Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is a politics podcast that aims to bring more passion, less shouting, and lots of laughter to political discussions. Hosted by Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith, and Kenny Campbell, the show offers a refreshing take on current events and political issues. It is produced by Megaphone and available on Apple Podcasts.
Episodes
Sunday School: Like Prats in A Sack
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Join Alex and Naomi as they look at Reform UK's back-of-a-beer-mat welfare policies and the implosion of internal civil war they became the fuse to. Are Zia Yusuf's days in the party's lea
B-Side: The Last Housing on The Left
Housing has been in a state of crisis, it seems, forever. Can Labour actually move the dial on this huge and complicated challenge?
Alex, Naomi and Kenny are joined by Labour and Co-op MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, Rachel Blake.
Rachel is the ideal guest to help shine some light on the issue of housing – she is a candidate to chair the Housing, Communities and Local Government Se
A tragedy, in black & white
The profound fallout from of Professor Jason Arday’s untimely death continues to ripple outwards and shine a spotlight on some deeply unpleasant truths.
Naomi, Alex and Kenny look at what lessons we can learn, and try to separate truth from punishment, and legitimate inquiry from weaponised agenda.
They are joined by Labour and Co-op MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, the wonderful Rac
Sunday School: Pier and Loathing
Join Alex and Kenny as they paddle through Farage's coastal Clacton claptrap, and try to make sense of what actually happened on a night when an intergalactic waste receptacle went up against the far right.
They also look at Government plans to reform zero-hour contracts – these affect over a million workers and countless businesses too, so they are important as well as controversial.
Plus a fo
B-Side: Penal Enlargement or Correctile Dysfunction?
It's that time of the year when Britain throws its hands in the air over the prisons system. Newsflash: it is still creaking at the seams, just like it has been creaking for many years now.
Naomi, Alex and Kenny take a deep dive into prison capacity, probation service pressure and rehabilitation shortcomings – and, of course, the politics behind what's going on.
Plus a brief look at the latest T
No Drought About It
If you're reading this south of Hull, then you're in a drought. Elsewhere, it's probably hot. If you're in the Highlands, take your chances.
We're running out of water and that in turn means our food supplies are coming under pressure. So Alex, Naomi and Kenny dip their collective toes tentatively in the pool marked 'Danger: Politics of climate change' to ask how we should (and can) respond.
If
Sunday School: The Thetford strifes
East Anglia's right-leaning politics are on show again with this week's immigrant baiting in Thetford.
Naomi and Kenny have a look at the latest disturbing developments from Norfolk, including a couple of telling by-elections.
Then they nip across the Atlantic to marvel at Trump's latest move in his war on renewable energy (and remind themselves of the pivotal role Scotland played in all of
B-Side: Rabat Punch
In a matter of days, Ceuta went from being a place few had heard of, and fewer still could find on a map, to the centre of Europe's migrant debate.
Naomi, Alex and Kenny are joined by former diplomat Arthur Snell to work out what was going on behind the scenes, as media around the world pumped out endless imagery of crowds of Moroccans apparently heading for Europe (spoiler: it didn't really play
World of Warcraft
Transfer windows are closing, new stars are being brought in and the world of geopolitics is primed for a new season.
Alex, Naomi and Kenny are joined by geopolitics pundit (sorry) extraordinaire Arthur Snell to talk Palestine, Iran and Ukraine.
What on earth is going on and why on earth is it going on? Not surprisingly, we're covering a lot of ground today...
Plus, will it be Wokey Dokey, O
The Authoritarian Playbook LIVE: Part 2 feat. Count Binface!
Yes, Count Binface DOES rock up to this show! Part 2 of Naomi and Alex doing their LIVE thang with Byline Times and the Lincoln Project, at London's Leicester Square Theatre.
For one night only, and with many of you fab Quiet Riot supporters in the audience, they discuss how Trumpism, populism, media capture, disinformation and democratic decay are shaping politics on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Authoritarian Playbook LIVE: Part 1
Naomi and Alex do their LIVE thang with Byline Times and the Lincoln Project, at London's Leicester Square Theatre.
For one night only, and with many of you fab Quiet Riot supporters in the audience, they discuss how Trumpism, populism, media capture, disinformation and democratic decay are shaping politics on both sides of the Atlantic.
And, being us, we also ask what the fight-back looks like
B-Side: Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee
Zack Polanski has got himself in some French Revolution-adjacent bother thanks to an ill-advised Insta interaction.
How big a faux-pas was this, should the police be involved and where on earth are we at with free speech these days?
Join Alex, Naomi and Kenny as they tread sort of warily through the free-speech minefield towards a guillotine.
Plus, Wokey Dokery with a Stateside feel this week!
We Need to Talk About Social(ist) Care
• LAST CHANCE TO GET TICKETS TO OUR LIVE SHOW!!! Our London round table on authoritarianism, with the Lincoln Project and Byline Times, is tonight (Thursday) – the few remaining tickets are waiting for you HERE!
Andy Burnham has grand ambitions for reform of the social care sector, and he does look like a man who gives a damn about changing things for the better.
Alex, Naomi and Kenny look
Sunday School: Andy B's A Busy Bee
• LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Our London round table on authoritarianism, with the Lincoln Project and Byline Times, is on Thursday – get your tickets HERE!
Andy Burnham's first week in the big job has been a blur of activity.
Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell have a look at the deluge of policy announcements (and the social media flood too). Reasons for optimism?
And, in India, it's Co
B-SIDE: Farage Unmasked
• LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Tickets to our London round table on authoritarianism, with the Lincoln Project and Byline Times, are selling fast – get yours HERE!
Nigel Farage has mired himself in controversy – a lot of controversy. Questions about money, ethics, his links to shady characters and more abound.
Naomi, Alex and Kenny are joined by an expert on Reform UK's darkest secrets
Andy's Hokey-Cokey: Who's in, who's out, and why?
• LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Get your tickets to our London round table on authoritarianism, with the Lincoln Project and Byline Times, HERE!
The Burnham Cabinet has taken shape so it's time to look at the winners and losers among the lesser big jobs.
Alex, Naomi and Kenny are joined by Byline Times sleuth Josiah Mortimer to talk through Rayner, Streeting, Sarwar and a bunch more – incl
Head over Healey - QR Economy Special
• LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Get your tickets to our London round table on authoritarianism, with the Lincoln Project and Byline Time, HERE!
John Healey's appointment as Chancellor seemed to take all those with "well-placed sources" by surprise. Alex Andreou talks to economist Vicky Pryce, who actually worked with Healey during his Treasury days, to glean what sort of Chancellor he mig
Midnight Mass: Andy's Pitch-In Cabinet
• LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Get your tickets to our London round table on authoritarianism, with the Lincoln Project and Byline Time, HERE!
After all the speculation, Andy Burnham has finally cracked open the doors to his new Cabinet... and it's not without its surprises.
Who's in? Who's out? And what does it all tell us about the direction Burnham intends to pursue as PM?
Join Naomi S
Sunday School: The mayor the merrier
With ex-mayor Andy Burnham now officially Labour's main man, and London mayor Sadiq Khan heading to the Lords and then who knows where, are we seeing the rise of a new mayoral political class that uses devolution to bypass the Westminster greasy pole?
Naomi and Kenny look at the pros and cons of a mayoral stop on the political line, and have a gander at Burnham's big speech too.
And, with pe
B-SIDE: The Palantir Files
LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Get your tickets to our 30th July London appearance HERE!
The tech giant Palantir, and its billionaire Trump-loving co-founder Peter Thiel, has a £330million deal with the NHS, which has set alarm bells ringing so loudly that multiple Select Committees have called for the contract to be ended at the first opportunity.
MPs have warned that once the deal ends, the NHS
The Summer of 2026
LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Get your tickets to our London appearance HERE!
With both British teams now out of the World Cup, can we find anything to be optimistic about in the shenanigans around Iran, Burnham and Clacton?
Naomi, Alex and Kenny do their level best to dig out reasons to be hopeful ... and then there's a harsh dose of reality to contend with. Sort of like the footie really.
Plu
Sunday School: A Bin-Bin Situation
LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Get your tickets to our London appearance HERE!
Does the quirky British tradition of comedy candidates add to our democracy or detract from it? Is political satire a weapon or a self-soothing mechanism.
Alex and Naomi talk through the week's news, including the Clacton by-election, the report on PIP, the outcomes of the NATO summit - and The Bayeux Tapestry visiting Engl
B-SIDE: Under the Burnham bonnet
• LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Get your tickets to our London appearance HERE!
Burnhamism: what is it, what isn't it, and what should or could it be?
Alex, Naomi and Kenny are joined by Labour MP Jeevun Sandher for a closer look at what drives the politics of our PM-in-waiting.
What telltale signs of a developing Burnhamism should we be looking out for in the weeks ahead? Which appointments will b
Bindependence Day
• LIVE SHOW KLAXON!!! Get your tickets to our London appearance HERE!
The trash needs taking out... Yes, we have to talk Farage and his by-election stunt. But we don't have to pander.
Alex, Naomi and Kenny are joined by Loughborough MP Jeevun Sandher to laugh briefly at Farage and in more depth about what his stunt says about the state of our political system.
And there's a new Old News to l
Sunday School: Resets, we've had a few...
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Morgan McSweeney gives us a rare glimpse behind the scenes and confirms what we already knew: that Labour was not entirely ready for government.
Alex and Naomi discuss politics in an age that rejects politics.
Also, England is throu
B-SIDE: The Scotland Lab
With PM-in-waiting Andy Burnham leaning heavily into devolution, we take a look at what lessons he can learn from the Scottish experience – and what his (still somewhat vague) plans might mean for Scotland too.
Kenny Campbell is joined by someone who knows the Scottish political scene extremely well: Stephen Boyd, director of the progressive think tank IPPR Scotland.
They also catch up with the
Handover season
Westminster is neck-deep in handover shenanigans, with team Starmer playing its final games while team Burnham is still, officially, to qualify for the big one.
Naomi and Alex are joined by MP Ellie Chowns, Commons leader of the Green Party, to talk regime change, asylum, defence, and the looming Manchester mayoral battle.
Plus, a blast of our newish feature, God! Less America! ... complete with
Sunday School: Coronation Treat
Coronations bring both brickbats and bouquets, as both King Charles and King Andy have found this week.
Alex and Kenny take a detailed look at what Charles's tax disclosures reveal – and keep hidden.
And there's the latest leadership challenges facing Andy Burnham as his (not quite guaranteed) coronation as Labour leader progresses.
Plus a catch-up with the latest madness of the orange man who
B-SIDE: Too Hot for Politics
It's been a bit of a scorcher this week (unless you're in Scotland with Kenny) and thus a good time to ask what politics can do about climate change.
Naomi, Kenny and Alex take it one step further and ask whether politics is even capable of dealing with climate change.
It's literally the hottest topic of our times, so why are things in such a pickle?
Plus something a bit lighter from the cupbo
The Andy Man's Guide to Cabinet Making
Andy Burnham may well be the PM-in-waiting but he can't do the job by himself. So who should be in his cabinet?
Naomi, Alex and Kenny ponder the question on every political geek's lips, and put some fantasy cabinet suggestions of their own forward too.
And we also survey the wreckage of Nigel Farage's most hilarious media round, ever.
Plus a break from the politics with one of our regular featu
From Brexit to Burnham, with James O'Brien
It's appropriate that Starmer's teary farewell comes amid the tenth-anniversary obituaries for Brexit, as the two are inexorably linked.
Alex and Naomi are joined by broadcaster, author and Quiet Riot favourite James O'Brien to look back at ten years of Brexit, and tease out the links to Starmer's resignation.
And they break out the Quiet Riot crystal ball to consider what the future may look li
Sunday School: Nigel's half-empty glass
Has anyone seen the confident swagger of Nigel Farage lately? Thought not.
A month of funding controversy, candidate shenanigans and sliding support has culminated in Reform UK being soundly beaten in a by-election that was supposed to be too close to call.
Alex and Kenny look at why Reform is stalling, and the reasons why Farage is right to be feeling a bit 'glass half-empty' right now.
And t
BY-ELECTION SPECIAL: Maker-or-Breakerfield
It's the middle of the night and the Makerfield result has just been declared... what next?
Alex and Kenny prop their eyes open with matchsticks to take stock of a result that has huge implications for this country's political future. Well, probably.
There are by-elections in Scotland too – Aberdeen South, plus the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry seats, are both up for grabs following the election o
X Marks The Rot
Having spent their formative years being herded into and around the playpen/minefield/information artery that is social media, Britain's youngsters are about to experience a life outside the social media bubble.
Or are they?
Naomi, Alex and Kenny look in more depth at what's likely to happen to the under-16 social media junkies, as well as what's happened to their counterparts in Oz, which has a
Sunday School: They think it's all over... Again
Just how many red cards will Keir Starmer be shown before he actually leaves the pitch?
Naomi and Alex ponder the latest Healey brickbats being hurled Sir Keir's way, and look in more detail at the 'defence v welfare' narrative.
Plus, if you had a trillon bucks like Elon Musk, what would you do with it? Think Brewster's Millions, but with questionable morals.
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B-SIDE: Peace Off + Healey Resignation
EXTRA! EXTRA! INCLUDES EMERGENCY MINI-EPISODE ON HEALEY RESIGNATION.
Trump continues to struggle with Iran despite having 'completely defeated' it, and Putin can't even get petrol to Russian tourists in Crimea.
Alex, Naomi and Kenny are joined by our favourite geopolitics expert Arthur Snell for a deep-dive into the latest alpha male chaos unfolding in these conflicts.
Plus, announcing the arr
It's A Badenoch Life, For Us
Riots, attacks, police snafus – they can't all be solely the fault of one bit of equalities guidance, can they?
Well, if you've listened to Kemi Badenoch, you might be beginning to wonder.
Her latest foray into the world of identity politics sees her wanting to scrap the Public Sector Equality Duty as the opening move in a mission to 'restore common sense'. Because, apparently the UK is so post
Sunday School: Bruising encounters
The spotlight is unforgiving, as both would-be MPs and former royals found this week.
Join Naomi and Kenny to pick through the ashes of a somewhat underwhelming BBC Question Time from the Makerfield by-election, where a bunch of candidates with minimal experience performed ... like a bunch of candidates with minimal experience.
Elsewhere, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has stumbled, blinking an
B-SIDE: Labour's difficult second album
Who is Labour for? It is such a fundamental question and one that no one appears to have an answer for.
Naomi and Alex welcome the perfect guest in Christabel Cooper, of ThinkLabour, who has written a report on this very topic.
From the vagueness of Labour's 2024 offering to its conundrum about chasing votes on the right, there is a lot to discuss.
Plus, a Grin And Share It that will hit all th
The Rage in Farage
The murder of Henry Nowak has raised a great many questions because of the terrible way Henry was treated by police as he lay dying.
Henry's family have responded with remarkable dignity to this dreadful affair but the same cannot be said of elements of the political class.
Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou look more closely at the politics of rage and, in particular, Nigel Farage's call for public '
Sunday School: No jobs for the boys (or girls)
Youth unemployment is at crisis levels, and we're at the stage where Britain spends more to support jobless young people than it does on education.
Naomi and Alex look at the latest NEET figures and Alan Milburn's interim report on youth unemployment, which makes for sobering reading.
Plus, as Britain and Poland ink a defence agreement, is Europe building a 'NATO within NATO' defence against Ru
B-SIDE: From Usk Till Dawn
Welsh politics has been through the electoral tumble dryer of late, but does the rise of Reform and Plaid Cymru's success herald a new beginning, or are circumstances going to clog things up?
We are joined by the always-brilliant Will Hayward to look at how things are panning out in Cardiff Bay.
Plus, there's a glorious Grin And Share It to help you end the week on a high.
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The Tone Commandments
Nothing says Elder Statesman like dumping publically on your party, its leader and its wannabe leaders in the midst of a crisis and weeks before a series of tricky by-elections.
And so to Tony Blair, a man so brim-full of his own wisdom that it took him 5,700 words plus a BBC interview to say Labour and its team is a bit, well, lefty for his liking.
Alex, Naomi and Kenny try to tease out the re
Sunday School: Immigration home truths
New immigration figures show two noteworthy things: arrivals are down but a lot of voters think arrivals are up.
Meanwhile, Andy Burnham says those figures need to come down further – to the chagrin of some in Labour, and also us because he said that after we'd finished recording this episode.
Alex and Kenny dig around the data from several sources and try, tentatively, to work out what's going
B-SIDE: Two State Dilution - why Palestine needs your voice
Welcome to our first ever B-SIDE, a bonus for our fans when the midweek and Sunday episodes simply aren't enough :-)
This week, Naomi, Alex and Kenny are talking with Lib Dem MP Layla Moran – the first MP of Palestinian descent, the first pansexual MP and a new-ish mum as well.
The Palestinian crisis is personal for Layla, and she's the perfect guest to help us get under the skin of what's
Terminal decline: Has Britain forgotten how to build big?
From HS2 to Heathrow 3, via housing 101: what is going on with big building projects in Britain?
Naomi, Alex and Kenny look at how Britain has been building trouble for itself – with top-drawer insight from Lib Dem MP and all-Parliamentary history-maker MP Layla Moran.
And Layla brings her unique insight into the many issues surrounding Palestine and Palestinians – she really is must-listen.
P
Sunday School: A Kingmakerfield by-election
The next PM may be decided in a by-election near Wigan. That could be problematic for both the voters of Makerfield and the electorate at large.
Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell look at what the Burnham drama could mean for Britain as a whole, as national and local politics collide in Labour's latest psychodrama.
Talking of local politics, they also venture to Worcestershire, where a rainbow
The Cling Speech
Political psychodrama heaped on top of political drama. Well, sort of.
The psychodrama of the Labour leadership battle is real, whether we want another short-term PM or not. Naomi, Alex and Kenny pretend to hate the drama and then get sucked into the socialist-ish soap opera that's captivating Westminster.
And then there's the King's Speech, which is legislatively significant but ... well, woul
Sunday School: Worst Past The Post
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Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou discuss the results of this week's round of elections and find that, underneath the single narrative of Nigel Farage's inevitability as Britain
Midnight Mass: From Landslide to Mudslide
In the iconic words from A Streetcar Named Desire "we've had this date with each other from the beginning!" For nearly half of Labour’s 20 months in power, it has been said that this set of local elections would mark Starmer’s last throw of the dice.
With results still coming in, it is difficult to analyse precise voter movements, but patterns are certainly beginning to emerge. To discuss the res
Farage's millions: Nothin' to see here guv
Have £5million guv. It's a present, tax free, no strings attached.
Yet again, questions arise over Farage's finances, this time after yet another huge wad makes its way from a crypto billionaire into Nigel's orbit – actually straight into his wallet, according to Farage himself.
Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell ask wtf is going on with right wing political funding in particular, and the rules arou
Sunday School: The heat is on
This week's Golders Green attack resurfaced some deeply disturbing prejudices and raised the political temperature too.
Alex and Kenny look at the facts as they stand and analyse the political reaction to a tinderbox issue.
And, with temperatures rising literally as well as metaphorically, they turn their attention to the looming El Niño impact, and ask if hotter summers make for violent pro
Premature Elation; The US midterms are NOT a done deal
The stakes are too high to allow even a hint of complacency to creep into our thinking about the upcoming US 2026 midterm elections. This is one of the most powerful and malicious administrations in US history - the same lot who tried to overrun the Capitol in order to overturn the 2020 result. To treat them as an inert substance that will not fight tooth and claw is naive and dangerous.
The chao
The Windsor Takes It All
The King and Ay, ay, ay... One (the royal One) flew over the cuckoo's nest ... Windsors and losers ... too many ways to describe what happened in Washington this week when genuine royalty met wannabe royalty.
Join Naomi, Alex and Kenny for a diplomatic murder mystery carried out in the full glare of media lights to find out who got murdered and who... dunnit.
PLUS those pesky local/regional/nati
What next for the assisted dying debate?
When illness makes life unbearable, should we be permitted – and helped – to end our time in this place on our own terms?
Last year on this podcast, we spoke to Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK, about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
On Friday the 24th of April, the bill officially ran out of parliamentary time. Undone not by elected MPs, a vote against it, or lack of
Sunday School: Hobson's choice (or the illusion of our freedom)
Food, fuel, political parties ... it can feel like we've never had so much choice. But how much choice do we REALLY have?
Naomi and Kenny ask whether the modern world gives us choice on one level ... only to utterly deny it on other levels.
And, talking of choice, they look at Ed Miliband's big policy speech on green energy, ask what it all means and wonder if it's time to stop calling it 'g
That Man and Robbins
Keeping up with the Starmer-Mandelson-Robbins scandal is like juggling spaghetti, soggy spaghetti at that, but we're here for the challenge.
Naomi, Alex and Kenny pick apart this week's remarkable developments in a saga that has cost two of the main players their jobs ... and may well consign the third player to an early bath too.
What happened, what happens next and who's to blame? And what do
Sunday School: JOIN VENTURE - The path back to EU membership
Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou discuss the UK's back to full EU membership, after a new Report by Best for Britain found it is the smart option for the government in every way - economic, security, or political.
Also, why is the BBC channeling energy and resources to undercover investigation of the asylum system, when it is anything but under-covered?
Finally, as sequels, prequels, franchises, re
Block, stock and two million smoking barrels
Who's blockading the Strait of Hormuz today? Iran? Donny From The Block? The Fake News Media?
Naomi, Alex and Kenny look at the winners (yes, there appear to be some) and losers (everybody else) from Trump's ongoing Middle-East distraction.
And they are joined by Andrew Ryder – a British political scientist who has made Hungary his home and teaches politics at the Eötvös Loránd University in Bud
Scotland special: A Holyrood ghost story
The May elections are now mere weeks away and, in Scotland, there's a fascinating battle developing for second place.
Not that the SNP can take a majority for granted, but the real action is between Labour, Reform ... and possibly the Greens.
Kenny Campbel is Joined by the Telegraph's man in Scotland, Jacob Freedland, to roor around behind the scenes of Scotland's politics.
As well as at
Sunday School: For whom the Mel trolls
Look, we're STILL trying to work out what Melania's plan was with that WTF speech this week.
Plan, did we say? Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell give miserable Mel's bizarre intervention their best shot and, for the adults in the audience, try to make sense of that other Trumpian mystery of the week, the cease fire that no one in the White House seems to have read before agreeing to it.
Back
I came, I saw, Iran away: How not to fight a war
One minute, it's Armageddon and profanity; the next, it's back to the clown show and Trump's biggest TACO yet.
Naomi, Alex and Kenny are joined by QR favourite Arthur Snell to rake through the ashes of Trump's Iranian dumpster fire, and try to make sense of a blisteringly bleak week in the annals of US foreign policy.
The yellow streak that runs though Trump hasn't stopped him declaring vic
Sunday School: Choc and awe
Brace for betrayal, resurrection and chocolate in our Easter special!
Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell examine the Judas Factor in politics, and then dive into that other great seasonal topic: the soaring price of Easter eggs.
All that plus the Wokeydokey we had to hold over from our midweek shows with Baroness Ayesha Hazarika, because there was too much other stuff to talk about.
Happy Eas
Eureka Hazarika special – Part 2: Memoirs of a newly-minted peer
Welcome to the second part of our fabulous bank holiday two-parter with Baroness Ayesha Hazarika.
What does becoming a peer actually feel like? How should we reform the upper chamber? And will our friendly Baroness give us any juicy insights from behind those woolsacks?
If you missed the first part of this two-parter, why not pause this one and go back to hear Ayesha's views on Trump's late
Eureka Hazarika special – Part 1: Labour finally chooses Europe
Our fabulous bank holiday two-parter with Baroness Ayesha Hazarika kicks off with (of course) Trump's latest Iranian-adjacent madness.
And we utter a modest hurrah as Labour starts to move publically towards Europe – and ask what the party can do to prepare us all for some expected hard times ahead.
Also, we answer the question that our subscriber Sarah was midway through when our latest As
Sunday School: CTRL-ALT-DECEIT Truth in the Age of Disinformation
Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith discuss a parliamentary report on disinformation, in the light of news that the BBC has chosen a former Google executive as its new boss.
And - as promised - they bring you our research into party membership in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, to supplement QR's midweek deep dive.
Finally, can you tell Prank from Frank? Alex and Naomi test each other with far
QR Special: The cruelty of Long Covid
How would you feel about a medical examination that was designed to make you faint? What about having to instal soundproof doors and blinds, because noise and light can bring on seizures?
Welcome to the world of the Long Covid patient – and there are millions of them. Six years since the first Covid lockdown, humans have become relatively blasé about the disease. But it has cast a crippling sha
Hormuz it or Lose it: A global economic crisis, made in Washington
As the US keeps 'negotiating with itself' (Iran's words...) we ask tentatively what impact the ongoing conflict will have on our wallets, purses and digital wealth stores.
Plus, a look at new research revealing perhaps too much about the sort of people who are actual *members* of a political party. Spoiier alert: they're outnumbered handsomely by the number of criminals out there, not that ther
A righteous kind of anger: WALES SPECIAL with Will Hayward
For this bonus episode, award winning journalist, writer and podcaster Will Hayward joins Naomi Smith to break down all you need to know about the forthcoming Senedd elections, as well as his brilliant new book, "Who Cares About Wales?"
As well as discussing the current fortunes of Plaid, Reform, Labour, Conservatives, Greens and Lib Dems, you’ll also find out Farage’s thoughts on the “foreign
Sunday School: Trump's Iranian Taco - with a Farage Cameo
War? What war? As missiles continue to whizz around the Middle East and the global economy continues to sweat as a result, Trump looks to be planning his exit from that Iranian adventure.
Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell look at the latest, and wonder if US plans to de-escalate the conflict will be as well thought through as its plans to escalate were in the first place.
And, away from the ma
With Europe we stand: Foreign policy special with Anneliese Dodds
As the UK and Europe push back on Trump's overseas adventures, Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou are joined by MP for Oxford East, Dame Anneliese Dodds, to look at the Iran latest, the Ukraine defence partnership, and the government's pivot towards the EU. Starmer is, for once, in tune with the public mood. Can foreign policy repair his domestic reputation?
Plus, we talk overseas aid (or the lack o
Sunday School: Sinday School
Brace yourselves for an episode with a particularly adult feel... fret not, it's still Quiet Riot.
Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell start with the latest on Mandelson, and the never-ending political fallout from his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Then they turn their gaze to the Government's muddle over pornography – specifically, the row over whether content representing ince
Dud's Army; A review of Reform UK in local government
As Nigel Farage gets Reform's local election campaign under way, we look at how his existing platoon of local representatives is doing (nb may involve the odd shambles).
Plus, Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou are joined by Quiet Riot's favourite geopolitics titan, Arthur Snell, to discuss the new geography of climate change – which just happens to be the subject of his brand new book, Elemental (bu
Sunday School: Mahmood Music
Naomi Smith & Alex Andreou take a good look at whether Labour's new immigration and asylum reform proposals make sense - in terms of either policy or politics.
And... As Kirsti Noem becomes the first fallen of Trump's Glorious Revolution 2.0, is this a one-off or has a rubicon been crossed?
Plus... What are the series you know you MUST binge, but just haven't got round to yet?
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It never rains...
A spring budget statement in the middle of a global meltdown. Can it make sense even a little bit?
Well, possibly. Our guest is someone who really can get under the skin of these issues – uber-economist and author Vicky Pryce.
Join Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell to find out (possibly) if Trump's Iranian adventure has rendered Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement redundant.
And w
Sunday School: One thing after another
Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell peer into the developing situation in Iran and the Middle East and try to glean if there is any longterm strategy or just a throwing of the dice.
They also look at the Gorton & Denton by-election result and the reaction to it, to assess what its lessons might be and whether anyone at all is interested in learning them. Also Alex gets quite angry.
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By-election curious
Political geeks rejoice – it's a by-election week AND we've got polling god Peter Kellner in da house to talk predictions and implications.
Join Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell as they dig through the last-minute 'what ifs' of Gorton & Denton.
And they look ahead to the May elections too, ask whether Reform has peaked too soon and try to make sense of a fabulously chaotic political landscape
Sunday School: Royal flush
A royal scandal for the ages ... but how much worse could the Mountbatten-Windsor meltdown get for the Royal Family? Spoiler: very.
Join Naomi Smith and Kenny Campbell for a particularly heavyweight Sunday School, featuring not just constitutional bedlam but potential chaos in the looming Gorton and Denton by-election.
And there's the small matter of Trump, Iran and those pesky US airbases o
The Shadow Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
As the real world is sweating over unemployment figures, especially among younger people, Farage unveils a 'shadow cabinet' that is nothing of the sort, and appears to have no solutions.
Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell dive into the figures, and look at the broader economic outlook too – will lower inflation come to the rescue?
ALSO, looking at the government's High Court defeat
Sunday School: Colonised by Ignorance
Britain is making its strongest pivot yet towards Europe, with a suggested Defence Union that seems to go well beyond defence.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe soils himself in public and only sort of apologises to anyone whose nose is "too sensitive".
And Nigel Farage, the most flexible worker of all, has a hissy fit about flexible working.
Alex Andreou and Naomi Smith discuss what needs discussing and ridic
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