Ding dong, your festive Trawl is here! We're almost at the undoing top button stage of the season, so Jemma and Marina open with some festive tweets and a clip that captures then mood of low work motivation at this time of year.

Then it's straight to the most heartwarming clip of all... Who needs Hallmark movies when you have: 'When Marina met Annunziata.' Yes, this is the encounter that went viral when Marina debated with Annunziata Rees-Mogg on the Jeremy Vine Show. It's a bit like when Harry met Sally, except they don't move past the part where they find each other completely obnoxious.

Staying on obnoxious, the Trawl ladies discuss Robert Jenrick's sudden charge of heart and why the right seems to have forgotten its no-nonsense stance on protests since farmers took to the streets.

Next up.... The Prince and the Spy. Which sadly for us is not the name of some work of fiction, but indeed the latest Royal update involving HRH, Air Miles Andy, plus some handy tips for how we might avoid spending £46m on a statue for Queen Elizabeth II.

Lastly... Lunch is for wimps and sandwiches are for breakfast is the latest insight from the topsy-turvy world of Tory Leader, Kemi Badenoch who instead chooses to have steak delivered to her desk like the totally in-touch, woman of the people, nouveau working class person that she is.

To end, a sprinkling of merry underrated tweets and clips before a Christmas pudding that is guaranteed to leave you feeling that finally...Christmas has arrived.

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey

Jemma and Marina were thrilled to meet one third of the Newsagents, Lewis Goodall. They chatted to him about where his passion for politics began, his relationship with the BBC and why some listeners are confused by his relationship with John and Emily.

There's also a fantastic round of Snog, Marry, Avoid.

Enjoy!

You can tell everyone at Trawl HQ (Jemma, Marina and editor Max) are sliding towards Christmas because the atmosphere is tinged with faint hysteria. It's not just Gregg Wallace who is turning the air blue, Nigella's at it, even Prue Leith is at it! Who'd have thought baking could sound so filthy?

Then, reasons to be cheerful, ranging from Rees Mogg having his show cancelled, Johnson's Australian book tour having to be cancelled due to 'unforeseen circumstances' (AKA no one coming) and last, but definitely not least, and certainly more important, the fall of the brutal Assad regime in Syria.

Marina and Jemma discuss what's happened, cover some of the reaction, and hear from joyful Syrians who feel like going home has just become a possibility. It's almost like they were fleeing violence and persecution and not just here for benefits as some would have us believe. Reform and Co ...ahem.

Then, buckle up, because there has been some Twitter BEEF - and yes, we are still calling it Twitter. Sure Elon will cope. Marina and Jemma enjoy recalling Marina's interactions with one Isabel Oakeshott which went viral and revealed so much about what she thinks of anyone who doesn't have a degree from a certain type of university, which is most of the population. Elitist anyone?

It's all very amusing but not as downright hilarious as Lee Anderson's latest clanger. Ladies, prepare to find out why what you go through every month is nothing compared to what Lee's imagination has to suffer.

Pudding is wonderful and served up by Will Sebag Montefiore @wsebag on Insta

Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

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Youtube

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey

The Trawl opens with some festive cheer as Marina shares the daily advent calendar struggles in her house and Jemma enlightens us with her pre-Christmas clog.

Then it's onto Farage's 38th BBC Question Time appearance where the ladies discuss motives behind why the BBC politics panel show may as well be called: Farage and Friends.

Then onto the shocking events unfolding in the US, where United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered in broad daylight in what appears to be a protest killing against the ruthlessly for-profit industry.

What's most shocking of all, is that the vast public response and sentiment to this brazen and targeted murder seems to be far from sympathetic. Jemma and Marina discuss some of the alleged horror stories from the US healthcare system and the perceived martyrdom of murder suspect Luigi Maglione and what it means, as well as the now famous smile that gave him away to the NYPD.

The episode ends with some joyous underrated tweets about 'scientits' and a Christmas flavoured pud from new Trawl fave, Cody Dahler.

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Jemma has been eager to get behind the mic for this one. Being a middle class woman of a 'certain' age has nothing to do with it, honest guv. On that note, the Trawl ladies aren't entirely sure what 'that' certain age is but there's so much to mull over they might never get an answer to that

But there's more to ponder besides Gregg, so they kick off discussing the resignation of Labour's Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh. Haigh was mugged many years ago and said her work phone was one of the items stolen, only said phone then turned up. As far as the Trawlers are concerned this spent conviction pales into comparison with assaulting a woman (Reform MP) or hacking a colleague's computer (Badenoch) but hey....

Marina and Jemma also discuss the Assisted Dying Bill and give their very personal views on that.

And then, finally, they turn their attention to the Gregg Wallace brouhaha. Is there a woman who hasn't taken to socials to say how him blaming his accusers of his alleged misconduct probably wasn't the best plan?

One man however thinks he's a male icon and the ladies have a lot to say about that. Marina surprises Jemma with an underrated tweet she wasn't expecting which ends the ep on a very funny note.

Pudding is brilliant - short but sweet and starring comics Mark Thomas and Shappi Khorsandi.

The pod opens with a nod to the festive season and how Marina handles questioning from her husband as more Christmas decorations enter the house, before kicking off with the non-scoop of the century from Charlotte Gill.

Charlotte, bless her, is a journalist (feels like a bit of a reach) who believes she has unearthed a shady underground network of left-leaning people and organisations. Just wait until you hear about her latest link revelations...

Then it's onto the meat of the episode and it's Musk who has been flirting with Reform leading to an article in The times questioning whether a $100m donation could be making its way from Space Karen to Pound Shop Enoch. The ladies discuss the rank hypocrisy at play and the desperate need for political financing reform - not tomorrow, not in a year, but now.

There's a good giggle at the state of Trump's Mar-a-Lago thanksgiving dinner before some serious talk and choice words from Jemma as Farage wades into the abortion debate.

The pod ends with a pardon, that of Biden for his son hunter, and a deliciously matched pudding from new Trawl fave, Cody Dahler.

Well, this episode dives straight in with a bit of sex scandal. Nadine Dorries has lifted the lid on what she witnessed during her time in government and much of it was rather ‘cheeky’ to say the least. What other workplace has a group WhatsApp for planning naked sessions in offices? Dorries is horrified. She was then too, apparently, but also wasn’t selling a book, which she is now.

Then the Trawl ladies discuss the arrest warrant which has been put out by the ICC for Netanyahu and Gallant. They feature some very powerful clips and hear why holocaust survivors are in favour of it and why calling it anti semitic is a hollow untruth. How have other countries reacted? Where does the reaction from the US leave us? And does Biden’s negotiation with Lebanon mean Gaza has been pushed further down the agenda or not?

And then, the complicated Musk family tree. It reads like an excerpt from Woman’s Weekly!

Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

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Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey

Have we all lost our minds? It appears so as the news this week was dominated by a petition, seemingly signed by bells and bots, demanding Keir Starmer call a general election - a mere 4 months since the last one.

Jemma is inevitably quite grumpy about the whole silly affair and so opens the pod with a good moan from an equally grumpy Hugh Grant.

Jemma and Marina discuss the laughable double standards of those demanding the election and ponder the loss of Will. Remember him? Will of the people who is now gone and forgotten. They discuss the dodgy nature of the Elon Musk-endorsed petition which has received signatories from the world over - including some uninhabitable corners of the planet. How very tenacious of them.

And while there are some relieving laughs in the pod concerning Keir Starmer's appearance on This Morning, the ladies don't shy away from their concerns over the impact of unregulated online activity and Governments' inability to keep pace with the wild west and its broligarchs.

The pod ends with some outrageously naughty underrated posts including some corkers from MasterChef's Gregg Wallace and a perfectly themed pudding from Instagram's Cody Dahler.

Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

Patreon

https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

Twitter

https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast

BlueSky

https://bsky.app/profile/thetrawl.bsky.social

Created and Produced by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

Edited by Max Carrey