Pod Save the UK

This week, with Andy Burnham’s coronation just days away, Coco & Zoe dig into why the whole thing felt like such a foregone conclusion, and unpack what we might expect from Burnham’s summer season.
Speaking of Burn-ing, the UK is literally on fire… so why are some politicians urging us to drop net zero targets altogether as we swelter through another heatwave? 
Also on the show: CEO of Women’s Aid, Farah Nazeer, joins to talk about their World Cup campaign, ‘The Other Kick Off’, and how we need cultural and structural changes to meaningfully move the dial on domestic abuse and violence against women and girls. Plus, as the news of Ann Widdecombe’s death shocks us all, Coco & Zoe discuss the reality of being a woman in the public eye. 
Content note: This episode contains discussions of rape, sexual assault and domestic abuse.  
GUESTS 
Farah Nazeer 
USEFUL LINKS
Women’s Aid 
Refuge 
Research Digital Misogynoir Report — Glitch
Women’s Aid Reveals ‘The Other ‘Kick Off’ Time Thousands of Women Dread During the World Cup 
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Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
We’ll be doing another mailbag episode soon so get in touch! Contact us via email: podsavetheuk@crooked.com if you want to share questions, thoughts, or general musings! 
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This week, we cancel our early celebrations at the news of Nigel Farage’s resignation, given that he announced in the same breath he would be standing in the very by-election he triggered… Another one?! While Nish is off on a glamorous sidequest, Coco’s joined by guest host journalist Zoë Grünewald to make sense of this latest stunt from Nige. Is this a political gamble that will pay off, or a final act of desperation?
Also on the show, we look to Ankara, where world leaders have descended for the latest NATO summit amidst rising geopolitical tensions... Author and foreign correspondent Hannah Lucinda Smith breaks down how warfare has changed, why we should be investing more in defence, and what the presumptive PM Andy Burnham could do to get Britain back on track on the world stage. 
USEFUL LINKS
Buy Hannah’s book! https://www.waterstones.com/book/hinterlands/hannah-lucinda-smith/9781805225416 
Sunday Times Investigation into ‘Daddy’ Farage and ‘Posh George’:  https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/revealed-nigel-farage-secretly-funded-by-convicted-criminal-j0brtrlnk 
GUESTS 
Hannah Lucinda Smith 
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WISE: https://www.wise.com
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Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
We’ll be doing another mailbag episode soon so get in touch! Contact us via email: podsavetheuk@crooked.com if you want to share questions, thoughts, or general musings! 
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk 
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“Are you ready for this?” Following Andy Burnham’s first big policy speech since becoming an MP, and with his sights set firmly on the top job, Coco & Nish dig into his promises of regeneration, reindustrialisation, and…a new pair of running shorts. From No10 North to nationalisation and the biggest council house building programme since the postwar period, they discuss their unanswered questions and first impressions of the Manchester man offering “growth in every postcode, and hope in every heart.” 
Plus, they’re joined by journalist and campaigner Adele Zeynep Walton who shares her first-hand experience of the consequences of online harms. We ask whether the proposed social media ban for under-16s really gets to the heart of the problem (spoiler alert: no), and how we can truly hold the tech industry to account. Content note: this discussion includes references to suicide. 
USEFUL LINKS
Buy Adele’s book: “Logging Off: The Human Cost of our Digital World” https://www.waterstones.com/book/logging-off/adele-zeynep-walton/9781398722941 
Write to your MP and support the call for a public inquiry into the scale of harm facilitated by online suicide forums: https://mollyrosefoundation.beaconforms.com/form/90ddb8e4  
https://mollyrosefoundation.org/campaigns/campaign-against-pro-suicide-forums/  
GUESTS 
Adele Zeynep Walton 
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BT: Search ‘Why BT’ to find out more.
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WISE: https://www.wise.com
Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
We’ll be doing another mailbag episode soon so get in touch! Contact us via email: podsavetheuk@crooked.com if you want to share questions, thoughts, or general musings! 
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk 
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com 
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk 
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As Ben Rhodes says on this week’s episode, “we’re in a revolutionary moment globally”. Joining Nish and Coco from sister show Pod Save the World, Ben shares (and despairs) about the state of UK and US politics, and tells us what we can take from the Democrats’ disaster of 2024. Isn’t it time that progressives got their own populist?
Plus, we hear about Ben’s new book, ‘All We Say’, tracing American history through some of its most famous–and infamous–speeches. We talk to him about the similarities between Britain and America both losing their way when it comes to national identity, and how our leaders need to tell it like it is. We can handle the truth! 
Also on the show: New Statesman Editor Tom McTague dissects Starmer’s swan song, explains his last minute decision not to challenge Burnham for leadership, and sets out why it all went wrong for a man who won a landslide victory less than two years ago. 
USEFUL LINKS
Grab a copy of Ben’s new book, All We Say: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/470622/all-we-say-by-rhodes-ben/9781847928887 
Ailbhe Rea’s recent piece in the New Statesman: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour/2026/06/what-happens-now 
Tom McTague’s interview with Keir Starmer: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2025/06/what-keir-starmer-cant-say 
GUESTS 
Ben Rhodes 
Tom McTague 
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SAILY: https://www.saily.com/podsave 
HRF Power Plays: Search Power Plays wherever you get your podcasts.
VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/PSTUK
WISE: https://www.wise.com
BT: Search ‘Why BT’ to find out more.
Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
Get in touch - contact us via email: podsavetheuk@crooked.com we’d love to hear from you as we plan to do a mailbag episode soon: end any questions, thoughts, or musings our way!
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk 
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As Makerfield goes to the polls today, Nish and Coco take a look back at Andy's campaign. They interrogate Burnham’s ‘King of the North’ brand, and dig into what ‘Manchesterism’ actually is —asking how it could work on a national scale. 
They’re joined by Jack Dulhanty, journalist at Manchester Mill, to break down whether we can expect a people-pleaser for our next Prime Minister, how voting intentions have split households, and why a four-month old political party has given Reform a run for its money. 
Plus: following the Court of Appeal’s ruling upholding the ban on Palestine Action and the terror sentencing of the ‘Filton 4’ activists, we speak to Akiko Hart, director of Liberty, the UK’s oldest human rights organisation, to understand the consequences of applying such a broad definition of terrorism.  
And, as a social media ban looms for under-16s, what could this mean for the future of digital privacy in the UK? 
USEFUL LINKS
See Ben Rhodes and Coco Khan live! Tickets here.
Liberty breaks down the Palestine Action ruling: https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/breaking-down-the-court-of-appeal-judgment-on-palestine-actions-proscription/#:~:text=On%2015%20June%202026%2C%20the%20Court%20of%20Appeal%20ruled%20in,proscription%20was%20lawful%20and%20proportionate. 
GUESTS 
Akiko Hart 
Jack Dulhanty
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SAILY: https://www.saily.com/podsave 
BT: Search ‘Why BT’ to find out more.
SHOPIFY: https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk
VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/PSTUK
Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
Get in touch - contact us via email: podsavetheuk@crooked.com 
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk 
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com 
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk 
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