Talk Podcasts

THE SITUATION here in Britain is becoming more and more serious by the day. At the time of recording, it’s just been announced that Health Minister Nadine Dorries has tested positive for coronavirus.  In this podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins aim to strike a balance between making listeners aware of the sheer seriousness of the situation, while remaining calm and avoiding hysteria. They...

MARCUS Stead and James Easton return with an hour-long Coffee Break. Topics discussed in this month's edition include: * Products that used to be commonplace, but you can still buy if you know where to look. * What obsolete technology are you still using? * What technology do we use that will be obsolete in ten years' time? * Memories of the 'good old days' of independent local radio. The podcast...

AS OF 2 March 2020, more than 3,000 people have been killed by the coronavirus, including 50 in Iran and more than 30 in Italy. Globally, there have been almost 90,000 confirmed cases, with the numbers outside China now growing faster than inside China. In this podcast, journalist Marcus Stead and veteran campaigner and blogger Greg Lance-Watkins tackle some key questions: * How concerned should w...

DURING RECENT weeks, large areas of Britain have experienced flooding, resulting in millions of pounds in damage to homes and businesses. Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins discuss the causes of the flooding – they dismiss claims it a consequence of man-made climate change, and condemn the lazy narrative being peddled by the mainstream media. As former TV weatherman John Kettley said on LBC radio...

ON SATURDAY evening, we learnt that television presenter Caroline Flack had taken her own life at the age of just 40. Caroline was a popular and talented entertainer, yet she had a deeply troubled personal life. In this week’s podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins discuss the sort of society we live in, and to what extent the media, and indeed social media, is to blame for Caroline’s death....

ON SUNDAY 2 February, Sudesh Amman injured three people in a terror attack on the Streatham High Road, less than two weeks after being released from prison for possessing and distributing terrorist material. In this podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins discuss what can be done to minimise the threat from Islamic terrorists living in Britain. The evidence clearly points to ‘lone wolf’ attac...

Marcus Stead and James Easton return with the second Coffee Break podcast of 2020. Topics discussed include: Memories of Blockbuster video stores The future of the TV licence fee Other great podcasts, including the return of Danny Baker The importance of a good pillow The podcast is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts and the TuneIn app.

TO CELEBRATE the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins bring you a 'triple dose' of Twenty Minute Topic. Marcus and Greg reflect on the moment last Friday night at 11pm when the UK left the EU and became an independent country again after 47 years.  They assess what this means for the UK, what happens next, and what being free from the shackles of...

In this special podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins discuss the rapidly-developing situation with the coronavirus outbreak: What is the coronavirus? Has the Chinese government reacted appropriately? In western countries, what can citizens and governments do? How serious could this potentially become? And at some point, probably not this time, is a serious pandemic inevitable? The podcast...

THE UNITED Kingdom will finally leave the European Union this coming Friday at 11pm, and in this special edition of Twenty Minute Topic, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins pay tribute to those eurosceptics who campaigned for Brexit, but sadly did not live long enough to see it delivered. Among those Marcus and Greg pay tribute to are Norris McWhirter, perhaps best known for his role on long-runni...

IN THIS week’s edition, Marcus Stead talks to Greg Lance-Watkins about an idea Greg has for tackling homelessness. Greg’s idea is a remarkably simple, yet effective way of bringing dignity and safety to the homeless. Marcus asks Greg a series of questions about potential problems and pitfalls, all of which Greg addresses convincingly. There doesn’t appear to be any obvious downside to Greg’s propo...

THE DUKE and Duchess of Sussex, or ‘Harry and Meghan’ as they are more commonly known, released a bombshell statement in which they announced they were stepping back from Royal duties to pursue their own paths. In this podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins reflect on the appalling way in which they went about announcing this, without consulting the Queen or senior members of the Royal Famil...

Marcus Stead and James Easton return with the first Coffee Break podcast of 2020. Topics discussed include: Christmas shopping in January Do other countries 'do Christmas' better? Good manners/etiquette in Japan and South Korea 2020 in sport The podcast is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts and the TuneIn app.

THE ASSASSINATION of major general Qasam Soleimani marked a major escalation of tensions with Iran, and what happens next is highly unpredictable. In this week's podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins put the events of early 2020 into a wider historical context, and assess what may happen in the days and weeks ahead. What motivated President Trump to carry out this reckless action? Are we he...

AS 2019 draws to a close, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins reflect on how the year will be remembered in the history books. They also debate whether the Labour Party can recover from its current dire state, and assess whether the time has come for decent, patriotic Labour supporters to break away from the party and set up an alternative opposition movement. The podcast is also available on iTun...

Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins reflect on a week that saw the EU Withdrawal Bill pass through the House of Commons with ease. They discuss what'll happen next, how the EU is likely to react, and the challenges Boris Johnson's Government will face in handling the next phase of negotiations during the early months of 2020. Marcus and Greg also discuss the serious problems facing the Labour Part...

AFTER A GAP of more than two years (nearly three years, actually) the Coffee Break podcast returns in its new home on Talk Podcasts with Marcus Stead and new regular presenter James Easton. Christmas isn’t far away and that’s the basis of our first podcast back. Topics covered include: Classic Christmas telly Advent calendars Crap Christmas decorations Retro toys Christmas dinners for pescatarians...

The election is over, Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has won with a majority of 80, exactly as Marcus Stead has been predicting on Twenty Minute Topic for many weeks! In this week’s podcast, Marcus and Greg Lance-Watkins assess how quickly Brexit can now be implemented, now that the United Kingdom has a stable Government with a large majority. They also discuss what went wrong for Labour, and...

With less than a week to go until polling day, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins take stock of the situation. The polls consistently show a consistent and substantial lead for the Conservative Party, but Marcus and Greg interpret the data in slightly different ways, and have reached different conclusions as to how the votes will translate into seats. Is it the case that people are massively unim...

On Friday, Usman Khan, an already-convicted terrorist out on licence, killed two innocent people on London Bridge. In this week’s podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins pay tribute to the extraordinarily brave people who helped disarm the terrorist, and discuss what steps can be taken to prevent similar attacks in the future. Marcus and Greg also assess what effect the terror attack has had...

Marcus Stead and James Easton return with the final pubcast of 2019, recorded at the Mount Stuart in Cardiff Bay. There was a ‘no politics’ rule in place, which was only loosely enforced. Topics covered in this edition include: Tattoos – tasteful or tacky? Are they OK provided they’re well-hidden? And are heavily-tattooed people doing it for attention? Cymru Premier football – differences and simi...

In the week the Conservative and Labour parties launched their manifestos, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins take a look at what’s inside them. Are Boris Johnson’s plans for a huge wave of investment in infrastructure, apprenticeships and nursing realistic? As for Labour, there are big elements of it that have not been widely reported in the mainstream media. There are lots of things in there th...

Events have taken over the election campaign in the last week, with Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn responding in very different ways to the terrible floods in Yorkshire. With less than a month to go until polling day, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins ask: How could Boris Johnson have handled the terrible situation with the floods in Yorkshire without attracting criticism? Something profound is...

Something extraordinary is happening with the opinion polls. They are consistently showing that in the Labour heartlands, support for the party has halved in 2019 alone. Across the country, support for the Conservatives has fallen a little, but not to anything like the extent as Labour. There is no single beneficiary of the collapse in support for Labour. Some of those percentage points have gone...

Nigel Farage launched the Brexit Party’s election campaign on Friday of last week. He stated that if Boris Johnson didn’t ditch the deal he negotiated with the EU, the Brexit Party could stand in every seat in the country. Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins both had dealings with Nigel Farage during his days as a senior figure in UKIP. Marcus and Greg explain why Mr Farage’s actions last week ris...