Oh God, What Now?

Andy Burnham is promising to spend “whatever political capital” he has to fix the crumbling social care system after decades of political failure. As the right-wing press dusts off its “Death Tax” headlines, can he actually do it?

Plus… He leads Restore Britain, an openly extreme right party committed to driving non-white people out of the country, and he’s becoming a persistent headache for his former boss Nigel Farage. But who exactly is Rupert Lowe? The panel sizes up the man behind the common-sense cosplay. And in the Extra Bit: the new Euro banknote designs are live, but what would Britain have put forward if we’d ever signed up for the single currency?

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Andrew watched the Japanese Edo-punk collective Seppuku Pistols live at North London’s New River Studios

• Seth hasn’t been able to put down David Crichton’s The Avengers: Death in Downing Street

• Jason watched Slice of Life: The American Dream In Former Pizza Huts, which, he says, was “f***ing brilliant”

• Zoë went to watch The Odyssey and particularly enjoyed “evil and excellent” Robert Pattinson

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

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www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Zoë Grünewald, with Andrew Harrison, Seth Thévoz and Jason Hazeley. Producer: James Liddell. Audio Production: Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune: Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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He’s a communist! He wants to drag us back to the 70s! He’s going to tax you to death! He’s weak! He’s a tyrant! He’s gone to war with the South! His jackets are too expensive! Burnham has only been PM for a week and the right-wing press are already losing their minds. Is Burnham Derangement Syndrome stalking what’s left of Fleet Street? Plus: Is letting artificial intelligence do your thinking for you leading people into “cognitive surrender”? We talk about a new survey that unveils the dire consequences of outsourcing your brain to Claude and ChatGPT.

• Hear prison reformer Steve Gallant talking to Zoë Grünewald on The Bunker

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Marie is enjoying sci-fi show Silo on Apple TV+.

• Jonn has been reading Hinterlands: Journeys through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers by Hannah Lucinda Smith. Buy it 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.

• Raf has been watching Ride Or Die with Hannah Waddingham on Amazon Prime.

• Matt went to see The Divine Comedy at the Royal Festival Hall and Daniel Kitson’s new show Thrum.

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Matt Green with Marie le Conte, John Elledge and Rafael Behr. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Burnham arrives promising a “cost of living” government but can he make it happen? And does his mix of ideas and promises add up? TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak returns to the pod to talk about Burnham’s first steps, go to bat for unions in an age of A.I. tumult, make the case for reindustrialisation, and wind up Andrew about Jeff Bezos possibly buying Liverpool FC (Paul’s an Evertonian. So is Andy Burnham. It’s a conspiracy). And in the Extra Bit: What are the little luxuries that our panel and guests spend a bit too much on?

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Hannah has been reading Women’s Prize for Fiction winner The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.

• James recommends the original anime version of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

• Paul recommends science fiction epic Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruochhio

• Andrew is enjoying domestic robot comedy Ann Droid with Diane Morgan and Sue Johnston on the BBC.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Hannah Fearn and James Ball. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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As ever, politics waited until we finished recording before dropping the big stuff… But worry not! Steve Richards of the Rock & Roll Politics podcast steps up to analyse the surprises, genius moves, curveballs and missing pieces in Andy Burnham’s first cabinet with Andrew Harrison. Should Ed Miliband have been chancellor instead of John Healey? Is this really a purge of Starmerites and a “Night of the Long Eyelashes” as The Mail claims? Are Burnham’s cost-of-living measures actually costed? And does it all fit together?

• Catch even more of Steve’s analysis on Rock & Roll Politics

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison with Steve Richards. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Brand new PM Andy Burnham is not hanging about. On day one he set about purging Starmer loyalists from the Cabinet and setting out his policy agenda, including fresh cost-of-living measures. Is this the fresh start Labour needs? Listen up for live in-pod sackings!

Plus: Are we facing the end of reading? Scrolling through WhatsApp messages, Netflix subtitles and Instagram captions mean we're arguably reading more words than ever – yet book reading has nosedived in recent years. Has the “post-literate” society already arrived?

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Marie went to watch Christopher Nolan’s latest epic, The Odyssey

• Rachel also delved into Greek mythology and has been bingeing Netflix’s Kaos

• Jonn is watching spy thriller The Agency on Paramount+

• Seth has been reading Hostel, House and Chambers: Accommodating the Victorian and Edwardian Working Woman

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Seth Thévoz, with Rachel Cunliffe, Jonn Elledge and Marie Le Cont. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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