It Could Be Said

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling & Dr Luke Middup return to talk Donald Trump's tariffs! They talk the sheer scale and recklessness of the announcement, the impact on both America and the wider world, and what on earth happens next. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about Rachel Reeves's Spring Statement. In particular they discuss in detail the impact of the government's cuts to disability benefits. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup talk the latest developments in the deepening crisis over the American Government's attitude to Ukraine. 

Simon Alvey is happy because of trains. Will Cooling is happy due to morbid drama full of dull rooms and badly fitted suits. Dr Luke Middup is happy because of football. We are all so happy. No sadness or worry over here. No siree. The Bad Orange Man cannot reach us in our happy place. Maybe if we keep talking about other things he'll go away. 

If a week is a long time in politics then a weekend is a long time in whatever Donald Trump thinks he's doing. Join Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup for a group therapy session about an America that keeps threatening to break bad. Recorded Sunday 2nd February 2025, so a day before Trump backed or a month before he doubled down. Who knows, who cares, its just the global economy he's playing with.

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to look back at 2024 through the prism of the weekend's biggest news stories including the Labour Government trying to avoid openly arguing with an aggressively racist and conspiratorial Elon Musk, the Tory Party struggling to find a role having lost over two hundred MPs, and whether Labour can improve public services and regain the initiative. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk through the biggest news in global politics including Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter, the unusually sleepy Irish elections, the growing crisis in France and the ballad of Louise Haigh's work phone. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return for the podcast they hoped they'd never have to record; breaking down the re-election of Donald Trump as American President. They took their experiences on the night, thoughts about why it happened, and what comes next. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss Kemi Badenoch's victory in the Tory Leadership election, the budget, and the soon to be over neverending story that is the American Presidential Elections. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the shock departure of Sue Gray from her role as Chief of Staff, the latest twist and turns in the Tory Party Leadership race, and much more besides!

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup meet to celebrate the 79th anniversary of Britain winning the Battle of Britain, the sixteenth anniversary of the implosion of Lehman Brothers, and much more besides! Given the party atmosphere, this super long episode looks at such exciting topics as football regulation, tory leadership elections, struggling new labour ministers, and whatever Donald Trump is. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the far right rioting across England and Northern Ireland, and what it means for the affected communities, particularly British Muslims. They then discuss the issue of Twitter becoming a playpen for the far-right, the latest developments in the American elections, and whether Labour has been playing fast and lose with the nation's finances. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Middup talk what may be the craziest week in American political history. Joe Biden becomes the first president of the modern era to not seek the renomination, and drops out in a uniquely public and late moment. Before that we've had his predecessor and would be successor narrowly dodge an assassin's bullet, name his vice-presidential nominee and deliver his acceptance speech. This is a week that will on for decades. We also talk Euro 2024.

A very tired Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup gathered on Saturday 6th July to unpick the general election results. They weren't quite the epic bloodletting some of the MRPs promised, but they delivered a brutal defeat to the Tory Party and the most left-wing parliament in British history. They review the election night coverage before unpicking what the results mean for each party, and why Luke hates the new Prime Minister so much. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return with a super soaraway elections preview! They talk about the mechanics of watching elections night, including when to nap and what to eat, before looking at the latest polls, and making their predictions. Oh and Luke gives us the five safest Tory seats in Britain!

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to cover the latest goings on in the election including the Tory betting scandal, latest polling, lacklusture manifestos, Nigel Farage on Ukraine, environmentalism run amok, and whether Simon is a Urban Progressive

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup  return to talk yet another bad week in the general election for Rishi Sunak as Nigel Farage reenters frontline politics, he loses the debate to Sir Keir Starmer, gets shouted at for misusing government statistics, and then offend people by leaving the D-Day commemorations early. We look at how the Tory Party's campaign imploded over a week and what the future may hold. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the first full week of the election  campaign. Recorded before Nigel Farage's return to frontline politics on Monday, we look at the arguments over Diane Abbott, the Tory's new pensions policy, Will's article on Tory polling, and what is going on in America. 

Simon Alvey returns from Northern Ireland to catch up with Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup about the election. Together they discuss RIshi Sunak's shock announcement and the even more shocking state of the Tory Party's campaign, with Michael Gove's resignations, Sunak's gaffes and the National Service policy all getting a good kicking. We also discuss some of our expectations for the campaign. 

Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk the surprise announcement of an election on Thursday 4th July. We discuss why Rishi Sunak decided upon a snap election, the amateurish announcement and Labour's response. We then look at the implications across the nation and what our early thoughts on the shape of the campaign and result. 

Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk a disappointing end of the season for Harry Kane and the slow start to the longest election campaigns in British and American history. They also discuss whether devolution has been a success.

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about Ipswich's promotion to the premier league, Clarkson's Farm and a new First Minister in Scotland. They turn their minds to the local elections, looking at the big mayoral races, council elections, and even the odd references to Police and Crime Commissioners. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to do a deep dive into Humza Yousaf's no-good, awful Thursday as his gambit to preempt the end of his coalition with the Greens may very well bring his premiership to a premature end. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup manage to fill a cute little podcast to capacity as they discuss the latest developments in the Middle East and American Congress, the return of Liz Truss ahead of the local elections, the growing problems afflicting the SNP, and the latest developments in the Football League. 

Simon Alvey and Will Cooling return to talk about the utter destruction that is predicted for the Tories in the latest MRP modelling, and to what extent we should take the prospect of a Tory wipeout. We then get Will's updates on the latest developments in Northern Ireland before Simon gives his thoughts on Matthew Parris's advocacy for euthanasia as a means to place social pressure on disabled and elderly people to end their lives prematurely.  They then talk about their sides battling for promotion from the Football League and what their respective clubs mean for the local area, before Will asks Simon what would happen if the American Civil War had ended delivery. 

Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss a range of topics including the shock resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson as DUP Leader following his arrest on Thursday, Matthew Parris's article advocating for the mass euthanasia of the old and disabled, the Guardian's expose of gentlemen's clubs not allowing women to join, and the state of the Tory Party following the budget. They then discuss what videos Luke watches on the internet and the comics and cartoons Will watched as a child in "culture" corner. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the latest developments in British politics. Before that however they discuss Notts County's current fortunes in the football league, Zone of Interest, and The Wild Men. They then discuss the chaos in parliament over the SNP's motion about Gaza, Lee Anderson's Islamophobic remarks, and the broader situation in Israel/Palestine. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to look ahead to the election that we're all dreading; the rematch between Presidents Biden and Trump. We marvel at how Trump has managed to destroy his primary opposition and explain why the Democrats can't quit Joe! Luke then gives an update on Palestine/Israel and Ukraine.

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the year in British politics. They look at how Rishi Sunak has been brought crashing down to earth both by the Tory Party's crushing unpopularity and his own mistakes before considering how Sir Keir Starmer's Labour and the other political parties are seeking to capitalise. This podcast was recorded on the 11th December. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about a lot! We discuss Doctor Who's latest Davros retcon, the theological problem of moral evil, what bits of All Out War are still relevant in 2023, and the return of David Cameron to Government. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to not discuss the reshuffle because that happened after this podcast was recorded. We instead discuss whether Donald Trump could become President again, the chaos that has engulfed the House of Representatives, the impact of climate change on South and East Asia, and the conflict in the Middle East

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about the Department of Work and Pensions latest attempts to promote disability inclusion and Suella Braverman's recent comments about immigration and multiculturalism. They  then close with thoughts on classical music, comic books, and controvesial referee decisions in football. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to recap a crazy week in British politics as they touch upon the beginning of the Lib Dem Conference, Liz Truss's latest comeback, Rishi Sunak trying to prove himself an Action Man by explaining why we can't do things, whether he actually is Scrooge McDuck and what the future holds for Sir Keir Starmer

We're back from our summer holidays as Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup do a tour of various news stories including the mini-reshuffle, the state of Britain's schools, whether the death penalty should be brought back, what the future holds for Nadine Dorries, and why Labour are destined to disappoint us. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup surpass themselves by not getting past the introductions in this 90minute podcast! After looking forward to Notts County, Ipswich Town and Leicester City's new season we discuss Tottenham Hotspur trying to sell a player to a Russian player and whether we're all being too quick to condemn players for going to Saudi Arabia. We then close with looking at the future of the Commonwealth Games after another host has dropped out. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup talk about the NHS, Ukraine, Ben Wallace, University Admissions, and By-Elections and at no point do they say Keir Starmer is a wrong-un for his pro-child poverty policy. Well he is you know, and the mainstream media, such as It Could Be Media, won't tell you. So make sure you don't listen to these corporate sellouts, and oppose *Sir* Keir Starmer's attempt to make a Labour Government increase child poverty. But don't let tory bastards like Simon, Will and Luke hear you fight for the ordinary man. They kept the story out of the discussion to distract you from what's really important. Or they had gone on to long and knew that story would still be live next week. Ah fuck it! Trust no-one! Other than those who tell you to trust nobody else of course! 

Will Cooling is joined by Liam F. Doom and Chris Linay to discuss the first two tests of the men's Ashes. We discuss the controvesial stumping of Johnny Bairstow, some bizarre performances in the field by England across both Tests, the forthcoming chances to both line-ups ahead of the third test, and whether England can keep the series alive up until the Oval. We then look at The Women's Ashes, the schedule for the 2024 summer, and finish by considering who is likely to emerge from the World Cup Qualifiers.  

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup are somehow able to still podcast after the shocking revelation that Boris Johnson lied to someone. They look at his bizarre resignation, the brual condemnation delivered to him by the House of Commons Priviledges Committee, and what the future holds for him. They also talk Nadine Dorries's non-resignation and Caroline Lucas planning to stand-down at the next election. The podcast does start on a sombre note, as the three of us, all of who graduated from the University of Nottingham, reflect on the tragic events of Tuesday morning. 

Will Cooling is joined by Liam Doom to discuss The Ashes! We break down the big outstanding issues with England's line-up as we ponder whether Moeen Ali is the right replacement for Jack Leach, could Ben Stokes open or Ben Foakes squeezed in, and who should bowl at Edgbaston. We then look at how THE WORLD CHAMPIONS line-up before making our predictions for the series. We end with brief thoughts about the state of Irish cricket. We'll be doing another Ashes podcast in a couple of weeks, but in the mean time you can find more from Liam on Twitter at @lfdoom

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke  Middup emerge blinking from their silo to discuss things that may go mad without enough sunlight. We look at the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence and what it might me for the future of war, politics and pop culture. We then look at the Northern Ireland Local Elections where nationalists became the largest designation for the first time in the province's history, and what that might mean for the province's future. Finally we look at the latest arguments between Taleban and Iran.  

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to talk the coronation of Notts County as a football league club once again, the impending coronation of Leicester City as a football league club once again, the coronation of environmentalist protestors as silly boys, the coronation of everyone other than the Tories as the winners of the local council elections, and the likely coronation of Keir Starmer as Prime Minister in the next eighteen months. Oh and also King Charles had a big party in London. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return from their holidays to discuss politicians behaving badly. We look at the crisis that has engulfed the Scottish National Policy with several senior officials arrested as the police investigate their expenses and the party scrambles for a new auditor. We then turn to Dominc Raab being forced to resign after being identified as having bullied several civil servants, and Diane Abbot having the whip withdrawn after sending an anti-semitic letter to  The Observer

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk about Humza Yousaf's new Scottish Cabinet, when the next election will be, the future of Jeremy Corbyn as a MP, and whether Donald Trump is going to prison. We will also talk the Tetris movie, old politics documentaries, and Alan Clark being a terrible human being. 

Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to talk SCOTLAND! We break down/gloat about the SNP Leadership Election Results, which have settled nothing after a bitter and unedifying leadership contest. We look at what the future holds for the two candidates who have a future, and where this leadership election ranks in the list of most destructive and most fun leadership elections. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss the newly reformed and rebranded Northern Ireland Protocol. They cover what it means for both Northern Ireland and Great Britain, including whether this is proof that Rishi Sunak is on the comeback trail. We then talk who Isabel Oakeshott shivved harder by taking Matt Hancock's WhatsApp Messages to The Daily Telegraph; Hancock himself or News International. They then finish by talking about Sue Gray joining the Labour Party as Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff. 

Will Cooling, Simon Alvey and Dr Luke Middup assemble to discuss the latest goings on in Scotch politics. They consider whether it was problems within or outwith the SNP that prompted Nicola Sturgeon's shock resignation, and what the future holds for Scotland and the cause of Scottish Independence. 

Liz Truss is back in the news! Dominic Robb is still being investigated! No one knows who's running CCHQ. Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup try to make sense of it all, but fail, because the Tory Party is a headless chicken that we're all strapped too. ARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Simon Santos, Will Santos, and Dr Luke Santos try something different on this podcast as they do a POT LUCK Lightning Round. That's right - with no one story dominating the headlines, they each bring two news stories that they spring upon their unsuspecting co-hosts. This is tacking not preparing before speaking to bold new heights. In less than two hours we discuss the violent scences from Brazil, the constitutional arguments of Scottish Gender Recognition Act reforms, China's evolving stance on covid, the future of The Artists Currently Known as George Santos, the Northern Ireland protocol, and Boris Johnson's possible comeback. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup return to discuss Will's surprisingly controvesial article on Northern Irish politics, Rishi Sunak's uninspiring pledges on public services and Kevin McCarthy long, dark (repeated fourteen times) night of the soul

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling, and Dr Luke Middup ring in the New Year by looking back at their christmas and the big British political stories of the year. 

Simon Alvey, Will Cooling and Dr Luke Middup decide not to talk politics but instead discuss the football as they prepare for the big England game. They discuss Notts County, Football Manager, big England matches and much more!