The Trawl

The first Trawl under a Labour government is here! Jemma and Marina relive the high and low lights from 4th July, particularly enjoying the dynamic between Alastair Campbell and Nadine Dorries on Channel 4 and Andrew Marr's sign off to Mogg. They also say goodbye to some big Tory scalps, wonder at some of the ones remaining and discuss the results and the complex issue of PR. After all, in reality...

Jemma and Marina were thrilled when Labour MP, Jess Phillips, agreed to take time out of her mad diary for a proper chinwag.  The Trawl ladies were fascinated to know how it feels being a female MP during such febrile times and found out what motivates her to keep going. At time of record, Rishi Sunak, hadn't surprised everyone by calling the election so unexpectedly early but Labour were in...

As Independence Day (from the Tories) looms, Jemma and Marina have gone bumper with this extra long Trawl. They start with a footy update and then dive into the post match analysis of... Glastonbury. Why do all the right-wing bell-ends get so triggered by it? What is it about the musical, magical, cultural playground that annoys them so much?  Then, it's into politics we go with a quick round...

England are top of the group in the Euros, two clean sheets, and unbeaten - so why aren't we all ecstatic? Jemma and Marina discuss some of the best reactions to Southgate's 'safe' approach with a self-deprecating treat from Danny Dyer. Then from football to fascism, as the ladies visit the latest public soilings from the man who just makes it up as he goes along - Nigel Farage. They discuss his d...

This episode kicks off with a look at how Starmer and Sunak did on the recent Question Time. We're not saying it went badly for Sunak but the PM was booed very loudly at the end so... And then Jemma and Marina decide to have a flutter. They bet that the Tories will cheat and lie their way right up to the election and it looks like they're both set to win because the latest scandal to hit the belea...

Depressingly, this episode mainly reflects what's dominating the news, the headlines and indeed social media and, it's Farage. The man is everywhere, like a stain you simply can't get rid off, partly because Sunak et al have pandered to him for years.  Marina and Jemma delve into how quite long he's been disrupting from the side-lines with some extraordinary clips to illustrate. Meanwhile, th...

What would you do if you saw Boris Johnson coming out of a bush? It's a startling sight but it could happen if he happens to be promoting one of his columns for The Mail. As for his sister, she definitely won't be in a Lidl but might be in a Sainsbury's, you'll know why when you hear the clip.  Then we head to the campaign trail for 'The Election Section' and Beth Rigby is the latest presente...

Jemma and Marina barely know where to begin. The Trawl content is simply relentless as the campaign trail continues. However, it seems to makes sense to start with the recently announced Tory manifesto and go from there. The hitting the skids type jokes write themselves. Then it's on to Sunak's latest set of gaffes and the heart-wrenching discovery that he didn't have Sky. The poor widdums, how di...

Jemma and Marina are very excited because in this ep, they are starting off with an actual scoop! Rare on The Trawl but stranger things have happened and we wonder if you'll think it demonstrates what Sunak is really like, and that's before we've even started on his D-Day gaffe. Then, the Trawl ladies hear the figure £2000 bandied about any more their heads might explode. Yes, despite Sunak's clai...

It's over the pond we go to see what cheesy wotsit toddler, Trump has been up to... which is being found guilty on 34 counts. The ladies discuss those who leapt to his defence and the common thread that runs through them before finishing with a Trump sandwich: white bread, full of baloney, Russian dressing and a small pickle. And while Boris Johnson is still firmly attached to Trump’s bottom, Nige...

With the election looming, all the political parties are trying to grab headlines. The Tories want your children to sign up, whether they like it or not. If they don't want to do military service they'll be forced to volunteer their weekends, even if they need to be earning.  Rachel Johnson thinks it's a great idea because they could be forced to pick fruit. After all we don't have anyone els...

In this episode, Marina and Jemma meet the person who can, in large part be thanked (blamed?!) for turning their mild interest in politics into a passion - Mr Brexit himself: James O'Brien. The LBC star, journalist and best-selling author of books including his latest, How They Broke Britain, for once finds himself on the opposite side of the interrogating questions. They hear about his...

Broadcaster, Jemma Forte, and political commentator, Marina Purkiss, scroll through Twitter so you don’t have to. Now on Global Player. If you're already enjoying The Trawl, please do leave a rating and a review. And don't forget, you can listen to every episode for free on Global Player. Download it from the App Store, or head to globalplayer.com And it's only Global Player where you'll be able t...

Election is GO! Marina and Jemma happened to be together when the news broke and enjoy sharing what happened next. Then, it's a look back at the most undignified election announcement of all time and what's happened since. The parties have hit the campaign trail running. Although the Tories are looking pretty desolate and have many seats to fill. Still, perhaps in a passive aggressive act of reven...

This Ep was recorded the morning of the election announcement so the Trawl ladies are busy collating all the best reactions for the next episode. This one unpacks a strange week for Suella but before they get into that, they begin their trawl with a wonderful moment from Carol Vorderman who had the Joe Lycett audience whooping with delight.  The students at Cambridge were much quieter when GB...

We love it when politics goes mainstream... And it did this week when Sunak and Starmer decided to appear on Loose Women and Sunday Brunch, respectively. Jemma and Marina discuss how they both fared, and why one of them went viral - probably because he tried to suggest he was fixing child poverty with an Online Safety Bill. Next up are more culture wars as a result of the 72-gender myth which...

Up is down, black is white and now... Blue is red! Because this week, the Labour Party welcomed Tory MP, Natalie Elphicke with open arms, which raised more than just a few eyebrows. Jemma and Marina discuss the mafioso-style tactics from the party of Government to keep defection to a minimum and revisit moments of joy where Tories tie themselves in knots by slating someone - who was one of theirs...

Marina and Jemma start with a lookback at this year's Eurovision Song Contest and discuss why it was such a political hot potato this year. The UK entrant received a lot of criticism for not boycotting the event and the Israeli singer had unprecedented levels of security. All this makes the notion that it's 'just' a song contest and 'apolitical' for the birds. There's plenty of reaction and clips....

Having raked over the council elections in the last episode, Jemma and Marina spend this one dissecting the Mayoral results. It's a win for Andy Burnham, a loss for Andy Street, a win for Ben Houchen and, most thrillingly of all, a loss for Susan Hall. Susan, who spent her time campaigning telling Londoners that where they live is a hellscape of unparalleled proportions. Funnily enough, that strat...

Jemma and Marina discuss what were a pleasingly catastrophic set of results for the Tories in the local elections and wonder why everyone knows that, apart from The Mail on Sunday. Oh, and Sunak......yes, the Prime Minister is still convinced his plan is working, despite the country trying desperately to tell him that it isn't. Meanwhile, Suella thinks she has the answer which is her answer for ev...

Poor poor Lawrence Fox - literally. The episode opens with the unfortunate news of Laurence Fox having to pay large sums in libel damages. Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.  Then all aboard the private jet - that's right, Lord David Cameron's £42m private jet, which he hired for his latest jaunt as Foreign Secretary, with the bill being footed by us taxpayers. Just as well he can be questione...

It's squeaky-bum time for our Prime Miniature Rishi Sunak this week...  Jemma and Marina open with a discussion around the many elections taking place this week that could see things go from bad to worse for Rishi Sunak. And please God, deliver us from Susan Hall becoming the new London Mayor.  Then, what's better: Twitter or X? The ladies discuss the worst rebrand of all time before mov...

The episode opens with a visit to the US courtroom where strange noises and smells have reportedly been emitted from a somewhat sleepy Donald Trump... Then it's onto the latest performative cruelty policy from the party of Government as they announce punitive reforms to sickness and disability benefits, because why would they sort out the collapse of our National Health Service, when they can simp...

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho, has said that the Tory's have overshot all their targets.... without laughing....on National TV. This is such an outlandish claim, she almost deserves a medal but not as much as Chris Packham does for his outstanding performance on the Laura K show. And certainly not as much as everyone who ran the London Marathon does. Jemma an...

Marina and Jemma are thrilled to chat to activist and author of the No 1 Sunday Times Bestseller, The Trading Game, Gary Stevenson. They hear about his humble beginnings, his route to university and what it felt like to be Citibank's most successful trader. They're particularly fascinated by the reasons that at age 27, Gary eschewed his life in the city to start explaining why the system is rigged...