There’s no doubt the podcast formerly Remainiacs was going to, and had to change towards events. The era of the post-referendum wars, before Covid and pre withdrawal-deal was a different time and the Remainiacs podcast was a different context, you only have to watch documentaries on this era to be amazed at how frantic this time was, and just to prove it, all the major parties have different leaders now. Remainiacs really served as a way to cope with the fallout, hear intelligent analysis peppered with humour, and even ponder a way (ultimately we failed) to mitigate the worst effects of leaving, or force a confirmatory referendum. At the time they had really prominent politicians, journalists and thinkers who were all more of less on the remain side, as guests. Then as we got to grips with a Johnson victory, the scattered fuselage of the Corbyn experiment and notably the Covid pandemic it continued in a similar vain, albeit with different, but ultimately still-crazy circumstances to try and make sense of. The core panellists at the time were able to pivot with ease to deal with the world of lockdowns, the immediate post-deal situation and analysing what was then a new Labour leadership at the weirdest of times, and the party still around 30 points behind in opinion polls. As society reopened, the podcast (now OGWN) coincidentally lost a few of its key panellists, Naomi and Ian. Both were quite big losses (Ian had exhaustive clear analysis esp on trading arrangements, and an infectious laugh, and Naomi had passion and a campaigning vigour though was sometimes a little preachy esp on trans rights) & for a while the show lost some mojo. It hadn’t helped that it had to find a new focus.
The show as it is now: now more of a conventional panel pod, providing often quality insight. If Andrew is chairing the show glides along with his easy, quip-heavy manner. Alex left without fanfare a while ago (for the best tbh) & the excellent Dorian left a little while after, leaving Andrew and Ros (a brilliant intellectually curious writer & commentator not easily labelled) as the OG’s. It’s otherwise a second home for mostly Guardian & New Statesman writers, with occasionally some big name guests, but a tiny bit less star-studded as it’s morphed to be a more conventional centre-left panel pod.
