Pod Save the UK

Why Burnham’s Britain got a ‘nothing’ budget

5.2K views · 1d ago · 56:52

Guest: Helen Barnard

This week, while Nish is on tour, Coco is joined by journalist Zoë Grünewald to make sense of the first ‘steady-as-he-goes’ Burnham budget. From Burnham’s barnstormer, to Healey’s humdrum address... it was, fine I guess? Weeks of pitch-rolling and pre-announcements led up to this moment, which meant there were very few surprises in Parliament, but a few cans kicked into next year.

Topics: Brazil Elections: A win for the · Lessons for the Left · Lula's Army: a case for social media mobilisation · Serbian students' election win · UK hun? Why aren't we protesting? · If Zoe was Chancellor...

Why ‘gender’ has become a scapegoat for Trump, JK Rowling, and the Pope

22K views · 1w ago · 1:34:59

It’s a bumper episode this week! Put on your big brain hats, as Nish & Coco are joined by two incredible thinkers from around the world; PSUK goes global. First up, it’s pioneering (or ‘OG’) trans historian Susan Stryker who discusses her new book, ‘Changing Gender’: charting the history and development of the concept and language of gender, weaving in elements of memoir and observations from the present day.

Topics: Changing Gender: a memoir of making history · Identity politics: welcome to the sh!t show! · Matt Walsh: when hate-watching becomes fieldwork · Gender isn’t just a grammar lesson · Gender critical feminism & the TERF origin story · From side quest to global culture war: how gender went mainstream

Why Brexit is Back to Haunt UK Politics

24K views · 2w ago · 1:23:15

This week, Nish & Coco reckon with the latest act of political desperation from Farage and his ailing Reform party: returning to their single-issue roots and promising to shut down England’s asylum system altogether. Plus, amidst the ongoing Man City scandal, we dive into the PSUK vault and return to an interview from June 2023 with then-mayor Andy Burnham, where Nish & Coco quizzed him on Abu Dhabi investment in the city.

Topics: ‘Political desperation’: Reform’s racist roadshow · Man City, Sham City? · Nish, the football nerd · UK, the “Global Laundromat” · Into the vault: Andy Burnham’s 2023 PSUK interview · Speaking with Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe

Andy Burnham is "pissing a lot of people off". Here's why

42K views · 2w ago · 15:02

Lara Bird MP joins Nish & Coco to explain why Andy Burnham is inherently problematic for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For a man who loves devolution, he's ignoring the fact that for the first time, there are pro-independence nationalist governments in all three non-English nations. They're sending a clear message - will Andy listen?

Why this MP was BOOED in Parliament for speaking out on Palestine.

28K views · 3w ago · 7:50

In this clip from our latest episode, Lara Bird explains the work she did with Britain Palestine Project before she became an MP, and how it's completely shaped her outlook on politics. It's also made her aware of how much the UK government has known about the Palestinian genoc!de, and for how long.