Torching Equality & The Battle for Gorton and Denton

This week on The Trawl, Marina and Jemma sift through a news cycle that feels less like global politics and more like a lads’ WhatsApp group with state power.In the US, the Epstein saga takes another disturbing turn as fresh reporting suggests dozens of pages have vanished from the public database — including material relating to allegations against Donald Trump. As questions swirl around the Department of Justice and potential cover-ups, Trump is busy raging about tariffs, lashing out at the Supreme Court, and assembling a “Board of Peace” that looks more like a billionaire protection racket.Back home, the BBC racks up not one but two eyebrow-raising moments — from by-election “impartiality” that looks anything but, to the BAFTAs fallout that reignites serious questions about racism, responsibility and who institutions are really shielding when things go wrong.Meanwhile, in a locker room in the States, Trump phones the victorious US men’s hockey team and jokes about “having to” invite the women champions too — thankfully, the women respond with considerably more class (and a rather fabulous Vegas twist).Add in Tony Blair positioning himself as a global peacemaker while Gaza remains in ruins, rumblings of escalation with Iran, and yet another threat from within Trump’s own supporter base, and the picture becomes clear: power is being hoarded, accountability is being dodged, and the gaslighting is relentless.It’s dark. It’s absurd. It’s deeply unsettling. But as ever, Marina and Jemma find the clarity, the receipts, and the underrated internet gems that make it survivable.Buckle up, trawlers.Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Trawl, Jemma and Marina survey the political carnage and ask: what's Reform's problem with equality?While America wrestles with peak what-the-fuckery, back home “Trump Lite” is workshopping his strongman routine and Reform are busy torching the Equality Act, apparently “for the boys.” Because nothing says protecting young men like removing the legislation that protects them.Then, the Trawl ladies dive into the by-election showdown between Green candidate Hannah Spencer and Reform’s Matt “Tax Your Womb” Goodwin, the increasingly chaotic Reform vetting process (featuring a Succession cameo), and why their big policy platform seems to be: scrap it, bin it, cut it.Plus: Vic Derbyshire wipes the floor with Zia Yusuf, Caroline Lucas delivers a masterclass and Nigel Farage clocks up air miles to the Chagos Islands instead of doing his actual job in Clacton.There’s a ring doorbell, a Benny Hill soundtrack, tactical voting chat, and Under RatedsSide effects may include eye-rolling, sharp intakes of breath, and involuntary shouting at your podcast app.Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ALL CAPS were exchanged. Cushions were screamed into. Andrew has been arrested.Jemma and Marina dive headfirst into the breaking news that Prince Andrew was arrested at his Sandringham residence on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The internet did not disappoint. The memes were memeing. The birthday irony was exquisite. The startled-wombat visuals were unavoidable.But amid the satire and schadenfreude, Jemma and Marina are crystal clear: at the heart of this grotesque scandal are survivors of abuse, thousands of children and young people harmed by a network of powerful men. Justice, not just jokes, is the point.They unpack the arrest, the reactions, why some in America seem determined to make sure justice never darkens certain billionaire doorsteps. The callers, the chaos, and the memes that made it A Truly Great Day For The InternetPlus: Under-Rateds, a new favourite account and a deliciously aged-like-milk Michael Spicer pudding.It’s furious. It’s funny. It’s deeply uncomfortable.Just the way the news cycle likes it.Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcastPatreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcastYoutubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawlTwitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jemma and Marina first 'met' Misan on Instagram having been struck by his incredibly powerful photographs of people protesting against what they were witnessing in Palestine. Misan is a Nigerian-born British photographer, entrepreneur and social activist. As well as being one of the most widely-shared photographers of the Black Lives Matter movement, Harriman is also the first Black man to shoot a cover of British Vogue in the magazine's 104-year history.Eloquent, passionate and kind, talking to Misan about his work and his thoughts on what is happening in the world was a wonderful experience for Marina and Jemma who are convinced you'll love hearing what he has to say too. An uplifting, hopeful listen. Enjoy! Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcastPatreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcastYoutubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawlTwitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Trawl starts with a confession that absolutely nobody asked for. A Norwegian Olympic medallist wins bronze… then goes live on TV to admit he cheated, not in sport, but on his girlfriend. Gold medal in biathlon, emotional own goal in life. Marina and Jemma unpack public guilt, performative remorse, and why the Winter Olympics still feels like a collection of sports invented during a long weekend in Oslo.But from awkward to outright alarming…Reform UK are floating policies that sound less like a manifesto and more like a Handmaid’s Tale mood board. Nigel Farage is hinting at fewer divorces and abortions under his leadership. Matt Goodwin thinks childfree people should be taxed more - a literal fertility surcharge - and has suggested girls should be encouraged to have babies earlier. Yes. Really.From Natasha Devon’s brilliant LBC take, to Argentina erupting under Javier Milei’s chainsaw economics, to Nadhim Zahawi proving once again that being out of touch is a lifestyle choice.There is rage. There is swearing. There is Catherine Tate.And just when you think it can’t get more absurd, Rupert Lowe launches his own party.Plus: a resurfaced Stone Roses press conference clip that is the chaotic pudding we all deserve.Gold medals, fertility taxes, and five pence off a pint.Completely normal country.Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marina and Jemma pour the champagne, light the cauldron and gather the coven because honestly, what in the hallucinogenic hell is going on?First up: America’s Health Secretary says something truly eye-watering. Then, from villainy to heroism via a brilliant moment highlighted by Vic Derbyshire the Trawl ladies celebrate a woman calmly, powerfully doing the right thing (even if their GCSE French can’t quite keep up).But alas, back to the rogues’ gallery: billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has waded into immigration with talk of “colonising” Britain prompting an unusually swift response from Keir Starmer. Is this… backbone? Is this growth? Is this a new era?Gary Lineker features, as does Cilla, plus Zack Polanski shining on Sky and a pudding that asks the eternal question, how can anyone claim politics doesn’t affect them?Heroes. Villains. Billionaires. Populists. And a pub full of witches trying to make sense of it all.Bring snacksThank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marina Purkiss and Jemma Forte dive headfirst into the political absurdity of the past seven days and honestly? You couldn’t script it.First up: the US Congress hearing that left jaws on the floor. Attorney General Pam Bondi arrived armed with a massive binder and a promise of transparency and delivered… evasions. With Epstein survivors present in the room, the exchanges were tense, emotional, and deeply uncomfortable. The Trawl ladies unpack.Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to generate headlines for all the wrong reasons from tariff confusion to podium moments that raise more eyebrows than answers. Is this strategy, chaos, or something else entirely?Back home, Reform UK has decided that working from home is apparently the enemy of civilisation. Marina and Jemma look at the party’s push against remote working, the glaring inconsistencies, and why critics say the policy raises more questions than it answers.Plus: Jewish activists heckle Nigel Farage, Melanie Stansbury refuses to mince her words, and The Marsh Family deliver the pudding.Buckle up, Trawlers.Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we start with cursed Valentine’s poetry from...Greg Wallace and a rogue “dangler", before plunging straight into the political sewer. Rory Stewart decides that £94k counts as “low income”, Trump posts a racist video in the middle of the night and then immediately blows up his own press office’s cover story, and Labour descends into full‑blown chaos as Morgan McSweeney finally exits stage left.Marina and Jemma pick through the wreckage: Wes Streeting’s leaked war‑crimes admission, Mandelson’s potential fingerprints over Palantir, and a Labour Party so busy chasing Reform voters it’s forgotten its own base. It’s maddening, it’s bleakly funny, and it’s exactly why The Trawl exists - because someone has to sift through this BS. Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olympians dare to distance themselves from Trump, Bad Bunny turns the Super Bowl halftime show into a love-soaked middle finger, and Kid Rock delivers what may be the worst miming incident in broadcast history.Then it gets darker. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network run a Super Bowl PSA demanding the truth while the US government, British media and political class continue to redact, deflect and downplay. Why are names still hidden? Why is the press treating this like an inconvenience rather than the biggest abuse-and-blackmail scandal in modern history? And why does Peter Mandelson get a soft-focus Sunday Times makeover like he’s the victim here?Jemma and Marina dig into the Epstein files, the media blackout, the aristocratic audacity of people bragging about their proximity to a convicted sex trafficker, and the jaw-dropping clips you have to hear to believe. Plus: Reform, Farage, Russia, Israel, the monarchy, Melania’s film getting absolutely savaged and a pudding that might be the only sane thing left.It’s rage, receipts and gallows humour — because apparently that’s where we are now.Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcastPatreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcastYoutubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawlTwitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marina and Jemma wade through the moral swamp of Reform UK’s latest masterplan: cutting beer duty by keeping children in poverty - because according to them the nation’s biggest crisis is Dave paying £4.80 instead of £4.75 for his pint. Labour doesn’t escape the drag either, with Rachel Reeves floating the idea that only graduates should pay for their degrees - a policy so anti‑youth it might as well come with a free copy of the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick manage to accidentally vote to abolish the two‑child benefit cap after wandering into the wrong lobby. God help us if these people end up running the country. Farage continues to dodge debates like it’s an Olympic sport, all while his name keeps surfacing in the Epstein files. And across the pond, Trump tells a female reporter to “smile” when asked about a paedophile ring - because it's a smiley kind of subject, right? At least misogyny is the one thing he’s always consistent on.Plus: dating‑app despair, cortisol levels that should come with a health warning, and a perfect clip capturing the spiritual emptiness of people who proudly declare they’re “not political.”Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Patreonhttps://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcastIf you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:• Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on• Early access to The Trawl Meets…• Glorious ad-free episodesPlus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.Come join the fun:https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.