Standard Issue Podcast

This week’s apocalypse is brought to you by Mick and Jen. They’re chatting about the early release of prisoners, which may require more nuance than ‘from October’, the rise and risks of pervert specs, some lovely cash news for women who invest, and why Jen is sat in a puddle staring at the sun.

There’s fake wives and sexist weather in SOTW, and some joyous shouting of ‘BELLEND!’ And ‘ELIMINATOR!’ in JOTB.

Don’t have nightmares, do sleep with your sweaty bum out of the duvet.
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We escape a red hot summer to visit, checks notes, another red hot summer in Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter's adaptation of LP Hartley's novel. There's big hair, wild hats, Alan Bates - swoons! - future British sitcom stars and crippling social conventions. What could possibly go wrong?

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Comedian and long-time Standard Issue friend Vix Leyton's latest show – Chief Petty Officer – is on at the Edinburgh Fringe right now. She chats to Hannah about big changes, small pettinesses, the cost of the Fringe (in every sense), and the joys of moving up North.

Tickets and info for Chief Petty Officer here.
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Investigative journalist Lucy Taylor is, along with her partner in podcasting and partner in life Dan Ashby, responsible for the award-winning BBC Radio 4/BBC Sounds programme Buried, the third series of which has been recently released. She chats to Hannah about how the dumping of dead animals in a tiny community led to a network of organised crime in the British countryside, and how rural police forces are struggling to get it under control.

You can listen to Buried: Dead Rabbit here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002z5yj/episodes/player

You can join the Standard Issue membership club here:
Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon

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Is there a new grifter on the scene? Hannah’s been nose to the ground around the ever-growing tall tales of Jason Arday, the University of Cambridge’s youngest ever black professor with a very impressive CV. Too impressive? Weeeelllll.

There’s definitely an old grifter on the scene, as Mick’s been nose to the ground around the ever-growing “joke” candidate list for next week’s Clacton-on-Sea’s byelection, with spam-faced clown Nigel Farage the biggest joke of all.

There’s also chatGPT, a stopped clock in a memorial pool, and, what’s that, a glimmer of hope for England’s maternity system? Could it be true? IS ANYTHING TRUE ANYMORE?

And here are those links Hannah promises:

"Maybe I flew too close to the sun": https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2026/aug/01/playbooks-plagiarism-pigs-head-new-claims-surrounding-cambridge-professor-jason-arday

"It's very rare that academics refuse to talk to the press": https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/04/journalist-questioned-by-police-for-investigating-cambridge/

Charity casts doubt on volunteering record: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/03/cambridge-professor-accused-plagiarism-loses-key-ally-uk/

"We're talking about academia here. I didn't murder somebody”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78gmp7zylvo
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