EPISODE · Apr 1, 2026 · 31 MIN
1 - What fresh lunacy is this?
from EXPloaded
NEW PODCAST!Tim Southwell, co-founder and editor of loaded and the magazine’s former editors-at-large Bill Borrows and Ben Marshall introduce their new podcast - EXPloaded. The chat is about the hedonistic 1990s, being recruited to join loaded and how they were all in the right place at the right time. They discuss how DIY punk journalism shaped loaded as a “national fanzine” as much as a magazine. Looking back at early-90s Britain, they cite post-80s grimness, political disillusionment, football violence, and then the optimism sparked by acid house and other emerging cultural shifts as catalysts for change. They also argue that existing men’s magazines like GQ felt fraudulently aspirational, exclusionary and London-focussed. There was a gap for a magazine that reflected their lives. Guess what happened next?00:00 Podcast Setup00:40 Meet Bill Borrows01:12 “Different Times”02:14 Bill Joins Loaded04:25 Ben Marshall Tapped Up06:58 IPC - Very Big Magazine Company08:09 Fanzines and DIY Roots12:43 Early Nineties Mood15:20 Acid House Turning Point16:02 House Hits Britain17:09 From Gloom to Optimism18:13 Smash Hits meets Take That19:37 Pushing Robbie Over The Edge21:20 Fun At Gay Times23:29 All Change25:59 Aspirational Magazines Stink28:51 Why Magazines Mattered30:34 Next Episode Tease
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1 - What fresh lunacy is this?
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