This Trawl begins with a theological question inspired by Trump's wildly disrespectful sharing of an AI generated image of himself dressed as....the Pope. Yes, that's the point we've reached folks, the President of the United States is playing fancy dress for all the world to see. Marina's Catholic mother is not impressed! 

After a somewhat un Trawl like discussion about religion, the Trawl ladies move on to the latest in UK politics and the results from the local elections, which include Darren Grimes of GB News fame becoming a councillor (but not really understanding his job description) and Dame Andrea Jenkyns becoming Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire. Andrea wants to start off by firing all the Diversity officers in her council, only there aren't any. 

There are plenty of clips and tweets as you'd imagine, plus the backlash from Farage's speech where he has said he'll ban working from home. Marina and Jemma discuss why this is a fundamentally terrible idea for a myriad of reasons. 

They also talk through how Labour might, should and probably will react. Is a Reform victory at the next election a very real possibility? It certainly feels that way though a week is a long time in politics let alone a few years. 

Pudding is by the brilliant Cody Dahler

Enjoy!

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey

At time of record, people in some parts of the UK will be voting in their local elections. Also at time of record Mark Carney is the new Prime Minister of Canada, having beaten previous favourite, conservative candidate Poilievre. 

Had it not been for Trump, the result probably would have looked very different so Marina and Jemma conclude that it's arguably the best thing Trump's done in his first 100 days. 

With regard to Mango Mussolini's time in charge so far, some great clips follow. One is particularly angry and one is revoltingly sycophantic. 

The Trawl ladies also muse on what is likely to happen here in the UK if Farage sees his party achieve big gains. Will it mean him being on Question Time even more? 

And then, a departure from politics. Before and after pictures of singer, Olly Murs, has got people talking. He's changed his physique completely but the interesting part is the difference between what the majority of females and the majority males think about his new look. 

Underrateds follow and pudding is served by Larry and Paul and it's very British. It's all about the weather. 

Enjoy! Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

This episode begins with a tribute to Virginia Giuffre who sadly died this week. Marina and Jemma touch on what she suffered at the hands of various abusers and talk about how she took on some of the world's most powerful men. The Trawl ladies consider how much bravery that would have required and let Emily Maitlis have the final word. 

And then to America we go for this week's Trump digest: a digest which could cause indigestion. The main theme of this ep is 'how stupid is he?' Falling asleep at the Pope's funeral with his blue suit and tie on, sat there with his mouth open like a cod fish, he hardly comes across as someone with gravitas. Meanwhile, in terms of press attention, the poor old Pope was almost overshadowed by the President's meeting with Zelensky where it seemed to finally dawn on Trump that Putin wasn't taking any notice of his tweets. Still, after the horrific bomb attack in Kyiv he obviously felt it was worth another go so told him to STOP, in caps, for extra oomph. Sure, that ought to do it, Donny. 

Marina and Jemma also discuss the ongoing fallout of putting tariffs on Chinese goods and what Amazon has (or rather hasn't post a call from The White House) been up to.

Not only does he not understand tariffs, he also doesn't seem to understand photoshop. It's been a confusing week for Trump but under rated tweets and clips provide some wonderful Trump relief (back to indigestion again...) 

Enjoy! Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Things kick-off with an aptly updated version of Green Day's song 'American Idiot' which they performed at Coachella last week before a sassy, direct and frankly refreshing take on the state of affairs in the US from news channel, MSNBC. BBC take note...

Then fetch the sick-bags as the ladies share with you a montage of obnoxious obsequiousness from Trump's cabinet who couldn't be further up his bottom. Strangely, not one of them thought to query their dear leader on the plummeting stock market and dollar, nor the mounting trade war with China which has now reached tariff levels so obscene that Marina and Jemma have a theory for how Trump and his team arrived at them. 

Next up, prepare for a moment of hilarious awkwardness as Trump navigates a reporter questioning him ad to whether China's Xi Jinping has given him a call. We'll let you make your minds up as to what you believe, but Jemma certainly smelt something pongy. 

Marina has some unexpected words of praise for Trump who is the most supportive boss in the world when it comes his leaky Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth who has been caught sharing Houthi attack plans (or 'Hooties' if you're Trump) with his wifey, bro and lawyer...as you do. And Trump takes on a new enemy, Harvard University - in a legal battle that will either blaze or burn the trail for other institutions in Trump's firing line.

Finally the ladies check in on Musk after a disastrous week for Tesla followed by some punchy underrated tweets including a clip on the negatives of being a liberal, topped off with a pudding of one of the best 911 calls ever!

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

The ladies open with a tale of rising from the dead... No, not Jesus Christ, but Jemma Forte when she overdid it at Marina's house last week. 

Conversation quickly turns to Pope Francis' passing and the reminder that often until someone dies, we don't quite realise the incredible impact they made on the people around them. And as many mourned, others memed... Jemma and Marina discuss the best reactions to Trump becoming our new pope and the awkward timing of JD Vance's encounter with Pope Francis the day before his passing. Never has the phrase 'lost the will to live' felt more pertinent. 

And Trump shared his grief in a way that only Trump can... by completely misjudging the mood and sharing how much he was looking forward to the funeral - such fun!

Then talk turns to the Supreme Court gender ruling, where things are never as straightforward as we would like them to be and what was celebrated as a win for women's right, may turn out to be anything but. Marina shares an exchange on X with someone who questioned her support of women's rights and why this ruling potentially raises more issues than it solves, before a quick clip of someone seemingly in support of trans rights...and you won't believe who it is. 

Underrated tweets are Easter-themed with an appearance from two right-wing grifters followed by a poetic Pope-ey pudding from brand new contributor, Ron Gallo. 

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Catherine Fusillo

Launched in 2013 after an early buyout by Twitter, Vine quickly grew into one of the fastest growing platforms on the internet. The app created an entirely new category of online content: short, user-generated videos. It became the home of online creativity, birthed beloved memes and viral trends, and introduced a whole new generation of celebrity: the influencer. So, how did an app that was ten steps ahead die only three years after launch?

Credits:

Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator

Mary Goodhart - Producer & Creator

Kevyah Cardoso - Narrative & Creative Producer

Patrick Lee - Sound Design & Score

Chris Janes - Mix

Lucy Chisholm Batten - Legal

Sophie Snelling - Executive Producer

Al Riddel - Head of Factual Podcasts

Vicky Etchells - Director of Podcasts

Archive acknowledgments:

CBS Sunday Morning/'From 2005: Four young internet entrepreneurs'/CBS News

Jawed Karim/‘Me at the zoo’/YouTube

Channel 4 News Theme/‘Best Endeavours’/Alan Hawkshaw

Channel 4 News/’A year of Vine: the six second videos rivalling Twitter and Instagram’

The Fox News Channel Theme/‘The Five’

FOX 5/’CEO Chris Dessi Discusses Vine on Fox 5’/Brayden Shanks/The Fox News Channel

PacificRimVideoPress/’Vine Famous Jake Paul Interview about Getting Girls, High School, Fave Shoes & More!’

Pop Trigger/’Breaking: Twitter Officially Shutting Down Vine’

FOX 4 Now/’Twitter Kills Vine App’/The Fox News Channel

Sky News/’TikTok to be banned in the US from Sunday, Supreme Court rules’

BBC News/’Donald Trump’s inauguration set to take place’

NBC News/’TikTok is back up again in the U.S. following a shutdown overnight’

Mark Zuckerberg/’Mark Zuckerberg announces the end of Meta's fact-checking program in the United States’/Facebook

Artwork acknowledgments:

Cathleen Dovolis

Brandon Moore 

B Bowen

Nicholas Fraser

James Morosky

Ava Ryan

This episode begins with Jemma trying to find things to cheer Marina up with. Funnily enough, learning that Gove is getting a peerage doesn't do it, but the song Dame Andrea Jenkins has chosen to promote her bid to be Mayor nearly does. 

Then we're off to Scunthorpe where Labour have been trying to ensure that the furnaces don't go out for once and for all on British Steel. China have decided they aren't interested in it anymore, which is a huge reason to be furious with Boris Johnson (another one) because he sold it to them. With thousands of jobs at stake, Marina and Jemma wonder what might or might not happen. 

Then to the States, where Trump has been sitting down with a kindred spirit, the President of El Salvador, Bukele who is he paying to take people he wishes to deport and to house them in his Gulag like prisons. Hear the incredible moment Trump was caught on mic saying he would like him to take 'homegrowns' too. If only that was the only grim piece of news to come out of his adminstration but sadly......cut to, the SAVE act. Marina gives the lowdown on a piece of legislation which is almost akin to Handmaids Tale and yet might result in a surprising plot twist. 

Lots of underrated tweets and a wonderful pudding finish off the ep.

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey

Jemma and Marina hardly know where to begin such has been the fallout from Trump's crazed tariffs spree. Oh, and what can you even say about the transparent insider (and outsider) trading that has been admitted to, on camera, by the President? Who cares if ordinary people are going to pay for the nose for everything when all his rich cronies are making a killing. Seems fair. 

Amidst the chaos there's been pauses, climb downs, exemptions and a locking of horns with China. However, China are giving strong 'am I bothered' vibes and have been busy exposing what really happens with luxury goods which are made in their factories. If Putin plays chess, China appear to be playing Go while Trump can barely manage a bit of colouring in. 

The Trawl ladies go into all the detail and play the moment when Vance managed to completely insult the second biggest economy in the world by calling them peasants. 

Then, it's one backward leap for feminism and one giant step for Trawl kind (or something like that). Everyone's talking about Katy Perry and Co's trip to space and how nauseating it was for a myriad of reasons. You can imagine how 24 carat the Trawl gold is for this one. 

Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey

The second Trawl in one week centred on the economic recklessness of Trump. But hey, when one guy's wiped nine trillion off global markets, there's a lot to unpack. There are theories as to why the Donald has chosen this path, some deeper than others. Jemma and Marina have clips to illustrate the first two and bleeps to cover up the third, which, to be fair, probably carries more weight. 

Do we want chlorinated chicken here? Some folk are fine with the notion, despite the reduced welfare standards and prospect of upset, American tums. Others not so much and others - like Lee Anderson - say bring it on, even if it would stuff British farmers. 

And of course there's Musk to consider - he's had a really full on couple of weeks, what with the protests and people hating him. Marina and Jemma don't exactly have the violins out. 

There's chat about delicious European food, under rated tweets and lots of funny bits. Cos what's the alternative? 

Pudding is Matilda Thorpe

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey

What the hell is he doing? Jemma and Marina aren’t the only ones asking that, or a version that. This week Trump managed to wipe 9 trillion off global markets so if you have a private pension, probably best not to look. 

This episode is crammed full of hard-hitting, funny and enlightening tweets. 

The Trawl ladies aren’t convinced Americans will want to wait decades for an Industrial Revolution to occur while paying over the odds for the goods they normally buy. But hey, plenty of Maga loons are still convinced there’s a grand plan. Yes, the man who bankrupted a casino and who has ‘tariffed’ penguins knows exactly what he’s doing. 

Cody Dahler serves pudding. Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

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Youtube

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BlueSky

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey