The Pod Delusion

We speak to a Hope Not Hate activist who infiltrated a far-right group... and then in a slightly more uplifting segment, we speak to a software engineer who has developed an incredible algorithm that can colourise old black & white photos, with incredible results! ***Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad.*** Follow The Pod Delusion on Twitter and Facebook. Follow your host, James O'Malley, on Twitter. You can email him on psythor(at)gmail.com with any...

This week we talk to the scientist who discovered the oldest known material on Earth which, at between 5 and 7 BILLION years old, is even older than the Earth itself. Plus! CLASSIC VLAD: We dig into what Putin's latest no-doubt nefarious scheme, and discover how the European Court of Justice might get one last laugh before Brexit, by giving us a telling off over bulk internet surveillance. ***Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad.*** Follow The Pod...

This week we calibrate our worries about the potential for World War 3 by talking to former Middle East minister and Chair of the Intelligence Committee Kim Howells - who tells us about his personal experience negotiating with Iran. We also dig into Dominic Cummings' plan to reform the civil service, and celebrate the passage of the Withdrawal Agreement by learning about what has now been bumped down to number two on the list of Britain's biggest foreign policy disasters: The Suez...

Ho, ho, ho! A festive Winterval special where we, umm, go in deep on the election result and - horrifyingly - learn why it could be even worse next time. We speak to pollster Matt Singh and political historian Prof Steven Fielding about why the polls were right - and what Labour can learn from 1983 about how best to get over 2019. Plus! All aboard the HS2 bandwagon as we explain why it's actually good for the environment, and we use Liz Kendall's swearing back into Parliament as an excuse...

This week we steer clear of the general election - so this podcast won't go out of date! Instead, we talk about a referendum that took place on the other side of the world, on the island of Bougainville, which has just voted to leave Papua New Guinea. There are some striking parallels with our own, umm, recent experience! We also dig into Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's recent announcement that he wants to make Twitter an open protocol - and speak to open standards expert Terence Eden about...

This week we tackle the most important question raised by the London Bridge attack: We ask two of the world's most eminent narwhal scientists if their tusks make good weapons. Plus! We dig into a new report on freedom of expression and, horrifyingly, find out that things are actually getting worse. ***Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad.*** Follow The Pod Delusion on Twitter and Facebook. Follow your host, James O'Malley, on Twitter. You can email...

This week we speak to Tom Hamilton, a former advisor to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn on how a politician can go into an interview with the likes of Andrew Neil or Emily Maitlis and come out alive. We also dig into some big, meaty issues and get the low-down on how trade deals actually work with trade expert Dmitry Grozoubinski, and what strategic challenges are facing NATO with the former Vice President of the Atlantic Treaty Association, David Landon Cole. Plus! We catch up with Blakeley...

This week we fast-forward to the results of the 2022 Monarchy referendum, in which Britain votes to dump King Charles and turn Britain into a Republic. But how easy is it going to be? What are the complexities that make it an impossible task? We speak to Dr Andrew Blick, a constitutional politics and history expert to find out. Plus! The story of how a group of volunteers are responsible for some stunningly important election infrastructure that the government really should be taking care of...

This week we finally go all Jeremy Paxman on the Liberal Democrats and their questionable use of bar charts by holding Mark Pack, who is running for the party's Presidency, to account. We also had a lovely chat with him about the challenges of digital campaigning. Plus! A new report reveals where are the best and worst places in the world to be non-religious, and we speak to Dr Rebecca Ford, who works on smart energy systems about how (amazingly) we're actually making pretty good progress at...

This week we explore the government's plan to host a big "Festival of Brexit", to celebrate the biggest foreign policy disaster since World War 2, and figure out how the terror threat level is actually calculated. Plus! We speak to cartoonist Darryl Cunningham about his new book that takes aim at billionaires - and kick off a horrifying election season experiment. ***Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad.*** Follow The Pod Delusion on Twitter and...

What polling pitfalls can we avoid this election season? And what's it like being a candidate on the campaign trail? We speak to pollster Matt Singh and first time Labour candidate for Morecambe and Lunesdale Lizzi Collinge about what being a candidate in a very close marginal actually feels like. Plus! We catch up with Dr Liz who speaks to us on location from a slightly unexpected country. ***Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad.*** Follow The Pod...

This week we figure out the process for joining the EU (hey, it might be important soon), and discover if the conventional wisdom that winter weather is bad for election turnout is actually nonsense. Plus we learn about a Prime Minister who went to Europe, got a deal, and was then turfed out of office in less than a year... it happened in the 18th century. Plus a look at a new podcast based on an amazing dataset: The log books of an LGBT helpline from the 1970s and 80s. ***Join our Patreon...

The Pod Delusion is having a week off while James and Dr Liz are on holiday, but we’ll be back as normal next Friday!

This week we go from the serious to the absurd. We find out what the Kurdish region of Syria is actually like, we take Owen Jones’s suggestion of a National Restaurant chain seriously, get down to a Brexit Disco, and ask an actual goose behaviour scientist if geese really are dicks. ***Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad.*** Follow The Pod Delusion on Twitter and Facebook. Follow your host, James O'Malley, on Twitter. You can email him on...

This week we ask a question that could prove as tricky as Brexit: If Northern Ireland votes to join with the Republic of Ireland... has anyone actually thought through how that might work? We speak to Irish border expert Dr Katy Hayward about what the news channels could be asking her about in 2025. We also dig into another Brexit spin-off issue, the problem of the "left behind" areas of the country and what we can do to help them - we speak to an economist and policy expert who has one...

This week we do some hardcore political science, but don't be scared - it explains whether Britain can survive the current shitshow or not. Also! Whether a four day week could actually work, why normal people think about politics way differently to us nerds, and all about what will become your new obsession: Spotting shops with out of date signage. Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad. Join Humanists UK to protect and uphold human rights for...

Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Follow your host, James O'Malley, on Twitter. Join Humanists UK today. Ahmed Skali Ahmed and Stephanie Rizio's Dictatorships Paper Scott Pack Scott's book, Tips From A Publisher Victorian Blogging See the actual Victorian Blogging Collection Marc Silk on Twitter and Instagram. Marc's Showreel

Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Follow your host, James O'Malley, on Twitter. Join Humanists UK today. Seb Dance MEP. Dr Kirsty Hughes’ Thinktank, The Scottish Centre on European Relations. Dr Jack Stilgoe. The Londependence Party. Conway Hall’s Victorian Blogging Exhibition. Dr Liz’s Science Fiction Double Feature podcast.

It's really happening. THE POD DELUSION IS BACK! Join our Patreon and support a voice of sanity in a world that has gone mad: https://patreon.com/poddelusion Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: https://twitter.com/poddelusion/ https://www.facebook.com/PodDelusion/ Join Humanists UK today: https://humanists.uk/pod/ Jeannette Ng’s acceptance speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ58zf0vzB0 Under The Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng: https://amzn.to/2LliQR9 Brenna Smith’s Bitcoin...

Your ears are not deceiving you! The Pod Delusion returns in September! But to make it happen we need your help - please join our Patreon to support the show! https://patreon.com/poddelusion/