The Trawl

In this episode, Marina Purkiss and Jemma Forte are rifling through the internet’s sock drawer - separating facts from absolute tat, pairing up what still makes sense, and binning the stray underpants.

Talking of stray underpants, Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell are the latest Tories to defect to Reform. 

Before that however, the ladies start with the social media trend that is dragging us all back to 2016 (for better and worse), they ponder the psychological dangers of Dry January during late-stage capitalism, and enjoy some much-needed good news.

Then it’s politics and time to examine Robert Jenrick’s dramatic lurch towards Reform UK, the growing problem of MPs switching parties without asking voters, and why it all feels a bit like “if I can’t be Prime Minister, I’ll burn the house down.” Along the way, Sky News, LBC callers, internet philosophers and professional bellends all make an appearance.

And because no week is complete without a cultural skirmish, Jemma and Marina have to head chez Beckham where wedding dances, PR meltdowns and internet imaginations collide. Russell Kane speaks for a nation that is, frankly, quite tired.

Receipts kept. Furniture scorched. Sock drawer sorted.

To sign the campaign for By-elections to be called automatically when MPs defect to another party, head to: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/737660

This episode is sponsored by AG1 - the daily foundational nutrition support drink which helps you combat the winter season both mentally and physically. For a limited time, get a limited edition AG one Green Steel Tumblr plus five travel packs, and a welcome kit to get you started.

That's all worth £80, but it's free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at drinkag1.com/thetrawl

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

In this Trawl the world lurches from crisis to farce and back again at breakneck speed.

Trump is turning Greenland into his latest imperial fixation, NATO's scrambling to respond, while here in the UK we're quietly realising the ole 'special relationship' may be less special than advertised. Meanwhile, the BBC is perfecting its long-standing talent for underreacting to events that could fracture global alliances.

As hypocrisy klaxons blare, Jemma and Marina dig into Trump’s selective outrage over Iran, the horrifying reality facing people on the ground as the country is cut off from the world, and the long, ugly Western history that helped put Iran where it is today.

Plus: billionaire resource grabs, religious justification for oil theft and an underrated post of the week and pudding from new contributors Harris Alterman and Joe Nunnink

The world might be overwhelming at the moment, and utterly enraging. But at least on The Trawl we’re screaming together.

This episode is sponsored by AG1 - the daily foundational nutrition support drink which helps you combat the winter season both mentally and physically. For a limited time, get a limited edition AG one Green Steel Tumblr plus five travel packs, and a welcome kit to get you started.

That's all worth £80, but it's free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at drinkag1.com/thetrawl

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

This Trawl starts with some actual good news before Marina and Jemma get it into the latest dyed in the wool Tory to join Reform. 

Nadhim Zahawi has defected declaring “nothing works”, despite having personally had several goes at running the place. Reform continue to collect disgraced millionaires like badly laminated Pokémon cards, and the Trawl ladies are armed with some very amusing Farage receipts.

Things then take a darker turn as Jemma and Marina wade into men saying deeply dodgy things on podcasts about women, birth rates and “correcting” female choices, with expert takedowns, internet reactions, and some very practical suggestions for men who’d like women to actually like them.

And finally: what the hell is going on over at X? Men are using Grok to generate AI abuse towards women and even children and it's utterly depraved. The Trawl ladies play some voice notes from fellow female political commentators who have been affected. Still, Rupert Loew thinks it's all fine and that X should be 'protected.' What a hill to die on.

All that, plus a reminder that not all men are dreadful wombats by way of a very lovely pudding. 

Bin fires extinguished. Receipts provided. 

This episode is sponsored by AG1 - the daily foundational nutrition support drink which helps you combat the winter season both mentally and physically. For a limited time, get a limited edition AG one Green Steel Tumblr plus five travel packs, and a welcome kit to get you started.

That's all worth £80, but it's free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at drinkag1.com/thetrawl

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

History's repeating itself …loudly.

In this Trawl, Marina and Jemma struggle to keep things light as America spirals deeper into terrifyingly authoritarian territory.

They discuss the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent, the disturbing footage that followed, and the speed with which Trump’s administration moved to justify, sanitise and defend her death. From the tripling of ICE’s budget to the erosion of judicial oversight, this episode lays bare what happens when a heavily armed force is unleashed with political cover and “absolute immunity”.

Along the way, there’s Trump’s increasingly unhinged behaviour, a media ecosystem willing to dehumanise the dead, and the uncomfortable truth that Renee was not the first person killed in ICE custody - just the first white person caught on tape.

It’s an angry, upsetting, necessary listen with moments of solidarity, clarity and humanity where the Trawl ladies can still find them.

One of the 'Under Rateds' will give you shivers. 

This episode is sponsored by AG1 - the daily foundational nutrition support drink which helps you combat the winter season both mentally and physically. For a limited time, get a limited edition AG one Green Steel Tumblr plus five travel packs, and a welcome kit to get you started.

That's all worth £80, but it's free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at drinkag1.com/thetrawl

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

Trump tries to slap his name on the Kennedy Center and the internet responds with satire, cancelled shows and an all-time zinger of a legal reply: “Confusion is a legal requirement, not a feeling.”Beautiful work 🫡

Then the mood shifts, hard. Marina and Jemma confront the unbearable disconnect of cosy Christmases in the West while Gaza freezes and floods. From Netanyahu’s Mar-a-Lago sleepover with Trump to the stripping of aid agencies from Gaza, Marina and Jemma ask the same question again and again: where are the consequences?

Also in this ep: Nicki Minaj torches her own reputation, the grotesque hypocrisy over the release of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Kemi Badenoch defending the indefensible (again), a sanctioned oligarch’s favourite lawyer, and the men of politics proving, once more, that it’s all just a game to them.

Satire, rage, hypocrisy klaxons and laughs. Enjoy!

This episode is sponsored by AG1 - the daily foundational nutrition support drink which helps you combat the winter season both mentally and physically. For a limited time, get a limited edition AG one Green Steel Tumblr plus five travel packs, and a welcome kit to get you started.

That's all worth £80, but it's free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at drinkag1.com/thetrawl

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

The Christmas break is barely a memory, Venezuela is threatening to become “the Greenland situation”, and Trump has kicked off January by delivering one of the most jaw-droppingly stupid geopolitical statements we’ve ever heard.

Before Jemma and Marina get swept up in the next global meltdown, this episode rakes back over everything you might’ve missed while eating leftovers and avoiding your relatives. From Trump’s extraordinary reframing of Russia’s war on Ukraine, to the optics, silences and outright gaslighting surrounding Zelensky, Putin and the world’s most fragile truth.

They also wade into the Epstein files and why their release got so dark over Christmas, why the redactions raised serious questions, and what has (and hasn’t) actually been established so far. They discuss Trump’s midterm panic, the legal cases that never made it to trial, and how power keeps slipping out of reach of accountability.

But because life can’t be wall-to-wall bleak, the Trawl ladies also bring some positive receipts: real wins, real progress, and reasons not to spiral before January’s even finished. Plus Peruvian shamans, underrated tweets of the week, and a genuinely lovely poetic pudding to send you on your way.

This episode is sponsored by AG1 - the daily foundational nutrition support drink which helps you combat the winter season both mentally and physically. For a limited time, get a limited edition AG one Green Steel Tumblr plus five travel packs, and a welcome kit to get you started.

That's all worth £80, but it's free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at drinkag1.com/thetrawl

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

Marina and Jemma return from Christmas only to find that Trump has kicked off 2026 by bombing Venezuela and kidnapping its president - and the so‑called “rules‑based international order” immediately folded like a cheap camping chair, with Western leaders bravely choosing silence, caution, and the safety of not upsetting the big orange man.

In this episode, they wade through the geopolitical sludge: a president paraded through New York like a colonial trophy, Musk suddenly discovering he loves regime change, and Marco Rubio realising mid‑press conference that he’s apparently been put in charge of running a country. Meanwhile Europe’s puny leaders offer their usual contribution - a sternly worded nothing - proving once again that the West’s moral authority is mostly a decorative prop and little else.

There are bots posing as jubilant Venezuelans, Nike tracksuits selling out because of a coup, and Trump casually eyeing up Greenland like it’s the Middle‑Eastern Riviera.

Marina and Jemma try to make sense of a world where the rules don’t apply, the leaders aren’t leading, and the only people not underreacting are you fine listeners - and two women with microphones and a migraine.

This episode is sponsored by AG1 - the daily foundational nutrition support drink which helps you combat the winter season both mentally and physically. For a limited time, get a limited edition AG one Green Steel Tumblr plus five travel packs, and a welcome kit to get you started.

That's all worth £80, but it's free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at drinkag1.com/thetrawl

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

Clips of writer, podcaster and Instagram legend, Cody Dahler, have featured so many times on The Trawl, regular listeners will be completely familiar with his dulcet tones. What they may not know however is that Cody used to be a civil servant, working alongside and putting up with the Tory government and a comedy writer on shows such as Dead Ringers. Marina and Jemma find out how he's grown his huge Insta following, what he thinks about Starmer and get his thoughts on Rory Stewart's 'class anger' comments which were aimed at Zack Polanski. Plus who is Cody naming 'Bell End of the Year.' 

This episode is sponsored by AG1 - the daily foundational nutrition support drink which helps you combat the winter season both mentally and physically. For a limited time, get a limited edition AG one Green Steel Tumblr plus five travel packs, and a welcome kit to get you started.

That's all worth £80, but it's free when you sign up for a monthly subscription at drinkag1.com/thetrawl

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

https://https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcasttwitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

No clips. No editing. No guests.

In this unedited end-of-year special, Marina Purkiss and Jemma Forte sit down and reflect on everything The Trawl has covered over 2025. They remember the stories that shocked them, the moments that made them laugh, and the news cycles that left them genuinely lost for words. They also indulge in a bit of nostalgia, recalling how they met and how the podcast began. Then Marina is very rude about a pair of Jemma's trousers which changes the tone somewhat. 

From political chaos and media pile-ons to internet absurdity, culture wars and the moments of unexpected joy that cut through the noise, this is a candid conversation about what it’s been like to trawl the feed week after week during one of the strangest years in recent memory.

A chance to pause, take stock, and exhale before whatever 2026 decides to throw at them.

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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

It’s Boxing Day on The Trawl, which means Marina and Jemma are fuelled by cheese, chaos and the most baffling headlines Britain has to offer. Join them as they sift through the festive madness: reality‑TV absurdity, BBC lawsuits, and the government’s latest attempt to turn violence against women into a culture‑war chew toy. They dig into Jess Phillips’ new proposals, the backlash from the usual suspects, and the data that certain politicians would rather ignore. Also featuring: Cilla Black fever dreams, Tom Skinner’s Strictly meltdown, and a surprising amount of cheese.

A perfect blend of silliness, sharpness and Stilton‑powered clarity.

Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:

• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

• Early access to The Trawl Meets…

• Glorious ad-free episodes

Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.

And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.

Come join the fun:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

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