Tim Southwell, Ben Marshall, and Bill Borrows recap the first issue of loaded and talk about how it gatecrashed the early-90s men’s magazine party looking for trouble. The EXPloaded podcast team discuss Gary Oldman as cover choice and other features such as Tim’s interview with Liz Hurley and Tiger Woods, once the 17 year old golfing prodigy had been dragged out of the shower by his mum. His own mum, not Tim’s. Then there’s skydiving, Paul Weller and Eric Cantona uncensored, and Beavis and Butt-Head. The team discuss how the term “lad” began as innocent pub slang but soon became a pejorative media label, and contrast loaded’s non-PR-led approach with modern publications serving as mere publicity vehicles. Ben and Bill recall getting Clash frontman Joe Strummer and actor Robert Carlisle by just asking them as, suddenly, famous people started queuing up to be in loaded because that was the place to be. The conversation takes in masculinity, internet-amplified extremism and incel culture while regular feature “Planet of the Vapes” takes in the curious habits of Generation Z. loaded’s energy and journalistic influence is credited to Hunter S. Thompson and a future episode is promised to recall Bill’s two legendary run-ins with the Godfather of Gonzo himself. The episode ends with Ben and Bill pitching possible cover stars to Tim as if O.G. loaded was still a going concern. He has to choose one of them, but who will he choose?

00:00 Strummer Pub Encounter

00:20 Podcast Intro Banter

01:36 Why Oldman Cover

03:46 Who Else Covered In Glory

05:19 Super Lads Meaning

07:28 Haunted Studio Aside

08:47 Masculinity Internet Shift

13:44 Gonzo Journalism Roots

18:17 Carpark Quotations

20:57 Sell Me the Cover

23:22 No PR Just Get Them

25:10 Friendly Interview Subjects

25:36 Gary Oldman Cover Pitch

26:27 Knighthood And Politics

27:47 Planet Of The Vapes

31:31 Old 78s And Streaming

33:33 Napster Changed Everything

36:28 First Issue Favorites

40:38 Tiger Woods Day Out

43:57 Underdogs And Up Yours Attitude

45:18 Wrap Up And Thanks