These are serious times, calling for serious solutions. So why are the Bring Back Boris brigade on manoeuvres? Plus, praise for the FT’s coverage of Ben “Blocker” Houchen’s Teesside travails, why the trains won’t get better straight away, and why we should be worried about cricket.

It's a tense stand off in the Northern Spin studio this week as Chris loses his mind over the Labour hit job on Rishi Sunak, Michael introduces a rap battle into the script and both have a thing or two to say about Scott Benton, the CBI, Fergal Sharkey and Carol Vorderman.

This week Michael and Chris have taken the gloves off and properly slug it out over Starmer, Sunak and GB News. Also, a look ahead to the Northern battlegrounds in the upcoming local elections. PLUS: why new adaptation of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice is a warning from history.

All eyes looked North last week as the deeper devo deal put Greater Manchester into a new era. Plus: Michael and Chris pick apart Boris Johnson's defence and explain why Suella Braverman only invited client journalists on to her Rwanda trip.

It’s been described as Jeremy Hunt’s ‘Back to work Budget’ but will it get the British economy going at long last? Economist Nicola Headlam from Red Flag Alerts joins Michael and Chris for a special analysis of the Budget and what it might mean for the North.

As the BBC sways one way and the other over Gary Lineker, Northern Spin looks on as the Tories get nasty again. Also, Chris Maguire accuses Michael Taylor of letting Andy Burnham off the hook, there's a lament for Oi Polloi, and insight on what the rescue of Silicon Valley Bank means for the Northern tech scene.