts that provides instant political analysis – often meaning multiple podcasts a day, especially during times of political theatre.

The intention of CHS is to encourage robust discussion with guests of all political stripes. This is where the podcast gets its name, from the collision of ideas encouraged by the early coffeehouses of pre-Enlightenment Europe. CHS has a roster of external guests that span the political spectrum including: John McTernan, Stephen Bush, Jonathan Ashworth, Tom Baldwin, Thangam Debbonaire, and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Katy Balls and James Heale anchor the podcast and The Spectator Editor is also a frequent guest – firstly Fraser Nelson, and now Michael Gove.

The Spectator are particularly proud of the reach and impact of CHS, especially considering their size, resources and circulation. In the past month, CHS has had the modal position of 7 in the Apple Podcasts Daily News chart, has yet to drop out of the top 10, and regularly charts in the News top 20. In 2024, CHS has had almost 7.5 million listeners and averages over 20,300 listens per day. CHS also reaches a global audience from Israel to Ireland, and from Guyana to Brunei. Episodes are sometimes filmed for publicity and reach. Four recent episodes have received over 165,000 views on YouTube. A recent innovation has been sell-out live podcast recording events. ‘There are too many podcasts… but I do like short ones, like The Spectator’s Coffee House Shots’ – Kemi Badenoch, Conservative Party Conference 2024 ‘Probably the best for UK politics. Helped by a sensible length, reasonably focussed topics and well informed and varied presenters from The Spectator. The absence of political goal scoring makes it a cut above the rest’ – Audience testimony

CHS is produced by a small team of five producers who look after the end-to-end production of The Spectator’s portfolio of nine podcasts. The process is focused on recording and releasing as quickly as possible, meaning rapid editing and a keen ear for audio imperfections and fact-checking. The Spectator’s producers are intimately involved from pitching ideas, lining up guests, discussing with high-level political stakeholders to thrash out a clear, conversational structure, and even sometimes hosting.

Our selected highlights include Michael Gove’s first episode as Editor, Fraser Nelson’s last – where he debates whether 2024 was the best time to be alive, and Katy Balls and James Heale’s instant report from Westminster as Rishi Sunak calls an election.