The Two Matts

The Matts dig into the reaction to Andy Burnham’s first few days in government. Obviously the usual suspects - such as the Daily Mail and GB News - have already declared it a failure. But one column by Janan Ganesh in the Financial Times stands out as an utterly miserable misreading of the reality of where British politics is. Is the biggest problem Burnham faces a hostile right wing media, or is it liberals who don’t fully grasp the consequences of him failing? And what is required to avoid that? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/

The Matts answer listeners’ questions in their regular Sunday Q&A session, including: Is Will Self right about the impact of football on our national mentality? What is the long term future of the Falklands? What should Andy Burnham’s first message to the nation be? How could Rupert Lowe skew hard right politics? How do we protect MPs? And what audiobooks do the Matts recommend for a population which finds reading books increasingly testing? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/

The Matts reflect on England’s World Cup tournament (and listeners from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be delighted to know it’s not a sea of self-pitying Anglophilia) and what lessons we can learn from Argentina’s late comeback about the prevailing DNA of institutions.Also - what should we expect from Andy Burnham as he comes into power? First as Labour leader and then, on Monday, as PM. No, he won’t have the artificial boost of a World Cup win to provide him with national momentum, but perhaps that’s no bad thing as he wrestles with the stark reality of a Britain stuck in a rut. Finally, following the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe, is it time for political figures in the UK to have personal security as standard?Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/

The Matts answer listeners' questions including: Is the Andy Burnham effect already kicking in? Should Congress give Donald Trump the red card? Who - apart from Count Binface - should take on Nigel Farage? How do we make the BBC great again? Is Elon Musk more Homer Simpson than Homer’s Odyssey? And what books do the Matts recommend for a summer holiday? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/

The Matts are joined by James Ball and Lucy Reade, hosts of The New World’s new podcast Touching Grass - the internet culture podcast. If you like The Two Matts, you’ll love this. We’ll let Lucy and James explain all. And the four of us also reflect on a bizarre 72 hours in the life of Nigel Farage. Has he completely lost it? Did the main parties do the right thing in letting him twist in the wind - alone apart from the company of a man with a bin on his head? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/

The Matts react to the simply extraordinary speech Nigel Farage made today - quitting his Clacton seat in order to fight a by-election to “let the people decide” his political future. What is going on in his head? What precipitated this crisis? How should Andy Burnham react? Is Farage having a breakdown or is this some masterstroke of populism? And how could a World Cup win for England affect British politics in this period of peak instability? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/

The Matts get stuck into listener questions including: should England get a new capital city? Is Andy Burnham chippy? Why isn’t Nigel Farage paying tax on his £5 million gift? How do we promote the humanities? How do we fix universities? And what do the Matts think of FIFA’s hydration breaks and will they ever come to the Premier League? Enjoy! *This podcast is NOT sponsored by Powerade, which - in the opinion of the Matts - tastes rank.Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/

The Matts discuss the founding principles behind Andy Burnham’s emerging strategy for a “circuit break” in how politics works in the UK. Why is he obsessed with the idea of place? Why does it make so much sense as a corrective to the way Westminster operates? And why should people prattling on about vibes kindly give their heads a wobble? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/

The Matts answer listener questions including: What should be on Andy Burnham’s to-do list? How do the Brexit villains get away with it? Is Nigel Farage losing the plot? Should we criminalise climate crisis denial? Has Giorgia Meloni won us over? And why don’t we talk about video games more? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/