PoliticsJOE Podcast

Today we're going deep on the financial meltdown the US President has sent the world into, after his sandwich board tariff declaration last week.

Academic Meadbh Park spends her time interviewing incels. She swung by JOETowers to chat with Oli about how mainstream media created the blackpill ideology. Her new book Blackpilled is out now.

The private rented sector is broken and tenants across the UK have been waiting for the government to ban no-fault evictions. Labour MP Alex Sobel tabled the amendment that on top of this ban, would see landlords banned from charging tenants more than one months rent up front. He's also looking at loosening guarantor laws to help more people get into private rentals. This interview was originally recorded in January 2025.

Rent in London has increased by a third over the last 5 years - and wages haven’t. The average rent in the capital is now £2121 a month. Resultantly, an increasing number of young Brits are living as property guardians in empty schools, police stations, and office blocks, usually awaiting demolition - but is this really a viable solution to the housing crisis?To find out, junior political correspondent Laura Beveridge visited 27-year-old musician Szofia Rozsa (@rozsa___), who lives in a decommissioned NHS hospital.

As Keir Starmer looks at more ways to force the nation to watch his favourite TV shows, we are joined by comedian and podcaster Horatio Gould to react to another week of PMQs.Buy tickets for Horatio's tour here: https://www.mickperrin.com/tours/horatio-gould-return-of-the-space-cowboy/

We're joined by friend and colleague Tom Usher for today's episode of the podcast. After Keir Starmer announced that Netflix's Adolescence will be shown in schools nationwide, we break down whether young people actually are the target audience.

Ava Santina is joined by journalist and author Róisín Lanigan to talk about her new book: I Want To Go Home But I'm Already There.Buy I Want To Go Home But I'm Already There: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/459281/i-want-to-go-home-but-im-already-there-by-lanigan-roisin/9780241668535

Feargal Sharkey and Megan Trump join Ava Santina to discuss the scourge of water companies dumping sewage in Britain's rivers. Megan's poetry: https://eastbristolbooks.co.uk/products/my-avon

Pioneering feminist academic Judith Butler swung by JOETowers to chat again with Oli. They spoke about how men perform masculinity and why the Republican's get so riled up by gender. The paper back of Butler's book Who's Afraid of Gender? is out now.