The Two Matts

Episod

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  Burnham’s flying start... but is he also fibbing? 30.07.2026 49min

  The Matts appreciate the velocity of action in Andy Burnham’s first days as PM. And the big intention to fix social care is of enormous consequence. But it also makes them wonder if Burnham is being completely open about the possibility of an early election. Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Subscribe to The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Two Matts Q&A: Why tell ourselves lies about prison time? And what do we miss about the 70s? 25.07.2026 38min

  The Matts answer listener questions including: Has Andy Burnham made a mistake appointing so many loyalists? Why aren’t the courts more honest about what time prisoners will actually serve? What do the Matts miss about the 70s? Should Gianni Infantino run the United Nations? Are generation gaps a real thing? And what can you recommend to someone who has zero interest in The Odyssey? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  What is it about the prospect of a Reform government they don’t get? 23.07.2026 51min

  The Matts dig into the reaction to Andy Burnham’s first few days in government. Obviously the usual suspects - such as the Daily Mail and GB News - have already declared it a failure. But one column by Janan Ganesh in the Financial Times stands out as an utterly miserable misreading of the reality of where British politics is. Is the biggest problem Burnham faces a hostile right wing media, or is it liberals who don’t fully grasp the consequences of him failing? And what is required to avoid that? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Two Matts Q&A: Will Self on football and audiobook recommendations 18.07.2026 45min

  The Matts answer listeners’ questions in their regular Sunday Q&A session, including: Is Will Self right about the impact of football on our national mentality? What is the long term future of the Falklands? What should Andy Burnham’s first message to the nation be? How could Rupert Lowe skew hard right politics? How do we protect MPs? And what audiobooks do the Matts recommend for a population which finds reading books increasingly testing? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  It’s not coming home after all 16.07.2026 48min

  The Matts reflect on England’s World Cup tournament (and listeners from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be delighted to know it’s not a sea of self-pitying Anglophilia) and what lessons we can learn from Argentina’s late comeback about the prevailing DNA of institutions.Also - what should we expect from Andy Burnham as he comes into power? First as Labour leader and then, on Monday, as PM. No, he won’t have the artificial boost of a World Cup win to provide him with national momentum, but perhaps that’s no bad thing as he wrestles with the stark reality of a Britain stuck in a rut. Finally, following the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe, is it time for political figures in the UK to have personal security as standard?Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Two Matts Q&A: Does Andy Burnham live rent-free in Farage’s head? 11.07.2026 37min

  The Matts answer listeners' questions including: Is the Andy Burnham effect already kicking in? Should Congress give Donald Trump the red card? Who - apart from Count Binface - should take on Nigel Farage? How do we make the BBC great again? Is Elon Musk more Homer Simpson than Homer’s Odyssey? And what books do the Matts recommend for a summer holiday? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Have you been Touching Grass? You should be 09.07.2026 44min

  The Matts are joined by James Ball and Lucy Reade, hosts of The New World’s new podcast Touching Grass - the internet culture podcast. If you like The Two Matts, you’ll love this. We’ll let Lucy and James explain all. And the four of us also reflect on a bizarre 72 hours in the life of Nigel Farage. Has he completely lost it? Did the main parties do the right thing in letting him twist in the wind - alone apart from the company of a man with a bin on his head? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  SPECIAL: Farage fighting for his political life 07.07.2026 47min

  The Matts react to the simply extraordinary speech Nigel Farage made today - quitting his Clacton seat in order to fight a by-election to “let the people decide” his political future. What is going on in his head? What precipitated this crisis? How should Andy Burnham react? Is Farage having a breakdown or is this some masterstroke of populism? And how could a World Cup win for England affect British politics in this period of peak instability? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Two Matts Q&A: Hydration Break sponsored by Powerade!* 04.07.2026 50min

  The Matts get stuck into listener questions including: should England get a new capital city? Is Andy Burnham chippy? Why isn’t Nigel Farage paying tax on his £5 million gift? How do we promote the humanities? How do we fix universities? And what do the Matts think of FIFA’s hydration breaks and will they ever come to the Premier League? Enjoy! *This podcast is NOT sponsored by Powerade, which - in the opinion of the Matts - tastes rank.Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Why place matters so much to Andy Burnham 02.07.2026 54min

  The Matts discuss the founding principles behind Andy Burnham’s emerging strategy for a “circuit break” in how politics works in the UK. Why is he obsessed with the idea of place? Why does it make so much sense as a corrective to the way Westminster operates? And why should people prattling on about vibes kindly give their heads a wobble? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Two Matts Q&A: Burnham’s to-do list and the shameless Brexit villains 27.06.2026 31min

  The Matts answer listener questions including: What should be on Andy Burnham’s to-do list? How do the Brexit villains get away with it? Is Nigel Farage losing the plot? Should we criminalise climate crisis denial? Has Giorgia Meloni won us over? And why don’t we talk about video games more? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Andy Burnham’s first six months 25.06.2026 46min

  The Matts bring listeners up to speed with all the inside info coming their way on what Team Burnham may have in store for Britain. Who are the people behind the scenes preparing the ground for the new government - in what is surely make or break for Labour? And what are the policies that will define this new administration? How could Andy Burnham’s sense of a politics of place come to change a nation? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  POD SPECIAL: It’s the end of the Keir show… now what? 22.06.2026 42min

  The Matts bring you a special edition after Keir Starmer quit as UK prime minister. These monumentally historic events only occur every 18 months or so on average these days, but all the same - Starmer’s going crystallises the profound danger liberal progressive democracy faces in the UK. What awaits Andy Burnham? And what should his big bet be? The Matts have a plan. Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Two Matts Q&A: Where is Burnham weak? And is America humiliated? 20.06.2026 34min

  The Matts answer listener questions in their regular Sunday morning Q&A, including… what will prove to be Andy Burnham’s biggest vulnerability? Has Donald Trump just suffered the biggest US military loss since Vietnam? Do UK nukes count for nothing? How do we improve the quality of our politicians? Is the BBC in acute danger? And is there life out there, beyond the stars? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Game on… Burnham wins; now get on with it Labour 19.06.2026 40min

  The Matts are in optimistic mood today with news of Andy Burnham’s resounding win in Makerfield. Has the Labour Party got the gumption to seize the momentum and get full square behind the one man we can objectively say has the ability to smash Reform? And what does the defeat of the sexist plumber in Makerfield mean for Nigel Farage? The Matts believe his problems are mounting. So, all in all, an extra podcast for an extra special day. Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  A history of Brexit in 256 disasters 18.06.2026 36min

  The Matts celebrate the launch of A History of Brexit in 256 Disasters, a book by Jonty Bloom with a foreword by Alastair Campbell and amazing illustrations by Martin Rowson chronicling the disastrous consequences of the 2016 referendum 10 long years ago! You can get your copy at The New World's website or on Amazon (if you must!). Also, in part two - is Canada a model for British reinvention, and what does Andy Burnham mean by The Makerfield Test? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Two Matts Q&A: Do you really want your country back? 13.06.2026 30min

  The Matts answer questions from listener’s including; are we heading for a summer of discontent; do we understand what people mean when they say they want their country back; should pensioners lose the triple lock; is Andy Burnham cutting the mustard in Makerfield; do too many kids go to university; and can you both please have another massive argument about Artemis? Enjoy!Produced by Ruby Mitchell.OFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Farewell David Hockney … and farewell Keir Starmer too? 12.06.2026 25min

  The Matts digest the events from yesterday and the underlying duplicity at the heart of government that resulted in the blistering resignations of John Healey and Al Cairns. How much longer can (or should) Starmer stay on? Also … the dreadful news that the great David Hockney has died. The Matts have a suggestion for how to mark his passing. Enjoy!Produced by Ruby Mitchell OFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  Britain is in grave danger of disintegrating 11.06.2026 58min

  The horrific attack by a Sudanese asylum seeker in Belfast has triggered a wave of disorder. What is underpinning the violence, and what can liberals not afford to dismiss it out of hand? It’s time again to face into very difficult questions … questions the far right have simplistic answers to but which have been left hanging by a Westminster elite out of touch, even contemptuous, of an angry electorate. Join the Matts as they navigate their way through this troubled territory.Produced by Ruby MitchellOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Two Matts Q&A: Will Starmer survive, and has the Pope got it right on AI? 06.06.2026 40min

  The Matts answer listeners’ questions in their weekly Q&A session, including: Is Kemi Badenoch now the best chance of beating Nigel Farage; can Keir Starmer actually see off this slow-moving coup; should Palantir be kicked out of the NHS; what is Michael Grade thinking when he defends GB News; has Pope Leo’s encyclical made sense of AI… and humanity; and if England win the World Cup, will it really count? Enjoy!Produced by Matt WithersOFFER: Get The New World for just £1 for the first month. Head to https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/2matts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.