This week, Nish and Coco make sense of a bruising local election week, as Labour braces for heavy losses, Reform eyes major gains, and the Greens look to break through in London.

They’re joined by Will Hayward, award-winning investigative journalist and expert on Welsh politics, to break down what’s happening in Wales, where Labour’s century-long dominance could be coming to an end. He explains the new Senedd voting system, the rise of Plaid and Reform, and what this election could mean for the future of devolution.

Plus: Zoë Grünewald joins to unpack Reform’s latest migrant detention centre proposal, Green hopes in the capital, and what a bad night could mean for Keir Starmer.

And: should MPs be allowed to drink on the job, or is Parliament’s bar tab finally becoming a political problem?

GUESTS 
Zoë Grünewald, political journalist
Will Hayward, Cardiff-based investigative journalist 

USEFUL LINKS
Guide to Senedd voting system: https://senedd.wales/senedd-now/senedd-blog/how-will-the-new-voting-system-work-at-the-next-senedd-election/

CREDITS
Radio 4, Today Show 
Tiktok, Zia Yusef (@ziayusufuk) 
Instagram, Hannah Spencer (@hannahtheplumbermcr)

Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.

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British politics was shaken to its core this week when we all realised that, maybe, Keir Starmer isn’t as quite across the detail as he tries to make out. He had to explain exactly what he did and didn’t know about the developed vetting carried out for Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s Ambassador to the US.

Right on the heels of that, came Olly Robbins, who was sacked last week from his role as the chief official at the Foreign Office. In a very civil servant way, he revealed the internal pressures and machinations that were happening during the appointment process.

Both men had serious questions to answer about what they did but Coco and Nish are joined by political journalist Zoë Grünewald to ask why everyone is obsessing over the process while almost totally ignoring the larger, moral decision to make the appointment in the first place.

Plus the comedian Rosie Jones arrives to totally derail the whole podcast with a mix of funny jabs at Nish while still telling us about the work of her brilliant foundation which is celebrating its first birthday! 

Don’t forget to leave a review - it gives the show a boost and we love to see your comments.

**Warning: use of a racial slur during the Labour May election segment**

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GUESTS 

Zoë Grünewald - Journalist, broadcaster and political commentator

Rosie Jones - Comedian

USEFUL LINKS

The Rosie Jones Foundation: https://www.rosiejonesfoundation.com/

CREDITS

Sir Keir Starmer MP - Parliament TV

Emily Thornberry MP - The Mirror, YouTube 

Sir Oliver Robbins - Parliament TV 

David Miliband MP - Mornings with Ridge and Frost, Sky News 

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
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Who says the special relationship is on the ropes? Coco and Nish are joined by Pod Save America’s Tommy Vietor to showcase transatlantic co-operation at its very best. From the battle of slopaganda to the real war in Iran - there’s a lot to talk about.

Donald Trump deleted a Truth Social post because he looked a little bit too much like Jesus for the Christian community - many of them have been some of his biggest supporters. Meanwhile Iran has released a series of sometimes-antisemitic, AI, Lego rap videos. 

In the UK, Keir Starmer is being criticised for not spending enough on defence at a time when the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are focusing minds.

Plus - Your Party hits the skids in Scotland - we hear from an insider about what went down.

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GUESTS 

Tommy Vietor, Host, Pod Save America and Pod Save The World

USEFUL LINKS

How to email your MP about NHS Palantir contracts - https://www.amnesty.org.uk/get-involved/take-action/sign-a-petition/mp-demand-no-palantir-in-our-nhs/

CREDITS

Donald Trump - @rapidresponse47, X 

Iranian Propaganda Video - Explosive Media

Owen Maitland, Former Your Party Scotland executive committee member

Faiza Shaheen, Director, Tax Justice UK - ‘Politics Live’, BBC One

Saturday Night Live UK, Sky One

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Coco and Nish are joined by top author and tech expert Jamie Bartlett. His new book is a deep dive into the ways AI is being used - highlighting its pitfalls and also where it might be beneficial.

Jamie even created an AI alter-ego to help people understand how the technology really works, its strengths and its limitations. 

Plus, your questions, answered! From the new electoral system in Wales to favourite conspiracy theories - you’ll learn and you’ll laugh!

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GUESTS 

Jamie Bartlett, Author, ‘How To Talk To AI (And How Not To)’ and Host of Everything is Fake (And Nobody Cares) on BBC Sounds

Special guest appearance: Jimmy Botlett

USEFUL LINKS

‘How To Talk To AI (And How Not To)’: Out April 9th. 
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/475950/how-to-talk-to-ai-by-bartlett-jamie/9780753561980

Welsh Assembly election guide
https://senedd.wales/senedd-now/senedd-blog/senedd-election-2026-what-is-the-d-hondt-formula-and-how-does-it-work/

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Comedian and columnist Stewart Lee joins Nish and Coco to discuss the week’s big stories.

They talk about Donald Trump’s deadly and yet utterly confusing war with Iran, as the US President continues to contradict his own statements about the Strait of Hormuz and peace talks, almost in the same breath. 

It certainly means a new, live, UK sketch show has plenty of material - but how should comedy respond to the challenging times we are all living through?

Plus - why having a weekly opinion column is good for your mental health and why news organisations need to do more to tackle the lies and extreme rhetoric coming from politicians.

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GUESTS 

Stewart Lee, Comedian and columnist for The Nerve

USEFUL LINKS

Guide to Senedd voting system: https://senedd.wales/senedd-now/senedd-blog/how-will-the-new-voting-system-work-at-the-next-senedd-election/

CREDITS

Saturday Night Live UK, Sky One

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Last summer - fuelled by the far right - a rash of St George and Union Jack flags spread across the country. Flag-waving became a symbol of prejudice, not pride. In that context it's hard as progressives to feel particularly patriotic. So what is Britishness… and does it even matter?

Someone who is hopeful that our national identity is worth saving is writer, a DJ and broadcaster Zakia Sewell. In this bonus episode of PSUK, she tells Nish and Coco about her journey to uncover an alternative version of Britishness - one that unifies rather than divides.

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GUEST
Zakia Sewell, writer, DJ & broadcaster

USEFUL LINKS

“Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore and the Quest for Hidden Britain” - out now.
https://www.waterstones.com/book/finding-albion/zakia-sewell/9781399735902

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Reform UK is getting into the lottery business - inviting people to sign up for a chance to have their energy bills paid for a year. But is the real prize a massive database of voters ahead of the next General Election? 

Plus - party leader Nigel Farage has been caught saying some pretty questionable stuff for money on Cameo. Is that really the kind of thing we should expect from someone who plans to be our next Prime Minister?

Nish and Coco are joined by authors Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff. Their new book Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed looks at the billionaire manbaby in a whole new way. If you want to understand what’s driving Musk and what it could mean for all of us - this is the chat for you.

And POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy is on hand as the former Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner pops up to point out all the ways Labour is getting it wrong at the moment - subtext: without her they’re lost.

Reminder to send in your burning questions for Nish and Coco to [email protected]

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GUESTS 

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, Authors. Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed
Out on March 24th

Anne McElvoy, Executive Editor, POLITICO and co-host Politics at Sam and Anne’s

USEFUL LINKS

The Podcast Show -

Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/477340/muskism-by-tarnoff-quinn-slobodian-and-ben/9780241805114

CREDITS

The Guardian - YouTube
The Independent - YouTube
Reform UK - YouTube
Today in Focus - The Guardian

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The first wave of Mandelson files have been published. We all wanted to know what Keir Starmer knew, and when he knew it. Now we can see it in black and white. 

And as it turns out - Starmer was warned there was a “general reputational risk” over Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein ahead of his confirmation as US ambassador. Nish and Coco make sense of this perilous moment for the PM.

Then critical theorist and viral creator Louisa Munch helps us make sense of the government’s new social cohesion strategy. But is tackling extremism and yet more surveillance the answer to fraying social ties?

Plus - as Iran names its new supreme leader oil prices skyrocket - for a PM obsessed with the cost of living, this is shaping up to be a bit of a nightmare.

Remember to send your questions in for Nish and Coco to [email protected] and they’ll spill the tea! 

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GUESTS 

Louisa Munch, Critical Theorist
Minnie Rahman, CEO Praxis

USEFUL LINKS

“Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe” + Q&A with James Acaster at The Ritzy, Brixton - 18th March

Open letter opposing planned changes to the immigration settlement routes: https://act.praxis.org.uk/open-letter-earned-settlement

CREDITS

Darren Jones MP, Cabinet Office minister - Parliament TV

Steve Reed MP, Communities Secretary - Parliament TV

Mike Tapp MP, Migration minister - Parliament TV

Minnie Rahman, Praxis CEO

Frederik Pleitgen, CNN International Senior Correspondent - CNN

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
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A world leader has been assassinated, schools and hospitals have been hit, and Donald Trump thinks that Keir Starmer is no Winston Churchill. It’s all kicking off as the US and Israel’s illegal war escalates across the Middle East. All of this with the open admission of no real plan for what comes next. 

Struggling to absorb it all? Wondering if there’s another way? British-Iranian peace strategist Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE is here to fill us in. She joins Coco and comedian Sophie Duker, who is in the hotseat for Nish this week.

Soaring oil prices was not the backdrop Chancellor Rachel Reeves was hoping for ahead of her second Spring Statement. Finalised before the conflict broke out, her economic plan was “Trumped” before it was even delivered - so where does this leave the UK?

Plus - just as the UK gets dragged into this latest destabilising conflict, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood rips up the rules on UK asylum. 

Got a burning question for Nish or Coco? Big or small - they will be answered in a special episode! Email: [email protected] 

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GUEST

Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE, founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)

USEFUL LINKS

Sophie Duker

If You Were In Charge with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini and Kavita Nandini Ramdas.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/if-you-were-in-charge/id1770618616

CREDITS

Sophie Duker - Live at the Apollo / BBC One 
Keir Starmer / X
Parliament TV 
PBS News Hour / YouTube
BBC News 
Zoe Gardner / IG
Manchester Evening News 

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This week Nish and Coco are joined by friend of the pod, Ash Sarkar from Novara Media to talk about political scandal, trust and compromise. Ash’s book, Minority Rule, has a new afterword which talks about two progressive movements which have tried to build different kinds of relationships with voters. Is that the way forward - or are we stuck in an endless cycle of broken promises from our leaders? 

One of those leaders - Keir Starmer - seems to be lurching from crisis to nightmare, so can he rise above the latest headlines about Peter Mandelson’s arrest and the Labour Together scandal?

Plus Reform’s new immigration policies, the new proposals to change the SEND system - and some good news about two protest groups.

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GUESTS 

Ash Sarkar, Contributing Editor at Novara Media and author of Minority Rule: Adventures in the Culture War - out now in paperback.

USEFUL LINKS

Jumaane Williams’ thoughtful response following the outcry about the handling of a racial slur at the Baftas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgaqKIxS4Hs&t=1s

CREDITS

Daily Express - YouTube
Nigel Farage - YouTube
@ - Instagram
Nida Jafri

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
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This week Coco is joined by the comedian Cody Dahler while Nish takes a brief break and there’s so much to talk about!

The Greens' Hannah Spencer has become the unexpected bookies favourite to win the Gorton and Denton by-election but does she have what it takes to turn good odds into a win at the ballot box? We speak to her about the importance of fighting to improve lives, her favourite false rumour and why walking her dogs helped form her political outlook.

Plus Keir Starmer is back with another U-turn and another inquiry. We try to work out what he’s hoping to achieve this week. And Amnesty International’s UK Director of Law and Human Rights, Tom Southerden, updates us on their High Court victory as they challenge the proscription of Palestine Action.

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GUESTS 

Hannah Spencer, Green Party candidate, Gorton and Denton by-election

Tom Southerden, UK Law and Human Rights Director, Amnesty International

USEFUL LINKS

Gorton and Denton by-election candidate list https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.gorton-and-denton.by.2026-02-26/gorton-and-denton/

CREDITS

TikTok / @mrcodydahler

Green Party of England and Wales / Facebook

Hannah Spencer / Instagram

Paul Holden, Investigative journalist and author of "The Fraud"

High Court protest reaction - Amnesty International footage

@mrcodydahler / Instagram

Otto, Budding Comedian

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