The Trawl

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...

Jemma and Marina open with an emotional appeal...For a group of people who feel petrified, forced to flee their homes against their will. They're talking of course, about... non-doms.  Then it's straight into the latest from Liz Truss' deluded book tour in which Jemma and Marina try to outdo each other with the worst clips of our former PM that they can find. They discuss Truss' latest bid to...

Reform have had a fair few struggles with their vetting process but this week have surpassed even themselves by cancelling an inactive candidate who turned out to be.....dead. A pulse is probably necessary, even at Reform.  Then, it's time to look at the papers and, despite the prospect of WW3, The Mail are focusing on Angela Rayner and what she 'might' or might not owe in capital gains tax....

Just when you thought the Glaswegian Wonka was the worst ever entertainment experience, along comes Nigel Farage with his 60th birthday party celebration...  Jemma and Marina discuss the bizarre goings-on from the bash and what one is supposed to do with a Farage-shaped ice luge.  Then it's onto the latest social calamity X post from the Govt of the second most powerful country in t...

Financial advice from Sunak, anyone? Because that's what was offered by our PM in his latest comms disaster video put out by No.10. The ladies discuss the desperate attempts by the PM to shift public perception, as well as the very obvious flaw. Then it's onto "courageous and fulsome" William Wragg - whose latest accolade includes being praised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for sending photos...

Tory MP for Uxbridge is campaigning hard for a fish and chip shop in the centre of Uxbridge, and that's despite refusing planning permission for one in 2019. Marina and Jemma rarely start an episode with their head in their hands but this time they do. And their despair isn't going away because this ep has sewage at it's heart and some dismal facts about how badly privatisation has failed us all.&...

Jemma and Marina kick off with a quick look at the latest MRP poll as reported in The Times, which doesn't read well for Sunak and Co. For some unknown reason, Rishi is still laughing however, as are the Question Time audience when Esther McVey is asked about her role as 'Minister of Common Sense.'  Though arguably X (formerly known as Twitter) could do with some sort of Common Sense Tsar bec...

It's another jam-packed pod... opening with furious reaction to Nike's England flag rebrand and some commentary from Marina which resulted in an Express news article dedicated just to her. Then it's onto Owen Jones, who this week announced he was leaving the Labour party, to a very mixed reaction. Marina and Jemma explore their own thoughts and feelings on this, because despite the polling and the...

Did you even realise the LibDems had held their Spring Conference? No, nor did Jemma and Marina. So in a bid to readdress the balance, the ladies open with a rather compelling snippet from leader, Ed Davey. Then it's onto a rare moment where Keir Starmer offers hope (but careful, it's the hope that kills you), before delving into GB News' latest accolade: yet another strongly worded letter from Of...

Does anyone else have a strong sense of déjà vu? Because it appears it's that time of year again: When the Tories decide to ditch their useless leader. Yep, because as Sunak continues to take his taxpayer-funded chopper on tour to tell us all that his plan that clearly isn't working is working, in other corners of the Tory party, the penny is dropping... Penny Mordaunt to be precise.  Th...

Jemma and Marina are delighted to speak to LBC presenter and writer, Natasha Devon, about the time she was fired by the government, why the younger generation prioritise work/life balance and why callers need to be ‘match fit’ if they want to talk about Meghan.  Plus, Marina and Jemma spring a round of Education Secretary bingo on her. A wonderful chat with a friend of the pod. Enjoy! Natasha...

Jemma and Marina pay tribute to Theresa May who will be standing down at the next election. If by pay tribute you mean, remembering what she was known for re Windrush, the Hostile Environment and Brexit, amongst other 'hits.'  And then it's back to the big political news of the week. Lee Anderson is off to Reform. Getting suspended and then being offered a lot of money had nothing to do with...

Murdoch is engaged again. Marina and Jemma ponder this romantic news before delving into the aftermath of last week's budget. If the Tories had been hoping for a bounce in the polls, their political hearts will have dropped when they saw the latest results from Westminster Voting Intentions. Turns out, 2p off your NI hasn't had the cut through they were hoping for...funny that. The Trawl ladies tr...

It's budget day! And at time of record, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had just dropped what the ladies hope will be the last Tory budget. Imagine that...  Jemma and Marina give some initial reactions to Hunt's speech which opened with lies, continued with lies, and then finished with lies - because if there's one thing Hunt is good at, it's consistency.  The ladies then move from the goings-on...

Like Mariah, Celine and Whitney, Tory bells Lee, Suella and Liz need only their first name for instant recognition. But sadly, instead of singing absolute belters, this trio of wrong' uns are spewing hate, division and stoking fear. This pod is sectioned, as some might suggest our trio should be, to allow for individual dissection of the latest line-crossing of these three Tories, who are seemingl...

Some of the London Underground tube lines have had a rebrand and one of the commentators at the Daily Telegraph isn’t happy. Apparently the Lionesses, the Suffragettes and the Windrush generation are all ‘hard left’. So there you go. If you find yourself in the capital and use the tube, you’re basically a communist.  Obviously it’s all Sadiq Kahn’s fault and yet what Conservative HQ have trie...

Jemma and Marina open with a tribute to the late, great BBC Radio host, Steve Wright who we lost last week - Sunday Love Songs will never be the same... Then... Should the ladies try to be more poetic when talking down the Tories? Bells and bollards are fine, but perhaps they would fare better taking inspiration from the Nigerians. There's a lot of fun to be had when the ladies put this into pract...

Jemma and Marina were thrilled to speak with the leader of the opposition AKA Carol Vorderman.  They talk corruption, boobs, bums and politics. A juicy Trawl for your delectation. Enjoy! Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreon https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl,...