Glastonbury's political hangover rages on
The New Statesman | UK politics and culture
The New Statesman
4.4 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 1 July 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
With some calling for the Director-General of the BBC to resign, Somerset police launching a criminal investigation and the US Deputy Secretary of State revoking visas, the political fireworks at this year's Glastonbury were even more sensational than the pyramid stage's. But what was it like on the ground?
In this edition of the New Statesman culture podcast, Kate Mossman is joined by colleagues Finn McRedmond, Will Lloyd and Nick Harris to discuss it all. Also in the show, Will has strong views on journalist Sarah Vine's bestselling memoir How Not To Be a Political Wife.
READ
Let Kneecap and Bob Vylan speak freely - Finn McRedmond
What’s wrong with Sarah Vine? - Will Lloyd
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The New Statesman |
| 0:02.0 | Well, the music has stopped and most of the tents are probably still being left in the field, but the fallout from this year's Glastonbury lingers on. |
| 0:13.1 | Even the US Deputy Secretary of State has waded in. |
| 0:16.4 | But what was it like on the ground and where does the festival's broadcast of the BBC go from here? |
| 0:21.9 | I'm Kate Mossman and this is the New Statesman podcast, joining me of Finn McRedmond, Nick Harris and Will Lloyd. |
| 0:28.9 | And Finn, you were at the festival for the very first time this year. What did you make of it? |
| 0:33.3 | Yeah, it was a lot of fun and I don't know if I'll be going back. |
| 0:37.8 | The first thing is my most prosaic and banal observation is that it is so extraordinarily loud. |
| 0:45.1 | It's just noise. |
| 0:46.2 | You shock me, Phil. |
| 0:47.4 | Noise everywhere. |
| 0:50.2 | But it's not just the music. |
| 0:52.5 | It's the visual noise that I found so overwhelming. |
| 0:55.8 | Just like massive signs in all, everything is in block capital letters. |
| 1:00.7 | There's no lowercase anywhere. |
| 1:03.5 | Sensory onslaughts. |
| 1:04.4 | Sensory onslaughts such that a new addition to the festival, |
| 1:09.1 | I've been asked a few people who have kind of seasoned |
| 1:11.6 | Glastonbury-goers, they've, in recent years, started adding these sensory tents for people |
| 1:17.6 | who are getting overwhelmed by this sort of stuff. |
| 1:20.1 | Did you go in? |
| 1:21.1 | I did go, I went into one beside kneecap, and I, boy, did I need it. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 7 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The New Statesman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The New Statesman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.