Fifteen days in… Is Burnham’s government actually shaping up to be quite good? Impossible to say for certain, but the PM’s policy blitz seems to be landing pretty well, buoyed by Labour’s Greater Manchester mayoral win. Is the Age of Andy working out as well as it seems – and can the momentum last? Plus, following the astonishing scenes of migrants breaking into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta over the weekend, how is Europe’s far-right weaponising it? And Gianni Infantino face open revolt from his own top brass and football associations worldwide after trying to sell off the World Cup. Can he cling on? 

• Read Martyn Ziegler’s brilliant expose of Gianni Infantino’s machinations before and during the World Cup. 

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Raf went to watch Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds supported by Flaming Lips and English Teacher at Brighton’s Preston Park. 

• Marie decided to rewatch Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves  

• James has been rewatching noughties legal political drama The Good Wife

• Andrew saw downtempo duo The Thievery Corporation live at Camden’s Roundhouse.

[Not for Patreon]

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Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison with James Ball, Marie Le Conte and Rafael Behr. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Chris Jones. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune: Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Andy Burnham is promising to spend “whatever political capital” he has to fix the crumbling social care system after decades of political failure. As the right-wing press dusts off its “Death Tax” headlines, can he actually do it?

Plus… He leads Restore Britain, an openly extreme right party committed to driving non-white people out of the country, and he’s becoming a persistent headache for his former boss Nigel Farage. But who exactly is Rupert Lowe? The panel sizes up the man behind the common-sense cosplay. And in the Extra Bit: the new Euro banknote designs are live, but what would Britain have put forward if we’d ever signed up for the single currency?

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Andrew watched the Japanese Edo-punk collective Seppuku Pistols live at North London’s New River Studios 

• Seth hasn’t been able to put down David Crichton’s The Avengers: Death in Downing Street  

• Jason watched Slice of Life: The American Dream In Former Pizza Huts, which, he says, was “f***ing brilliant” 

• Zoë went to watch The Odyssey and particularly enjoyed “evil and excellent” Robert Pattinson

• 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

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Presented by Zoë Grünewald, with Andrew Harrison, Seth Thévoz and Jason Hazeley. Producer: James Liddell. Audio Production: Tom Taylor. 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.

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He’s a communist! He wants to drag us back to the 70s! He’s going to tax you to death! He’s weak! He’s a tyrant! He’s gone to war with the South! His jackets are too expensive! Burnham has only been PM for a week and the right-wing press are already losing their minds. Is Burnham Derangement Syndrome stalking what’s left of Fleet Street? Plus: Is letting artificial intelligence do your thinking for you leading people into “cognitive surrender”? We talk about a new survey that unveils the dire consequences of outsourcing your brain to Claude and ChatGPT. 

• Hear prison reformer Steve Gallant talking to Zoë Grünewald on The Bunker

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Marie is enjoying sci-fi show Silo on Apple TV+.

• Jonn has been reading Hinterlands: Journeys through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers by Hannah Lucinda Smith. 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.

• Raf has been watching Ride Or Die with Hannah Waddingham on Amazon Prime.

• Matt went to see The Divine Comedy at the Royal Festival Hall and Daniel Kitson’s new show Thrum. 

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

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Presented by Matt Green with Marie le Conte, John Elledge 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.

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Burnham arrives promising a “cost of living” government but can he make it happen? And does his mix of ideas and promises add up? TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak returns to the pod to talk about Burnham’s first steps, go to bat for unions in an age of A.I. tumult, make the case for reindustrialisation, and wind up Andrew about Jeff Bezos possibly buying Liverpool FC (Paul’s an Evertonian. So is Andy Burnham. It’s a conspiracy). And in the Extra Bit: What are the little luxuries that our panel and guests spend a bit too much on? 

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Hannah has been reading Women’s Prize for Fiction winner The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. 

• James recommends the original anime version of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

• Paul recommends science fiction epic Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruochhio

• Andrew is enjoying domestic robot comedy Ann Droid with Diane Morgan and Sue Johnston on the BBC. 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn 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.

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As ever, politics waited until we finished recording before dropping the big stuff… But worry not! Steve Richards of the Rock & Roll Politics podcast steps up to analyse the surprises, genius moves, curveballs and missing pieces in Andy Burnham’s first cabinet with Andrew Harrison. Should Ed Miliband have been chancellor instead of John Healey? Is this really a purge of Starmerites and a “Night of the Long Eyelashes” as The Mail claims? Are Burnham’s cost-of-living measures actually costed? And does it all fit together?

• Catch even more of Steve’s analysis on Rock & Roll Politics

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

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Presented by Andrew Harrison with Steve Richards. 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. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Brand new PM Andy Burnham is not hanging about. On day one he set about purging Starmer loyalists from the Cabinet and setting out his policy agenda, including fresh cost-of-living measures. Is this the fresh start Labour needs? Listen up for live in-pod sackings!

Plus: Are we facing the end of reading? Scrolling through WhatsApp messages, Netflix subtitles and Instagram captions mean we're arguably reading more words than ever – yet book reading has nosedived in recent years. Has the “post-literate” society already arrived?

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Marie went to watch Christopher Nolan’s latest epic, The Odyssey

• Rachel also delved into Greek mythology and has been bingeing Netflix’s Kaos

• Jonn is watching spy thriller The Agency on Paramount+

• Seth has been reading Hostel, House and Chambers: Accommodating the Victorian and Edwardian Working Woman

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Seth Thévoz, with Rachel Cunliffe, Jonn Elledge and Marie Le Cont. 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. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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At long last it’s the Rover’s Return… What are the burning issues that will be taking up Andy Burnham’s time when he takes over No.10 next week? OGWN listeners bombard us with questions and we do our best to answer them. What can Burnham do that Starmer couldn’t? Does he need to do more than move stuff to the North? And why did Labour give Starmer a carriage clock, of all things? 

Plus, Climate of Fear: Kemi Badenoch chooses the hottest moments of our Hell Summer (a period which is actually killing people) to purge Tory MPs who back Net Zero. WTF is she playing at? We look at this terrifying moment and whether the summer’s frightening scenes can push back the tide of climate change denialism. 

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Jason bought George Martin: The Scores – the collected musical works of that chap who did The Beatles. 

• Seth has been watching old episodes of Frasier – specifically S2 E18, The Club, with the 1896 vintage bottle of port. 

• Ava went to see a series of Scorsese re-runs at the cinema. 

• Ros has been re-reading Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. Buy 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 Ros Taylor with Jason Hazeley, Seth Thévoz and special guest Ava Santina. 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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Counter-terrorism police take over the investigation into the killing of Ann Widdecombe, a crime that has shocked people across the political spectrum. Beyond legitimate questions around political violence, are Reform trying to amp up the fear for political gain? What should people in the public eye say – and what shouldn’t they? 

Plus… Andy Burnham will finally become Britain’s prime minister this week – the seventh in a decade. Lucky him… he inherits an entire Sue Gray-style s**t list of policy issues. So what might actually be on it? And is there anything Burnham can do to stop his in-tray wrecking his life?

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Jonn went to the MC Escher exhibition at Somerset House – and couldn't resist a shoutout to the Doctor Who serial, Castrovalva. 

• Hannah has been reading These Precious Days by the novelist Ann Patchett

• Raf has watched L’Amour Ouf – Beating Hearts in English – while on holiday in France 

• Zoe has been listening to Cameron Winter, the front-man of indie-rock band Geese 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Zoë Grünewald with Jonn Elledge, Hannah Fearn 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. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Nigel Farage wanted a “people vs. the establishment” by-election but it quickly turned into “man vs. bin”. Every major rival has refused to run against him in Clacton, leaving the Reform leader’s only real opponent as the man with a trash can on his head, Count Binface. Is this one humiliation too many for the frog-faced fraud? Plus, Farage may be the front-man but the loudest and most extreme voice behind him is Zia Yusuf. How did the one-time left-winger become Reform’s self-styled “Shadow Home Secretary”? Expert on the far-right Daniel Trilling explains all. And in the Extra Bit: If you threw a sickie last Monday to watch England beat Mexico, you’re not alone. We look at the culture of the sick day around the world.

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at [email protected]. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Ros has been letting off some steam reading Christian Wolmar’s Fastrack: The Extraordinary Global History of The Race for High Speed Rail

• Rachel went to watch Pride at the National Theatre, as Stephen Beresford’s hit moves from screen to stage

• Daniel has been reading Keza MacDonald’s Super Nintendo: How One Japanese Company Helped the World Have Fun

• Andrew went to see Robyn at the O2 and What the World Needs Now: The Songs of Burt Bacharach with Rumer, Ed Harcourt and Dionne Warwick 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Group Editor Andrew Harrison with Rachel Cunliffe, Ros Taylor and Daniel Trilling. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction by 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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Quick-fire reaction to Nigel Farage’s resignation with Jacob Jarvis, Andrew Harrison and Jonn Elledge… For his latest trick, the Reform leader has quit as an MP after weeks of scrutiny over his finances finally caught up with him. In a whingeing speech, teed up hours in advance, Farage triggered a by-election in Clacton and says he’s determined to win it back. Is this a genuine appeal to voters or just a stunt to take the heat off the sleaze inquiry? Above all, what might happen next?

• Back us on Patreon – www.patreon.com/bunkercast

Written and presented by Jacob Jarvis, with Andrew Harrison and Jonn Elledge. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Oh God What Now? is a Podmasters Production.

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