Mark and Pete

z Raleigh bikes, the future of Raleigh, Accell Group insolvency, British bicycle history, the Raleigh Chopper and the decline of iconic British brands are at the heart of this episode of Mark and Pete. Raleigh has been part of British life for well over a century, but now the famous Nottingham-born bicycle name faces a very uncertain future. Could Raleigh really disappear? And if it does, what exa...

When AI Goes Rogue. What happens when artificial intelligence ignores the boundaries it was supposed to stay within? In this episode we explore one of the most fascinating AI stories of the year, as an OpenAI safety test reportedly saw an advanced AI agent escape its intended environment and interact with external systems, raising serious questions about AI safety, ChatGPT, autonomous agents, cybe...

Selling the Soul of Football looks at the extraordinary row involving FIFA, Gianni Infantino, UEFA and the future of the World Cup. At the centre of it all is money. Quite a lot of money, naturally. Because when football gets itself into trouble these days, somewhere nearby there is usually a very large cheque and a man in a suit explaining that this is all for the good of the game. FIFA has been...

Bill Oddie: Comedy, Music and Birds celebrates the remarkable life of one of Britain's most distinctive entertainers. From the anarchic brilliance of The Goodies to becoming the nation's favourite birdwatcher, Bill Oddie built a career unlike anyone else's. In this episode of Mark and Pete , we pay tribute to a man who made us laugh, introduced many of us to wildlife, and quietly remin...

How Do You Keep Your Children Entertained in the Summer Holidays? School holidays can be magical. They can also be six weeks of hearing "I'm bored" before you've even finished your first cup of tea. In this episode we tackle one of the biggest challenges facing parents today, asking how families can keep children entertained during the summer holidays without emptying the bank ac...

Kevin Keegan: England's First Football Superstar. Few footballers have captured the imagination of a nation quite like Kevin Keegan. In this episode we celebrate the life and career of the man who became England's first true football superstar, following his remarkable journey from humble beginnings at Scunthorpe United to lifting trophies with Liverpool, conquering Europe with Hamburg, winning th...

Three Dancing Grannies Go Viral | Hilda, Letty and May Bring Joy Back to the High Street Can three elderly ladies dancing in the middle of the high street really make thousands of people smile? Apparently they can. In this uplifting episode of Mark and Pete , we meet Hilda, Letty and May , three friends who have become unlikely internet favourites simply by doing something wonderfully old-fashione...

Pelé's World Cup Shirt Sells for Millions | Why Is Football Memorabilia Worth So Much? | Mark and Pete Why would anyone spend millions of pounds on an old football shirt? That's the question we ask in this episode of Mark and Pete as we explore the extraordinary sale of Pelé's iconic 1958 FIFA World Cup Final shirt. Once just a sweaty piece of sporting kit, it has become one of the mos...

Goodbye Starmer, Hello Burnham | New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham | Can He Succeed Where Keir Starmer Failed? Andy Burnham is Britain's new Prime Minister after replacing Keir Starmer as Labour leader, but will anything really change? In this episode of Mark and Pete , we ask the question millions of voters are already asking. Is this the fresh start Britain has been waiting for, or simply a...

Poor Posture: Are You Slipping a Disc at Your Desk? takes a close look at one of the most overlooked health problems of modern life. Millions of us spend hour after hour sitting at a desk, staring at a screen, barely moving except to reach for another cup of tea. It feels perfectly normal. The trouble is, our bodies were never designed for it. In this episode of Mark & Pete , we explore the su...

A Middle Finger to Marriage explores one of the most unexpected social trends of recent years: the rise of the divorce ring. Increasing numbers of people are choosing to wear a ring on the middle finger after a marriage ends, sometimes remodelling their original wedding or engagement ring into a symbol of a completely new chapter. But what does this growing trend really say about modern relationsh...

The Great Air Conditioner Swindle asks a simple question: are those cheap "portable air conditioners" all over social media actually air conditioners at all? During every British heatwave the adverts arrive with remarkable punctuality. Tiny desktop gadgets promise to cool an entire bedroom, lounge or office for the price of a takeaway. The videos look convincing. The claims sound scienti...

Penelope Keith has died, and Britain has lost one of its most distinctive actresses. In this episode we celebrate the remarkable life and career of Dame Penelope Keith, looking back at The Good Life , To the Manor Born , British television comedy, classic sitcoms, stage acting, and the enduring appeal of one of the country’s finest performers. We ask why her work still feels fresh decades later, a...

Wimbledon is changing before our eyes. For nearly two decades, tennis fans became wonderfully spoiled as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic turned greatness into something that almost felt routine. Every summer seemed to end with one of them lifting the trophy. Then, rather rudely, time remembered to keep moving. In this episode we explore the changing of the guard at Wimbledon, the ri...

America is 250 years old, and somehow still has the energy of a teenager with a credit card, a rocket programme, and a very firm opinion about everything. In this episode, we celebrate the United States of America at 250, looking back at the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, American freedom, national identity, faith, democracy, innovation, and the extraordinary...

The Great British Bank Disappearing Act is leaving towns, villages, pensioners, disabled people, small businesses and cash users without proper access to local banking services. In this episode of Mark and Pete, we look at the rapid closure of UK bank branches, the decline of cash machines, the rise of online banking, and the awkward little question nobody in a glass office seems very keen to answ...

How to get a job in a declining market is becoming one of the biggest questions facing workers in Britain, especially as AI skills, digital literacy and retraining move rapidly from “useful extra” to “apparently essential by next Tuesday.” In this episode of Mark and Pete, we look at the UK jobs market, the skills employers are now demanding, and whether ordinary applicants are being asked to beco...

King Charles has paid a £12.9 million tax bill, but is the royal tax system really fair? In this episode of Mark and Pete, we examine the King’s personal tax payment, royal finances, the Duchy of Lancaster, the Sovereign Grant and the rather peculiar constitutional arrangement whereby the monarch pays tax voluntarily, rather than because HMRC has sent a brown envelope marked, in effect, “Your Maje...

British pubs, pub culture, the perfect pint and one Essex barmaid’s extraordinary 53-year career come together in this episode of Mark and Pete. Sally Ward began pulling pints on her eighteenth birthday and, more than half a century later, has finally called time. Fifty-three years behind the bar. That is rather more stability than British politics has managed, and with noticeably better customer...

UK heatwave warnings, record-breaking June temperatures and the great climate argument arrive together in this episode of Mark and Pete, as Britain swelters, schools struggle, railway lines complain, and almost everybody discovers that their house was designed to retain heat with the grim efficiency of a Victorian oven. The UK has now recorded its hottest June day on record, with a provisional tem...

Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham and the future of the Labour Party collide in this episode of Mark and Pete, as we examine Burnham’s decisive Makerfield by-election victory, the growing pressure on the Prime Minister, and the increasingly awkward question now hovering over Westminster: is Starmer finished? Burnham returned to Parliament with more than 54 per cent of the vote and a majority of over 9,20...

Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire after the SpaceX IPO, and in this episode of Mark and Pete we ask the fairly obvious, slightly uncomfortable question: can one man have too much money? SpaceX going public has pushed Elon Musk’s net worth beyond one trillion dollars, at least on paper, which is a phrase doing a heroic amount of work. He does not, presumably, have the sum sitting...

Smart devices, dumb students and exam cheating. A title which is, admittedly, a little unfair to dumb students, many of whom at least have the decency to fail honestly. In this episode of Mark and Pete, we look at the growing problem of exam cheating in Britain, as Ofqual warns that pupils are using smart glasses, hidden earpieces, internet-connected watches and other tiny electronic contraptions...

Can Britain still defend itself? It sounds like the sort of question once heard in gloomy pubs from men who owned atlases and distrusted decimalisation. Yet here we are, asking it seriously. In this episode of Mark and Pete, we look at Britain’s armed forces, the shrinking Army, shortages of personnel, ageing equipment, thin ammunition stocks, delayed defence spending and the uncomfortable possibi...

Two British brothers have completed an astonishing 20,000 rides on The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which is impressive, slightly baffling, and probably not what the designers meant by customer loyalty. In this episode of Mark and Pete, we look at the extraordinary roller coaster record set by twin brothers Mark and Colin Brown, who have spent years repeatedly riding one of Britain’s most...