The Trawl

Have we all lost our minds? It appears so as the news this week was dominated by a petition, seemingly signed by bells and bots, demanding Keir Starmer call a general election - a mere 4 months since the last one. Jemma is inevitably quite grumpy about the whole silly affair and so opens the pod with a good moan from an equally grumpy Hugh Grant. Jemma and Marina discuss the laughable double standards of those demanding the election and ponder the loss of Will. Remember him? Will of the people who is now gone and forgotten. They discuss the dodgy nature of the Elon Musk-endorsed petition which has received signatories from the world over - including some uninhabitable corners of the planet. How very tenacious of them. And while there are some relieving laughs in the pod concerning Keir Starmer's appearance on This Morning, the ladies don't shy away from their concerns over the impact of unregulated online activity and Governments' inability to keep pace with the wild west and its broligarchs. The pod ends with some outrageously naughty underrated posts including some corkers from MasterChef's Gregg Wallace and a perfectly themed pudding from Instagram's Cody Dahler. Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcastPatreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcastYoutubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawlTwitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastBlueSkyhttps://bsky.app/profile/thetrawl.bsky.socialCreated and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina PurkissEdited by Max Carrey

Melvin Odoom has pledged his love to Carol Vorderman from the Australian rainforest so Jemma and Marina leap at the chance to kick off the episode with something sweet. The sweet quickly turns sour though when the Trawl ladies check in to see who Trump has appointed Education Secretary. Hold onto your hats, he might just have excelled himself. Then, it's time for Marina and Jemma to pay tribute to the late, great, John Prescott and the clip they've chosen for you provokes a lot of thought from Jemma. In fact she woke up thinking about why the clip resonated so much. Then, have you ever embellished the truth on your CV? This is what Rachel Reeves has been accused of doing by the opposition, only it's hard to find evidence she wasn't an economist at The Bank of England which is what they're suggesting. In fact, at The Trawl. Marina and Jemma have found a statement from someone who worked with her there, was in meetings with her and can confirm she definitely was. Could it be a brouhaha about very little? Is it Angela Rayner's council tax all over again? One thing's for sure, Rayner certainly isn't at all flustered in the clips from PMQ's Meanwhile, people are leaving X in their thousands as it increasingly becomes a boring cesspit. It's Bluesky who are benefiting and Marina and Jemma are certainly enjoying the cleaner air and better spelling. Their handles there are @jemmaforte.bsky.social and @ .marina-purkiss.bsky.socialYou can also follow The Trawl @thetrawl.bsky.socialThank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcastPatreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcastYoutubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawlTwitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastCreated and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina PurkissEdited by Max Carrey

It's the two hundredth Trawl! Jemma and Marina can hardly believe it and both recommend a couple of vintage eps to celebrate, as does editor Max. Then, it's over to the States to see what health recommendations RFK Jr. is making. Hopefully they'll be less effective than the ones he made in Samoa where there was a huge outbreak of measles and subsequent deaths as a result of his vaccine scaremongering. Then, along with hundreds of tractors, irate farmers and a smattering of Brexity types, to Westminster we go where the farming community have descended to protest against having to pay inheritance again, at a discounted rate. There is some sympathy for some farmers but, as far as Marina and Jemma are concerned, Jeremy Clarkson, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Farage can do one. They all either own acres and acres of tax dodging or caused the farming community endless pain and hassle due to Brexit. The irony is strong. The Trawl ladies are very grateful to Vic Derbyshire for her incredible interview with farm poster boy, Clarkson. It really revealed so much.....none of it flattering. They're also left wondering how excited ex Tory MP, Neil Parish, must be. All those tractors! Fwarrrr. As ever there are under rated tweets and a puddingMarina's vintage Ep choice:Ep 134: Order of the Thistle and Other Mad PlotsJemma's vintage Ep choice:Ep 031: Drinking Hunt's Coffee Beside The Brexit Bonfire of EU LawsMax's vintage Ep choice Ep 104: Pincher pinching, now Peter Bone...Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcastYoutubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawlTwitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastBlueSkyhttps://bsky.app/profile/thetrawl.bsky.socialCreated and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina PurkissEdited by Max Carrey

It's not even been two weeks since the US election and already some in the US will be feeling that buyers' remorse, with even Trump himself receiving a little shock from Russia (not with love) to remind him exactly who's in charge.Jemma and Marina digest some of Trump's latest Government appointments, which are as wild as they are dangerous, with one tweeter saying "it's like Donald Trump appointing the Grinch as Director of the Department of Christmas". Then it's back to Blighty and an absolute howler from GB News in their coverage of the two minute silence for Remembrance Sunday before discussing Jeremy Clarkson's new role as the farmers' hero. Funny how when a celeb like Clarkson gets involved in politics, it's all good - and yet when it's someone like Gary Lineker, he should stick to football. Which takes us to the news of Gary's departure from Match of the Day and a clip that thankfully never got aired, otherwise he might have left sooner...Finally, Jemma and Marina discuss the media and political gaslighting over the events in Amsterdam and clashes with Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, before some Royal-related underrated tweets and a pudding from Billy Eilish that sent Marina's spine tingling. Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcastPatreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcastYoutubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawlTwitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastCreated and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina PurkissEdited by Max Carrey