The Trawl

It’s one of  those  episodes. Marina and Jemma try (and occasionally fail) to keep it together as they wade through a week of escalating horror: war rhetoric, media apathy, and leaders who seem either missing in action or actively making things worse. From the sheer scale of the US “No Kings” protests to the deeply disturbing reality unfolding across Iran, Israel and Lebanon, this is a c...

In this   Trawl, Jemma and Marina coin a new state of being (“fucktioning”) before diving headfirst into a world that feels increasingly unhinged. From a tribute to  Married At First Sight  expert Mel Schilling, to the unbearable reality of injustice in Gaza and a horrific story about a little baby boy who was tortured by members of the IDF, the emotional whiplash is real. There’s r...

BS, Bluster & Backlash Jemma and Marina return with a properly unhinged dispatch from a world that seems to be teetering somewhere between “carry on as normal” and “is this how it all ends?” As tensions with Iran escalate (then de-escalate… then escalate again), they unpack the latest chaos surrounding Donald Trump from threats on Truth Social to mysterious “talks” that may or may no...

Trump’s regretting a war he can’t explain, his own counter terrorism chief has walked, and even his podcast fanboys are starting to wobble. Meanwhile, here in Blighty, Starmer’s juggling Mandelson fallout and the Trawl ladies are horrified by the creeping Palantir influence, as tech billionaires get a little too comfortable playing politics. Marina and Jemma can't believe what one Palantir boss is...

From the realities of political life today to looking back on the Blair years, Campbell is open, considered and surprisingly candid about the pressures, the mistakes, and why he thinks Starmer is getting it right, even if the public don't. Marina and Jemma cover everything from global politics to  The Rest Is Politics . There are thoughtful moments, a few laughs, and glimpses of the personal...

There's nothing remotely funny about war and yet the latest utterings from The White House are so batshit, Jemma and Marina have to laugh. Because if you don't....etc. Tune in for global chaos with a side of clownery. Trump declares victory… then immediately begs the world for help. The Strait of Hormuz turns into a geopolitical panic button, NATO says “absolutely not,” and the internet says “we t...

Off the back of Louis Theroux’s latest documentary, Marina and Jemma unpack the men building huge online audiences by selling a version of masculinity that feels equal parts contradictory and deeply revealing. From the obsession with status, money and 'high value' women, to the glaring emotional vulnerability sitting just beneath the surface it’s a conversation about what’s really going...

Jemma and Marina begin with story that feels like a nod to 'ye olde Trawl days' when 'Lord of the Week' was a regular thing. Then there’s an equally vintage blast from Penny Mordaunt, whose greatest hits include carrying a sword and standing up to fight. She's had an unfortunate encounter ...

Oil prices soar, the global economy wobbles, and the media politely wonders whether there might still be a master plan inside Trump's helium-filled skull. Marina and Jemma sift through the chaos: Fox News telling the truth, Russia helping Iran and Trump being OK with that and Trump casually flirting with admitting war crimes. But first: a brief cultural detour as Timothy Chalamet manages to annoy...

Oops… he did it again.  This week on  The Trawl , Jemma and Marina are trying to keep up with a news cycle that’s moving faster than the White House can change its story about why it just started another war. Is it about nuclear weapons? Oil? Israel? Distraction? Take your pick, the explanation seems to change by the hour. But first, after a weekend of International Women’s Day posts (an...

Marina and Jemma dive back into the escalating crisis in Iran as Trump and Netanyahu continue bombing, apparently without checking if that’s a good idea with… anyone. As oil prices surge and the world edges closer to something that looks suspiciously like a wider war, the Trawl ladies compare the responses from the leaders of the main UK political parties. Meanwhile, Spain’s Prime Minister shows w...

Join Jemma and Marina who are trying to process the latest news cycle. At time of record, Donald Trump has bombed seven countries in twelve months. Super - really earning that peace prize he's after. Diplomacy with Iran was reportedly within reach just 24 hours before US–Israeli strikes began yet here we are. Still, ignorance is bliss because some Dubai influencers are mainly worried about missing...

This week on  The Trawl , Marina and Jemma enjoy one of life’s small but deeply satisfying pleasures: Nigel Farage losing an election and immediately blaming everyone except himself. Instead of the predicted triumph, Reform got absolutely walloped by a Green candidate who is, among other things, a plumber. Which is awkward when your entire campaign strategy revolves around telling everyone yo...

This week on  The Trawl , Marina and Jemma sift through a news cycle that feels less like global politics and more like a lads’ WhatsApp group with state power. In the US, the Epstein saga takes another disturbing turn as fresh reporting suggests dozens of pages have vanished from the public database — including material relating to allegations against Donald Trump. As questions swirl around...

In this Trawl, Jemma and Marina survey the political carnage and ask: what's Reform's problem with equality? While America wrestles with peak what-the-fuckery, back home “Trump Lite” is workshopping his strongman routine and Reform are busy torching the Equality Act, apparently “for the boys.” Because nothing says protecting young men like removing the legislation that protects them. Then, the Tra...

ALL CAPS were exchanged. Cushions were screamed into. Andrew has been arrested. Jemma and Marina dive headfirst into the breaking news that Prince Andrew was arrested at his Sandringham residence on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The internet did not disappoint. The memes were memeing. The birthday irony was exquisite. The startled-wombat visuals were unavoidable. But amid the satire an...

Jemma and Marina first 'met' Misan on Instagram having been struck by his incredibly powerful photographs of people protesting against what they were witnessing in Palestine.  Misan is a Nigerian-born British photographer, entrepreneur and social activist. As well as being one of the most widely-shared photographers of the Black Lives Matter movement, Harriman is also the first Black man to s...

This Trawl starts with a confession that absolutely nobody asked for. A Norwegian Olympic medallist wins bronze… then goes live on TV to admit he cheated, not in sport, but on his girlfriend. Gold medal in biathlon, emotional own goal in life. Marina and Jemma unpack public guilt, performative remorse, and why the Winter Olympics still feels like a collection of sports invented during a long weeke...

Marina and Jemma pour the champagne, light the cauldron and gather the coven because honestly, what in the hallucinogenic hell is going on? First up: America’s Health Secretary says something truly eye-watering. Then, from villainy to heroism via a brilliant moment highlighted by Vic Derbyshire the Trawl ladies celebrate a woman calmly, powerfully doing the right thing (even if their GCS...

Marina Purkiss and Jemma Forte dive headfirst into the political absurdity of the past seven days and honestly? You couldn’t script it. First up: the US Congress hearing that left jaws on the floor. Attorney General Pam Bondi arrived armed with a massive binder and a promise of transparency and delivered… evasions. With Epstein survivors present in the room, the exchanges were tense, emotional, an...

This week, we start with cursed Valentine’s poetry from...Greg Wallace and a rogue “dangler", before plunging straight into the political sewer. Rory Stewart decides that £94k counts as “low income”, Trump posts a racist video in the middle of the night and then immediately blows up his own press office’s cover story, and Labour descends into full‑blown chaos as Morgan McSweeney finally exits stag...

Olympians dare to distance themselves from Trump, Bad Bunny turns the Super Bowl halftime show into a love-soaked middle finger, and Kid Rock delivers what may be the worst miming incident in broadcast history. Then it gets darker. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network run a Super Bowl PSA demanding the truth while the US government, British media and political class continue to redac...

Marina and Jemma wade through the moral swamp of Reform UK’s latest masterplan: cutting beer duty by keeping children in poverty - because according to them the nation’s biggest crisis is Dave paying £4.80 instead of £4.75 for his pint.  Labour doesn’t escape the drag either, with Rachel Reeves floating the idea that only graduates should pay for their degrees - a policy so anti‑youth it migh...

January nearly finished us off, and February hasn’t exactly come in with flowers. Marina is abandoned in the news‑cycle trenches while Jemma wafts around on a boat, and together they pick through the week’s mess: Marina’s run‑in with Reform, her viral roasting of Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the spectacular failure of the Melania documentary, Bezos’ suspiciously sculpted torso, and the grim, sprawling, st...

For many, comedian and writer, Stewart Lee, is the GOAT so Jemma and Marina were thrilled to sit down with him to chat about the state of the world, how to deal with mad relatives, Brexit, Trump, how he fills his spare time and everything in between.  Lee is described on Wikipedia as having an onstage persona that alternates between 'that of an outspoken left-wing hero and that of a depressed...