Oh God, What Now?

It’s the word of the moment. “Enshittification” is the reason Google is all ads and no useful results, Amazon serves you crappy overpriced products, your phone spies on you and you can’t find your friends on social media – but you WILL be persecuted by bots, brands and Nazis all day long. So how are we going to fix it? Leading tech critic Cory Doctorow joins Andrew Harrison and Rafael Behr to talk about whether digital platform rot is inevitable, his book Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It …  and the many, many ways to conjugate the verb “to enshittify”. 

NB Trust us, this is NOT an edition you want to listen to at 1.5x speed. 

• Buy Enshittification 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.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Cory recommends the podcast No Gods No Mayors.

• Raf went to see the touring production of Fiddler on the Roof which you can still just about catch in Sunderland and Birmingham.

• Andrew recommends child abduction drama All Her Fault on Now TV plus colossal CD box sets from Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Propaganda.

• Head to nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow to get a £30 voucher and 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included.

• Get our exclusive NordVPN deal at nordvpn.com/ohgodwhatnow. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money back guarantee! 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rafael Behr. Audio and Video Production by: Chris Jones. 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 

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Labour’s controversial asylum plans have sparked a backlash and it’s not clear they’ll even work. So, why have they gone down this route? What options might be better? Plus, AI – the bubble is going to burst, but has it already broken our brains? Then in the extra bit for supporters – what would we want to bring back from 100 years ago?

Escape Routes 

• Matt is watching Death by Lightning 

• Zoe is watching Stranger Things

• Jason is reading Penda's Fen: Scene by Scene by Ian Greaves

• Head to ⁠nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow⁠ to get a £30 voucher and 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included. 

⁠www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow⁠  

Presented by Ros Taylor with Matt Green, Zoë Grünewald and Jason Hazeley.  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   

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Is Trump finally falling apart? His approval ratings are catastrophic, the Republicans took a hammering in the November elections, his gross-out distraction tactics no longer work… and as more Epstein emails are released, the scandal is lapping ever-higher around his cankles. Molly Jong-Fast of The Atlantic, Vanity Fair and the unmissable Fast Politics podcast joins Andrew Harrison and Rafael Behr to discuss the teetering tyrant and the damage he will leave. 

• This episode recorded before Trump decided he wanted the Epstein Files released after all. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Raf has been reading Moby-Dick (because why not?) and listening to funk and soul covers by Scary Pockets. 

• Molly recommends When All The Men Wore Hats by Susan Cheever.

• Andrew is going crazy for Pluribis on Apple TV+. 

When you buy books through our affiliate bookshop you help fund OGWN by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

• Head to nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow to get a £30 voucher and 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included.https://nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rafael Behr. Audio and Video Production by Chris Jones. 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 

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Trump and the right wing press are gleefully hounding the BBC over a clumsy speech edit – will they succeed in taking down the broadcaster? Plus, manifesto promises – there’s a huge fuss over Labour potentially breaking them, but is that anything new? And in the extra bit for supporters – reasons to be a Luddite! The panel rallies against smart technology. 

• Rachel suggests Fergus Butler-Gallie’s book Touching Cloth 

• Jonn recommends Fergus Craig’s upcoming book I'm Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home 

• Marie is reading New Boy by William Sutcliffe 

When you buy books through our affiliate bookshop you help fund OGWN by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. 

• Head to ⁠nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow⁠ to get a £30 voucher and 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included.

• If you want to find out more about Energise Africa and register as an investor, visit ⁠energiseafrica.com/ogwn⁠.

⁠www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow⁠ 

Presented by Seth Thevoz with Marie Le Conte, Rachel Cunliffe and Jonn Elledge.  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  

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Tax rises! Cuts to everything! Here comes the pain! Seldom has a Budget been heralded with such dire warnings… if you believe the Toryform Press. But according to Giles Wilkes – Institute for Government fellow and former adviser to Vince Cable and Theresa May – Britain isn’t in such a disastrous state after all. In a weirdly optimistic conversation he joins Andrew Harrison and Jonn Elledge to look at the real story of Britain’s finances; why Brexit is an even bigger drag anchor than the Treasury will admit; and why the embattled Chancellor needs to stick to her course.  

ESCAPE ROUTES 

• Jonn has been watching The Celebrity Traitors, yes that again, do our panel ever watch anything else? 

• Giles recommends Wellington: The Iron Duke by Richard Holmes. 

• Andrew recommends the old school BBC adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with Alec Guinness.  

When you buy books through our affiliate bookshop you help fund OGWN by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. 

• Head to nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow to get a £30 voucher and 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow 

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Jonn Elledge Audio and Video Production by Chris Jones. 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  

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Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York mayoralty race electrifies the global Left, rocks the Democratic establishment and leaves Trump titanically unamused. What does it all mean? Plus: Do we need to save the Conservative Party? Former Digital Minister and Tory MP for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman helps us examine the drastic measures needed to keep Reform out. And in the aftermath of the Huntingdon knife attacks we look at the usual suspects’ rush to make it all about immigration. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Jason recommends the 1985 series Edge Of Darkness  on BBC iPlayer.

• Seth recommends wandering around Dublin because why not? 

• Ros recommends Rory Stewart’s new book Middleland. 

• Matt Warman recommends Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 1929: The Inside Story of The Greatest Crash in Wall Street History.

Buy any book 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.

• If you want to find out more about Energise Africa and register as an investor, visit energiseafrica.com/ogwn.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Ros Taylor with Seth Thévoz and Jason Hazeley. 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 

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After decades of waving away electoral reform, Labour and the Tories suddenly have a reason to question First Past The Post – the nightmare prospect of a Reform government. Has proportional representation’s time finally come? How might it happen? And what system would work for Britain? Proud elections wonk David Klemperer of the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath joins Rachel Cunliffe and Andrew Harrison for the world’s first Single Transferable Podcast. 

• Could a MAGA-style movement happen in Britain? Prof Roger Griffin talks it through with Andrew on The Bunker.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Rachel recommends K-Pop Demon Hunters on Netflix. 

• David recommends West End Girl by Lily Allen. 

• Andrew recommends the 30th anniversary reissue of Different Class by Pulp. 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison and Rachel Cunliffe. Audio and video production by Chris Jones. 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

British politics feels stalled and the only people benefiting are Farage and the quick-fix demagogues of Reform UK. Why is the debate about our national future frozen and what can we do about it? Special guest Ben Ansell – author of Why Politics Fails – joins us to talk it over. Plus, a But Your Emails special where we answer as many of your questions as is humanly possible. And in the Extra Bit for Patreon people only… where did the obsession with Hallowe’en come from?  

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Jonn recommends Alan Johnson’s memoir This Boy

• Ben has been reading the Robert Harris Cicero trilogy. Book One is Imperium

• Ros has been reading The Endless Country by Sami Kent

• Hannah has been watching The Diplomat on Netflix and listening to Lily Allen's new album

• Buy books 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.

If you want to find out more about Energise Africa and register as an investor, visit energiseafrica.com/ogwn .

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Ros Taylor with Hannah Fearn and Jonn Elledge. Audio Production by: Tom Taylor. 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

A neurotic obsession with illegal migration is driving British politics rightwards, trapping the parties in an arms race of escalating harshness towards migrants. Now Tory far-righter Katie Lam wants to cancel legal migrants’ right to stay, evoking the racist “repatriation” talk of the 1970s National Front. Can Britain get out of the migration doom spiral? 

Former head of the Migration Advisory Committee Prof Alan Manning joins us to talk about the “infernal cycle” of migration policy … whether Labour really are just trying to outbid the Tories and Reform… his new book Why Immigration Policy Is Hard And How To Make It Better … and why a good goal would be to Make Migration Boring Again.  

• Buy Why Immigration Policy Is Hard And How To Make It Better 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. 

ESCAPE ROUTES 

• Ros and Alan are both watching Celebrity Traitors on the iPlayer, as it seems is everyone. 

• Apart from Andrew, who is listening to the soothing German techno on Kompakt Total 25

• Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact [email protected] to find out more 

• If you want to find out more about Energise Africa and register as an investor, visit energiseafrica.com/ogwn

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow 

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Ros Taylor. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme music by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. 

www.podmasters.co.uk  

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Reform UK just pulled off the sequel to the Jackie Weaver Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting, and it’s excellent. The leaked Zoom meeting from Reform’s flagship Kent County Council shows things aren’t perhaps going as well for Nigel Farage’s party/business as he may have hoped. Is Reform having a bit of a wobble? Plus, is social media brainrot ruining British politics? And in the Extra Bit for subscribers, things are going from very bad to a lot worse for Prince Andrew. How did we get here, and how much worse can it really get for the British Royal Family? 

ESCAPE ROUTES:  

• Jason recommends Slow Horses ⁠  

• Zöe recommends the podcast On Being

• Marie recommends the game HollowKnight: Silksong AND the Eva Helene Pade exhibition at London’s Ely House.  

• Seth recommends Journey To The Far Side of The Sun

If you want to find out more about Energise Africa and register as an investor, visit energiseafrica.com/ogwn

Head to nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow to get 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included. 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow 

Presented by Seth Thévoz with Zöe Grünewald, Marie Le Conte and Jason Hazeley  Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. 

www.podmasters.co.uk  

ENDS 

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