EPISODE · Oct 12, 2025 · 54 MIN
Sunday School: The Big Blag Theory
from Quiet Riot · host Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith, Kenny Campbell
Who is María Corina Machado - the woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize? Is the Gaza 20-point plan anything more than a ceasefire with a wishlist attached? And what is Trump up to inside the US? ALSO - Reform UK councils seem to be finding it more difficult than predicted to find any savings. Has swagger met reality? PLUS - Jilly Cooper, queen of the steamy beach read is gone, but what are our favourite guilty reads? Alex and Naomi talk through the week's news. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “Is peace merely the absence of war? Or is it something else that involves wellbeing, prosperity, democracy, and the rule of law, so conflict can be resolved in a civilised way? That seems a more positive and more enduring vision than ‘we’ve stopped shooting each other for now’. On that basis, Trump is moving America in the opposite direction.” “The idea of Trump as a senile old kaker is optimistic. The darker interpretation is that all this - what happened in Los Angeles and Washington DC, and now in Chicago and Portland - is getting people used to army in their streets, that it is leading somewhere.” “This was very predictable. Quite a few people welcomed Reform taking control of a few councils, this far out from a general election, in the full knowledge that they could not find the savings they promised; that they would fail on their own terms.” “Reform seems to do very well at gaining elected officials, but not so well at keeping them. Since May, they have shed a remarkable 24 councillors for a variety of very embarrassing reasons, including losing eight, in September alone. They have also lost staff from HQ.” “Most journalists compliment policies as ‘eye-catching’. What does that even mean? Are they realistic? Practical? Ethical? ‘Eye-catching’ brought us Brexit. ‘Eye-catching gave us Johnson. ‘Eye-catching’ resulted in Trump. Maybe it’s time to interrogate the concept.” GRIN AND SHARE IT Share the good news about Green Turtle Power here. Buy something from our bookshop here. Email us at [email protected]. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell. Quiet Riot is a Cooler Heads podcast. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What this episode covers
Who is María Corina Machado - the woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize? Is the Gaza 20-point plan anything more than a ceasefire with a wishlist attached? And what is Trump up to inside the US? ALSO - Reform UK councils seem to be finding it more difficult than predicted to find any savings. Has swagger met reality? PLUS - Jilly Cooper, queen of the steamy beach read is gone, but what are our favourite guilty reads? Alex and Naomi talk through the week's news. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “Is peace merely the absence of war? Or is it something else that involves wellbeing, prosperity, democracy, and the rule of law, so conflict can be resolved in a civilised way? That seems a more positive and more enduring vision than ‘we’ve stopped shooting each other for now’. On that basis, Trump is moving America in the opposite direction.” “The idea of Trump as a senile old kaker is optimistic. The darker interpretation is that all this - what happened in Los Angeles and Washington DC, and now in Chicago and Portland - is getting people used to army in their streets, that it is leading somewhere.” “This was very predictable. Quite a few people welcomed Reform taking control of a few councils, this far out from a general election, in the full knowledge that they could not find the savings they promised; that they would fail on their own terms.” “Reform seems to do very well at gaining elected officials, but not so well at keeping them. Since May, they have shed a remarkable 24 councillors for a variety of very embarrassing reasons, including losing eight, in September alone. They have also lost staff from HQ.” “Most journalists compliment policies as ‘eye-catching’. What does that even mean? Are they realistic? Practical? Ethical? ‘Eye-catching’ brought us Brexit. ‘Eye-catching gave us Johnson. ‘Eye-catching’ resulted in Trump. Maybe it’s time to interrogate the concept.” GRIN AND SHARE IT Share the good news about Green Turtle Power here. Buy something from our bookshop here. Email us at [email protected]. Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell. Quiet Riot is a Cooler Heads podcast. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Sunday School: The Big Blag Theory
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