Oh God, What Now?

Starmer slaps down Andy Burnham’s bid to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election: bad move for Labour, bad timing from Burnham, or another distraction we don’t need? Plus, who’s bringing the best self to the overladen Reform bandwagon: twice-sacked Home Sec and Creature Comforts creation Suella Braverman, or race-baiting former academic Matt Goodwin? Special guest, media analysts Ayala Panievsky, takes us through the populist assault on the right to know, and her book The New Censorship: How the War on the Media is Taking Us Down. And in the Extra Bit: Who’s feeling the “middle class spending crisis?”

•  Buy The New Censorship by Ayala Panievsky through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

ESCAPE ROUTES

•  HANNAH has been reading Eurotrash by Christian Kracht

•  MATT recommends the Tourette’s movie I Swear

•  AYALA PANIEVSKY has been going to Iranian and Persian raves in Hackney like this one

•  ANDREW has rediscovered the (mostly) pre-Trump nostalgia of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix.  

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn and Matt Green. Audio Production by: Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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“Things are more dangerous now than during the Cold War.” The world is breaking up into mutually suspicious power blocs, Trump is trying to destroy NATO and Putin has learned that aggression pays off. Is a major war coming or can we prevent it? In an enthralling conversation, defence commentator Peter Apps – author of The Next World War – explains the forces and self-deceptions that are driving the world towards conflict, the key danger points, and what Britain can do to avert disaster.

• Buy The Next World War through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Oh God, What Now? by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Peter has been reading Kingmaker, Sonia Purnell’s biography of Pamela Churchill Harriman

• Alex recommends Booker Prize winner Flesh by David Szalay. 

• Seth was delighted to find Mask Or Face: Reflections in an Actor's Mirror by Michael Redgrave in a charity shop. 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Seth Thévoz and Alex von Tunzelmann. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk 
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• Get the latest reaction on Trump’s climbdown from Weekly Wrap-Up on The Bunker with Raf Behr and Andrew Harrison. 

“If you’re not at the table,” said Canada’s Mark Carney, “You’re on the menu.” Trump’s demented speech in Davos leaves the world agog. Beyond the President’s tantrums and on-off attempts to extort Greenland, are Britain and the EU ready to live in a world where America is a predatory enemy? Are European leaders just sucking his abuse up – or are their subtle pushbacks working? We look at the shocking end of 80 years of Atlanticism and wonder what comes next for a Brexit-weakened Britain. Oh, and Jason admits that years ago he did a “please have my Nobel Peace Prize” too. No better than Trump, this guy. 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Zöe recommends the Jean-Marc Vallée movie Wild with Reese Witherspoon. 

• Jason has been reading Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela by William Neuman

• Jonn has been reading Precipice by Robert Harris.  

• Ros recommends Michael Crick’s biography of Farage, One Party After Another.  

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Ros Taylor with Jason Hazeley, Zöe Grünewald and Jonn Elledge. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

https://www.podmasters.co.uk 
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“You can’t fire me, I quit!” The world of politics is stunned – stunned! – as rightward-lurching public transport vigilante Robert Jenrick joins Reform* mere hours after Badenoch canned him for treachery. Will the world’s most self-seeking man work well with the world’s other most self-seeking man, Nigel Farage? Hmm, what do you think? Plus: Truly, Attlee, Deeply! How is Starmer doing compared to his illustrious predecessors as Labour leader? Izzy Conn of the history podcast Leading Labour helps us work out where Sir Keir fits in the Labour league ladder. 

( * Yes, we missed Andrew Rosindell. What do you want? Time travel??) 

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Zöe recommends ‘Hamnet’ at the movies – out now. 

• Izzy recommends the songwriting podcast And The Writer Is. 

• Andrew recommends you see Belgian rave-rock band Soulwax live if you get the chance. 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Zöe Grünewald. Audio and video production by Chris Jones. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

https://www.podmasters.co.uk 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This edition recorded before Jenrick got sacked from the Conservatives and then joined Reform. Hey, it’s just like 2018… Two-month chancellor and frisky tax guy Nadim Zahawi hops aboard Nigel Farage’s overladen jamwagon. We once wondered if the Conservatives were turning into Reform – but are Reform turning into the Tories? Plus: How is the murky world of party donations developing in our new, post-two-party system? And how will crypto make it worse? Also: Britain’s dismal options on Greenland. This week’s U-turns. And is Donald Trump’s awareness of his own mortality the reason he’s making us all aware of ours?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Ros went to see Hamnet and quite liked it, anachronisms aside. But she really liked the new series of Industry on the BBC. 

• Rachel recommends The Night Manager Season 2 on BBC iPlayer.

• Peter recommends political thriller Hostage on Netflix and Eoin McNamee’s book The Bureau .

• Matt recommends What Have I Done?, Ben Elton’s autobiography. 

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Matt Green with Rachel Cunliffe and Ros Taylor. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn and Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices