Oh God, What Now?

The Constitution expressly forbids anyone from seeking a third term as US President. But since when did that ever stop Trump from doing anything? Ex-congressional staffer turned politics professor at George Washington University Casey Burgat joins Guardian leader writer Rafael Behr and Andrew Harrison to look at the many weird ways Trump could cling to the White House… the hidden rivalries within MAGA… and what happens to a personality cult when (if) the personality vacates the scene.   • Don’t miss Talk ’90s To Me: Nirvana [https://linktr.ee/talk90stome] with Miranda Sawyer.  • Buy Casey’s book We Hold These “Truths” [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13277/9798893310184] through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund OGWN by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.    ESCAPE ROUTES  • Raf went to see Erasure [https://open.spotify.com/album/6oCmE7bTKFhMrmVMHP1sWE?si=B8l60C91TL61Zeh70j2bOg] at Brighton Pride.  • Casey went to see The Lumineers [https://open.spotify.com/album/5Ji2mhW2V6CvxVOFYCeXqP?si=3wFPUbGdSA2lczhyAorcUw]  live.  • Andrew recommends Fantastic Four: First Steps and the first couple of songs from Saint Etienne’s final album International [https://open.spotify.com/album/1JKhTYdh895wgMPtI6i74S?si=A_jlnKF5QG-CsvOOhJ5VOw%E2%81%A0%20]. • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk [ads@podmasters.co.uk] to find out more  • Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here [https://nordvpn.com/ohgodwhatnow]. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money back guarantee!     www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow [http://www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow]    Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rafael Behr. Audio and video production by Chris Jones. Music by Cornershop. Art direction: James Parrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.    www.podmasters.co.uk [http://www.podmasters.co.uk/]   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Is the hysteria around digital I.D. cards justified? Or should we simply realise this is the future and get on with it? Plus, how deep is the UK university crisis? Professor Glen O’Hara is a voice at the forefront of this issue and joins us to shed some light on the dire situation. And in the Extra Bit for Subscribers, the Channel 4 documentary 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story has created a media storm about sex, morality and censorship. Why have one woman’s actions caused such angst? Escape Routes: • Rachel went to A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Bridge Theatre [https://bridgetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/a-midsummer-nights-dream/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22288153188&gbraid=0AAAAA-ZgqgRUXf2438TIo5eAcYpqlv1Dw&gclid=Cj0KCQjwndHEBhDVARIsAGh0g3CsVa_ffCOrBDfdMTI1sgdPTFW7pT-JQcxbHm1x6tfEduGqkmyGXjcaAoK4EALw_wcB]  • Glen watched The Fantastic Four: First Steps [https://www.odeon.co.uk/odeon-scene/the-fantastic-four-first-steps-release-date-age-rating/] (other cinemas are available) • Jonn went to the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition [https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/summer-exhibition-2025]  • Dorian watched Mix Tape on iPlayer [https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002fy6d/mix-tape] www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow [http://www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow] • Get our exclusive NordVPN deal ⁠here [https://nordvpn.com/ohgodwhatnow%E2%81%A0]⁠. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money back guarantee!  https://nordvpn.com/ohgodwhatnow [https://nordvpn.com/ohgodwhatnow] • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk [ads@podmasters.co.uk] to find out more Presented by Dorian Lynskey, Jonn Elledge and Rachel Cunliffe. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

In one of the most fascinating episodes we’ve ever done Alex Hern – A.I. writer at The Economist, who writes on A.I. but isn’t one himself – joins us for an ultra-deep dive into the truth about A.I. and what it means. How far off is “artificial general intelligence”? Which jobs would it wipe out? What happens if the promised turbo-growth of 30% a year arrives? And will A.I. turn our world into fully automated luxury capitalism or a sci-fi dystopia? Puny humans Andrew Harrison and Zoë Grünewald heed the call of the machine…  • Don’t miss the new episode of Talk ’90s With Me [https://linktr.ee/talk90stome] presented by Miranda Sawyer.   • Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here [https://nordvpn.com/ohgodwhatnow]. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money back guarantee!  • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk [ads@podmasters.co.uk] to find out more Escape Routes:  • Alex Hern is playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth  • Zoë recently read Into Thin Air [https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13277/9781035038558] by Jon Krakauer.  • Andrew watched Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text [https://www.channel4.com/programmes/operation-dark-phone-murder-by-text] on C4.  • Back us on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow] for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more.   Presented by Andrew Harrison with Zoë Grünewald. Audio production by Tom Taylor and Robin Leeburn. Art by Jim Parrett. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production.  www.podmasters.co.uk [https://www.podmasters.co.uk/]  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Far-right agitators are amping up protests against a migrant hotel in Epping and Farage claims Britain is “close to civil disobedience on a vast scale”. We look at why populists are so desperate for chaos on the streets. Plus, as our brand new podcast Talk ’90s To Me [https://linktr.ee/talk90stome] launches, host Miranda Sawyer joins the panel to explain how the decade of Cool Britannia, Britpop and New Labour changed everything. And in the Extra Bit: The Internet is horrible but is it just a few people ruining it for everyone?  • Don’t miss the very first episode of Talk ’90s With Me: Oasis! [https://linktr.ee/talk90stome] presented by Miranda Sawyer.  ESCAPE ROUTES • Rachel has been bingeing on Only Connect [https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b00lskhg/only-connect] on BBC iPlayer.  • Jarv recommends Memoir of a Snail [https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/film/watch-memoir-of-a-snail-2024-online] on the BFI Player.  • Miranda is enjoying Baxter Dury’s new album Allbarone [https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/33pMqK70ItJXek6yFq7WmM]. • Alison is off to see Superman at the pictures (verdict TBC).  • Back us on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow] for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more.  Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk [ads@podmasters.co.uk] to find out more Presented by Alison Phillips with Rachel Cunliffe and Jacob Jarvis. Audio production by Tom Taylor and Robin Leeurn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk [https://www.podmasters.co.uk/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

OK, the launch might have been a bit shambolic and the name isn’t settled – but will Corbyn and Sultana’s “Your Party”* have more impact than the average new party, yes we’re looking at you Change UK? Specifically, will it split the left of centre vote and put Farage in No.10? Plus – Vanity Fair is now running adverts featuring AI models. Is there any job the slop machine can’t destroy, even Kate Moss’s? And if women can’t live up to unrealistic human beauty standards, how about going up against literally unreal heights of perfection? [* Name TBC] • Don’t miss the very first episode of Talk ’90s With Me: Oasis! [https://linktr.ee/talk90stome] presented by Miranda Sawyer.  ESCAPE ROUTES • Zoe recommends Amy Bradley Is Missing [https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81741332] on Netflix.  • Seth recommends Le Canard Enchaîné [https://www.lecanardenchaine.fr/] – practice your French first.  • Ava recommends The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives [https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/browse/entity-58cd73be-408d-4eed-8e3d-82339f3f93e2] on Disney+  • Andrew recommends (after a fashion) Trainwreck: Poop Cruise [https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81763679] on Netflix.  • Back us on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow] for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more.  Presented by group editor Andrew Harrison with Zöe Grünewald, Seth Thévoz and Ava Santona. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk [https://www.podmasters.co.uk/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]