Oh God, What Now?
562 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 days ago - ★★★★★ - 70 ratingsMaking sense of our political hell every Tuesday and Friday! Oh God, What Now? is the no-bulls**t politics podcast, making the unbearable bearable with top quality guests and analysis, plus poor quality jokes.
Regulars include: Dorian Lynskey, author of The Ministry Of Truth: A Biography of Orwell’s 1984 and host of Origin Story • Alex Andreou, writer, commentator, cook, actor, secret agent • Writer and commentator Ros Taylor • Rachel Cunliffe of the New Statesman • Writer and host of This Is Not A Drill Gavin Esler • Hannah Fearn of the i paper • Comedian Matt Green • New Statesman policy and politics corresponent Zoë Grünewald • Group Editor Andrew Harrison • Journalist Marie Le Conte • Podmasters Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis
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Oh God, What Now? is a Podmasters production
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Episodes
Elections ’21: Nothing Breaks Like A Hartlepool
May 07, 2021 03:00 - 56 minutesOn the eve of what looks like a not-great election day for everyone who isn’t Boris Johnson, the SNP, a Labour metro mayor or Count Binface, are we witnessing the final mopping up of the 2019 General Election? The Independent’s sketchwriter TOM PECK joins us for Election Doomwatch ’21. Plus, the Conservatives pack cultural institutions in an act of Home Counties Orbanism. And why do politicians insist on being photographed with pints? • “If I could tell you why people aren’t angry, believe m...
Extreme Makeover: Golden Wallpaper Edition
April 30, 2021 03:00 - 59 minutesAs Johnson’s odious comments about “bodies piling up” collide with Carrie Antoinette’s golden wallpaper splurge and the Vengeance of the Cummings, has this barrage of sleaze finally putting the PM on the ropes? Tech expert Alexi Mostrous of Tortoise joins us to explore what Big Tech and Bigger Data have in store for our democracies. Brexit eats another of its children in the shape of Arlene Foster. And what will our film critics make of Matt Hancock’s blockbuster COVID: The Movie? “This is l...
For Tax Tips, Text 07700 B.O.R.I.S.
April 23, 2021 03:00 - 1 hourIt turns out that all you need to fix your tax problems is the PM’s mobile number! We look at Britain’s sprawling corruption problem and whether the Government even wants to control it. Plus, after the Super League fiasco, can politicians really tell private companies what to do – even if they’re football teams? And the Allegra Stratton Press Conference Room lasts about as long as, er, the Super League. Our special guest Pippa Crerar, political editor of the Mirror, explains what it all means...
For Tax Tips, Text 07700 B.O.R.I.S.
April 23, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBIt turns out that all you need to fix your tax problems is the PM’s mobile number! We look at Britain’s sprawling corruption problem and whether the Government even wants to control it. Plus, after the Super League fiasco, can politicians really tell private companies what to do – even if they’re football teams? And the Allegra Stratton Press Conference Room lasts about as long as, er, the Super League. Our special guest Pippa Crerar, political editor of the Mirror, explains what it all mean...
The Good Friday Vehement
April 16, 2021 03:00 - 57 minutesNorthern Ireland descends into violence and it seems that Boris Johnson just doesn’t care. We ask Belfast-based political journalist Amanda Ferguson how much of the rioting is down to Brexit, or are the causes deeper? And does the border in the Irish Sea put us on course for worse troubles? Plus: Does public indifference over the death of Prince Philip indicate bad news for the future of the Monarchy? Or did we just know it all already from watching The Crown? And why it’s your duty to get ou...
Passport To Purgatory
April 09, 2021 03:00 - 1 hourVaccine passports: thin end of the authoritarian wedge or a grim necessity that we liberals should grit our teeth and support? Plus, who’s writing the first draft of Brexit history? Guests Jill Ritter and Alan Wager of UK In A Changing Europe tell us about their oral history project the Brexit Witness Archive, where the people who were there tell us where the bodies are buried. And what do Labour’s Starmerphobes actually want? Read the Brexit Witness Archive here: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/brexit...
Confessions of a Prime Minister
April 02, 2021 03:00 - 1 hourThe Prime Minister’s affair with a woman who was receiving large amounts public money is confirmed – and nobody is talking about it? We look at the corruption and the democratic toxin behind the Johnson-Arcuri leg-over. Plus, a weirdos’ gallery of old Brexiters is setting up a ‘Museum of Brexit’. How can it possibly be balanced, like they claim? And why the school protests outside Batley Grammar should worry everyone. “The intended audience for the Government’s report? White people.” – Alex...
Priti Fly (if you’re a white guy) – plus guest NITIN SAWHNEY
March 26, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourInside Home Secretary Priti Patel’s insidious new plans for asylum seekers – why moves that claim to reduce the use if people traffickers will actually increase them, and why the cruelty is the point. And special guest the legendary Anglo-Indian musician Nitin Sawhney joins us to talk about making multicultural music in an increasingly insular Britain, his brilliant globe-spanning new album Immigrants (which is very us) and how he got Andy Serkis to sing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as Theresa May. ...
“The biggest crisis in the public square since the 1930s” – with guest James Harding
March 19, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourCan anything hold back Priti Patel’s assault on the great British tradition of noisy, disruptive protest? Plus: partisan or penniless: what’s the future of media in the coming age of news-mangling tech giants and GB News? Special guest James Harding – former Director of BBC News, ex-Times editor and now co-founder of Tortoise Media – joins us to examine the future of the news. And on the first anniversary of Lockdown 1, we look back on a moment when real life turned into John Wyndham novel. ...
The North will rise again: ANDY BURNHAM is our guest
March 12, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourGreater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham joins us to talk about Westminster vs the Regions and whether Labour is opposing Johnson hard enough. What actually happened in that moment when London strong-armed Manchester into Tier 3 with scant compensation? Will the Government’s derisory 1% pay rise for nurses turn into a political albatross on the scale of Black Wednesday or Iraq? And as the levelling up scam begins to unravel with money flooding to Conservative constituencies, how can Canterbury b...
Lost In Sunak, Caught In A Trap
March 05, 2021 04:00 - 50 minutesSo what did Sunak’s Budget actually mean? How did he manage to keep both Brexit and the North out of his wheezes? What sort of Chancellor does he really want to be? And is the secret message of the Budget that we should prepare for an early election? Plus: there’s a Museum of Communist Terror on the way, to reshape our understanding of totalitarianism. So why is it backed almost exclusively by culture warriors who think we shouldn’t re-examine our ideas about history? “The CRG, the ERG and a...
Crocus Pocus
February 26, 2021 04:00 - 58 minutesIs Boris Johnson’s slow-burn unlocking actually – shock – the right thing to do? Will he be led by data, dates, deaths or whatever the CRG shouts at him? What will fertilise that “crocus of hope”? And will the panel all go turbo on June 21? Plus, what are the elephants in the room that we’ve been neglecting throughout the COVID-Brexit nightmare? Ros Taylor, Ian Dunt and Minnie Rahman join Naomi Smith for this week’s communal gaze into the abyss of politics. “If you hate Zooms as an adult, y...
Free Speech For You… But Not You
February 19, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourWhat if they gave a War on Woke and nobody came? The Government decides to both defend free speech (if you’re a right winger on campus) and restrict it (if you run a stately home named after a slave owner). So that makes sense. Plus: As there’s no credible recovery programme for education, Gráinne Hallahan of the Times Education Supplement joins us to set one out. Gav, call us yeah? Meanwhile… Ros gets a COVID jab! The Arts get their own special No Deal Brexit! And in the Extra Bit, we watch...
Had Enough of Exports
February 12, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourPiles of fish, cheese, bees, toys, guitar cases and banking deals are LITERALLY rotting at Britain’s ports. How long can the government keep claiming we’ve only got import/export “teething problems” when it’s full-blown trade/dental collapse? Politicshome’s Brexit and Westminster Correspondent Adam Payne joins us on the dock of the bay. Plus: Have virus truthers finally hit Britain’s bullsh*t ceiling? Flag-angst and Starmerphobia in Labour. And is that COVID burnout you’re feeling or somethin...
All Tomorrow’s Tories – with guest Matt d’Ancona
February 05, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourLast week’s EU:UK vaccine stand-off put Ursula von der Leyen squarely in the spotlight, but what makes the President of the European Commission tick? And is there a sane Conservative Party somewhere in our political future? Matthew d’Ancona – formerly deputy editor of the Sunday Telegraph and the Spectator, now partner-editor of the slow news site Tortoise – joins us to look at what might come after Johnsonism. Plus, Dacre at OFCOM, foreign bees comin’ over ’ere pollinating our plants… and wh...
🚨 Emergency VACCINECAST 🚨 The EU’s disastrous mistake 🚨
January 30, 2021 12:24 - 26 minutesHas Brussels just handed Brexiters the killer argument they so desperately needed? The EU’s bizarre decision to impose and then cancel restrictions on COVID vaccines crossing the border from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland exasperated pro-Europe campaigners and left the Brexit press crowing. Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou look at what this terrible error means. Presented by Andrew Harrison with Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jacob...
Vaccine Wars
January 29, 2021 04:00 - 51 minutesAs the EU considers restricting exports of the COVID vaccines, are we in the midst of the first authentic post-Brexit row between the EU and the UK – or are Brexiters just using it as a distraction from their own failures? And who’s really to blame for the vaccine shortage? Plus, what has the Year of Living Isolatedly done to Britain’s appetite for alcohol and “miscellaneous stimulation”? What will an independent English parliament look like if (when) it happens? And, in the Extra Bit, what d...
Vaccine Wars
January 29, 2021 04:00 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBAs the EU considers restricting exports of the COVID vaccines, are we in the midst of the first authentic post-Brexit row between the EU and the UK – or are Brexiters just using it as a distraction from their own failures? And who’s really to blame for the vaccine shortage? Plus, what has the Year of Living Isolatedly done to Britain’s appetite for alcohol and “miscellaneous stimulation”? What will an independent English parliament look like if (when) it happens? And, in the Extra Bit, what ...
Fumigating the White House
January 22, 2021 04:00 - 58 minutesIt’s a little bit later than usual but still early for Patreon backers… Our long international nightmare is over – for now. As Trump exits the White House to fester in Mar-A-Lago, former UK Ambassador to the USA Kim Darroch joins us to look at what the Biden/Harris Era will mean for British trade, British foreign policy, and Boris “Britain Trump” Johnson. Plus: What does that huge exodus of immigrants from the UK mean for the character of our cities and the future of our country? And why do m...
E Pluribus Moron: The Bitter End of Donald Trump
January 15, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourThis podcast recorded before the impeachment vote. As Republicans distance themselves in horror from Donald Trump’s violent sedition, can we finally conclude that yes, he was a fascist all along? Will the GOP or Johnson pay any price for their years of fawning before Agent Orange? Special guest Philip Stephens of the Financial Times joins us to talk about his new book Britain Alone: The Path from Suez to Brexit and the strange psychodrama of Britain’s search for a foreign policy identity. Plu...
Lockdown III: Why Threequels Always Suck
January 08, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourThis podcast recorded before the invasion of the Capitol building in Washington DC. “Happy” New Year! With Britain’s kids getting one whole day of virus-spreading schooling, is a third lockdown any use in the absence of a coherent COVID policy? And how are we coping with yet more home schooling and working from home without even a takeaway pint to assuage the misery? Plus trade expert David Henig joins us to point out the hidden traps in Johnson’s make-do trade deal and explain what the UK ne...
DealCast: The Fake Escape
December 29, 2020 13:09 - 41 minutesIntra-Christmas Emergency Edition. Having cancelled Christmas, Johnson then ruined what was left of it by crowing about his Deal. But what’s in it? How should Remainers feel about it? Where did Britain cave? Have British fish been sold down the river? Why is nobody talking about services? And exactly how much of that tasty, tasty control has Brexit Britain really taken back? “The dominant narrative is ‘Don’t scrutinise this deal, it’s all water under the bridge now.’ When does accountability...
EmergencyCast: I Saw No Ships Come Sailing In
December 22, 2020 10:20 - 24 minutesThe new mutant strain of COVID has shattered the Government’s Christmas strategy and plunged Britain into isolation and chaos. Is government dithering to blame or are the hard right, libertarian, chlorinated chickens coming home to roost? Are we really looking at 20,000 new hospital admissions and 5,000 deaths a day in the New Year? And how is Britain going to cut a Deal with the EU when Johnson has ensured we’re more cut off from Europe than at any time since 1939? “I would not be surprised...
EmergencyCast: I Saw No Ships Come Sailing In
December 22, 2020 10:20 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBThe new mutant strain of COVID has shattered the Government’s Christmas strategy and plunged Britain into isolation and chaos. Is government dithering to blame or are the hard right, libertarian, chlorinated chickens coming home to roost? Are we really looking at 20,000 new hospital admissions and 5,000 deaths a day in the New Year? And how is Britain going to cut a Deal with the EU when Johnson has ensured we’re more cut off from Europe than at any time since 1939? “I would not be surprise...
’Twas The Fright Before Brexit: End Of Year Special
December 17, 2020 08:00 - 1 hourOut early to beat potential Deal obsolescence! All we want for Christmas is… a deal. Any deal. Has an agreement already been concluded and is it just waiting for the window-dressing? We assemble the full panel to explain where Johnson has caved, how Labour might have a get-out-of-jail clause, and why there’s not much wriggle room on fish. Oh, and the Government’s incomprehensible Christmas advice. Plus, we present the Oh God, What Now? Awards for 2020. Who are the winners, losers, disasters a...
The Last Supper – plus guest JAMES O’BRIEN
December 11, 2020 04:00 - 59 minutesAs Boris Johnson joins Ursula von der Leyen for the worst dinner since Mr Creosote in The Meaning Of Life, we’re joined by LBC frontline key worker and friend of the ’cast James O’Brien to discuss Britain on the brink of No Deal and his new book How Not To Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind. Plus, who decided that this catastrophe was Remainers’ fault all along? “I’m walking the tightrope between complete vindication and avoiding triumphalism…” – James O’Brien “How can Johnson ever s...
Absolutely Jabulous
December 04, 2020 04:00 - 58 minutesWhat does the arrival of a COVID vaccine really mean for No.10’s virus strategy? Who’s the real opposition? Cool, calm and perhaps-too-collected Keir Starmer, or the wild men and women of the CRG – the disaster artists formerly known as the ERG? Plus special guest Giles Whittell of Tortoise Media joins us to explain Britain’s national security future and tell us why we should be optimistic about Russians, if not Russia. Shout out to @DMReporter for an unbeatable episode title. “As soon as w...
Stop Calling It “Chumocracy”
November 27, 2020 04:00 - 55 minutesWhy are we calling the Government’s COVID backhanders and gilded inner circle a “chumocracy” when it’s just straightforward corruption? Brace yourselves, it’s going to get worse. Plus, former civil servant Alex Andreou gives the inside track on diminutive bully Priti Patel’s brazen escape from the consequences of her actions. As No Deal comes up against the urgent reality of bringing perishable COVID vaccines into the country, could Johnson end up begging for an extension after all? And why D...
Stop Calling It “Chumocracy”
November 27, 2020 04:00 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBWhy are we calling the Government’s COVID backhanders and gilded inner circle a “chumocracy” when it’s just straightforward corruption? Brace yourselves, it’s going to get worse. Plus, former civil servant Alex Andreou gives the inside track on diminutive bully Priti Patel’s brazen escape from the consequences of her actions. As No Deal comes up against the urgent reality of bringing perishable COVID vaccines into the country, could Johnson end up begging for an extension after all? And why ...
The Prime Minister’s Brain Is Missing
November 20, 2020 04:00 - 56 minutesWhat’s the real state of play between Keir Starmer and newly independent MP Jeremy Corbyn? Where does Boris Johnson go now that his external brain Dominic Cummings has put up the GONE BLOGGIN’ sign? Pfizer vs Moderna – whose vaccine is so hot right now? Plus a taster of our new, extended edition of Oh God, What Now – exclusive to Patreon backers. “There’s nobody around to fill the Angry Gonad position that Cummings has just vacated” – Naomi Smith “As soon as politics goes back to policies...
EmergencyCast: Ground Control to MAJOR DOM
November 13, 2020 17:47 - 20 minutesIGNOMINY DOMINIC: As the Prime Minister’s attack weasel Dominic Cummings finally “resigns” to spend more time with his WordPress, Ian Dunt reflects on the meaning and manner of his departure. Can Johnson continue without his external brain, is Carrie Symonds really that powerful, and what are we going to do without SuperDry Gollum to kick around? Includes exciting live radio moments! “At least his blogs will stay in a little corner of the internet rather than at the heart of the British Gove...
Banana Republicans – plus special guest Emily Bazelon
November 13, 2020 04:00 - 58 minutesWhat does the rise of President Joe mean for Britain and our shapeshifting creep of a PM? If Donald Trump can’t win in America’s democracy, would he really destroy it? And why are politicians so bad at Twitter? We’re thrilled to welcome special guest Emily Bazelon from the podcast that inspired us, the Slate Political Gabfest, to dissect the monsters produced by Trump’s electoral death throes. “I just can’t believe that people are prepared to mess around with the most important thing about a...
I Am Furious Orange – with special guest Gavin Esler
November 05, 2020 15:00 - 57 minutesAfter the despair of Wednesday morning, could Biden actually win the US election? Were the polls really so wrong? And why are the Left so bereft at the prospect of President Diamond Joe? Plus Nigel Farage’s new promotional vehicle, Labour’s ongoing problems with “Long Corbyn”, the BBC’s bizarre social media balancing act, and Lockdown: Part Deux. All in the latest edition of the podcast formerly known as Remainiacs. “Trump’s supporters don’t seem as authoritarian. They see him as a champion ...
EmergencyCast! Corbyn suspended
October 30, 2020 08:30 - 24 minutesWe sure picked the right day to relaunch the podcast. As Labour suspends Jeremy Corbyn after the damning EHRC report shone a light on the party’s antisemitism issues, IAN DUNT and ALEX ANDREOU join Andrew Harrison to explain what it all means. Presented and produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant Producers Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music: Cornershop. Art direction: Mark Taylor. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informatio...
Remainiacs is now OH GOD, WHAT NOW?
October 30, 2020 04:00 - 1 hourThe secret is out. Remainiacs has a new name – but the same team and the same commitment to dispelling the misery of politics with humour and sharp analysis. On OH GOD, WHAT NOW? this week: There’s no such thing as a free lunch (if you’re a poor kid). The Taming of the Feral Tory Intake. Why the Far Right is actually on the fade across Europe. And as a new podcast era dawns, our panel look to how the future really, really could be better. “We are now the insurgents. Let’s embrace it” – Alex ...
Madchester Rage On
October 23, 2020 03:00 - 52 minutesThis week: Will that punishment beating for King In The North Andy Burnham make ex-Red Wallers think again about their unwise pre-Christmas fling with raffish Londoner Boris Johnson? Brexit and Coronavirus merge into COVEXIT, the uncontrollable MegaZoid of misery. Are Schrödinger’s Brexit Talks dead, alive, or both at the same time? And for the first time ever, a thrilling cliffhanger – no scrolling to the end… “Seeing Andy Burnham now is like running into an ex who’s been working out. Like...
Cracks in the Union Jack
October 16, 2020 03:00 - 51 minutesIs the Government’s piecemeal lockdown driving as big a wedge between the North and South of England as there is between Westminster and the devolved governments? Plus our special guests, Manchester University politics professors Rob Ford and Maria Sobolewska, join us to talk about their new book Brexitland: Identity, Diversity and the Reshaping of British Politics. Do the roots of Brexit really go back to the 1960s? And where do we go now that we’re all alone in Brexitland, our only home? ...
How to win a Culture War
October 09, 2020 03:00 - 55 minutesHaving lost control of the virus, the economy and now the Conservative Party, can mojo-free COVID casualty Boris Johnson relaunch himself with a war on Lefty Luvvies? Behind the scenes, are we looking at an autumn Sunak vs Gove smackdown? Is the big winner of Donald Trump’s COVID diagnosis really… Donald Trump? And how to fight – and win – a culture war. “History goes in the direction you fight for.” – Ian Dunt “You’re more likely to have a criminal record than attend a party conference so...
Hellbent on Compromise – plus guest MATT FORDE
October 02, 2020 03:37 - 1 hourAs the final round of trade talks EU grind into low gear, should we brace ourselves for another heroic climbdown from the Prime Minister? Comedian, podcaster and voice of Trump, Starmer and Johnson on the new Spitting Image MATT FORDE joins us to talk about his new book Politically Homeless and life on the Labour rollercoaster. Plus, could YOU survive… Exile on Priti Island? “The UK will have to make embarrassing concessions, while spinning them as victories” - Alex Andreou “Labour needs to...
The Wrong Good Friday
September 25, 2020 03:00 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBThis edition recorded before Kent was made an independent statelet… As the Internal Market Bill takes a wrecking ball to the Good Friday Agreement, Alliance Party Deputy Leader and North Down MP Stephen Farry explains why this will shift every aspect of politics in Northern Ireland. Plus, Can Britain face going back to square one on COVID for a further six months? Keir Starmer’s new progressive patriotism, the travesty of COVID outsourcing, and untold tales of Stephen’s constituent, foghorn ...
The Wrong Good Friday
September 25, 2020 03:00 - 52 minutesThis edition recorded before Kent was made an independent statelet… As the Internal Market Bill takes a wrecking ball to the Good Friday Agreement, Alliance Party Deputy Leader and North Down MP Stephen Farry explains why this will shift every aspect of politics in Northern Ireland. Plus, Can Britain face going back to square one on COVID for a further six months? Keir Starmer’s new progressive patriotism, the travesty of COVID outsourcing, and untold tales of Stephen’s constituent, foghorn m...
The Great British Lawbreak-Off
September 18, 2020 03:00 - 53 minutesJust how precarious is Tory support for the Government’s disavowal of international law via the Internal Market Bill? Up-and-coming young author Ian Dunt joins us to discuss his new book How To Be A Liberal, the airport thriller of reason-based political thought. And are we allowed to throw a party as long as all guests bring guns? Listeners can get 10% off How To Be A Liberal using this link. Just add 'HTBAL10' on checkout. “Liberalism is a kicking, fighting school of thought. It doesn’t t...
Rogue Nation: Britain scuttles its credibility
September 11, 2020 03:00 - 58 minutesAs Johnson scrapes his Oven-Ready Deal into the bin, we ask why would any other country ever trust Britain’s word ever again? We explore the new Internal Market Bill’s staggering contempt for international law. And the authors of Left Out: The Inside Story of Labour Under Corbyn – Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire – join us to explain what really went on during Jeremy’s Wild Years. “The government is a 24-hour rolling embarrassment and I’m not sure what’s supposed to be distracting from w...
The Lady’s not for U-Turning: Leadership Lessons with STEVE RICHARDS
September 04, 2020 03:00 - 1 hourAs MPs prepare to return to work, what should we look out for in the new parliamentary session? And after a summer of u-turns galore, what policy reversal will the Tories whip out next? Plus, political columnist STEVE RICHARDS joins us to discuss his book ‘The Prime Ministers’ and to give his take on the best and worst leaders from Wilson to Johnson. “When you’ve won a landslide election, that gives you an authority to do what you want” - Steve Richards “In Boris Johnson we are dealing with s...
Land of Hopeless Tories
August 28, 2020 03:00 - 53 minutesRecorded before Germany pulled Brexit from next week’s summit AND before “mutant algorithm”. This week, after his feeble response to the Summer of Messes, is governing just too hard for our work-averse Scarlet Pimpernel of a Prime Minister? Minnie Rahman of the JCWI joins us to look at who’s weaponising the Channel refugees issue, and what the Dublin Regulation really means. Plus: the brain-destroying fake ‘Land of Hope And Glory’ row and our Clickbait Government. And Johnson trolls us by toy...
Belarus Rising – plus Lights! Kamala! Action!
August 21, 2020 03:00 - 53 minutesAs Belarus fights its way towards true democracy, we speak to a protestor who’s on the ground in Minsk about what’s really happening and what we can do to help. Plus: Can Kamala Harris thread her way past hard right lies, sexism, racism and a left that can’t be satisfied? Plus ‘Leftwaffe’, ‘Starmtroopers’ and our least favourite political neologisms. Special guest Marie Le Conte joins us to discuss these weighty matters – plus the horrific Politics Gossip Drought of 2020. “We’re governed by...
200th Edition! Daze of Future Past
August 14, 2020 03:00 - 1 hourWho’s got the Ben & Jerry’s? In our gala 200th edition, our original core team of Dorian Lynskey, Ros Taylor, Ian Dunt, Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou gather not to pore over the past but to look at the future. What are the big issues that will shape our world in the post-COVID, post-Brexit, post-employment future? Plus a few of our favourite bits from the past 200 shows. Altogether now: “Don’t! Start! Thinkin’ about tomorrow…” Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far, from our Patreon ba...
Infocalypse Now: Deepfakes and the War on Democracy
August 07, 2020 03:00 - 54 minutesAttention, bots, trolls and rogue A.I.s! This week our own Nina Schick publishes her new book Deep Fakes and the Infocalypse: What You Urgently Need To Know – and its revelations about how high technology can create terrifyingly plausible fake humans in video or audio, for political ends, will scare the hell out of you. What can we do to stop bad actors from Russia, China and elsewhere from bringing about the literal collapse of consensual reality? Plus: The Brexit Drain to Spain. Peer-to-pee...
Labour’s Infinity War reignites – plus guest JOHN CRACE
July 31, 2020 03:00 - 52 minutesContinuity Corbynism picks a fight with the Starmer Leadership in the aftermath of the antisemitism court settlement. Will anything ever end the party’s Left-Right Infinity War? Plus: Brace yourself for a “low quality, low profile” face-saving Deal with the EU. And special guest John Crace, the Guardian’s demob-happy parliamentary sketch writer, takes us through the highs (subs pls check) and lows of the Johnson Parliament so far. “Starmer has proved a lot more ruthless than anyone expected...
Russia Report: Gremlins from the Kremlin
July 24, 2020 03:00 - 1 hour“Приветствую! Welcome to podcast where panel talk about how great nation of Russia did not interfere with British elections, no way. Is Russophobia only. Честно! Also, do not read Russia Report, is also Russophobic. Спасибо!” Meanwhile: Is now a good time to pick a fight with China, however badly China might be acting? Why have MPs who demanded control of our trade deals just voted away their power to, er, control our trade deals? And there’s a job going where you report to Dominic Cummings. ...