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Oh God, What Now?

Podmasters

Making 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: Guardian writer Rafael Behr • Rachel Cunliffe of the New Statesman • New Statesman columnist Jonn Elledge • Writer and host of This Is Not A Drill Gavin Esler • Social affairs journalist Hannah Fearn • Comedian Matt Green • The Lead's Westminster Editor Zoë Grünewald • Group Editor Andrew Harrison • Comedy writer Jason Hazeley • Podmasters Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis • Journalist Marie Le Conte • Writer and commentator Ros Taylor

Sign up and get ad-free shows earlier than anyone else: patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow.

Oh God, What Now? is a Podmasters production

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  • 47 episodes
  • a few times a week
  • Avg 54 min
  • English

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  • S2 · E604
    Yesterday · 27 min

    BONUS: Is Zack Polanski sunk after Holborn & St Pancras?

    Labour wins the Holborn & St Pancras handily – but the Greens had staked a lot on Zack Polanski winning and he failed. Is Polanski’s nightmare week over the Zionism vote a symptom of deeper weaknesses in his leadership? Is far-left entryism destroying the Greens? And why Labour’s victorious candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali symbolises the best of Britain. Steve Richards of Rock & Roll Politics joins Andrew Harrison for the Holborn postmortem. • Hear Steve’s Rock & Roll Politics special on Polanski’s troubles and why Kemi Badenoch’s speech to the Tories was misreported. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Audio Production by: Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E603
    Thursday · 59 min

    Remainiacs Assemble? – Can Burnham end the Brexit Era?

    Has Burnham really broken Britain’s bizarre, self-enforced silence around the disaster that is Brexit? What would a real pro-EU membership stance from Labour mean for British politics? And would killing off Brexit inadvertently give a flagging Farage his mojo back? Plus, in the week that Jeffrey Archer died we discuss why establishment Britain will give a pass to any charlatan, bullshitter and perjurer provided he’s amusing at parties. And our special guest Sebastian Salek – good news columnist at LabourList – explains why he fights the good fight on GBNews. • Get the Bunker Deep Dives every day here • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Jonn has been enjoying the HBO legal drama War with Dominic West and Sienna Miller. • Jason has been watching a 20-minute documentary about the invention of Hula-Hoops from 1972, and other things on BBC Archive. • Sebastian Salek is off to see As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe. • Seth recommends going to Italy. Just because. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Seth Thévoz with Jason Hazeley and Jonn Elledge. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E602
    Tuesday · 1 hr 4 min

    Badenoch to the bone – Are the Tories becoming a Kemi cult?

    Kemi Badenoch has promised to revitalise the Tory party at the Conservatives' conference – but can she drag it out of the doldrums? Plus, the Green Party conference descended into acrimony after members voted to declare that “Zionism is racism” – can leader Zack Polanski withstand the fallout? And… Andy Burnham faces heavy scrutiny over historic ties to Manchester City’s owners, after the club was found guilty of serious financial rule breaches. Could Manchesterism come back to bite him? Dr Jan Zglinski, associate professor at LSE Law School who specialises in sports law, weighs in. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk • Listen to Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor discuss “End Times Fascism” on The Bunker: https://linktr.ee/bunker_pod ESCAPE ROUTES • Raf went to watch Kian Soltani perform Dvořák's Cello Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Brighton Dome • Matt saw an early screening of the new film Ghosts: The Possession of Button House • Jan has been reading Injury Time: Football in a State of Emergency • Zoë has started watching HBO’s legal drama, War (streaming on Now TV) www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Zoë Grünewald, Rafael Behr and Matt Green. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production: Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E601
    October 2 · 1 hr 5 min

    Give ’em enough hope – Did Labour turn a corner in Liverpool?

    Andy Burnham’s powerful and emotional speech at the Labour Conference left the Party full of righteous energy and its enemies scrabbling for attack lines. Has he succeeded in setting out a new direction for the Government? The OGWN Conference Away Team of Jonn Elledge and Hannah Fearn talk it over with Andrew Harrison and special guest Paul Richards – veteran Labour commentator, candidate and once chair, now treasurer of the Fabians. (Yes, the Fabians, and yes we do ask him if they secretly control the world like all the nutters think. Spoiler: they don’t). • Because of developments in the RAF Fairford story we had to re-record a small part of this show remotely. See if you can spot the join. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Hannah has gone all-in on Strictly Come Dancing even though she doesn’t like the new format. • Jonn has been watching the top-notch romcom Colin From Accounts on BBC iPlayer. • Paul Richards has been watching the wartime simulation docu-drama The Wargame featuring our own Zoë Grünewald. • Andrew went to see Saint Etienne for the very last time in Brighton and it was brilliant. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn and Jonn Elledge Audio Production by Chris Jones. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E600
    September 30 · 29 min

    “The best political speech of the 21st century”? – Burnham inspires Liverpool – BONUS

    BONUS EDITION: Well, we weren’t expecting THAT… Andy Burnham stuns and rouses Labour’s Liverpool conference with a bold, emotionally powerful speech that amounted to the promise of a new era. Will Britain respond to his open-hearted scally dad message of unity? Was there detail among the vibes? Have we just heard the ‘Wonderwall’ of political speeches? James Ball of The New World was there and he tells Andrew Harrison how Burnham’s speech gave even hardened, cynical journos actual goosebumps. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E599
    September 29 · 58 min

    Labour in Liverpool – Can Burnham make a second first impression?

    Andy Burnham's first Labour conference as PM is underway. So… will he and his government make a good impression on the party and voters? First the PM proposed an NHS-style social care system; a day later his chancellor John Healey promised a Budget that injects hope into Britain’s beleaguered economy. Ros Taylor, Rachel Cunliffe and James Ball discuss everything we know so far and what it all means. • Questions for the panel? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Rachel has been rewatching the noughties sci-fi hit Heroes in memory of its star, Hayden Panettiere, who passed away last month • James has been replaying Slay the Spire II • Ros has been watching the new season of The Great British Bake Off www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Ros Taylor with James Ball and Rachel Cunliffe. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E598
    September 25 · 1 hr 1 min

    Burnham won’t confront Britain’s Blackshirts. Why?

    Actual blackshirts are blockading ports, doxxing lifeboat volunteers and intimidating people across the South Coast, and the most senior political figure to come out against them is… Rishi Sunak? We ask why Andy Burnham won’t make a full-throated condemnation of the new wave of far-right street thugs – and whether his new National Centre for Information Defence will work. Plus: With £72m of donations in the bank, are Reform UK now the political wing of the crypto industry? Special guest Peter Geoghegan of Democracy for Sale joins us to explore what happens if angry Britain votes for an anti-immigration party but gets a crypto government. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Jason raved about Felled: The Killing at Sycamore Gap by Andrew Hankinson. (Available to pre-order) • Marie flew through Guilty Pleasure: The Pornification of the Internet, the Economy, and Everything Else by Patricia Nilsson. (Also available to pre-order) • Peter enjoyed The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley. • Andrew loved counterfactual murder mystery Pagans by James Alistair Henry. When you buy books through our affiliate bookshop you help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison with Marie le Conte and Jason Hazeley. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E597
    September 23 · 28 min

    Burn in the USA – How did the PM's Trump meet go?

    Bonus episode with James Ball and Jacob Jarvis… Andy Burnham finally meets Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly in New York. The pair hit it off, as Trump hails the PM as a “natural businessman” and claims he “gets it”. So what did we learn from the meeting? How long can Burnham keep the good vibes going? And can he avoid both bending the knee and picking a fight with the quick-tempered US president? • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis with James Ball. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E596
    September 22 · 54 min

    Reality bites Burnham — Can the PM stay positive?

    Andy Burnham promised politics with a “sense of optimism” – now the PM is warning that “difficult decisions” lie ahead. So can he keep up the smiles as next month’s budget looms and the reality of government sets in? Plus, the Liberal Democrats gather in Brighton where Ed Davey is promising “insurgent liberalism”. What does it mean? And why are some Lib Dems unhappy with their leader? • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. • Get up to £350 off the Eight Sleep Pod 5 here with the code OGWN ESCAPE ROUTES • Rachel watched Paul Feig’s thriller, The Housemaid • Raf is watching World War Two drama The Line – or Un village françaison in French – streaming on ITVX • Ros is reading Farewell to Eden by Sebastian Faulks www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Ros Taylor with Rachel Cunliffe and Rafael Behr. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E595
    September 18 · 59 min

    Burnham or Polanski – Who's under more by-election pressure?

    It’s the most important by-election ever since the last by-election! The candidates are finalised for the fight for Keir Starmer’s old St. Pancras and Holborn seat. It’s a test for Burnham’s Labour and for Green leader Zack Polanski. Who’s most likely to win? And what would victory and defeat mean for each figurehead? Plus, Mark Carney is having a moment – if Canada can be an “associate member” of the EU, why can’t we?! Matt Green is joined by Hannah Fearn, Jason Hazeley and Rachel Cunliffe to discuss. Escape routes: • Hannah has watched 70 Up • Jason has been watching the mockumentary People Like Us • Rachel has been watching Elle • Matt is watching The Beast in Me www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Matt Green with Hannah Fearn, Jason Hazeley and Rachel Cunliffe. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E594
    September 15 · 54 min

    Donations shock – Can Farage buy power for £72m?

    Reform has been bolstered with £72 million from crypto billionaires – is it enough for Nigel Farage to buy his way to power? What will the money be spent on? And what rules could change in the wake of this? Plus, Ed Miliband is reshaping Britain’s foreign policy, what is motivating him and what are his goals? Ros Taylor is joined by Marie Le Conte, Rafael Behr and Seth Thévoz to discuss. Escape Routes • Seth has been reading The Man Who was Thursday. • Marie has been reading Eurotrash by Christian Kracht. • Rafael has been watching season two of Ludwig on iPlayer. And, here’s a link to his latest mix as mentioned. • Ros watched the film Call My Agent! (Dix pour cent) on Netflix. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Ros Taylor with Marie Le Conte, Rafael Behr and Seth Thévoz. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E593
    September 13 · 48 min

    Jon Ronson in the Manosphere of Madness – Weekend Bonus

    Another of our weekend bonus editions… When author Jon Ronson’s son texted him from a supposed party in a medieval castle (?) and said it was getting “very weird”, Jon had no idea that it would open the door into some of the strangest reaches of the manosphere. In the resulting book The Castle, he meets a fantasist who thinks he’s the new Hugh Hefner; a man who cranks out far-right rage videos that he doesn’t even believe just because the algorithm drives him to it; and a dad whose “fun” family videos ended up with him being denounced online as an abuser. Is social media unmooring modern men from reality… or are they heading that way anyway? And is writing books like this Jon’s own way escaping the “world of male nothingness”? • Buy The Castle through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Oh God What Now by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E592
    September 11 · 57 min

    The Power of Gov – Is this Burnham's biggest problem?

    Andy Burnham wants to change who holds the power in Britain, taking the levers of government out of Whitehall’s hands. Plenty of his predecessors have tried – and failed – to make their vision stick. So, can the PM’s model survive contact with reality? Veteran journalist Phil Tinline joins us to weigh in. Plus: poor old Tommy Robinson is apparently skint, de-banked and has “nothing to hide”. So how did a brand-new Channel 4 investigation allegedly find a live bank account, a Portuguese shell company and £250,000-worth of questions? And in the Extra Bit... does nicking a pint glass make you a criminal or just British? • Read Phil’s piece in Prospect Magazine, Andy Burnham’s theory of power. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Ros has been watching the third series of Colin from Accounts on BBC iPlayer • Jason immersed himself in tunes and pints of ale at the annual Faversham Hop Festival • Phil has been listening to Bassvictim, the Polish rap, electroclash duo • Zoë went to the screening of Sky’s upcoming docudrama, The Wargame – WHICH SHE’S IN! • Listen to Terror Century, The Bunker’s three-part mini-series marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Zoë Grünewald with Jason Hazeley, Ros Taylor and Phil Tinline. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E591
    September 8 · 57 min

    Denial and Error – Are Farage and Reform done for?

    Nigel Farage’s family has even urged him to “pack it in” and “walk away” amid recent scandals. Can he and his party survive the latest scrutiny? The beleaguered Reform leader tried to appear unruffled at his party conference after a bombshell Channel 4 documentary raised fresh questions about foreign donations. What will come next? Plus: masked anti-migrant protestors took to the streets of Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend trying to take the law into their own hands. Is the rule of the mob on the rise? ESCAPE ROUTES • Rachel was reminded of Frank Turner’s ability to transcend divides after her husband watched him perform live at the Moseley Folk & Arts Festival • Raf finally went to the West End to watch the satirical World War 2 musical Operation Mincemeat • Jonn has been bingeing the brand-new third season of the BBC’s smash-hit Vigil • Seth went to the UK’s “biggest sauna” – the Royal Albert Hall – to watch BBC Proms • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Seth Thévoz with Jonn Elledge, Rachel Cunliffe and Rafael Behr. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E590
    September 6 · 56 min

    “Brexit has left us at Trump’s mercy,” says Sir Vince Cable – Weekend Bonus

    Weekend bonus episode… Britain still mired in Brexit, Europe divided, economic stagnation in the West and Donald Trump’s disastrous culture wars and actual wars. Are they all just a blip in human history or does the West’s decline mark the beginning of a new world order? What if that future belongs to rising powers of the East – China and India? That’s the premise of Sir Vince Cable’s new book, Eclipsing the West: China, India and the Forging of a New World. The former Liberal Democrat leader talks to Rafael Behr about how China and India are increasingly shaping the world – and where (and if) Britain fits in. • Buy Vince’s book Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E589
    September 4 · 27 min

    Farage and Reform’s donation humiliation – Emergencycast!

    Fast reaction with News Statesman’s associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe and Jacob Jarvis. Nigel Farage and Reform are facing another crisis after two – now former – senior officials were filmed in an undercover sting appearing to plot how to circumvent electoral law to bag a £500,000 foreign donation… Reform says it’s all a “hoax”, predictably… Can Reform weather the storm? Is Farage totally done for? And what might happen next? • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rachel Cunliffe. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Chris Jones. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E588
    September 4 · 1 hr 9 min

    How Big Tech is still getting away with it – with kids’ campaigner Baroness Beeban Kidron

    Facebook owners Meta hit the headlines with an $18bn settlement in the US over accusations that its products had harmed kids. But was the bill really so onerous, or just the price of keeping Zuckerberg out of the witness box? Special guest Baroness Beeban Kidron OBE – activist, digital rights champion and former film director – talks us through the reality of the fight to protect kids online; whether Britain’s digital curfews for teens will work; and the dirty digital deals done behind doors to protect Big Tech. Plus, Andy Burnham promised more problem solving than point-scoring in his Prime Minister's Questions debut… and it lasted about five minutes. How did the PM shape up – and was it the baptism of fire we expected? And in the Extra Bit: Will your mind really “flood with ideas” if you stop listening to podcasts, as one Guardian writer suggests? Our panel weighs in. • Buy Beeban’s book Users: How Big Tech Took Control and How to Fight Back from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • James saw the animated legal comedy Coyote vs Acme and read Jon Ronson’s latest, The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unravelling Men. • Jason also watched Coyote vs Acme and read 31 Inventions that Built Our World by OGWN regular Jonn Elledge. • Beeban watched Arsenal scrape a win against Aston Villa and is re-reading Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita. • Andrew went to Krankenhaus Festival in Cumbria and saw Sea Power, Pictish Trail and Smote, and spotted Green MP Hannah Spencer. He’s also been bingeing the TV series Lanterns. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison with James Ball, Jason Hazeley and Beeban Kidron. Produced by James Liddell. Audio production: Chris Jones. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E587
    September 2 · 55 min

    Andy’s first day at Big School

    Andy Burnham is feeling a sudden wave of the back-to-school blues. Not only did Keir Starmer tactlessly decide to quit Parliament just before his first Commons speech, but a long list of challenges is also piling up in the PM’s in-tray. So, what’s causing Burnham the biggest headaches? Is the Burnham bounce finally over? And what happens next? Plus: Badenoch reshuffles her shadow cabinet, Iceland rejects the EU and Trump tries to rename yet more geographical features… and questions Britain’s claim to the Falklands. • Listen as Gavin Esler explores the breakneck evolution of military technology in This Is Not A Drill’s brand new four-part mini-series • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. ESCAPE ROUTES • Marie read Ursula K. Le Guin’s sci-fi novella Paradises Lost • Hannah has been bingeing Season 5 of Couples Therapy, which has just landed on BBC iPlayer • Ros went to the cinema twice, first to see Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas and then De Gaulle: Résistance, a biopic on the great Gallic general • Matt has been reading Running Through Sand: An Ageing Comedian’s Ill-Thought-Out Ultra in the Sahara by Paul Tonkinson www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Matt Green with Hannah Fearn, Ros Taylor and Marie Le Conte. Produced by James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune: Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • August 31 · 45 min

    Is Trump a Russian Asset? – Bonus with The Guardian’s Russia expert Luke Harding

    The first of our occasional weekend bonus episodes… Bewildered by the tangled stories of Putin’s war on Ukraine, Trump’s incomprehensible loyalty to the Russian tyrant, and Russia’s interference in British politics? The Guardian’s foreign correspondent Luke Harding ties all the threads together in his riveting new book Betrayed: Trump, Putin And The New Age Of Conquest – laying bare how thoroughly Putin played Trump and the enormity of what has happened to our old world of rules. He talks to Andrew Harrison about the big picture that daily news misses, the return of Great Power politics, and whether Donald Trump really is a Russian asset. • Buy Luke’s book Betrayal: Trump, Putin and The New Age of Conquest from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. • Photo: Trump greets Putin on the tarmac in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15 2025. (Photo by Kremlin Press Service / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images) Support us on Patreon - www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Written and presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • S2 · E585
    August 28 · 1 hr 5 min

    Harry, Meghan, Jason Arday… and why we get news we don’t want

    Good news for newsrooms: Harry and Meghan are back in Britain and editors are beside themselves. We might say we don’t care about “Reverse Megxit” but why does the clickrate say otherwise? Plus: Giftgate was only two years ago, but MPs are still accepting freebies. They’ve taken almost £400,000 of hospitality this year alone – including tickets to Harry Styles and the F1. But is that necessarily so bad? Are freebies a serious conflict of interest or do we just want politicians to live in a hair shirt? And in the Extra Bit: people are queuing to take photos at beauty spots – are we all just compliant sheep who need to get over our strangling cultural traditions? • Get up to £350 off the Eight Sleep Pod 5 here with the code OGWN • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Marie went to watch Tony, the biopic about the late rockstar chef-turned-broadcaster Anthony Bourdain • Seth watched 60’s crime thriller Cash on Demand – like a “noirish bank heist version” of Dickens ’ A Christmas Carol • Rachel hasn’t been able to put down Jon Ronson’s new book The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unravelling Men • Ros has begun watching supernatural French drama Sea Shadows (or Rivages in French) www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Ros Taylor with Marie Le Conte, Rachel Cunliffe and Seth Thévoz. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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