London Calling

We start the week in County Durham where James travels to see Kynren, the outdoor show that’s “a romp through 2,000 years of English history from the masks of the Roman invaders to the masks of Arthurian legend to the masks of Queen Victoria. Did we say that they were all wearing masks? Then it’s on to the more serious: the Government’s incomprehensible decision to press on with its vaccine... Source

This week in Covid news, Michael Gove, the Minister for the Cabinet Office was recorded dancing in an Aberdeen nightclub over the weekend while the PM’s office barrels ahead in implementing its medical passport scheme, a 17-year old girl from Newport, South Wales takes heat over her Twitter postings and Mary Bousted of the National Education Union fires a shot across the bow for a possible teacher’... Source

We have a full, full plate this week. We talk about Trump’s speech in Alabama, how the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan has also deteriorated the “special relationship,” the non-stop death spiral of freedom in Australia in the name of zero-Covid ( They shoot dogs, don’t they?) and the new rainbow “anti-hate” cop cars in the UK. In Culture Corner, Toby returns to the cinema by taking his... Source

Toby is on the road doing his “footie reporter” thing and after a quick tour of the north country, he and James widen their scope to take in the draconian measures elsewhere in the Commonwealth, namely that of Dan Andrews, the Premier of Victoria and Jacinda Ardern, the PM of New Zealand. Of course they turn their sights to the unfolding disaster that is the fall of Afghanistan back into the hands... Source

We’re offering up your money’s worth this week with a full hour of podcast excellence to be had. Toby and James open the show with a discussion of efficiently managing their time between work, family and devotion to “kicky-ball” teams like QPR, (Toby’s substack can be found here) and Team GB’s strong showing in this year’s Tokyo Games keeps us in a sporting mood as James aims for Paris 2024. Source

We cram a good 65-minute show into a half hour this week and not through editing. James explains that conundrum at the top of the program. What’s left is Covid face-licking (no, really), Lord Digby Jones in a Twitter throw down with BBC presenter Alex Scott and Toby’s moment of athletic glory. Opening sound this week of Lord Digby Jones courtesy of GBNews. Source

Much to the consternation of Team Delingpole and Team Toby, our intrepid duo are back in the saddle and riding again. Like meat and potatoes, or salt and tomatoes or the Lone Ranger and Tonto, somethings just go better together. That means there’s a lot of catching up to do – from Toby’s interrupted holiday in Wales to the results of “Freedom Day 2021.” We go over the doomsday predictions of... Source

Disappointing results on the pitch Sunday night as England fell to Italy on penalty kicks. Among the faithful in attendance was one Toby Young who was hangin’ with the WAGS. We get a firsthand report from Wembley. And then we, uh… tackle the “ Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey” at the Redbridge Library. (Well, those are words we never expected to type…) and the PM says we’re definitely on our way out of... Source

Another week and another “freedom date,” this time it’s July 19th, and by this time next week it might as well be the 12th of Never. England is going gaga over the success of Team England in the Euros (the Semi-final vs Denmark is Wednesday July 7) but our intrepid duo can’t seem to get as excited as everyone else, although Toby is following the progress of Emma Raducanu, the rising star of... Source

We start off the week with pure thievery – Toby goes to Central London and gets his phone pinched, which meant that he missed Saturday’s march. Not that it really mattered since James had such a good time he doesn’t remember too much of it himself. Then it’s off to the news of the week dominated, of course, by the resignation of Matt Hancock as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Source

Monday June 21st was supposed to be “Freedom Day” in the UK as the Covid-19 restrictions were to finally go away. Yeah, right. James and Toby reflect on the PM’s delay and look forward to a weekend of conflicting protests next Saturday as lockdown sceptics, BLM and Extinction Rebellion all plan to take to London’s streets. With the word that New Zealand will be sending the world’s first... Source

The PM has announced that Covid restrictions will not end on June 21 as planned and may continue for up to four more weeks. “At a certain stage, we are going to have to learn to live with the virus and to manage it as best we can,” the prime minister said. James, of course, doesn’t think restrictions will ever end. Boris was also the host of the G7 Conference in Cornwall where everyone is pledging... Source

What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports is goin’ on around here?!? After the obligatory acknowledgement of the latest royal progeny, our intrepid duo have a take at the three biggest stories in sport this past week. First up is Ollie Robinson, a bowler (for you Yanks, that’s the “pitcher” for a cricket team) whose debut for England on the international scene was overshadowed by the resurfacing of... Source

Fresh from their smash reunion tour this weekend, James and Toby recap the weekend’s anti-lockdown march that wound from Parliament Square to Toby’s doorstep. We then parse the testimony of the PM’s former “top man,” Dominic Cummings, before the House’s Health and Science select committees last week and who came out of it better. Do you want a Prime Minister or a Monarch (and by “monarch” we’re... Source

This week, in an interview with Dax Shepard, Prince Harry created a stir in his new neighborhood by labeling America’s First Amendment as “bonkers.” It was but a small comment in a larger discussion of a Royal in therapy and James and Toby tackle both head on. Other topics deftly addressed in this episode include Laura Dodsworth’s new book A State of Fear: How the UK Government Weaponised Fear... Source

Due to the graciousness of Her Majesty’s Government, we’re starting this week with a party at the Young house! (No, not in the Young house, just at the Young house.) We talk about the BBC’s decision not to cover last Saturday’s anti-lockdown protest – in spite of roughly 100,000 people attending – the forthcoming march on May 29th, whether the “Indian Variant” will stop the PM from lifting all... Source

The results of the elections are in: The Tories increase their Parliamentary majority with a by-election win in Hartlepool, the SNP came up short of a majority in Scotland and Lozza lost both his race and his deposit. James and Toby have plenty of analysis. We then turn to Auntie Beeb’s “hug” expert, they debate who will be more sorry in five years time, and just what exactly does “Build Back... Source

After butchering the American holiday calendar, our intrepid duo takes on the Government’s Covid calendar. Such is the nervousness of the general population, the Delingpole family went to lunch and behaved so normally they got banned from the restaurant for life. James and Toby then take on why the media has become lapdogs for Number 10 on Covid policy. How is it that a Tory government is getting... Source

We start with Saturday’s anti-lockdown protest in London and the under-reporting of it by the BBC. When press does report on such events you can count on them to be generally characterized as being populated by Covid deniers, conspiracy theorists and far right extremists. (James Delingpole with the hat trick!) Then we move on to the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) and... Source

James hit the campaign trail with Laurence Fox this past weekend (Mmmmmm, donuts…) and now we gather to talk a little treason and try to avoid getting arrested. Toby, meanwhile attended an FA semifinal match and, between the masks and the stadium Nazis, had an absolutely miserable time. Our hero of the week is Rod Humphris, landlord of The Raven in Bath who threw Labour Leader Keir Starmer out his... Source

Today was the day to begin day drinking in the UK (at least in public.) Pubs and retail stores may resume operations but with restrictions, of course. We would be remiss not to address the loss of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. We take note of this interview he gave to Afternoon Plus in 1984. Then we simply have to share this from a Telegraph columnist: The real burning... Source

The Easter holiday comes to an end and with it the deprivations of Lent. When will the deprivations of lockdowns go with it? James is convinced his generation is waving the white flag of surrender for traditional liberal Western values while Toby blames their corruption on the power we’ve handed them. (To understand the forces at play here he recommends Power Broker from the Lockdown Sceptics’... Source

We start the week by doing the weekly shopping with James and Toby – without masks, of course. According to the government today is “Happy Monday,” with a limited return to outdoor sport and tea in the garden with the neighbors. But that’s always “the variants” lurking around the corner… lurking like a balloon animal stuffed with walnuts coming after your puppy. (That story has a better ending... Source

James attended this past weekend’s anti-lockdown protests in London with Reclaim mayoral candidate Laurence Fox and managed not to get arrested. But how many people were in attendance is certainly up for debate, and debate is what James and Toby do. Who is the biggest impediment to getting the adult population of Europe vaccinated? Is it people like our intrepid duo or is it really “leaders” like... Source

We took a ride on the Technical Struggle Bus this week. Someone was throwing some electrical interference James’ way (we think MI-5 has finally caught up to him) and Toby was coming in a little bit hot… Apologies in advance. But content-wise we have plenty of good stuff in here. After a small bit of self-congratulations (We’re Number Three! We’re Number Three!) we tackle the suspension of the... Source

What did you expect one day after CBS flooded our screens with Meghan and Harry and Oprah? Toby and James review the allegations, the whining and the greater themes of royal victimhood and racism. Then they’re on to Laurence Fox’s entrance and Nigel Farage’s exit from electoral politics. (You can catch Fox on the Ricochet Podcast here or the video here.) And then we have a Covid update that casts... Source

This week James and Toby are naming names. James Corden, Graham Norton, Natascha McElhone, Peter Hitchens and, of course, Harry & Meghan. Could a couples therapy be in the offing between our hosts and Oprah? We continue weaving our way through the Bernard Cornwell oeuvre, talk a little French television (including Marseille with Gérard Depardieu) and Toby flips his wig – literally. Source

Congratulations to us. We have a podcast! Last week, due to some technical problems on Toby’s end we lost not one, but two attempts at production. This week we pulled out all the stops, put several redundant systems in place and, of course, none of it was needed. Go figure. After lamenting that which could have been, we’re on to the matter at hand: Monday was D-Day for the Johnson Government. Source

This week James “Scorched Earth” Delingpole and Toby “Forgive and Forget” Young square off about attacking all of James’ former allies (including Dan Hannan and Chris Snowdon) and in this week’s pandemic news, is “ Zero Covid” really a workable idea? Culturally we cover The Dig (Netflix), the story of the UK’s greatest archeological find at Sutton Hoo, the Israeli series Losing Alice (AppleTV+)... Source

This week James and Toby recount their doings in support of The Great Reopening… and the deeds of others, too. (Protests have erupted here, here and here.) Delingpole goes walkabout in his area of the country and comes away a bit disappointed, but others are fighting such as this Edinburgh shopkeeper or this salon owner in Oakenshaw who has racked up £27,000 ($36,888 US) in fines so far. Toby... Source

Oh, to be in England now that snow has come… as it wreaks havoc on the Delingpole household. Otherwise, everything is going “Great…” as in The Great Reset, The Great Reopening… The Great Revolt. There seems to be two kind of people in the world right now, the compliant and the rebellious. You can guess where our intrepid duo slots in. And it’s not in Davos. Of course nobody’s in Davos this year... Source

James and Toby open with a discussion of Christopher Snowden’s Quillette article on Lockdown Scepticism and the mauling the lockdown sceptic Lord Sumption has received since his appearance on The Big Questions, and Toby’s censure by the press regulator, Ipso. A special welcome to Conservative MP Neil O’Brien (or his researcher) who is now listening to London Calling and quoting things our men have... Source

The show takes a decidedly different tone this week as Toby and James seek to find common ground… er… a common sheet of ice in a cold, raging river of politics. There is a bit of talk of the news of the day, namely the disappearing act the Big Tech giants have pulled on Parler, but mostly it’s dinner parties in New York, seats in the House of Lords, and the ever-burning, sure-t0-divide question... Source

Disagreement over the lockdown has taken a decidedly different turn in the New Year. This past weekend Toby received a death threat in one of his email accounts and it was deemed that it was serious enough to warrant a police visit. He also got into a very public row with Conservative MP Neil O’Brien (Harborough, Oadby & Wigston). On the culture front, we find James watching (*gasp* Source

After upsetting the base last week our intrepid duo has called a holiday truce. We’re out of the trenches and playing footy in no man’s land. And speaking of desolate, deadly landscapes, the Government has announced an exit deal with the European Union. Britons are now free! (We know you’ll want to read all 1,255 pages for yourself…) Of course, you’re not allowed to leave your homes... Source

What’s the old joke? Oh, yes. “How can you tell when a politician is lying?” Answer: “His lips are moving.” Boris Johnson promised is quickly becoming a joke of its own. The problem is, no one is laughing. Especially Mr. Delingpole. After a contentious discussion about Mr. Young’s latest Spectator column and “The Great Reset,” they tackle Boris and his Tier 4 Christmas plans. Source

Toby is a busy, busy man. Hence it’s a London Calling Tuesday. We start this week with “The Great Reset,” aka, “Build Back Better.” Will the Technocracy have its way with us? Does the name Klaus Schwab ring any bells? James sees a dystopian future and Toby wonders why anyone would just want to destroy it all. Our weekly roundup on fighting the assault against free speech had a setback... Source

James has something he needs to get off his chest and opens the show by taking Toby, as the Americans would say, to the woodshed. As far as James is concerned journalistic curiosity is dead. Then it’s on to the major news of the day, the UK has become the first nation to give regulatory approval for one of the new Covid-19 vaccinations. Because of fast tracking, this vaccination has seen limited... Source

This week, James and Toby reflect on what it’s been like to live through a year of such enormous historical importance and whether their sense of humour has helped them get through it. Who’s really on the “right side of history?” Cancel culture arrived at Eton College, Britain’s poshest school, last week when a popular teacher was sacked for a video he refused to remove from YouTube that dared to... Source

This week on the UK’s Fastest Growing Podcast™ Messrs. Delingpole and Young get a little contentious. After reviewing the week’s Covid news they turn their attention to the US Presidential election and words fly. Words such as “Tesla,” “shotgun,” “fragging” and the “C-word.” Things get so heated the bleep machine gets pulled out. Crikey. On the cultural front this week’s recommendations include... Source

There’s been a shakeup at No. 10. Adviser Dom Cummings is out, as is communications director Lee Cain. So who’s calling the shots? Boris? Carrie Symonds? Klaus Schwab? And who’s that measuring drapes? The Young house is getting a rewire (and we hope renovations go better than it did in Chelsea) and the world seems to be getting a “Great Reset” much to the dismay of James and Toby. Source

James and Toby react to the PM’s presser from late Monday afternoon as Pfizer announces a 90% success rate in their Covid-19 vaccine and ask the musical question, “Why Can’t an Englishman be More Like a German?” And then, like everyone else, our intrepid duo has a take on the US Presidential election. One thinks it may be time for a tactical retreat while the other proclaims, “Damn the torpedoes... Source

It’s Election Day in the United States (kinda) and Toby and James discuss the bets they’ve placed on a Trump victory. On the domestic front they decry Boris Johnson’s decision to impose a second national lockdown and ridicule the idea that the UK is looking at 4,000 Covid deaths a day. Our intrepid duo then draw up plans for James’s book about his Oxford contemporaries: My Generation: The Worst in... Source

This week our show has a bit of Hitchcockian opening as James recounts his time with Strangers on a Train. That encounter leads us to the recent Dutch study on the effectiveness of masks that seems to have been left homeless – because “science.” Nobody will touch it. With the Presidential election just around the corner everybody gets a call to place their bets, a call that delivers a disturbing... Source

Tuesday evening the PM announced that the greater Manchester area would be given the Third Tier Lockdown treatment. And for Toby and James the one thing this situation has done is highlight the divide between England and the devolved nations of the “United” Kingdom. It has also highlighted the power struggle between the elected and the unelected in government, namely S.A.G.E. Source

On this week’s episode James and Toby react to the PM’s announcement of a second round of restrictions in the fight against Covid-19. There are now three levels of restrictions and – spoiler alert – there are no levels that are free from restrictions. So, we have more lockdowns and at what cost? Cancer specialist Angus Dalgleish recounted the suicide – of not one but two – of his colleagues in an... Source

This week on the UK’s Fastest Growing Podcast® James and Toby ruminate about the relationship between the English and the Scots and lament what the SNP has done to it – and that’s just the beginning of a very full show. What does Donald Trump’s Covid diagnosis mean to the US election and what’s more of a threat – disease or Big Tech? ( #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and... Source

James attended Saturday’s anti-lockdown march in Trafalgar Square and tells Toby about the aggressive behavior of the riot police. The government’s contact tracing app turns out to be a real abomination and university students are now paying for the privilege of being locked in their residency halls with the threat of losing £8,500 (US$10,914) if they stray. Will they really vote Tory in the... Source

This morning in the House, the Prime Minister announced the re-imposition of the lockdown rules in England to avoid what he says is a looming second wave of Covid-19. Now, Toby and James wonder where it all went wrong with Boris and curse themselves for ever having invested any hope in him. Also, leading up to the big grouse hunt James discovers a better way to shoot and in a chilling anecdote we... Source

This year is like living in a zombie movie. Except it’s worse, because the zombies are running the country. Or maybe it’s The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, because someone has even taken over the usually reliable Home Secretary, Priti Patel, and they won’t give her back. The government has introduced “the Rule of Six” and is urging you to spy on your neighbors and turn them in accordingly. Source