Pod Save the UK

Comedian and columnist Stewart Lee joins Nish and Coco to discuss the week’s big stories.
They talk about Donald Trump’s deadly and yet utterly confusing war with Iran, as the US President continues to contradict his own statements about the Strait of Hormuz and peace talks, almost in the same breath. 
It certainly means a new, live, UK sketch show has plenty of material - but how should comedy respond to the challenging times we are all living through?
Plus - why having a weekly opinion column is good for your mental health and why news organisations need to do more to tackle the lies and extreme rhetoric coming from politicians.
Don’t forget to leave a review - it gives the show a boost and we love to see your comments.
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GUESTS 
Stewart Lee, Comedian and columnist for The Nerve
USEFUL LINKS
Guide to Senedd voting system: https://senedd.wales/senedd-now/senedd-blog/how-will-the-new-voting-system-work-at-the-next-senedd-election/
CREDITS
Saturday Night Live UK, Sky One
Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
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Last summer - fuelled by the far right - a rash of St George and Union Jack flags spread across the country. Flag-waving became a symbol of prejudice, not pride. In that context it's hard as progressives to feel particularly patriotic. So what is Britishness… and does it even matter?
Someone who is hopeful that our national identity is worth saving is writer, a DJ and broadcaster Zakia Sewell. In this bonus episode of PSUK, she tells Nish and Coco about her journey to uncover an alternative version of Britishness - one that unifies rather than divides.
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GUEST
Zakia Sewell, writer, DJ & broadcaster
USEFUL LINKS
“Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore and the Quest for Hidden Britain” - out now.
https://www.waterstones.com/book/finding-albion/zakia-sewell/9781399735902
Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
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Reform UK is getting into the lottery business - inviting people to sign up for a chance to have their energy bills paid for a year. But is the real prize a massive database of voters ahead of the next General Election? 
Plus - party leader Nigel Farage has been caught saying some pretty questionable stuff for money on Cameo. Is that really the kind of thing we should expect from someone who plans to be our next Prime Minister?
Nish and Coco are joined by authors Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff. Their new book Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed looks at the billionaire manbaby in a whole new way. If you want to understand what’s driving Musk and what it could mean for all of us - this is the chat for you.
And POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy is on hand as the former Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner pops up to point out all the ways Labour is getting it wrong at the moment - subtext: without her they’re lost.
Reminder to send in your burning questions for Nish and Coco to [email protected]
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GUESTS 
Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, Authors. Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed
Out on March 24th
Anne McElvoy, Executive Editor, POLITICO and co-host Politics at Sam and Anne’s
USEFUL LINKS
The Podcast Show - https://www.thepodcastshowlondon.com/explore-passes
Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/477340/muskism-by-tarnoff-quinn-slobodian-and-ben/9780241805114
CREDITS
The Guardian - YouTube
The Independent - YouTube
Reform UK - YouTube
Today in Focus - The Guardian
Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected]
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
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The first wave of Mandelson files have been published. We all wanted to know what Keir Starmer knew, and when he knew it. Now we can see it in black and white. 
And as it turns out - Starmer was warned there was a “general reputational risk” over Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein ahead of his confirmation as US ambassador. Nish and Coco make sense of this perilous moment for the PM.
Then critical theorist and viral creator Louisa Munch helps us make sense of the government’s new social cohesion strategy. But is tackling extremism and yet more surveillance the answer to fraying social ties?
Plus - as Iran names its new supreme leader oil prices skyrocket - for a PM obsessed with the cost of living, this is shaping up to be a bit of a nightmare.
Remember to send your questions in for Nish and Coco to [email protected] and they’ll spill the tea! 
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GUESTS 
Louisa Munch, Critical Theorist
Minnie Rahman, CEO Praxis
USEFUL LINKS
“Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe” + Q&A with James Acaster at The Ritzy, Brixton - 18th March
https://picturehouses.com/movie-details/000/HO00017471/nish-kumar-nish-don-t-kill-my-vibe-q-a?filter=
Open letter opposing planned changes to the immigration settlement routes: https://act.praxis.org.uk/open-letter-earned-settlement
CREDITS
Darren Jones MP, Cabinet Office minister - Parliament TV
Steve Reed MP, Communities Secretary - Parliament TV
Mike Tapp MP, Migration minister - Parliament TV
Minnie Rahman, Praxis CEO
Frederik Pleitgen, CNN International Senior Correspondent - CNN
Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected]
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
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A world leader has been assassinated, schools and hospitals have been hit, and Donald Trump thinks that Keir Starmer is no Winston Churchill. It’s all kicking off as the US and Israel’s illegal war escalates across the Middle East. All of this with the open admission of no real plan for what comes next. 
Struggling to absorb it all? Wondering if there’s another way? British-Iranian peace strategist Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE is here to fill us in. She joins Coco and comedian Sophie Duker, who is in the hotseat for Nish this week.
Soaring oil prices was not the backdrop Chancellor Rachel Reeves was hoping for ahead of her second Spring Statement. Finalised before the conflict broke out, her economic plan was “Trumped” before it was even delivered - so where does this leave the UK?
Plus - just as the UK gets dragged into this latest destabilising conflict, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood rips up the rules on UK asylum. 
Got a burning question for Nish or Coco? Big or small - they will be answered in a special episode! Email: [email protected] 
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GUEST
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE, founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
USEFUL LINKS
Sophie Duker
https://thesophieduker.com/
If You Were In Charge with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini and Kavita Nandini Ramdas.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/if-you-were-in-charge/id1770618616
CREDITS
Sophie Duker - Live at the Apollo / BBC One 
Keir Starmer / X
Parliament TV 
PBS News Hour / YouTube
BBC News 
Zoe Gardner / IG
Manchester Evening News 

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected]
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk
X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk