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

Oh God, What Now? is a Podmasters production

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763 episodes
Updated Monday

Episodes763

Newest first

June 9 · 1 hr 6 min
“Brexit? It wasn’t our job to have a plan” – What the BBC’s jaw-dropping doc reveals
The BBC gets in early with its “ten years since the Brexit Referendum” jamboree with a “star”-studded retro-documentary, Brexit: A Very British Civil War from legendary film-maker Norma Percy. Our panel bravely retraumatise themselves by watching it. What do we learn that’s new? Who comes out of it worst: Cameron, Corbyn, Johnson, Seumas Milne, Gove, Osbourne or Cummings? Could anything have averted this catastrophe? And have any of these egotists and hobby-horsers learned a damn thing in the past decade? Plus, in related matters… Why do we believe what we believe? Why are conservatives more disgusted by disgusting things than liberals? And why (good news!) do liberals have more interesting sex? Author Turi Munthe joins us to discuss the psychology behind our deepest impulses. • Buy Turi Munthe’s book Why We Think What We Think through 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 • Rachel enjoyed A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering on audiobook – but you can read it on paper too. • Rafael has been listening to Paris 1919 by John Cale. • Turi Munthe recommends Other People’s Children by Ben Faccini. • Matt recommends crime comedy Deep Cover starring Nick Mohammed, Orlando Bloom and Bryce Dallas Howard, on Amazon Prime. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Matt Greene with Rachel Cunliffe and Rafael Behr. Audio Production by 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
June 5 · 56 min
Farage’s riot act — How the right is exploiting Henry Nowak’s murder
Farage and the far-right have been quick to seize on Henry Nowak’s horrific murder, ignoring pleas from the victim’s family for the killing not to be politicised. Instead the Reform leader decried “two-tier” policing and called for “pure, cold rage”. What does it all mean? Are we in for another summer of racially-triggered rioting? Plus: what would an Andy Burnham government actually look like? Can Manchesterism succeed where Starmerism stumbled? And in the Extra Bit… mantropreneurship irritant Steven Bartlett claims that two glasses of wine “ruined” his life for three days. Our panel examine the toxic cult of peak performance. • Buy tickets for Ahir’s Golden tour • Because of developments in the news we’ve postponed the promised BUT YOUR EMAILS special by one week. But you can still send your questions to ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Ros has been watching the BBC’s hit drama Two Weeks in August • Seth rewatched Lawrence of Arabia at Soho’s iconic Prince Charles Cinema • Ahir has been binging darkly-comical superhero series The Boys, which led him to the comic • Zoe has been reading Caro Claire Burke’s new novel Yesteryear about a time-travelling tradwife. 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 Zoë Grünewald with Seth Thévoz, Ros Taylor and Ahir Shah. 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
June 2 · 59 min
Who votes Reform and why? – with Sir John Curtice
• One last chance to get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing – our tenth birthday offer ends Wednesday morning. If you’ve been telling yourself that Reform are only surging because people are unhappy with what the Government hasn’t delivered, the don of political research Sir John Curtice has bad news for you. New British Social Attitudes research shows it’s deeper than that: angry Reform voters are energised by divisive culture issues and won’t be easily persuaded back to either Labour or the Tories. Would Burnham or Streeting (or anyone) be able to overcome their new identity politics? Plus: Does the latest tranche of Mandelson messages and emails shine any more light on the whole ambassadorial mess? • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Sir John has been watching Dear England, the BBC’s new drama on England football manager Gareth Southgate • Marie went to watch “charming thriller” Tuner at the movies. • Raf really hated Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu but hey, it’s still a distraction. • Andrew has been reading Adrian Tchaikovsky’s sci-fi epic Children of Strife. Buy it through 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. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison with Marie Le Conte and Rafael Behr. 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
May 29 · 56 min
Blair: “Modern Life is Rubbish”
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. What else does a beleaguered PM like Keir Starmer need but… unsolicited advice from Tony Blair? In a new essay published by his think tank, the former PM calls on Labour to cosy up to Donald Trump and axe Ed Miliband’s net zero agenda or risk relegation from the “Premier League of nations”. Is Blair offering a genuine diagnosis or is he just dusting off the 1990s playbook? Plus, jobs tsar Alan Milburn’s bombshell report on youth unemployment warns that young people are being “rewired” by their smartphones and trapped in a doom loop that’s keeping them out of work. Can they escape it? And Reform's candidate for the Makerfield by-election Robert Kenyon is facing a firestorm for a string of resurfaced sexist social media posts. In the age of the political lout, why do the rules always seem different for the right? And in the Extra Bit: our panel reveals how they find their Zen in the age of doom-scrolling. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Hannah went to see Francois Ozon’s new movie adaptation of Camus' existentialist classic The Stranger. • Ros also visited the cinema to see Project Hail Mary • Jonn watched the first episode of the BBC’s Two Weeks in August • Seth has been reading Being Liberal: The Liberal Disposition in Contemporary British Politics by Cambridge professor David Howarth www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Seth Thévoz with Jonn Elledge, Ros Taylor and Hannah Fearn. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Jade Bailey. Art direction by 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
May 27 · 51 min
The Count of Dodgy Crypto
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Last chance to get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon support. Nigel Farage’s latest defence of his “gift” from a crypto magnate: you wouldn’t know about it if I hadn’t been hacked by pesky Russians! (Although erm I forgot to tell the National Cyber Security Centre). Has he finally pushed his luck too far? Plus, the right-wing press and Reform are busting their guts to paint Andy Burnham as a carpetbagging, conviction-free shapeshifter who’s simultaneously a far-left zealot. Will any of it stick? And why are Rupert Lowe’s ultra-right Restore UK much, much worse than just an amusing problem for Reform? • We pinched the title of this edition from someone called AshWarp – but if you know the real originator, get in touch. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Jason recommends visiting Crossness Pumping Station on the Thames and also the Great Western Railway Museum in Swindon. • Rachel is watching Rivals on Disney+. • James Ball is rewatching How To Get Away With Murder on Channel 4. • Matt recommends Thirst: 12 Drinks That Changed My Life by John Robins. Buy it through 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. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Matt Green with James Ball, Rachel Cunliffe and Jason Hazeley. Audio Production by 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
May 22 · 1 hr 8 min
The Brexit Bus is coming (and Andy Burnham’s jumping)
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. And OGWN is nine years old! Today: A Labour candidate up against a local plumber in a North-Western by-election? It’s beginning to feel a lot like Groundhog Day. If Andy Burnham beats Reform’s Robert Kenyon in Makerfield his path to Number 10 gets a lot clearer. But has Burnham just walked into a Reform bear trap? Plus: Brexit is back, right on cue. Wes Streeting lobs a grenade into the Burnham campaign by raising the Europe question. Could this leadership battle finally break Britain out of its Brexit loop of denial? And in the Extra Bit for Patreons, we do that Find Your Politics thing to discover whether we’re secret Leninists or Freemen of the Land without realising it. (And why no talk of the Greens, you ask? We did a big will-they-won’t-they bit and then they announced a candidate so we had to drop it. More next time). • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Marie is getting set to host her Outsiders Art Club, a social club putting emerging artists in the spotlight • Matt has been bingeing Imperfect Women on Apple TV. • Raf went to see Zambian singer and rapper Sampa the Great at the Brighton Festival • Andrew has been listening to Tomora, the new duo comprising Chemical Brother Tom Rowlands and Norwegian singer Aurora. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rafael Behr, Marie Le Conte and Matt Green. Producer: 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
May 19 · 57 min
Slash’n’Burnham – Makerfield is already getting nasty
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. Makerfield residents, wire up your letterboxes – the leaflets are coming… A month until Andy Burnham’s by-election, Reform is knocking. Can the King of the North hold them off – whoever their candidate may be? Has he done enough for his message to land? Plus: Is it time up for Ed Davey as leader of the Liberal Democrats? Several Essex councillors seem to think so. Comedian Rosie Holt weighs in on whether political satire has changed for the better or worse. And Matt Brittin officially started as the BBC’s Director General this week – is it possible to steady the ship? • Get your tickets for Churchill’s Urinal with Rosie Holt at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Jonn watched Ncuti Gatwa throw jabs at Doctor Who in Saturday Night Live UK • Jason has been reading The Design of Childhood, by Pulitzer Prize-winner Alexandra Lange • Rosie is rewatching a duo of British comedy classics: Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and Toast of London • Ros has been seeking escapism in Danish television and has binged Seaside Hotel www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Ros Taylor with Jonn Elledge and Jason Hazeley. 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
May 14 · 1 hr 4 min
Where the Streets has no shame
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. Broadcasting from the middle of the Labour chaos vortex, we look how things stand after the Streeting-Starmer confrontation at No.10 – was it a 17-minute staring contest? – and whether the Health Secretary has the support within Labour to win… if he stands. And who is Wes Streeting anyway? What does he actually stand for? Our panel share their experiences of “the man you can’t libel, because he has no vices.” Plus: Zack Polanski houseboat council tax evasion imbroglio! And in the Extra Bit: There’s a new Beatles museum in London… not Liverpool. So where else deserves a museum in a slightly unexpected location? • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Seth enjoyed the English Touring Opera’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers • Marie has been binge-watching Rivals on Disney+ • Hannah went to the West End to watch David Hare’s Teeth’n’Smiles • Zoë has been watching Half-Man, Richard Gadd’s follow-up to Baby Reindeer www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Zoë Grünewald with Hannah Fearn, Marie Le Conte 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. 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
May 11 · 1 hr
Get Starmer
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon support – that’s 20% in total. Amid the rubble of last week’s elections, Keir Starmer announces he’s suddenly getting real and ready to win back voters. But is it all too little, too late – and after months of drift, will anyone believe him anyway? Plus, were the Reform and Green surges really as unstoppable as an overwrought media want us to believe? Friend of the pod and psephology don Rob Ford of Manchester University joins us to dig deep on the elections… and whether Labour gets what really happened. NB Andrew apologies for his hoarse voice. He’ll be back to normal next time. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Raf recommends By The Sea, Abdulzarak Gurnah’s Nobel Prize-winning novel of escape and migration. • Rob Ford recommends The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuczinski, concerning the downfall of Haile Selassie. • Ros recommends the TV drama Believe Me about John Worboys, streaming on ITV. • Andrew recommends 30 Rock with Tina Fey, now finally on Netflix. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison with Ros Taylor and Rafael Behr. Audio Production by 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
May 8 · 28 min
Emergency Localscast! – What Labour’s walloping REALLY means – with Steve Richards
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon support – that’s 20% in total. Fast analysis with don of political commentators Steve Richards of Rock & Roll Politics talking to Andrew Harrison. Labour’s performance in the English Locals was terrible… but was it really as bad as Starmer feared? Does Farage’s bluster about “truly historic” results for Reform stand up to the data? Are the Greens becoming the party of “student England”? And the big one: Can Starmer hang on? • See Steve’s Rock & Roll Politics show live in London at King’s Place, Monday 11 May – last few tickets available! • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio Production by 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
May 7 · 58 min
Zack’s Appeal – Are the Greens a one-man band?
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. The Greens are on fire and Zack Polanski’s travails don’t seem to be hurting them much. How did they get here? Is Polanski-mania just Corbyn-mania without all the Labour baggage? And can you be a vehicle for popular rage and a credible party of government at the same time? Plus, is everything just online betting now? Or is it the new insider trading? With platforms like Polymarket enabling insiders to clean up on everything from the timing of bombings in Iran to the removal of Maduro, we talk to the Guardian’s Aisha Down about how betting is warping – and corrupting – politics. Plus: Should we ban 6am pints in the airport? Why has the right-wing press upped its sneering against Angela Rayner? And in the Extra Bit, the panel reveal their hidden talents. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Jonn recommends Blue Lights on BBC iPlayer ⁠ • Marie went to see Spanish pop sensation Rosalía in London and her album Lux is Marie’s favourite of the year. • Aisha has been brushing up on commodities trading and is reading The World For Sale by Jack Farchy and Javier Blas • Seth has been watching Liberace camp-fest Sincerely Yours from 1955. Listen to Hit That Perfect Beat – The London Records Story on your favourite platforms. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Seth Thévoz withJonn Elledge and Marie Le Conte. 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
May 6 · 1 hr 10 min
Lifestyles of the rich and heinous
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. Filler-faced, gilded mansions and utterly unhinged. Today’s mega-rich don't even pretend to be normal anymore. So what happened to the understated billionaire and is there any going back? Plus, are voters getting more fickle? Zoe picks the brain of the Economist's political data journalist Owen Winter on whether political promiscuity is the new normal. And Zack Polanski’s approval ratings plunged after a sharing post about the Golders Green attack – should politicians be anywhere near social media anyway? Finally… the Green Party’s Hannah Spencer has sparked a rift with fellow MPs after deriding parliament’s apparent booze problem. Are our lawmakers really propping up the bar? • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Zoë braved the psychological horror thriller Speak No Evil, available on NOW. • Jason has been devouring Natalie Whittle’s ode to the nation’s favourite snack, Crunch: The History of Crisps • Matt has delved into David Grann’s catalogue, including The Devil and Sherlock Holmes www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Matt Green with Zoë Grünewald and Jason Hazeley. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Simon Williams & Tom Taylor. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 1 · 1 hr 4 min
Monarchy in the USA – Has Charles outfoxed Trump?
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon backing. Applauded by Congress, lauded by Trump and working his way through a spring-herbed ravioli on a golden plate? It was a tough gig for Charles. The King may have charmed the President but will his visit rescue US/UK relations from the geopolitical toilet? Plus, Starmer evades a Commons investigation into the Mandelson affair but is it really all over bar the shouting for the PM? Why a social media ban for under-16s might be based on dodgy science. And in the Extra Bit: If they can get away with a Michael Jackson movie in 2026, which political figures ought to get their own biopic? • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Rachel has been bingeing Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock on Amazon Prime. • Jonn recommends Radio 4’s How To Invent A Country on BBC Sounds. • James recommends the relaxing game Nodes – play it here. • Andrew recommends Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+, inevitably www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rachel Cunliffe, Jonn Elledge and James Ball. 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
April 28 · 1 hr 3 min
Trump’s Ballroom Blitz – Reform’s Tragical History Bore
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon support – that’s 20% in total. Another week, another assassination attempt… Will the latest attack on Trump change anything apart from making the crazy people crazier? And will he get his ballroom out of it? Plus, Reform announce plans to make the teaching of history more patriotic. On the curriculum: more Winston Churchill and Battle of Britain, less slave trade, even less Ireland and no Britain being anything other than brilliant. Are you kids ready for the Old Man In A Pub version of Our Island Story? • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Gavin went to see music inspired by the Bridget Riley: Learning To See exhibition at Turner Contemporary… but you’ve missed it. Sorry. • Matt is the latest panelist to recommend medical drama The Pitt on HBO Max. • Raf recommends drum’n’bass artist Nia Archives’ new single Danger • Ros recommends French-language murder mystery Une Unique Lueur by Fred Vargas. Not out in English yet though. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Ros Taylor with Matt Green, Gavin Esler and Rafael Behr. Audio Production by Tom Taylor and Chris Jones. 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
April 24 · 1 hr 8 min
Emotional Support Leadership Candidate
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon support – that’s 20% in total. As the dust settles from the umpteenth Mandelsequel, where does Labour go from here? Is Starmer permanently damaged? And who would step into No.10: Angela Rayner, Andy Burnham, Al Carns, or someone else entirely from the political alphabet? And while opening ChatGPT has become as routine as morning coffee, millions are probably using it all wrong. So says special guest Jamie Bartlett, algorithm whisperer and author of How to Talk to AI, who explains how to master the art of prompts. • Order How to Talk to AI through 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. • Hear America Against The World from This Is Not A Drill on your favourite podcast app. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk ESCAPE ROUTES • Marie recommends The Princess of 77nd Street by Elaine Kraf. • Hannah recommends Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico. • Jamie recommends Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton and The Parakeeting Of London by Nick Hunt. • Seth has been enjoying Michael Gove pimping free gin for The Spectator. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Seth Thévoz with Hannah Fearn and Marie Le Conte. 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
April 21 · 1 hr 7 min
Return of the Mandel-Scandal
• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon support – that’s 20% in total. Oh Mandy… the scandal that won’t die is back (again). Can Keir Starmer style this one out or is his credibility finally shot? Plus, imagine if you wrote a hoax government report about how a secretive shadow government controls America and then everyone believed it. Even though you admitted it was false. And believed it so completely that they ended up destroying democracy. Nightmare, right? Author Phil Tinline talks us through the scarcely believable true tale he sets out in Ghosts of Iron Mountain – a story that takes in Lee Harvey Oswald, the Oklahoma Bombings, neo-Nazis, hippies, Oliver Stone and The X Files – and how it’s still warping our world today. • Order Ghosts of Iron Mountain through 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. • Hear America Against The World from This Is Not A Drill on your favourite podcast app. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Rachel recommends The Critic with Ian McKellen on Netflix • Raf has just discovered Fast As You Can by Fiona Apple from the album ‘When The Pawn Hits Etc Etc Yadda Yadda’. • Phil has been listening to drum, bass and related stuff from Ivy Lab • Andrew went to see the Murdoch vs Brenda Dean play In The Print at the New King’s Head in Islington, London – it’s on til 3 May. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rachel Cunliffe and Rafael Behr Audio Production by: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
April 17 · 1 hr 6 min
The End is Nige – What happens if Reform win?
• Join our OGWN vs Origin Story Tenth Birthday Podclash on Zoom on Thur 30 April. What happens if Reform actually wins? We dive into a darkly plausible near-future where Nigel Farage becomes PM and everything goes… about as well as you’d expect. It’s all gamed out in a new fact-based “non-fiction thriller”, What If Reform Wins? by our special guest, Times reporter Peter Chappell – from how Reform would tackle an ICE-style crackdown to the end of Net Zero and the return of Dominic Cummings. This could be the future, so how do we stop it? Plus: Is the UK ready for a politics that does God? The IMF warns Britain could take the biggest hit from the Iran War’s economic shock. Should we get behind Samantha Niblett MP’s Summer of Sex? And in the Extra Bit… after the smooth dancefloor moves of victorious Hungarian MP Zsolt Hegedűs “broke the internet” we ask – should politicians be less embarrassed about dancing? • Pre-order What If Reform Wins: A Scenario by Peter Chappell – it’s out 30 April. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk ESCAPE ROUTES • Marie read and loved The Door by Magda Szabó. • Jonn recommends No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. • Peter went ceilidh dancing at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, north London. • Matt is watching Steve Carrel’s new series Rooster on HBO Max, Now and Sky. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow • When you buy books through 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. Presented by Matt Green with Marie Le Conte 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
April 14 · 1 hr 5 min
Viktor is a Loser – Hungary’s brilliant revolution
Good news for a change! Revolting far-right tinpot tyrant Viktor Orbán gets his marching orders in Hungary. Our panel talk about how it’s bad news for Putin, Trump and MattGPT and wonder where the JD Vance Reverse Midas Touch should be applied next. Elsewhere in the pod: Trump comes for the Pope. Why are his Christo-Nationalists getting Catholicism wrong? Is politics being taken over by egomaniacs? A(nother) heated debate about the pros and cons of space. And check out our new theme tune, good eh? Today’s special guest is Ava Santini of Politics Joe. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Zoë watched Jaws for the very first time and loved it. • Jason recommends Beatles deep-dive documentary Evolver ’62 • Ava is diving into Season 3 of Euphoria on HBO. • Andrew went to see Obscure, the Pet Shop Boys’ rarities shows, where they played these songs. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison with Zoë Grünewald and Jason Hazeley. Audio Production by 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
April 10 · 1 hr 4 min
For Whom The Booth Tolls – or, Strait to Hell
Trump threatens the literal obliteration of an entire civilisation, then announces a ceasefire. So war crimes work, right? Er, not when you create the “Tehran Tollbooth” in the Strait and transform your enemy into potentially the Middle East’s richest, best-armed hostile power with a $90bn war and reconstruction chest. We examine possibly the biggest self-own in geopolitical history. Plus: Labour squares up to the Greens in the local, Scottish and Welsh elections. How do they fight Polanski without coming across like bullying establishment incumbents? We look at the Kanye West fiasco. And in the Extra Bit for Patreon backers, what was that strange feeling we got from the Artemis moonshot? Was it… hope? This week’s special guest is James Ball, political editor of The New World. • Save our classic theme tune Demon Is A Monster by Cornershop for posterity. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Jonn recommends HBO Max medical drama The Pitt starring Noah Wylie. • Ros recommends Danish life-juggling comedy drama Rita on Netflix. • James recommends video game Greedfall: The Dying World plus old series of Taskmaster on C4 (for sleeping to). • Seth recommends the rediscovered episodes of Doctor Who: The Daleks’ Master Plan. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Seth Thévoz with Ros Taylor and Jonn Elledge. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop (thank you for everything!). 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
April 2 · 1 hr
Why is Keir Starmer so hated?
After nearly two years in the job, Keir Starmer isn’t just disliked or unpopular – he’s actually hated in much of the country. But why? How did this unprepossessing and fairly boring man become such a figure of loathing? Has hating politicians no matter who they are become the default position in British politics? Plus: Liz Truss (remember her?) is going to launch her own CPAC and save Britain, again. What is going through that, ahem, unusual mind? And should we maybe scoff less at the idea of a populist revolt and fear it more? This week’s special guest is comedian, musician and Radio 4 veteran Mitch Benn. • Catch Mitch Benn’s show The Lehrer Effect across the country this month. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk ESCAPE ROUTES • Ros has got right back into The Archers on BBC Sounds. • Mitch thinks you should watch the James Blunt movie One Brit Wonder, not just because he’s in it. • Seth recommends The Usual Channels: Inside the Mysterious World of Political Whips by Sebastian Whale. • Zoë recommends academic romance drama Vladimir on Netflix. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Zoë Grünewald with Ros Taylor and Seth Thévoz. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. 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