The Two Matts

The Matts are joined by Ian Leslie, author of the stupendously good John And Paul - A Love Story In Songs. They explore the freakish nature of an artistic collaboration that shook the world, as Ian brings fresh insight to the intimate relationship between the most influential songwriters in history. It’s a must listen for all Beatles fans but also anyone interested in their creative process and the psychology that bound them together. Before that – the Matts digest the incroyable news from France as Marine Le Pen is barred from political office for five years. Was it the end for her, or just the intro to the far right’s assault on the judiciary? Enjoy…

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The Matts tackle listener questions this week on Gareth Southgate’s inspiring BBC lecture, Rachel Reeves’ survival chances, European defence spend, WhatsApp faux pas, the decline of the Democrats … and the big one; how can a couple of mere mortal journalists like us compete with master baker Adrian Chiles?

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Is Rachel Reeves merely disappointing, or is there a willful denial of reality going on? Since when did Labour become the party of warfare over welfare? And who thought this was a great way to communicate national renewal? The Matts are bemused and worried that the government seems to have entirely misunderstood the new world we find ourselves in. 

Also - the ghastly performance of deportations to El Salvador from the States has dark undertones of some of the worst fascist regimes in history. The Matts explore the history of performative cruelty and wonder just how immune from these horrors we here in the UK really are. Enjoy!

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Unprecedented scenes from Washington as it becomes apparent the US Government leadership has been wargaming on the equivalent of WhatsApp… and accidentally looped in a top journalist. The leaked security information – including specific details of American military missions – is astonishing enough. But what the messages also betray is the sheer loathing of Europe held by JD Vance and others in the administration. The Matts pick their jaws off the floor and discuss. Also - will Rachel Reeves’ “mission led” welfare cuts cut any ice with voters? And farewell George Foreman - the comeback king of American life. Enjoy!

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Should the French take back the Statue of Liberty? Will Canada join the EU? Why do Liverpool FC fans boo the national anthem? How can we control social media from brainwashing us? And why the hell are you two talking so fast? All these and more, answered just for you! Enjoy!

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It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Nigel Farage and his Reform Party - 20% of whose MPs have been expelled and are now threatening to sue him. But beyond that fun, what does the split in the party mean? Should we take any comfort from it or the Farage juggernaut still on track to challenge Starmer at the next General Election. 

In Part 2, The Matts discuss one of the best books they’ve read in ages - Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. It’s an epiphany - how right wing nationalists use scarcity to scare people and how there’s a clear response from liberals if only they have the courage to make it. It will change how you think about this new world we inhabit. Enjoy!

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The ceasefire is over. More than 400 Palestinians, including children, are dead after Israeli air bombardments in the middle of the night, with the assent of Donald Trump’s White House. What end is there now, other than the ultimate ethnic-cleansing of Palestine? 

Meanwhile, in New York’s Columbia University, a student is threatened with deportation for pro-Palestinian activism. The Matts look deep into the authoritarian regime forming in Washington. But don’t worry about any of that! Simply take your daily prescription of Copium and let your liberal anxieties drift away in a warm, fuzzy blur of complacency. It’s all the rage - and it’s why the Matts pledge the New European will forever be a Copium Free Zone. Tune in and find out why!

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Is America Brexiting from the world? Did we learn anything from Covid? Why isn’t history taught more in school? Have we got a problem with young white males? And was Kevin Bridges right about Trump all along? All this and more in this week’s Q&A with the Two Matts. Enjoy!

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The past two weeks have been good for Keir Starmer. As Tom Baldwin writes in this week’s New European, he has fallen back on his core qualities; a kind of radical relentlessness. The Matts assess his performance and ask if Starmer is ready to throw off the Labour obsession with appeasing the so-called red wall and instead embrace Labour’s natural audience: Us! In the first part, the Matts discuss the latest news from the ongoing Ukraine sell-out. Enjoy!

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The Matts speak with Sam Wetherell, author of the brilliant Liverpool And The Unmaking Of Britain. It’s not only a fascinating dive into the history of Liverpool, a city whose rise and fall impacted the whole world, but it’s also a prism through which we can try to understand our own complex times. 

How did one man from North Carolina doom the entire Liverpool dock industry? How did a black pastor try to ignite the cause of Pan-Africanism from two knocked-together terrace houses? How did the Beatles go from being practically ignored by the city to being the centre of its renaissance? And what kind of politics do we need in an age of increasing obsolescence? All these questions are answered, and many more, in one of the most absorbing interviews the Matts have done. Enjoy!

Buy Liverpool And The Unmaking of Britain through our affiliate link and help support the podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13277/9781801108881

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