Spot on!

Did a Dave Allen and performed my stand-up poetry perched on a stool. More functional than stylistic: I think I’ve bruised/cracked a rib playing football. What is becoming one of my favourite poems of the set, a tribute to the old bar drunkard, received a lovely reception.

Going to get a nosebleed up here in the gods but it’ll be worth it. #InsideNo9 #InsideNo9Live #StageFright

2/2 Watch the whole episode on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjZf... or listen at: podfollow.com/the-northern... (Featuring great editing work by @podcastjourno.bsky.social)

Will Greater Manchester be left out in the cold by Keir Starmer's government after Andy Burnham's high-profile antics at Labour conference? I chat with @liamthorp.bsky.social and @josephtiman.bsky.social on the Northern Agenda podcast this week - recorded in the Liverpool Echo's fancy studio! 1/2

'It won't do Andy Burnham any harm to be seen to be at war with an unpopular government' Was great to have @patrickmaguire.bsky.social of The Times on the Northern Agenda podcast this week with @liamthorp.bsky.social and I to chat Labour conference, Hillsborough Law and his love of Southport 1/2

Does it matter if Labour's next Deputy Leader is a Northern woman? And why have Reform UK got it wrong about Northern Powerhouse Rail? @liamthorp.bsky.social and I talk about this - and more - on the Northern Agenda podcast. Have a listen here! podfollow.com/the-northern...

Very pertinent right now.

"It doesn't send a good sign when councils close the door and refuse to engage with the local press." Local Government Minister (and former Oldham council leader) @jimmcmahon.co.uk on Reform UK's Nottingham Post/Notts Live ban... @oliverpridmore.bsky.social 1/2

The Great British Bake Off is the perfect encapsulation of what our country should be: variety, diversity, community, positivity, and eccentric characters; not exclusion and hatred. #GBBO

Well, this has put a smile on my face! The song I wrote the lyrics for – 'I Found the Devil' – has been released by my mate Anthony Murphy aka Psyklones on his Taxi Driver Blues EP. I can add lyricist/songwriter to my LinkedIn now! open.spotify.com/track/7logfW...

2/2 Ben explains why Vivergo's possible collapse could have huge knock-on implications for the rest of the country... Listen here: podfollow.com/the-northern...

The Starmer-Trump US-UK trade deal removing tariffs on £1bn+ of cheaper US ethanol means Hull firm Vivergo Fuels will have to start making staff redundant on Tuesday - unless govt steps in. Here's the firm's MD Ben Hackett speaking on The Northern Agenda podcast today 1/2

Until we get the truth about the 1984 Battle of Orgreave it's going to remain an open wound for a lot of mining communities - and undermine their faith in the police. Me on this week's Northern Agenda podcast... @orgreavejustice.bsky.social 1/2

In light of worrying rising child poverty figures, this is me making the case for Labour to scrap the two-child benefit cap and lift hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty overnight

Walking back from Man v Fat Football and I think they’ve started guerilla messaging.

Go Doxx Yourself is now LIVE. Actor Kirsty Paterson is our first guest, who speaks to Dr Rebecca Whittington about how the 'Sad Oompa Loompa' viral moment dehumanised her. It is a frank chat that makes you think twice about sharing those memes. podfollow.com/go-doxx-your...

'Performative populist politics' @liamthorp.bsky.social on the decision by the ruling Reform UK group on Durham County Council to revoke the climate emergency declared by the same council in 2019. Hear our full chat on the Northern Agenda podcast: podfollow.com/the-northern...

'If we want to keep the spirit of Oasis alive in Manchester and help an Oasis of the future thrive, we've got to make sure people can come through the system' @sarahlonglands.bsky.social of @clesthinkdo.bsky.social on the Northern Agenda podcast Listen here: podfollow.com/the-northern...

I’m 31 years of age tomorrow. Frankly, that’s completely out of order, and I shall be writing a rather strongly worded letter.

It's a tough old time in the world at the moment, but there is always hope. I think, fundamentally, people are decent and loving. Small acts of kindness make the world a better place. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

I haven't watched this since it aired in 2007. Such an entertaining watch, Marco Pierre White is brilliant. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDOi...

"NO IDEA, GENUINELY." Reform UK's Councillor James Walker-Gurley, Nottinghamshire Council was interviewed by Notts TV last week. Rabbit. In. Headlights. No clue what he's doing.

"[Podcasts] excel at building relationships, cultivating loyalty, and delivering nuance — but they require patience, production investment, and, in many cases, talent that blurs the line between journalist and personality." - Dr Craig T. Robertson www.journalism.co.uk/news/digital...

The holiday might be over, but I thought I would bring a bit of Majorca to Oswaldtwistle with a lovely glass of Sangria.

What an honour to be named Publisher Podcast Hero of the Year 2025! Especially in a room full of the crème de la crème of podcast journalism. I haven’t stopped smiling since Wednesday.

I shall be talking about podcast journalism for news publishers at the Publisher Summit next week in London, plus I'm up for Podcast Hero of the Year at the Publisher Podcast Awards. You cannot deny the time and dedication I put into my work, that's for sure, even if I bore people to tears about it.

2/2 Plus our battle of the quirky Northern light stories continues. It's the Burnley Banksy vs the Geordie holidaymaker furious at the lack of English food in Corfu... AND: My interview in Leeds with Wes Streeting Listen to the full episode here: podfollow.com/the-northern...

There's a new episode of the Northern Agenda podcast out today! @liamthorp.bsky.social and I chat What makes Rachel Reeves' transport cash bonanza different to Rishi Sunak's from 2023? Why is one ex-Labour councillor in Yorkshire calling Keir Starmer the worst PM in his lifetime? 1/2

St George’s Day celebrates a patron saint stolen by England from another country. So yes, a very English day indeed. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

I am catching up on the latest series of the Great British Menu, halfway through the Welsh round. I have thought this for a while now: Andi Oliver is fabulous, utterly fabulous. I love her as a host.

This is still one of my proudest achievements. In 2005, I fell in love with Doctor Who. In 2023, on its 60th anniversary, I was privileged enough to write a magazine for the Daily Mirror about it. Approved by Russell T Davies himself.

I was singing to myself, and the dog started barking. Everyone’s a bloody critic.

Crying at the granny on Gladiators, and now bawling my eyes out at the Dementia Choir on Big Night of Musicals.

I really enjoyed passing on my podcasting wisdom and working on the Division Bell yesterday with the Mirror and the Express. Lizzy Buchan and Christian Calgie are fab and engaging hosts, and it was a fantastic team effort from the Reach Studio guys. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWDB...

I am writing a position paper for my Journalism Innovation and Leadership studies on championing local voices, stories and newsrooms through podcasting. Do you have any great examples of regional newsrooms and journalists using podcasts to represent their communities?

I really need to get a life when my dreams are about editing podcasts. 🤣🤦‍♂️

The name is Bondwonka, The most reverend primate Archdoctor James-Willy Bondwonka. Welcome to my chocolate cathedral, which is bigger on the inside than the outside, and where a junior member of staff is about to demonstrate a toaster that's also a flamethrower.

Ok, we need a new James Bond AND a new Archbishop of Canterbury, and pretty soon it'll be time for another new Willy Wonka and a new Doctor Who. We need to economise. They should all be amalgamated into a single new character called Archdoctor Bondwonka.

“Class isn’t just money, or your parent’s listed job when you were 14, it’s part of the culture that forged you. In other words, a key part of your coding,” he said. “Your sense of self.” www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

A long forgotten academic, who was once an even longer-forgotten journalist, defined the news as: “Dog bites man is not news; man bites dog is.” But something tells me that this will not suffice as an all-encompassing explanation of what we seek. danieljmclaughlin.substack.com/p/saturday-1...

They say the Whale swallowed Jonah Out in the deep blue sea Sometimes I get that feeling That same old Whale has swallowed me… www.theguardian.com/environment/...

"The way that the state treats children - in the case of some children, I think - if that was a parent treating the child that way, you'd be removing them for abuse and neglect." Emma Lewell-Buck MP discusses kids in care on The Northern Agenda: Our Kids in the North: podfollow.com/the-northern...

My favourite part of lecturing in Music Journalism today? Getting the students to give a middle finger salute to a photograph of Ed Sheeran together on the count of three. (Context: Sheeran - or The Personification of Mediocrity, as I referred to him - said no one needs music reviewers anymore.)

Podcast editors: I would rather hear the occasional breaths and the odd umms and erms than jumpy editing; it makes the speech of your interviewees sound unnatural.

I am going to play football for the first time in years, starting the Man v Fat thing this evening. Here's a photo taken of me during my illustrious playing career for Blackburn Rovers. I am actually quite nervous! ⚽️

The amount of Tories bending over backwards in their sycophancy for Trump is nauseating: Johnson, Braverman, Patel. Their buzz word for the past decade has been "sovereignty", but it seems that they are willing to shamelessly give it all away to that ridiculous buffoon. Their swooning is pathetic.

This is a good example of a podcast that doesn’t need the bells and whistles: just two knowledgeable, engaging people having an entertaining conversation. @aiannucci.bsky.social @helenlewis.bsky.social

It is 7am on a Monday morning, and like the cool cat that I am, I am reading a report on the Freedom of Information Act whilst travelling on the bus. Meanwhile, the gentleman across from me has just opened a can of beer. That is a mood, sir. That is a mood. #dansbusjourney

"With the safety net containing many holes, or in the most desperate of circumstances, removed entirely, the less affluent are bereft of that swagger, the reassurance that they can not only survive - but thrive.” 🔗👉 danieljmclaughlin.substack.com/p/friday-17t...