Oh God, What Now?

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 [email protected]. 

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. 

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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.

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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 [email protected]. 

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.

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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 [email protected]. 

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.

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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 [email protected]. 

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 

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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 [email protected]. 

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.

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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 [email protected]. 

• 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 

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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 

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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 

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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 [email protected]. 

• 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 

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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 [email protected]. 

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

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