Our midterms debrief!

It's midterms debrief time bby! We're getting into why this blue tsunami matters and what it could mean for Trump's presidency. And, as always, a couple of long read recs <3Links:Fake film deals and emails from top agents: who is behind the explosion in literary scams?, by Snigdha Poonam for The Guardian | https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/oct/29/paid-for-book-clubs-fake-film-deals-emails-explosion-literary-scams-authorsMatthew Perry’s clown tears, by Nicholas Harris for The New Statesman | https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv/2026/10/matthew-perrys-clown-tears Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should women get reparations for centuries of financial discrimination? Economist Victoria Bateman estimates British women lost £700 billion in wages. We unpack the gender pay gap and unpaid labour, then ask why men turned up to Nike’s women-only After Dark run in LA and why 55% of women feel unsafe exercising at night.We also get into Israel’s election and Netanyahu’s attempt to hold onto power, and the UK Autumn Budget and Kemi Badenoch’s response.All your weekly UK news explained (with a few laughs of course!)LinksAfter centuries of misogyny, women deserve reparations – but how much are they owed?https://observer.co.uk/news/opinion-and-ideas/article/after-centuries-of-misogyny-women-deserve-reparations-but-how-much-are-they-owedTiktok: @newsdietpodInsta: @newsdietpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: an SNL joke that was not, in fact, a joke, a $50 million bra that has us asking whether “sexy” has moved on at all, France’s teenagers showing everyone how to protest, and Sally Rooney’s books vanishing from UK shelves. Plus a few opinions nobody asked for. The internet ate our first recording, so you’re getting take two...Links: The Real Joke? Spouting Tired Old Misogyny And Calling It “Comedy”, by Claire Cohen for Vogue | https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/shane-gillis-snl-jokeVictoria’s Secret Brings Back the Fantasy Bra — and an Old Stereotype of Sexy, by Vanessa Friedman for The New York Times | https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/19/style/victorias-secret-fantasy-bra-sexy.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode we're covering the botched execution of Christa Pike (and the overall treatment of women and the justice system), Zack Polanski in hot water, the buy-now-pay-laterfication of weight loss medicine and, of course, Celeb Traitors! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we’re getting existential about whether AI could ever be conscious, and what it would mean to teach machines morality. We also unpack why some new dads cheat during pregnancy or early parenthood, examine the wider questions around fraternity culture and sexual violence following the Cornell 7 case, and look at the UK’s plans for new safe routes for vulnerable refugees - and whether compassion and tighter immigration controls can really coexist.LinksReligious scholars met with Anthropic. What they heard stunned them.https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/us/anthropic-claude-morals-ai.htmlThe new dads who cheathttps://www.thecut.com/article/why-do-new-dads-cheat.htmlInsta: @newsdietpodTiktok: @newsdietpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links:Don’t knock Sydney Sweeney for having breasts that pass the pencil test, by Camilla Tominey for The Telegraph | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09/15/sydney-sweeney-breasts-pass-pencil-test/Donations of £72m make Reform’s prospects both rosier and riskier, by Peter Walker for The Guardian | https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/12/reform-uk-billionaire-donations-analysis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we explore the end of the Clean Girl aesthetic (finally!) and Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny’s quiet response to Donald Trump’s use of their music in immigration deportation videos - and whether refusing to engage is actually a powerful political strategy.In UK politics, we look at Andy Burnham’s bounce, Labour’s recovery in the polls and whether small, everyday policy wins can rebuild voter confidence.And finally, it’s chaos in Clacton as Nigel Farage attempts to return to Parliament in one of the strangest by-elections yet.LinksPolitics, culture, beauty and the stories everyone’s talking about — all in this week’s News Diet.Is the era of the Clean Girl over?https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/is-the-clean-girl-era-over-beauty-messy-girlTaylor Swift and Bad Bunny Dealt With Trump Quietly. It’s a Smart Movehttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-bad-bunny-trump-remove-tik-tok-songs-1235606235/*Correction: We say Hollywood Reporter in the podcast. We actually meant Rolling Stone*Insta: @newsdietpodTikTok: @newsdietpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links:Ariana Grande May or May Not Be Struggling. We Can Talk About It Without Trying to Shame Her, by Selome Hailu and Alison Herman for Variety | https://variety.com/2026/music/news/ariana-grande-eating-disorder-speculation-harmful-1236827071/The Far Right Is Distorting Ceuta, by Anne Applebaum for The Atlantic | https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/08/ceuta-spain-far-right/688154/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are Bali influencers fuelling modern-day colonialism? Why are more women choosing to stay single? And can politicians really govern in the age of TikTok? This week, we unpack the controversy surrounding Bali's influencer culture, explore what the Booker Prize longlist reveals about success at every age, examine the rise of single women and shifting relationship expectations, and ask whether social media is changing politics for better - or worse.Bali influencers are colonialists in cosplayhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DbZItAUEQff/?img_index=1Booker prize longlisthttps://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/2026Tiktok: @newsdietpodInsta: @newdietpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links:What to Know About the Tate Brothers’ Arrest, by Chad de Guzman for TIME | https://time.com/article/2026/07/20/andrew-tristan-tate-brothers-arrest-uk-extradition-trump-rubio/The Labubu-fication of Beauty Is Here, by Ariana Yaptangco for Cosmopolitan | https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/a73171858/beauty-bag-charms-trend/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.