Oh God, What Now?

Labour has disowned its candidate for the upcoming Rochdale byelection – how has Keir Starmer handled this? And has this turmoil over Azhar Ali’s comments damaged the Labour Party’s hopes of beating the Tories at the next election? Plus, we discuss New Labour Derangement Syndrome which we’ve DEFINITELY NOT made up. How influential is New Labour still? And in the Extra bit for subscribers – is platforming still a thing? We unpack the interview between Tucker Carlson and Vladimir ‘The Historian’ Putin.

• “I would not say I’m entirely confident Ali will win, but I think it’s the most likely outcome still.” – Marie Le Conte.

• “Mandelson hasn’t come out and said ‘I’m just a normal bloke’ which I think has happened with the rest of them.” – Matt Green

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Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Alex Andreou, Matt Green, and Marie Le Conte. 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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It’s been called “the mother of all U-turns”, but is Labour’s backtracking on its £28bn green policy pledge justified? And should we stop moaning and learn to love U-turns anyway? Plus, the UK’s education system isn’t in brilliant shape. What needs solving, and does Labour have a plan? Special guest Charlotte Santry, news editor for TES Magazine, FKA the Times Education Supplement, marks our report card.

• “The £28b figure? I'm not bothered about it, it was just a pointless round number.” – Hannah Fearn.

• “I wouldn’t rule out Labour making a U-turn on the U-turn.” – Seth Thevoz.

• “Because of how the costs are calculated there are schools that have been charged £8k for a tap or £4k for a sink.” – Charlotte Santry.

• “In some areas in particular places like London, you’re seeing schools that aren’t attracting enough pupils to be sustainable.” – Charlotte Santry.

• “Labour has pledged a lot of things on education, but there aren’t a lot of details.” – Charlotte Santry.

We’re on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVOIkIWUDtu7VrVcFs0OI0A 

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Written and presented by Ros Taylor with Hannah Fearn, Seth Thevoz and guest Charlotte Santry. 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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It’s the 500th episode since we started as Remainiacs! To mark the occasion we’ve highlighted 10 of the worst Brexit bad guys we love to hate… because you can’t spell “schadenfreude” without E.U. Plus, immigration under the microscope with migration expert Zoe Gardner. Are we in the crisis the Tories claim? And how will the next government handle it? And in the Extra Bit for subscribers, why are our MPs swearing so much and do we really give a shit?

• “It still amazes me that Farage did not pay the price like Johnson and is massively influential, now more than ever.” – Zoe Gardner.

• “So much of Brexit was just bad policy… It was founded in fantasy.” – Raf Behr.

• “Refugees on small boats has been pushed as a huge issue but they account for well under 10% of migration to the UK.” – Zoe Gardner.

• “The choice is chaos or control, but what we have now is chaos.” – Zoe Gardner.

We’re on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVOIkIWUDtu7VrVcFs0OI0A 

Keep OGWN going by supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ros Taylor, Rafael Behr and guest Zoe Gardner. Producers: 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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Yes, we know the Tory party has made an absolute mess of the country – but can Labour do anything to fix it? And if it can, in which areas will it focus? Plus, according to new research, Gen Z boys and men are getting increasingly angry at feminism. Why? What’s behind the political rift between men and women? And is it all Andrew Tate’s fault? 

•”Labour thinks the Tories will fight the next election on wedge issues… that is NOT the strategy.” – Alex Andreou.

•”I cover this for a living and even I am confused about how taxes are so high...” – Rachel Cunliffe.

•”You cannot get Labour to say ANYTHING right now.” – Rachel Cunliffe.

•”Young British men are still way more to the left than older British women, to be fair.” – Marie Le Conte.

We’re on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVOIkIWUDtu7VrVcFs0OI0A 

Hear the latest edition of Ros Taylor’s Jam Tomorrow: ‘Ten Pound Poms’.

Support us on Patreon and help keep OGWN going: https://www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Marie Le Conte, Alex Andreou and Rachel Cunliffe. Producer: Chris Jones. Social Media Producer: Jess Harpin. 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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Disposable vapes, XL bullies, and nitrous oxide – this government loves banning things. Has that always been the case? Do we secretly love living in a nanny state? And the housing crisis keeps getting worse, will a Labour government be able to fix the problem? We’ve got two of the UK’s leading housing journalists with us, including award-winning journalist and author of Show Me The Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen, Peter Apps. 

• “We shouldn’t have a nerd PM, he doesn’t understand the appeal of the fun stuff.” – Marie Le Conte

• “I’m not sure banning things always works. I think it can make things more attractive again.” – Hannah Fearn.

• “There’s been a failure to imagine a world of flat ownership without leasehold.” – Peter Apps

• “I’ve been renting in London since 2009… I’ve got enough stories to finish the podcast.” – Marie Le Conte

• “We’re short of everything in housing.” – Hannah Fearn

Buy Show Me The Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen 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.

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

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Presented by Ros Taylor with Marie Le Conte, Hannah Fearn and guest Peter Apps. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio production by: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Brexit Fourth Birthday Special! As new import regulations come in to make meat, cheese and flowers more expensive, why can’t we face up to the Dumbest Thing Britain Ever Did? Tory fratricide latest: the beleaguered Rishi Sunak’s masterplan is… banning disposable vapes? Is Viktor Orbán’s Hungary about to get kicked out of the EU? And will we see Mar-a-Lago on Zoopla soon? 

(Due to illness it’s an all-male “manel” today. Normal service resumed ASAP.)

• “The Government has effectively beta-tested every one of its ideas on people’s lives and livelihoods.” – Alex Andreou

• “On hormone beef we are actually sticking to EU regulations… which makes you wonder what the point of leaving was.” – Seth Thévoz

• “Who chooses a pilot on the basis that you’d like to go to the pub with them and they seem like a bit of a laugh?” – Alex Andreou

• “I was once accused of monopolising Monopoly, which is pretty harsh.” – Jacob Jarvis

• “The shortages on medicines are a ticking bomb. It’s incredible how little coverage this is getting.” – Alex Andreou

Support us on Patreon to get early access to all our live tickets plus mugs, t-shirts and more. 

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

Visit our new affiliate bookshop to buy books by the panel and our pals. You’ll be helping to fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale plus Bookshop.org helps to support independent bookshops too.

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

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Is Britain a conservative nation at its core – or is it time to dispel that myth? And the Tories haven’t been too good at picking party leaders of late, could Kemi Badenoch be next up? The panel discusses who she is and what she stands for? Plus, in the extra bit for subscribers, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer wants to give Ofcom more powers to stop what she believes is BBC bias – does she have a point?

• “I think the cost of living crisis is making more institutions left wing.” – Marie Le Conte

• “There is evidence that this woke moral panic is making people over a particular age more conservative and people under a certain age less so.” – Alex Andreou

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

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Alex Andreou, Rachel Cunliffe and Marie Le Conte. 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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Get the political cliché klaxon ready – Rishi Sunak has invoked the so-called “will of the people” as he boosts his Rwanda rhetoric. Does he have any idea what the public actually wants? And why is he so desperately upping his populist-but-not-very-popular messaging? Plus, as attacks on Starmer get increasingly desperate – should anyone care about mud-slinging from the tabloids? Ros Taylor is joined by Hannah Fearn and Times columnist Hugo Rifkind. 

• “When he has seen the will of the people he’s chosen to ignore it. It’s a strange choice of words.” – Hannah Fearn 

• “It’s easy to say he’s not very good at being Prime Minister, but it’s worse than that. He’s not very good at being Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He’s literally someone who started a job and doesn’t know how to do it.” – Hugo Rifkind 

• “Sunak sort of exudes weakness.” – Hugo Rifkind 

• “Sunak is seen as useless and out of touch – both worse than boring.” – Hannah Fearn 

Hear the new series of Ros's documentary podcast Jam Tomorrow here: https://listen.podmasters.uk/JamTomorrow

We’re on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVOIkIWUDtu7VrVcFs0OI0A 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Ros Taylor with Hannah Fearn and Hugo Rifkind. Producers: Chris Jones and Alex Rees. 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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Lee Anderson and his pals have thrown their toys out of the pram – we unpack the latest Tory fallout. Plus, Houthi rebel strikes across Red Sea shipping lanes have led to counterstrikes from the UK and the US militaries. How has that action been justified and what’s the danger of escalation? And, leading transport commentator Simon Calder joins the panel to give his thoughts on the UK’s travel networks – the good, the bad and the ugly. 

• “It felt like ‘we’ve bombed this and this is why we did it’ and it doesn’t feel like that’s how it should be in a democracy.” – Ros Taylor

• “I’m not sure David Cameron is getting all 8 hours at night.” – Zoe Grunewald

• “Everything is simply decided now it seems by Number 10 on what is most expedient politically.” – Simon Calder

• ”There is simply no appetite for rail and that is why we’re going into such a long spiral of decline, it is absolutely miserable.” – Simon Calder

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

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ros Taylor, Zoe Grunewald and guest Simon Calder. Producer: Alex Rees and Chris Jones. Audio production by: Alex Rees. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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‘Oh God, What Else?’ is our Monday morning extra edition for Patreon backers. This week’s episode is a bit special so we thought we’d make it available to the wider OGWN-verse too. This time: After 1,875 days, Oh God, What Now? producer extraordinaire Alex Rees is leaving Podmasters. He joins the rest of our audio team, Jade Bailey, Simon Williams and Robin Leeburn to take you behind the scenes of Podmasters to discuss how the company, podcasts and people have changed over the years.

• “In my final interview with Andrew he asked me ‘Oasis or Blur?’ and I was convinced I’d lost the job because I said Oasis” – Jade Bailey

• “I think our studio pushes 100 degrees in summer. That’s CELSIUS.” – Robin Leeburn

Presented by Jade Bailey, Alex Rees, Simon Williams and Robin Leeburn. Assistant Producer: Adam Wright. Audio production by Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT ELSE? is a Podmasters production

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