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This week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Josie Long and Josh Gondelman for a turbulent episode stacked with big beautiful bills, endless Norwegian funds and outrageously rich pets.

Produced by Chris Skinner, Laura Turner and Ross Ramsey-Golding

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There has been so much news lately that we've had to hold back on some killer stories, so here they are - from Matcha chaos, to Jeff Bezos's wedding to female religious leaders.

Andy is with: Tiff Stevenson, Hari Kondabolu, Felicity Ward, Neil Delamere, Alice Fraser, Tom Ballard and James Nokise.

Produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner

🎧 Support The Bugle! Get bonus episodes, exclusive videos, and a Team Bugle subscription at thebuglepodcast.com

📺 Watch our visual fantasy-comedy show Realms Unknown on YouTube.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎧 Support The Bugle! Get bonus episodes, exclusive videos, and the smug self-righteousness of a Team Bugle subscription at thebuglepodcast.com

This week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Tiff Stevenson and Tom Ballard to untangle a world that's somehow too serious and too stupid—often at the same time.

🔥 Top Story: Iran & Israel — tensions escalate, missiles fly, and peace remains as elusive as a rational online comment section.

🐕 Also in Iran: forget cats with attitude—dog walking is now banned. We unpack the leash-tightening madness.

☀️ Meanwhile, the summer solstice brings light and… an AUKUS defence deal? Yes, nothing says sunshine like submarines.

🎺 And in the USA, Trump’s latest parade blares its way through logic and decency—again.

💬 Expect sharp satire, international nonsense, and at least one excellent pun.

📺 Watch our visual fantasy-comedy show Realms Unknown on YouTube.

Produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner. And Chris's dog Daphne.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎧 Support The Bugle! Get bonus shows, exclusive videos, and a smug sense of global awareness at thebuglepodcast.com

This week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Alice Fraser and Neil Delamere for a global sweep of chaos, climate, and confused birds.

🇺🇸 In the United States, Elon Musk continues to make noise, and riots bring yet another wave of existential dread. Democracy? Still TBD.

🌆 Sinking cities are on the rise (and by “on the rise” we mean going underwater). Is climate change trying to take real estate off the market?

🐧 In the Antarctic nationalist row nobody asked for, penguins have waddled straight into a geopolitical spat. Are they fascist birds, or just lost? We investigate.

💬 It's time to 'Ask Andy' - send your questions now.

📺 Watch our fantasy comedy series Realms Unknown now fully visualised on YouTube

Produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner. Climate-proofed by penguins.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎧 Support The Bugle! Get bonus shows, exclusive video episodes, and smug warmth at thebuglepodcast.com 

This week, Andy Zaltzman leads an international panel of Buglers through the chaos of politics, wildlife, and billionaire bromances—with a special focus on honey badgers, New Zealand’s political drama, and the heartbreaking (or not?) Musk/Trump split. 

Andy, Felicity Ward and James Nokise dig in to... 

🦡 Honey badgers are fearless, chaotic, and possibly the spiritual animal of this podcast. We investigate their weird mythology and even weirder attitude. 

🇳🇿 New Zealand politics is heating up—by Kiwi standards, at least. We delve into coalition collapses, policy oddities, and why it’s all oddly polite. 💔 Elon Musk and Donald Trump: the bromance is off. What happened? Who kept the merch? And can either of them survive without the other’s echo? 

⚠️ Warning: This episode contains BS. You’ve been warned.

📺 Watch Realms Unknown, now fully visualised on YouTube. Produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner. Possibly supervised by a honey badger.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎧 Support The Bugle! Become a Team Bugle subscriber for bonus episodes, exclusive merch, and the unmatched pleasure of elite-tier status: https://thebuglepodcast.com

This week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by 'quibbling sibling' Helen Zaltzman and Josh Gondelman for a mostly F***ING BLEAK-free episode full of satire, jigsaw news and punctuation puns.

🇨🇦 In Canada news:

🧩 US-Canada trade war means jigsaw business owners are left picking up the pieces

👑 King Charles visits the colonies with promises of arming an ordinarily placid country

🇺🇸 In USA news:

☎️ Big Beautiful Bill resolute in bid to reach Trump's desk

🤑 Food 'sucked' at Trump's $148m meme coin dinner

📖 In Books and Language news:

🤖 AI-generated summer reading list published in newspapers

；Semicolon usage on the decline

⛅️ In Light in the Darkness news:

☀️ Solar panels in space to transmit electricity to Earth

🧠 Feeling awe helps mental health

🎧 Listen to our sci-fi and fantasy comedy show Realms Unknown hosted by Bugle favourite Alice Fraser, and pick up her book A Passion for Passion here: http://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

Produced by Ped Hunter and Chris Skinner.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎧 Support The Bugle! Become a Team Bugle subscriber for bonus episodes, exclusive merch, and the unmatched pleasure of elite-tier status: thebuglepodcast.com

This week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Tiff Stevenson, Hari Kondabolu, and elite-tier producer Chad for a power-packed episode full of satire, absurdity, and deeply unnecessary sequels.

🇺🇸 In American news:

Trump gets weirdly complimentary about muscly men in the Middle East

James Comey—aspiring hitman or maître d’? And we ask: who will save the poor, struggling... private jet-owning white South Africans?

💼 The team reveals their old jobs—the cash-grabs, the chaos, and the character-building.

🦝 Wildlife news returns with animals doing very animal things.

📚 In The Bin: books, including a baffling follow-up to The Joy of Sex. Spoiler: not joyful.

📺 Watch our fantasy-comedy series Realms Unknown on this channel and pick up A Passion for Passion here: http://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

Produced by Chad, along with Laura Turner and Chris Skinner.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by elite-tier Bugler and guest producer Belinda (as well as Nish Kumar and Tom Ballard) delivering a show so saucy it might get you banned from the Vatican gift shop.

🔹 Support The Bugle! Get bonus episodes, exclusive video editions, and the moral superiority of a Team Bugle subscription: thebuglepodcast.com

🏏 Top Story: India v Pakistan — More than just a cricket match, it’s a boiling cauldron of nationalism, sport obsession, and a few pesky borders. What does this frenzy say about both countries—and how does it compare to how Russia does fun (spoiler: poorly)?

💸 Who will step in to sponsor the IPL extended break? We’re imagining a bidding war between detergent brands and authoritarian regimes.

🇬🇧🇮🇳 Plus, we dive into the UK–India post-Brexit trade deal: will it involve actual trade, or just ceremonial handshakes and whisky?

🕊️ Also in the news: a Ukraine ceasefire, which may or may not hold longer than a political promise, and Woke Pope News—has the Vatican gone vegan?

🎤 And in literary slander: Is Andy Zaltzman truly “the Wordsworth of anal filth”? We may never know, but we’ll speculate wildly.

⚖️ Also, we remember the Witch Trials—a time when women were persecuted for floating, speaking, or simply existing—and toss some flaming audio cocktails into the bin for good measure.

🎧 Watch our fantasy-meets-satire show Realms Unknown on YouTube, and check out A Passion for Passion here: http://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for weekly satire on sport, politics, religion, and righteous nonsense.

Produced by Belinda Copeland, with support from Chris Skinner and Laura Turner.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

📯 Support The Bugle! Get exclusive video editions, bonus shows, and the right to feel a little superior: thebuglepodcast.com

This week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by David O’Doherty and Alice Fraser to deliver your weekly fix of democracy despair, snake news, and historical nonsense.

🗳️ Top Story: Global Democracy Update — The world is somehow both leaning towards and veering away from Donald Trump. We check in on:

• Australia, where going viral now involves saying racist things in chip shops 🍟
• The UK, where a party that is definitely not far-right (and will sue you if you say otherwise) made gains 🏴
• And Ireland, where we mark the first hundred days of government with a sigh, a shrug, and mild confusion ☘️

🌍 Also this week: Remember when Net Zero was an actual goal and not just a vague eco-dream whispered into the wind? Good times.

🐍 In Snake News: one man basically conquers snakes by letting them bite him. Yes, this is a real story. Yes, he’s probably not okay.

📚 Plus, we look back at Tennessee banning the teaching of evolution (because that could never happen again, right?), and the thrill of the first four-minute mile.

🎧 Check out Realms Unknown, our fully visualised YouTube show, and grab your copy of A Passion for Passion here: Bookshop.org

🔔 LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for satirical takes on politics, history, science, and slippery reptiles.

Produced by Tom Wright, Chris Skinner, and Laura Turner.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support The Bugle! Get exclusive video editions, bonus episodes, and fine smugness: thebuglepodcast.com

This week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Hari Kondabolu and Anuvab Pal for a turbo-charged tour through history, politics, and questionable phone etiquette.

🍁 In Canada, Trump somehow manages to swing the election against him—was trying to make just one extra state the fatal flaw? We dig into North America's weirdest geopolitical fantasy.

📱 Pete Hegseth’s phone game is all over the place—so naturally, we guess what might explain his behaviour. We're probably wrong.

🧵 The Bayeux Tapestry—beautiful, historic, and possibly the result of an 11th-century frat house? We count the danglers (yes, actual danglers), and ask: was this the first ever meme thread?

🔔 Hit LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for your weekly dose of international satire, ancient art mockery, and unfiltered Bugle nonsense.

Produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.