Oh God, What Now?

Another of our weekend bonus editions… When author Jon Ronson’s son texted him from a supposed party in a medieval castle (?) and said it was getting “very weird”, Jon had no idea that it would open the door into some of the strangest reaches of the manosphere. In the resulting book The Castle, he meets a fantasist who thinks he’s the new Hugh Hefner; a man who cranks out far-right rage videos that he doesn’t even believe just because the algorithm drives him to it; and a dad whose “fun” family videos ended up with him being denounced online as an abuser. Is social media unmooring modern men from reality… or are they heading that way anyway? And is writing books like this Jon’s own way escaping the “world of male nothingness”?

• Buy The Castle through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund Oh God What Now by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

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Andy Burnham wants to change who holds the power in Britain, taking the levers of government out of Whitehall’s hands. Plenty of his predecessors have tried – and failed – to make their vision stick. So, can the PM’s model survive contact with reality? Veteran journalist Phil Tinline joins us to weigh in.

Plus: poor old Tommy Robinson is apparently skint, de-banked and has “nothing to hide”. So how did a brand-new Channel 4 investigation allegedly find a live bank account, a Portuguese shell company and £250,000-worth of questions? And in the Extra Bit... does nicking a pint glass make you a criminal or just British?

• Read Phil’s piece in Prospect Magazine, Andy Burnham’s theory of power.

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Ros has been watching the third series of Colin from Accounts on BBC iPlayer

• Jason immersed himself in tunes and pints of ale at the annual Faversham Hop Festival

• Phil has been listening to Bassvictim, the Polish rap, electroclash duo

• Zoë went to the screening of Sky’s upcoming docudrama, The Wargame – WHICH SHE’S IN!

• Listen to Terror Century, The Bunker’s three-part mini-series marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Zoë Grünewald with Jason Hazeley, Ros Taylor and Phil Tinline. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk
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Nigel Farage’s family has even urged him to “pack it in” and “walk away” amid recent scandals. Can he and his party survive the latest scrutiny? The beleaguered Reform leader tried to appear unruffled at his party conference after a bombshell Channel 4 documentary raised fresh questions about foreign donations. What will come next? Plus: masked anti-migrant protestors took to the streets of Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend trying to take the law into their own hands. Is the rule of the mob on the rise?

ESCAPE ROUTES

• Rachel was reminded of Frank Turner’s ability to transcend divides after her husband watched him perform live at the Moseley Folk & Arts Festival

• Raf finally went to the West End to watch the satirical World War 2 musical Operation Mincemeat

• Jonn has been bingeing the brand-new third season of the BBC’s smash-hit Vigil

• Seth went to the UK’s “biggest sauna” – the Royal Albert Hall – to watch BBC Proms

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Seth Thévoz with Jonn Elledge, Rachel Cunliffe and Rafael Behr. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk
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Weekend bonus episode… Britain still mired in Brexit, Europe divided, economic stagnation in the West and Donald Trump’s disastrous culture wars and actual wars. Are they all just a blip in human history or does the West’s decline mark the beginning of a new world order? What if that future belongs to rising powers of the East – China and India?

That’s the premise of Sir Vince Cable’s new book, Eclipsing the West: China, India and the Forging of a New World. The former Liberal Democrat leader talks to Rafael Behr about how China and India are increasingly shaping the world – and where (and if) Britain fits in.

• Buy Vince’s book Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

• Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk.

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Written and presented by Rafael Behr. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Tom Taylor. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk
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Fast reaction with News Statesman’s associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe and Jacob Jarvis. Nigel Farage and Reform are facing another crisis after two – now former – senior officials were filmed in an undercover sting appearing to plot how to circumvent electoral law to bag a £500,000 foreign donation… Reform says it’s all a “hoax”, predictably… Can Reform weather the storm? Is Farage totally done for? And what might happen next?

• Find out if you’re owed on car finance at refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

• Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. refundclub.co.uk/OGWN

www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow

Presented by Jacob Jarvis with Rachel Cunliffe. Produced by James Liddell. Audio Production by Chris Jones. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.

www.podmasters.co.uk
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices