Pod Save the UK

Coco and Nish are joined by top author and tech expert Jamie Bartlett. His new book is a deep dive into the ways AI is being used - highlighting its pitfalls and also where it might be beneficial.Jamie even created an AI alter-ego to help people understand how the technology really works, its strengths and its limitations. Plus, your questions, answered! From the new electoral system in Wales to favourite conspiracy theories - you’ll learn and you’ll laugh!Don’t forget to leave a review - it gives the show a boost and we love to see your comments.CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/PSTUKSHOPIFY: https://shopify.co.uk/podsavetheukWISE: https://www.wise.comGUESTS Jamie Bartlett, Author, ‘How To Talk To AI (And How Not To)’ and Host of Everything is Fake (And Nobody Cares) on BBC SoundsSpecial guest appearance: Jimmy BotlettUSEFUL LINKS‘How To Talk To AI (And How Not To)’: Out April 9th. https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/475950/how-to-talk-to-ai-by-bartlett-jamie/9780753561980Welsh Assembly election guidehttps://senedd.wales/senedd-now/senedd-blog/senedd-election-2026-what-is-the-d-hondt-formula-and-how-does-it-work/Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

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.CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/PSTUKSHOPIFY: https://shopify.co.uk/podsavetheukINCOGNI: https://www.incogni.com/podsavetheuk Code: podsavetheuk GUESTS Stewart Lee, Comedian and columnist for The NerveUSEFUL LINKSGuide to Senedd voting system: https://senedd.wales/senedd-now/senedd-blog/how-will-the-new-voting-system-work-at-the-next-senedd-election/CREDITSSaturday Night Live UK, Sky OnePod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

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.CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS BABBEL: https://www.babbel.com/PSUKWISE: https://www.wise.comSHOPIFY: https://shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk GUESTZakia Sewell, writer, DJ & broadcasterUSEFUL LINKS“Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore and the Quest for Hidden Britain” - out now.https://www.waterstones.com/book/finding-albion/zakia-sewell/9781399735902Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

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] OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS BABBEL: https://www.babbel.com/PSUKWISE: https://www.wise.comSHOPIFY: https://shopify.co.uk/podsavetheukGUESTS Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, Authors. Muskism: A Guide for the PerplexedOut on March 24thAnne McElvoy, Executive Editor, POLITICO and co-host Politics at Sam and Anne’sUSEFUL LINKSThe Podcast Show - https://www.thepodcastshowlondon.com/explore-passesMuskism: A Guide for the Perplexedhttps://www.penguin.co.uk/books/477340/muskism-by-tarnoff-quinn-slobodian-and-ben/9780241805114CREDITSThe Guardian - YouTubeThe Independent - YouTubeReform UK - YouTubeToday in Focus - The GuardianPod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

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! CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS AURA FRAMES: https://www.auraframes.com Code: PSTUKBABBEL: https://www.babbel.com/PSUKGUESTS Louisa Munch, Critical TheoristMinnie Rahman, CEO PraxisUSEFUL LINKS“Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe” + Q&A with James Acaster at The Ritzy, Brixton - 18th Marchhttps://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-settlementCREDITSDarren Jones MP, Cabinet Office minister - Parliament TVSteve Reed MP, Communities Secretary - Parliament TVMike Tapp MP, Migration minister - Parliament TVMinnie Rahman, Praxis CEOFrederik Pleitgen, CNN International Senior Correspondent - CNNPod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

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] CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS WISEhttps://www.wise.comSHOPIFY https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk SURFSHARKhttps://www.surfshark.com/podsave Code: PODSAVEGUESTSanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE, founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)USEFUL LINKSSophie Dukerhttps://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/id1770618616CREDITSSophie Duker - Live at the Apollo / BBC One Keir Starmer / XParliament TV PBS News Hour / YouTubeBBC News Zoe Gardner / IGManchester Evening News Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

This week Nish and Coco are joined by friend of the pod, Ash Sarkar from Novara Media to talk about political scandal, trust and compromise. Ash’s book, Minority Rule, has a new afterword which talks about two progressive movements which have tried to build different kinds of relationships with voters. Is that the way forward - or are we stuck in an endless cycle of broken promises from our leaders? One of those leaders - Keir Starmer - seems to be lurching from crisis to nightmare, so can he rise above the latest headlines about Peter Mandelson’s arrest and the Labour Together scandal?Plus Reform’s new immigration policies, the new proposals to change the SEND system - and some good news about two protest groups.CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS BABBEL: https://www.babbel.com/PSUKWISE: https://www.wise.comSURFSHARK: https://www.surfshark.com/podsave CODE: PODSAVE GUESTS Ash Sarkar, Contributing Editor at Novara Media and author of Minority Rule: Adventures in the Culture War - out now in paperback.USEFUL LINKSJumaane Williams’ thoughtful response following the outcry about the handling of a racial slur at the Baftas.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgaqKIxS4Hs&t=1sCREDITSDaily Express - YouTubeNigel Farage - [email protected] - InstagramNida JafriPod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

This week Coco is joined by the comedian Cody Dahler while Nish takes a brief break and there’s so much to talk about!The Greens' Hannah Spencer has become the unexpected bookies favourite to win the Gorton and Denton by-election but does she have what it takes to turn good odds into a win at the ballot box? We speak to her about the importance of fighting to improve lives, her favourite false rumour and why walking her dogs helped form her political outlook.Plus Keir Starmer is back with another U-turn and another inquiry. We try to work out what he’s hoping to achieve this week. And Amnesty International’s UK Director of Law and Human Rights, Tom Southerden, updates us on their High Court victory as they challenge the proscription of Palestine Action.CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS BABBEL: https://www.babbel.com/PSUKSHOPIFY: https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheukGUESTS Hannah Spencer, Green Party candidate, Gorton and Denton by-electionTom Southerden, UK Law and Human Rights Director, Amnesty InternationalUSEFUL LINKSGorton and Denton by-election candidate list https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.gorton-and-denton.by.2026-02-26/gorton-and-denton/CREDITSTikTok / @mrcodydahlerGreen Party of England and Wales / FacebookHannah Spencer / InstagramPaul Holden, Investigative journalist and author of "The Fraud"High Court protest reaction - Amnesty International footage@mrcodydahler / InstagramOtto, Budding ComedianPod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet circles the wagons as he survives another hellish week in office. One that saw the loss of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and his director of communications, Tim Allan, as the scandal over Peter Mandelson's ties to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein rages on. Nish and Coco are joined by Paul Holden, the “unofficial biographer” of Morgan McSweeney, to discuss his key role in the rise of Keir Starmer to power and his close relationship with Mandelson. Plus - reports that Labour Together hired a PR firm to investigate Paul and others looking into its funding under McSweeney.Also, comedian Stuart Goldsmith on the serious business of being funny about climate change and why it goes all the way to the top of British intelligence.CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS AURA FRAMEShttps://www.auraframes.com Code: PSTUKWISEhttps://www.wise.comGUESTS Paul Holden, Investigative Journalist and author of The FraudStuart Goldsmith, Climate ComedianUSEFUL LINKSThe Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney, and the Crisis of British Democracyhttps://orbooks.com/catalog/the-fraud/Stuart Goldsmithwww.stuartgoldsmith.comCREDITSSky News / YouTubeSky News / YouTubeGOP Oversight / YouTubeSky News Australia / YouTubePod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

The release of the latest Epstein files triggered a deluge of revelations, spelling the end for one of UK’s biggest political characters. Nish and Coco chat about Lord Mandelson’s fall and the damage done to Keir Starmer and his government as well as the new police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.Economist Ann Pettifor, one of the few who predicted the 2008 financial crash, is the author of a new book “The Global Casino”. She has a lot to say about the Mandelson scandal, the financial systems that control our lives and what governments need to do to challenge the global billionaires who speculate with our money every day.Plus - move over Barbenheimer, Nish and Coco give their take on two premieres: The Moment and Melania.CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS SHOPIFYhttps://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk AURA FRAMEShttps://www.auraframes.com Code: PSTUKGUEST Ann Pettifor, economist and author of ‘The Global Casino’USEFUL LINKSNish Tour Ticketshttps://www.nishkumar.co.uk/gigs/The Global Casino: How Wall Street Gambles with People and the Planethttps://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3258-the-global-casinoCREDITSKeir Starmer MP / Parliament TVLord Mandelson / ‘Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg’ BBC OneMelania Trailer Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected] and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUKInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheukTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheukBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.comFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukX: https://x.com/podsavetheuk