Trump came down that golden escalator ten years ago this week, and thus began America’s descent to the depths of madness. The gang looks back on his political journey, from launching into the GOP race from Trump Tower to whatever you’d describe where we are now. Plus, Reform UK won loads of council seats – and now it actually has to take charge of things. So, how’s that going? (We promise we say more than just bad.) Then in the Extra Bit for supporters – can we ever be as happy as Finland? And what does that even mean?

• Listen to The Bunker including Andrew’s interview with Peter Ricketts. 

ESCAPE ROUTES 

•  Matt went to see The Ballad of Wallis Island at the cinema

• Zoe went to Primavera in Barcelona – and she says to watch Chappell Roan’s set online if you can! 

• Raf went to see Showstopper!

• Dorian suggests Decoder Ring  

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Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Rafael Behr, Zoe Grunewald and Matt Green. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio. Production by Robin Leeburn. Music by Cornershop Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. 

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Tanks for nothing… We look at the contrast between Trump’s pathetic North Korean-style self-celebration, the magnificent #NoKings protests, and the horror of the Minnesota assassinations. Plus, Starmer flips on a grooming gangs inquiry and the violence in Ballymena. And we grill special guest Chris Curtis MP on Labour’s housing plans and why Paul Weller was wrong about Milton Keynes. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Hannah recommends Pulp live and their new album More. 

• Jonn recommends Our Friends In The North, no longer on iPlayer but on Apple TV+ instead.

• Chris recommends baffling 2010s series Lost on Netflix.

• Andrew recommends East German hit woman comedy-thriller Kleo also on Netflix. 

• Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more. 

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Jonn Elledge and Hannah Fearn. 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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Rachel Reeves’ spending review is out – what’s in it and what do the panel think should have got more attention? Plus, Reform UK wants to bring the DOGE mentality to Britain. We explain why that’s a terrible idea. Author of Failed State and the indispensable Comment is Freed substack Sam Freedman joins the panel. And in the Extra Bit for subscribers, as the Millennium Bridge turns 25, what has Britain built in the first quarter of the 21st century and what does it say about us?

• Listen to the latest Why? With Emma Kennedy: What is scrolling doing to our brains?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Sam Freedman has been bingeing on The Big Bang Theory on Channel4.com. 

• Ros recommends Series 2 of The Gold on BBC iPlayer. 

• Jonn recommends Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. 

• Dorian recommends Platonic featuring Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne on Apple TV+. 

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Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Ros Taylor and Jonn Elledge. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Video Production by Chris Jones. Music by Cornershop. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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The world is watching in horror as Los Angeles turns into a real-life immersive Rage Against The Machine song. Is the President looking for a Reichstag to set on fire as he threatens to use US troops on US citizens? Plus, the Battle of the Bastards! First, what does Trump’s mega fallout with Musk tell us about the realities of far right politics… if anything? Then, what’s behind Zia Yusuf’s on-off resignation from Reform UK? 

Escape Routes

• Raf recommends Maybe I’m Amazed by John Harris. 

• Alison recommends Scarface (1983) directed by Brian de Palma. 

• Matt recommends Your Friends And Neighbours with John Hamm and The Studio with Seth Rogan on Apple TV+. 

• Andrew recommends All Asimov And No Fresh Air by Half Man Half Biscuit. 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Alison Phillips, Rafael Behr, and Matt Green. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Video Production by Chris Jones. Music by Cornershop. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Seems like King in the North Andy Burnham fancies his chances of taking over Labour and giving the troubled government new direction. Is talk of a leadership fight just pot-stirring – or is Starmer in real trouble? And who else is in the frame? Plus, that video where maverick crimefighter Robert Jenrick chases faredodgers was roundly mocked. But is it smart politics in the Tories’ battle with Reform over the soul of Pissed-Off Britain? And in the Extra Bit for Patreon people, we read Sarah Vine’s Westminster tell-all so you don’t have to. 

• Don’t miss the latest Crime Scene: Should Britain decriminalise cannabis?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Rachel recommends Giant with John Lithgow at the Harold Pinter Theatre. 

• Jonn recommends Murderbot by on Apple TV+.

• Marie recommends Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson.

• Alison recommends Fred And Rose: A British Horror Story on Netflix. 

• Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more. 

Presented by Alison Phillips with Rachel Cunliffe, Jonn Elledge 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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He’s old, he’s reactionary, he’s authoritarian-curious, he hates the EU… and he’s dead. Why are the main parties fixated on the demands of a zombie voter who has gone to join the Choir Eternal? And at the other end of the scale, what about “Henry” – high earner, not rich yet – the urban go-getter with an “email job” who earns six figures yet somehow finds himself strapped? Duncan Robinson who writes The Economist’s Bagehot column identified both these phenomena. He joins us to debate what we do about the Walking Dead – and whether Henry deserves a helping hand or a teeny-tiny violin.

• Who should replace Keir Starmer? Find out on the latest edition of The Bunker.

• Hannah on Who even votes Tory any more?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Duncan recommends the Screen Rot podcast. 

• Hannah recommends Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs by our own Miranda Sawyer.

• Seth recommends The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

• Andrew recommends Thunderbolts, coming soon to Disney+ . 

• Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more. 

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn and Seth Thévoz. 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.

www.podmasters.co.uk

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Special crossover edition... Well, Elon Musk is putting Washington behind him – or so he says… Molly Jong-Fast joined American Friction to talk Chris and Jarv through what’s going on – and we thought you might want to listen too! Go get more American Friction and listen to the whole episode at: https://linktr.ee/americanfriction 

Molly also has a new book out called How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir, and there’s a link to buy it below.) 

Buy How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund American Friction by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow  

Presented by Chris Jones and Jacob Jarvis. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio. Production by: Chris Jones. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.  

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Reform UK gets a lot of coverage but not enough scrutiny. Say Nigel Farage did become Prime Minister (God forbid), what would a Reform UK-led UK look like? Is their manifesto (… sorry, ‘contract’) full to the brim of wishful thinking? Plus, with changes inbound on the two-child benefit cap and winter fuel payments is Labour sorting its act out? Or does this make Starmer look weak? Paul Nowak is the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress and joins the podcast to give his thoughts. And in the Extra Bit for subscribers following the death of BBC arts titan Alan Yentob, we ask: Is the dream of culture for the masses still alive? 

• Read Sam Freedman’s Substack here: https://samf.substack.com/p/what-would-a-reform-government-be

• Listen to The Bunker including Duncan Weldon on the economics of war.

• Don’t miss the latest edition of Crime Scene on the Liverpool parade car collision and what it means for policing.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Paul recommends Bruce Springsteen live and Race Across The World on BBC iPlayer. 

• Matt saw Mary Poppins at the Bradford Alhambra.

• Rachel recommends listening to Magic At The Musicals on RadioPlayer. 

• Dorian recommends Gang Of Three (keep an eye out in case it gets a transfer) and Electric Dreams at Tate Modern.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Dorian Lynskey with Rachel Cunliffe and Matt Green. Producer: Chris Jones. Audio Production by: Robin Leeburn. Music by Cornershop. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Rebellious MPs, a nightmare spending review, the endless Two Child Benefit Cap row, dire polling… is Labour in for a summer of discontent? We ask whether the Government can bend with the wind to succeed, what policies will change, and whether Starmer/Reeves is a double act with two straight men? Plus: Have researchers found a new way to deal with digital disinformation? And in a special bonus, Jonn and Andrew discuss why the best political drama of the decade so far is the Star Wars spin-off Andor. 

• Don’t miss Oh God, What Now? Live at 21Soho on Weds 11 June. 

• Listen to the new Crime Scene – the truth about true crime. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Ros recommends The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. 

• Jonn recommends Paradise on Disney+.

• Marie recommends Six Of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

• Andrew recommends Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin and Murderbot on Apple TV+. 

• Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more. 

Written and presented by Andrew Harrison with Marie le Conte, John Elledge and Ros Taylor. 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.

www.podmasters.co.uk

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The Tory press and pundits reacted as rationally as you’d expect to the new UK-EU deal, accusing Starmer of sneaking back into the EU, betraying the British taxpayer, and all their favourite themes. But exactly what are they saying and how much of it is legit? Plus, with the potential abolition of the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, we ask why governments can’t see the positives of culture? And in the Extra Bit for subscribers, it’s 20 years since The Thick of It hit our screens. Politically, does it still hold up?

Today’s special guest is Emma Kennedy, writer and host of our sibling science and psychology podcast Why? – new series out now!

• Get tickets for Oh God, What Now? Live at 21 Soho, London, with special guest Marcus Brigstocke.

• Don’t miss our fascinating new series Crime Scene. Latest episode: Who killed the Essex Boys?

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

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

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