Pod Save the UK

https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/contact-your-mp/

GUESTS

Cody Dahler, Comedian and Presenter of The Truth (In My Opinion)

Tommy Vietor, Co-Host of Pod Save America and Pod Save the World

Nida Jafri

USEFUL LINKS

Palestine Action Hunger Strikers:

How to write to your MP

Petition calling for action from the Justice Secretary

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/call-on-mp-and-secretary-of-justice-david-lammy-to-intervene-and-protect-the-hunger-strikers/

CREDITS

Parliament TV

Cody Dahler/TikTok

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg/BBC One

Tonight with Andrew Marr/LBC

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

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Why does the Left make it so f***** hard? Question Time - PSUK-style Jan 01, 2026

Show notes

You asked, Nish and Coco answered!

What are their most conservative opinions? Why do both the left and right hate NATO so much? Should we ditch GDP? Why doesn’t the UK have compulsory voting and why do some many progressives stay true to Labour when the party is failing to measure up?

All that plus the latest on Coco’s love-hate relationship with AI and a quickfire round to make sure no question is left unanswered.

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2025 in British politics: from Starmer’s flop-flops to AI slop Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Warning: this episode contains a use of a racial slur.

From the rollback of human rights and Trump’s BBC lawsuit to AI slop in politics - what the %@£! was that? Nish and Coco are joined by comedian Shappi Khorsandi and political commentator Jovan Owusu-Nepaul to make sense of the wild year that was.

Labour’s first full year in office was marked by u-turns and an inability to use the word ‘genocide’ but there were some significant new bills that boosted the rights of renters and employees.

Reform’s polling and local election success had mainstream parties running scared - but the reality of actually running stuff may have revealed the party’s limits. While Starmer focused on the threat from the right, the left was revitalised by the resurgence of the Greens and the (albeit chaotic) energy of Your Party - can they shift the political dial?

As 2025 draws to a close - Nish and Coco hand out some very special awards and can we get a Palestinian lullaby to Christmas No.1?

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AURA FRAMES

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CALM

calm.com/PTSUK

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GUESTS

Shappi Khorsandi, Comedian

Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, Co-Host of What’s Left?

USEFUL LINKS

https://togetherforpalestine.bandcamp.com/album/lullaby

CREDITS

Labour Party/TikTok

Parliament TV

Sky News/YouTube

Channel 4 News/YouTube

BladeoftheSun/X

Shaparak Khorsandi/TikTok

The Last Leg/Channel 4

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg/BBC

Basil the Great/X

Sky News/YouTube

5 Live/BBC

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

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Trump blasts Europe and Sadiq Khan - but will his strong man act backfire? Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump has taken another swipe at Europe’s “weak” leaders over Ukraine and immigration including a special mention for - surprise surprise - Sadiq Khan, who got a shout out for being a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”. Honestly, why is he SO obsessed?!

But a Labour government trying to convince European allies to water down human rights law to deport people faster seems perfectly in line with Trump's vision. Nish and Coco are joined by Sky’s Deputy Political Editor Sam Coates.

They also take a dive into the latest allegation swirling around Reform UK - this time the party’s election spending in Nigel Farage’s Clacton constituency is under the spotlight.

And the scale of the homelessness crisis always seems more acute at this time of year - so the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness, Alison McGovern, joins PSUK to explain how their new plan will be the one to finally make a difference.

Finally - PSUK has watched the first episode of the Liz Truss Show, so you don’t have to. Nish and Coco give it a rating out of one to limp lettuce.

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GUESTS

Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor at Sky News

Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness

USEFUL LINKS:

Nish’s Carol Performance

CREDITS

Politico

The Liz Truss Show / YouTube

Keir Starmer MP / TikTok

Rishi Sunak MP / TikTok

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

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Will cutting juries fix our maggot-ridden courts? Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

“Dead and rotting seagulls within the roof insulation” and “maggots literally raining down on to the lobby” - this quote from a court in South Tyneside sums up the state of our creaking judicial system. So what are we going to do about it? Cut jury trials.

Deputy PM and Justice Secretary David Lammy is hoping to clear the court backlog by scrapping jury trials for crimes with sentences of less than three years - but stories like these make Nish and Coco doubtful it will be the silver bullet Lammy hopes. Is removing one of the fundamental building blocks of our justice system worth some sweet sweet efficiency gains?

Then - is this the next post office scandal? Nish and Coco are joined by Liz Sayce OBE to discuss her damning report into how the Department of Work and Pensions failed to notify unpaid carers that they were accruing enormous debt for years.

And Your Party had its founding conference this weekend… and surprise surprise… it was a spicy one. In the end, Team Zarah’s collective vision for the party defeated Team Jeremy. Will this be a new chapter or - for a party prone to in-fighting - will this leadership model trip them up from the get go?

Reminder to send in your questions for our mailbag special to psuk@reducedlistening.co.uk

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WISE

https://www.wise.com

GUESTS

Liz Sayce, OBE

CREDITS

BBC News

Turn Left Media

The Mirror

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

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Reeves’s make-or-break budget: should the rich have paid more? Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

Coco and Nish listened to Rachel Reeves' budget so you don't have to. But hang on, we could all have skipped the speech and read it online. Someone screwed up big time, pressing a button and releasing the budget before Reeves even stood up. That cock up was possibly the most exciting thing about Labour's second budget.

A bit vanilla for you? Too much tax for ordinary workers? Too little for the wealthy?

Journalist Zoë Grünewald tells Pod Save The UK why this budget might have done enough to pacify the Labour backbenches by lifting the two child benefit cap while soothing the markets with tax and spend plans...

Dr Faiza Shaheen, Director of Tax Justice UK, was hoping for bolder action on wealth taxes, but she spots some reasons to be cheerful in the mix.

In other news, Nigel Farage gets rattled by questions about his past. Nish and Coco enjoy the novelty of seeing him squirm but wonder if it will harm his electoral chances. And bring a bottle and bury the hatchets, can 'Your Party' make this weekend their kiss and make up moment?

Send in your questions for Nish and Coco and they’ll answer them in our mailbag special. Email us at psuk@reducedlistening.co.uk

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CALM

https://www.calm.com/PSTUK

AURA FRAMES

https://www.auraframes.com Code: PSUK

GUESTS

Zoë Grünewald, Journalist

Faiza Shaheen, Director of Tax Justice UK

USEFUL LINKS

https://www.yourparty.uk/founding-documents/

Aditya Chakrabortty Guardian article

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/20/wealth-tax-left-super-rich-britain-budget-2025

CREDITS

House of Commons Live

Sky News

The New Statesman

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com

https://www.calm.com/PSTUK

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Mahmood’s Moral Mission: Copy Reform’s homework Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

Warning: this episode contains strong language and a term of racist abuse.

Just when we thought the disasters of the government couldn’t get any worse… New Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has made it her “moral mission” to raise Nish and Coco’s blood pressure. Cruel new plans to end the permanent status of refugees and curb housing and support for asylum seekers do perhaps justify the government’s slogan of the biggest overhaul of the system “in modern history” - but at what cost?

But - not to be outdone in terms of parties completely out of touch with reality - Your Party’s latest act of in-fighting leaves Nish and Coco with palms glued to their faces. Let’s face it - things have never been anything but fractious within the upstart political movement, but as their conference approaches the wind has never seemed further from their sails.

And ahead of the budget next week Chancellor Rachel Reeves is entertaining big cuts to the Warm Homes Plan in efforts to bring down energy bills. Nish and Coco chat to Robert Palmer, Deputy Director of environmental organisation Uplift, about why this quick fix is wrong-headed and short sighted.

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AURA FRAMES

https://www.auraframes.com Code: PSUK

CALM

GUESTS

Robert Palmer, Deputy Director of Uplift

USEFUL LINKS

Claims of racism and antisemitism in Nigel Farage’s adolescence

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2025/nov/18/deeply-shocking-nigel-farage-faces-fresh-claims-of-racism-and-antisemitism-at-school

CREDITS

Shabana Mahmood / X

Reform UK

Parliament TV

Ed Miliband / IG

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

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Much a-coup about nothing? Labour take all the wrong notes from the Tories Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Are knives being sharpened by disgruntled MPs planning a coup against the PM? As Keir Starmer’s team dig in against a supposed threat to the Prime Minister from Health Secretary Wes Streeting - has the Tory-brand of Westminster psychodrama come back for a new series?

Meanwhile the BBC is under fire from the left, the right, the centre and the US president. Nish and Coco dig into an existential crisis for the public broadcaster.

And as COP30 kicks off in Brazil - can we rescue the 1.5C climate target? Alex Reid from Global Witness drops in to give us a reality check.

Later - as Robert Jenrick begins posting AI generated slop to attack his political rivals - Coco speaks to the AI and Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan.

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AUDIO CREDITS

BBC Radio 4

GUESTS

Alex Reid, Head of Forests team at Global Witness

Kanishka Narayan MP, AI and Online Safety Minister

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheukYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK

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What can the left learn from Zohran Mamdani’s win? Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

Nish and Coco celebrate the win of Progressive New York Democratic Mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani - and ponder what British lefties can learn from his social-media friendly campaign.

And is Chancellor Rachel Reeves about to rip up Labour’s manifesto promise not to introduce any new taxes on “working people”? She certainly seems to be laying the groundwork for it, after an unusual pre-budget speech on Tuesday. Nothing was announced - but it’s what wasn’t denied that tells a story…

Later - Nish and Coco discuss the disturbing influence of American anti-abortionist lobbies on the UK’s political system and what we can do about it with New York Times investigative reporter Jane Bradley and campaigner for sexual and reproductive health and rights Lisa Hallgarten. To nobody’s surprise, Nigel Farage is involved.

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Babbel

https://www.calm.com/PSTUK

Calm

Wise

https://www.wise.com

GUESTS

Lisa Hallgarten - advocate, educator and campaigner for sexual and reproductive health and rights with a recent focus on young people’s right to better sex education. You can follow her on Instagram and Bluesky @FundamentalWrites

Jane Bradley - UK investigative reporter at the New York Times

USEFUL LINKS

Crooked Christmas Gear

http://crooked.com/store

Jane Bradley's NYT article

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/world/europe/uk-abortion-farage.html

AUDIO CREDITS

CNN

Sky News

Reform UK

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com