Reality Check cuts through the spin and explains the numbers behind the noise. In each episode, The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons and in-the-know guests will make a data-driven case on a story hogging the headlines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
40%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchReality Check cuts through the spin and explains the numbers behind the noise. In each episode, The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons and in-the-know guests will make a data-driven case on a story hogging the headlines.
Reality Check is hosted by The Spectator. The show has published 58 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "Fraser Nelson exposes Britain's welfare pipeline" (14 October 2026, 48 minutes), "LIVE: Why aren't Britain's young people working? | with Laura Trott" (10 October 2026, 39 minutes), and "A history of the bond markets, with Robin Wigglesworth" (7 October 2026, 36 minutes).
Reality Check publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 24 minutes across 58 episodes.
Booking probability for Reality Check is 40%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Reality Check requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Reality Check's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Reality Check are Economic Development & Regulation. Reality Check has a news audience.
The Spectator hosts Reality Check, a news show with 58 episodes published.
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Reality Check
Is Britain’s welfare state still a safety net or has it become a pipeline for long-term dependency? Almost one in ten six-year-olds are now categorised as disabled through the benefits system and, on current trends...
Reality Check
For this special edition of Reality Check , economics editor Michael Simmons hosts a panel from Conservative Party conference on Britain’s growing NEETs crisis: the hundreds of thousands of young people not in...
Reality Check
Will the next debt crisis arrive as a sudden market rout – or is Britain already in the foothills of a slower one? Bond markets are back in the headlines, with every move in gilt yields read as a verdict on Westminster...
Reality Check
Michael Simmons is joined live at Labour conference by TUC general secretary Paul Nowak to discuss the state of Britain’s labour market. Are higher wages and stronger employment rights making it harder to hire, or are...
Reality Check
What is fiscal ‘headroom’ – and why does it matter? Michael Simmons explains how Britain’s fiscal rules really work, why changes in borrowing costs can wipe billions off the Chancellor’s buffer, and why losing headroom...
Reality Check
Some whistleblowers from the AI industry claim there is a more than 10% chance that artificial intelligence could wipe out humanity within a few years. A group of mostly Labour MPs has written to Andy Burnham calling...
Reality Check
Arthur Laffer, the economist, former adviser to Ronald Reagan and architect of the Laffer Curve, goes head-to-head with journalist and left-wing author Aaron Bastani over one question: should Britain introduce a wealth...
Reality Check
With two months to go until Andy Burnham and John Healey’s first Budget, speculation about tax rises is already beginning. But how much should we believe? Michael Simmons looks at five facts about Britain’s tax system...
Reality Check
The backlash to Channel 4’s The Great ADHD Myth has reignited a fierce debate over how we diagnose ADHD – and whether that debate itself is becoming impossible to have. Michael Simmons looks at the extraordinary rise in...
Reality Check
Britain is in the grip of another hot, dry summer, with hosepipe bans in force and fears growing about the country’s water supply. But are we really running out of water? Michael Simmons is joined by Reality Check...
Reality Check
Britain wants to become an AI superpower – but does it have the electricity to power one? Data centres underpin everything from online banking and streaming to artificial intelligence, and demand for them is exploding...
Reality Check
Oliver Shah is a former journalist at The Sunday Times and now runs Newcome Advisory. On this week's Reality Check Oliver and Michael discuss why Labour can't build trust with the businesses, how the National Insurance...
Reality Check
Andy Burnham has launched a major push to overhaul adult social care in England, seeking cross-party consensus for a new National Care Service. He has refused to rule out tax rises to fund the reforms. Michael Simmons...
Reality Check
Amid rising backlash over the early prisoner release scheme, Kemi Badenoch has called for emergency legislation to stop the plans going ahead. The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has already halted the plans until a...
Reality Check
Andy Burnham has laid out some of his top policy agendas for his premiership. Top of the list is to tackle homelessness – something the former Manchester mayor pledged to solve in Greater Manchester too, but the numbers...
Reality Check
Last week, the Joe Rogan Experience podcast released a two-hour interview with Rupert Lowe, leader of the Restore party. Was Lowe there merely to create content – or is Restore a serious political party? Some of...
Reality Check
A report has suggested that white working class children are being failed by the education system that is 'not serving in [their] interests'. Burnham blames a lack of aspiration – but does this issue, like many others...
Reality Check
Andy Burnham has laid out his plans to 'level up the North'. Something we have heard with almost every Prime Minister pledge to do – but with very little clarity over how this will be achieved and what success looks...
Reality Check
Keir Starmer has announced his plans to ban social media for under 16s in Britain. The ban is due to come in early next year and include all main social media apps. Age-recognition and digital ID checks will be used to...
Reality Check
The government have rolled back on plans to impose price caps in supermarkets. Was Reeves wrong to go after them for price gouging? Michael Simmons has the data. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this...
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