Return of the Mandel-Scandal

Oh God, What Now?

Podmasters

News, Society & Culture, Politics

4.6 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

• Podmasters is 10 years old! Get an extra 10% off a year’s Patreon support – that’s 20% in total. Oh Mandy… the scandal that won’t die is back (again). Can Keir Starmer style this one out or is his credibility finally shot? Plus, imagine if you wrote a hoax government report about how a secretive shadow government controls America and then everyone believed it. Even though you admitted it was false. And believed it so completely that they ended up destroying democracy. Nightmare, right? Author Phil Tinline talks us through the scarcely believable true tale he sets out in Ghosts of Iron Mountain – a story that takes in Lee Harvey Oswald, the Oklahoma Bombings, neo-Nazis, hippies, Oliver Stone and The X Files – and how it’s still warping our world today. • Order Ghosts of Iron Mountain through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Hear America Against The World from This Is Not A Drill on your favourite podcast app. • Questions for But Your Emails? Thoughts? Comments? Email us at ogwn@podmasters.co.uk. ESCAPE ROUTES • Rachel recommends The Critic with Ian McKellen on Netflix • Raf has just discovered Fast As You Can by Fiona Apple from the album ‘When The Pawn Hits Etc Etc Yadda Yadda’. • Phil has been listening to drum, bass and related stuff from Ivy Lab • Andrew went to see the Murdoch vs Brenda Dean play In The Print at the New King’s Head in Islington, London – it’s on til 3 May. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rachel Cunliffe and Rafael Behr Audio Production by:Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Tom Taylor and Simon Williams. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	There's no one like you, and there never will be. From the producer of Bohemian Rhapsody. There are many legends, but there is only one. Michael in IMAX and Cinema's Wednesday, April 22. I'm Hello and welcome to Oh God What Now, the politics podcast that is definitely not building a secure bunker underneath its new $400 million studio ballroom.
0:43.9	We've already got our own bunker, thanks very much.
0:48.0	I'm Andrew Harrison, and on today's show, the Mandelson show is back, yet again.
0:52.7	Will Kirstama ever get out of the weeds on this one?
0:55.4	We can't guarantee who will be Prime Minister by the time you hear this, but whoever they are,
0:59.1	they will be miserable. Plus, what if you wrote a spoof about a secret US government committee
1:04.4	that was dedicated to keeping America on a permanent war footing to keep business healthy?
1:09.5	But then, everybody thought it was true.
1:11.8	We talked to Phil Tinline about his frankly jaw-dropping book,
1:15.4	Ghosts of Iron Mountain,
1:17.1	and how one piece of satirical writing for the late 60s
1:19.7	became the cornerstone of the conspiracy theory
1:22.4	that is literally destroying our democracies.
1:24.9	All that and more on Oh God What Now.
1:32.1	Music destroying our democracies. All that and more on Oh God What Now. Hello, welcome back to the podcast and thanks for all the kind words about the new theme
1:35.8	tune by producers Tom and Simon. Among the reactions were, It's a Bop, which I think sums it up,
1:41.1	and it's certainly an earworm. Also, it's a big week for us.
1:44.5	Podmasters,
2:02.3	the independent company that brings you, oh God, what now, as well as the bunker American friction, talk 90s to me and all your favorite podcasts. It's 10 years old this week. That is a whole decade since our very first podcast, Big Mouth came out. Old school listeners may remember it. and we've got lots of special editions and crossovers coming up to celebrate.
2:17.5	On Thursday the 30th of April, Marie LaCont and I will be sparring with Ian Dunst and Dorian Linsky on our special pod clash between, oh God, what now, and origin story. It's live on Zoom and free to Patreon backers. It was limited to 300 people, but it filled up immediately. So we've managed to crank it up to 500, but that's the absolute limit. So sign up to
2:21.3	Patreon quick and register. We've also got lots of crossovers like the American Friction Team
2:25.6	taken over the bunker for an edition. And this Saturday, our original podcast Big Mouth,
	...

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