Oh God, What Now?

It’s five years this week since we left the EU. Isn’t everything going brilliantly? Special guest Anand Menon of UK In A Changing Europe joins us to assess the many, many achievements of Global Britain. Has Brexit changed Britain irrevocably? What destroyed the Tory party: leaving the EU, Liz Truss or Boris Johnson’s own hubris? What’s the real reason why Labour won’t touch this issue? And what happens if a radicalising Europe stops looking like such a secure place to rejoin after all?

Plus, in the Extra Bit for Patreons: should we stay strong and not let AI “improve” our writing? 

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Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Hannah Fearn and Marie le Conte. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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BBC politics coverage is in trouble: browbeaten by the Mail and Telegraph, still reeling from Tory intimidation, and addicted to ever-shorter, cheaper, surface coverage in an age that wants depth and complexity. Special guest Steve Richards of the Rock and Roll Politics podcast, himself an ex-BBC politics correspondent, joins us to work out what’s wrong with BBC politics and how to fix it. Plus: Was it so bad that Kemi Badenoch chose ‘Yellow Submarine’ as her favourite Beatles song? And if Keir Starmer loves football so much, why can’t he take inspiration from great managers like Clough, Ferguson and Klopp?

• Send us your But Your Emails questions via Patreon

• See Ahir Shah on tour with his Edinburgh Award-winning show Ends. 

• See Steve Richards at the first live Rock and Roll Politics show of 2025 in  London on Mon 3 Feb. 

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Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Zöe Grünewald and Ahir Shah. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Trump starts as viciously as he means to go on, with a confected state of emergency on immigration, attacks on gay and trans people, withdrawals from the Paris Climate agreement and the World Health Organisation, and pardons for the anti-democracy rioters of Jan 6. Reed Galen, co-founder of the anti-MAGA Republican group The Lincoln Project and host of The Home Front podcast, joins us to assess Trump’s first moves and the state of the resistance against him. And in the Extra Bit for Patreon backers: Could you boycott visiting the United States while Trump is President?  

• “Very bad things are going to happen. The question is, how are we going to react to them?” – Reed Galen

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Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey with Rachel Cunliffe and Rafael Behr. Audio production by Robin Leeburn and Simon Williams. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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And so it begins. The second age of Trump is upon us. Are we all braced? All eyes are on what executive orders he will enact in his first week. So, how do we handle Trump’s politics of chaos? Or will we simply have to grin and bear it? Plus, Labour promised “a new deal for working people” before winning the election. Has it kept its promise with the new employment rights bill? General Secretary of the TUC Paul Nowak joins the podcast to get into it all. And, in a special extra, Judge Dredd does Defund The Police? Andrew talks to one of the authors. 

• Pre-order Judge Dredd: A Better World here.

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Presented by Andrew Harrison with Jonn Elledge, and  Zoë Grünewald. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production by: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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As Musk and Zuckerberg vie to enshittify Twitter and Facebook, is the Right’s victory over social media final? Is there something intrinsic to social media that drives its users rightwards (and crazy)? Does Zuckerberg believe in anything at all? Expert in digital politics and radicalisation Alan Finlayson joins us to look at the abasement of Big Tech before Trumpism. Plus: Has Starmer drunk the A.I. Kool-Aid or is it really the key to Britain’s growth conundrum? And in the Extra Bit, why saying “not a good look” is not a good look.

Support us on Patreon for an ad-free listening experience – and to independent podcasting alive! 

Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey with Marie le Conte and Ros Taylor. Audio production by Robin Leeburn and Tom Taylor. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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As Britain’s economic growth slows and gilt returns go up (no, we can’t remember what it means either) the Tory press are eager to construct a narrative of “Labour’s mess”. How real is it – and is Chancellor Rachel Reeves really at risk? Plus: Trump wants to annex Canada, Greenland and possibly your house. Are we back to 19th century foreign policy where the world is basically a game of Risk? Seth Thévoz, The New Statesman’s Rachel Cunliffe, comedian Matt Green and Andrew Harrison try to make sense of it all. 

Support us on Patreon for an ad-free listening experience – and to independent podcasting alive! 

Written and presented by group editor Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk

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Senior Tories like Badenoch and Jenrick are cynically following the lead of far-right wackos like Elon Musk to stoke the grooming gangs story. Are there any red lines left for a desperate Conservative Party that will now say things even Nigel Farage won’t? Former editor of The Mirror Alison Phillips joins the panel to get into it all.  Plus, it’s a But Your Emails special as we answer as many of our Patreon backers’ questions as we can. And in the Extra Bit for subscribers, is January secretly the best month of the year?

We’re on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/@ohgodwhatnow  

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Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Hannah Fearn and Jonn Elledge. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production by: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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We did it, we survived 2024. Now, we face 2025 – a year where the world’s most influential country is headed by a convicted felon. How consequential will Donald Trump and his nerdy henchman, Elon Musk, be? And back home, Labour is taking on its first full year in charge. Keir Starmer has made a lot of promises, can he and his government get any of it done? And what will happen to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK? Our first panel of the year gets into the biggest issues of 2025 and the cast of characters that COULD be the most influential this year.

We’re on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/@ohgodwhatnow  

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rafael Behr, Ros Taylor and Zoë Grünewald. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production by: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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• Last chance to get 20% off a year’s Patreon support for OGWN!

Rishi in the rain? Musk ruining everything? Boris Johnson’s stupid book? In the OGWN Political Awards of the Year we choose the defining moments of the year – but also the heroes, villains, and even the reasons to be optimistic for 2025. Dorian Lynskey, Marie le Conte, Ros Taylor and Rafael Behr gather to pore over the entrails of 2024 and name the totemic people and events of the year.

Plus, in the Extra Bit for Patreon people: What do the panel want for Christmas? Not Electoral Reform socks and Donald Tusk action figures, but the ideas and policy moves they want to see in 2025?

Support us on Patreon to keep independent podcasting alive and ’casting! 

Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey. Audio production by Robin Leeburn and Tom Taylor. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk

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As bad Brexit news piles up, a new poll says that even Leave voters would welcome freedom of movement if it meant access to the Single Market. But is the question of Britain rejoining the EU ever going to make it into mainstream politics conversation? We look at the hurdles. Plus, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has put the American people’s hatred of their health system in the spotlight. How deep does this resentment run and how did it get so bad that someone would kill over it? AND we have a special returning former panelist to the show this week: Ahir Shah is back after a year-long hiatus!

We’re on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/@ohgodwhatnow  

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn, Rachel Cunliffe and Ahir Shah. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production by: Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices