How did a Prime Minister with a bold economic vision become the shortest-serving leader in British history?

In this episode of The Side Quest Podcast, we dive into the remarkable political journey of Liz Truss—from her left-wing upbringing and Oxford years to her rapid rise through Conservative politics and her dramatic 49-day premiership.

We explore:

• How Truss climbed to the top of British politics
• The infamous 2022 “Growth Plan” and why financial markets reacted so violently
• The pension crisis, soaring borrowing costs, and the Bank of England’s emergency intervention
• Why her authority collapsed so quickly inside her own party
• What Liz Truss is doing now and how history is likely to remember her

Was Liz Truss simply ahead of her time, or did ideological conviction collide with economic reality?

Join us as we unpack one of the most extraordinary political collapses in modern British history.

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She was alive when the Titanic sank. She buried a brother lost at Gallipoli, sailed alone to India at 18, ran a nursery school in Hong Kong, drove a vintage Triumph until she was 97 — and beat COVID-19 at age 110. Meet Ethel Caterham: born in a Hampshire village with no electricity in 1909, now the world’s oldest verified living person. She’s outlasted six British monarchs and seen 19 different people hold the U.S. presidency across 21 separate terms — from Taft to Trump. In this episode, we trace her journey through over a century of history and ask what her remarkably simple philosophy on life might actually teach the rest of us about living long and living well.

The political carousel keeps spinning. Following the resignation of Keir Starmer in June 2026, the UK is preparing for yet another change at the top, with Andy Burnham emerging as the likely successor.

In this episode, we examine the events that brought down Starmer’s premiership, from disappointing local election results to growing divisions within the Labour Party. We also explore what Burnham’s rise could mean for the country and whether his expected parliamentary majority will be enough to deliver long-term stability.

More importantly, we ask why Britain has now cycled through seven prime ministers in just ten years. Is this simply a run of bad political luck, or does it reflect deeper structural problems within the UK’s political system? From Brexit’s lasting economic and political consequences to an increasingly fragmented electorate and the pressures of Westminster’s unwritten constitution, we unpack the forces driving one of the most turbulent periods in modern British politics.

Can Andy Burnham break the cycle, or is political instability now the new normal in the United Kingdom? Join us as we explore the future of British leadership and the challenges facing the next occupant of Downing Street.

In 1999, three actors walked into the woods with cameras and a script that was mostly improvisation — and walked out having accidentally created one of the most profitable films ever made. This episode unpacks the found-footage phenomenon that convinced audiences they were watching real footage of real deaths, the guerrilla internet marketing campaign that built that illusion before social media even existed, and the genre it spawned almost overnight. But behind the legendary profit-to-cost ratio is a messier story: the lead actors who became the faces of a cultural moment while seeing little of the money it generated, and the disputes over credit and compensation that followed them for years. We’re separating the marketing-class success story from the human cost it left behind.

In this short special breaking news episode, we react to the shock resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer following a collapse in support within the Labour Party. We discuss the events that led to his departure, the growing pressure from within his own ranks, and the rapid emergence of Andy Burnham as the frontrunner to succeed him. With Britain now facing its seventh prime minister in a decade, we examine what this means for Labour, the government, and the country’s political future. A short but essential update on one of the biggest political stories of the year.

On July 29, 2024, Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls and injured ten others at a children’s dance workshop in Southport — an atrocity that would soon spiral into nationwide riots fueled by false claims spread online. In this episode, we trace the full arc of the Southport tragedy: the attack itself, the criminal case that ended in a life sentence with a 52-year minimum term, and the disinformation that ignited civil unrest across the UK. We then turn to the public inquiry’s findings — a damning account of missed warnings, fragmented communication, and systemic failures across police, social services, and counter-extremism programs that could have stopped this before it happened. Most importantly, we sit with the human cost: the grief of the victims’ families and a community still seeking truth and accountability.

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Vapes, pouches, disposables, and addiction—how did nicotine reinvent itself for a new generation? In this episode, we trace the journey from cigarettes to modern nicotine products, examine the science behind their health risks, and explore why governments around the world are cracking down. Along the way, we uncover the devastating consequences of regulatory failures through a major Glasgow vape shop fire and ask whether society is winning—or losing—the battle against nicotine addiction.

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The United Kingdom and the United States have long shared what politicians call the “Special Relationship” — a partnership built through war, diplomacy, trade, and shared strategic interests. But how special is it today?

In this episode, we explore the history of the Anglo-American alliance, from its defining moments of cooperation to the diplomatic clashes that have tested it over the decades. We then turn our attention to the modern relationship between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump, examining how early signs of cooperation gave way to tensions over defence spending, the Chagos Islands, and military involvement in Iran.

With reports emerging from the G7 summit about an alleged diplomatic snub, we unpack the reality behind the headlines, the role of personal chemistry in international politics, and how royal diplomacy and long-standing institutional ties continue to hold the relationship together.

Is the Special Relationship evolving, weakening, or simply adapting to a new political era? Join us as we examine the personalities, policies, and power dynamics shaping one of the world’s most important alliances.

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