The Trawl cover art

The Trawl

The Trawl

By: Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss
Listen for free

About this listen

The Trawl is the podcast that dives headfirst into the political chaos, media spin, and social media absurdity of the week - so you don’t have to.


Hosted by broadcasters and political commentators, Jemma Forte and Marina Purkiss, it’s part therapy, part takedown, and always unfiltered.


Each episode, Jemma and Marina trawl through the week’s most viral tweets, jaw-dropping headlines, and rage-inducing soundbites - offering sharp analysis, dark humour, and the occasional expletive. From Westminster to world affairs, they call out hypocrisy, amplify truth, and remind you that you’re not losing your mind - just living through it.


If you’ve ever shouted at the news or laughed through the tears, The Trawl is your people.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marina Purkiss & Jemma Forte
Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Vanity Glare, Boxing Gloves & Redactions 🎄🥊
    Dec 24 2025

    It’s Christmas Eve at The Trawl HQ and the cheese is flowing, the Scrooged button is armed, and Marina and Jemma are doing their level best not to spiral.


    Instead, they unwrap some unexpected festive joy as a trio of bell-ends Tommy Robinson, Jake Paul and Andrew Tate, discover the true meaning of consequences via the noble art of boxing. (Spoiler: pink gloves, broken jaws, and internet-wide schadenfreude feature heavily.)


    Stateside, karma keeps busy. From the Vanity Fair brouhaha to Trump’s name mysteriously appearing on and disappearing from places it absolutely shouldn’t, including the Kennedy Center and the Epstein files. Yes, those Epstein files. Thousands released, thousands redacted, and somehow one name missing entirely.


    Add in Nicki Minaj’s excruciating Trump-era foot-in-mouth moment, some festive under rateds and a Christmas 'pudding' story that may ruin your appetite entirely and you’ve got a very Trawl Christmas indeed.


    Pour a stiff drink, pull on a metaphorical Christmas jumper, and join us.


    We’ll be back on Boxing Day… obviously.


    Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

    Patreon

    https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

    Youtube

    https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

    Twitter

    https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast




    If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:


    • Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

    • Early access to The Trawl Meets…

    • Glorious ad-free episodes


    Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.


    And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.


    Come join the fun:


    https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • THE TRAWL MEETS XMAS PUDDINGS SPECIAL 🎄
    Dec 22 2025

    Regular Trawl listeners will know that every Trawl episode ends with a clip ‘pudding’ a treat at the end of every show. Marina and Jemma select clips they find funny, poignant, stirring or entertaining for one reason or another and in this very festive edition of Trawl Meets the Trawl ladies welcome some of your very favourite puddings - Anthony Richardson from The Exploding Heads, Larry and Paul from Broken News fame PLUS one of their favourite Christmas crackers whose posts also regularly feature - the one, the only, Danny F’ing Price - the Instagram activist and all round legend.


    Expect clip highlights, Christmas quiz questions such as ‘what would Brexit look like if it was a jumper?’ and a lot of insight into how these brilliantly funny people became the internet sensations they are - holding power (and angry men like Colin from Portsmouth) to account. Enjoy ✌🏼🎄


    Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

    Patreon

    https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

    Youtube

    https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

    Twitter

    https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast


    If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:


    • Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

    • Early access to The Trawl Meets…

    • Glorious ad-free episodes


    Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.


    And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.


    Come join the fun:


    https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 3 mins
  • When Harry Met Sally and Reform Met Bonnie Blue
    Dec 19 2025

    Love, Hypocrisy and a Rob Reiner Tribute


    It’s the Friday episode and Marina Purkiss and Jemma Forte are running on festive fumes so prepare for rage, tears, laughs and a post Rob Reiner tribute snotty nose. It's a rollercoaster of an episode.


    The Trawl ladies start with the small lies we tell children (Father Christmas logistics remain shaky) before moving swiftly to Trump’s grotesque response to tragedy which has sparked a proper reckoning and proves that the the late, great Rob Reiner was right about him all along.


    Jemma and Marina pay proper tribute to the wonderful movies he made and discuss why decency, humour and romance feel increasingly radical amidst the backdrop of modern politics.


    Then it’s onto Trump’s apparent desire to lead Europe (spoiler: Europe says absolutely not), before Jemma and Marina head back to Blighty where Reform UK continue their unstoppable streak of rank associations, racist dog whistles and jaw-dropping hypocrisy — from Bonnie Blue to Nigel Farage framing multilingual children as a “cultural threat”.


    They finish with a few glimmers of hope, and the usual much-needed palette cleansers, dad jokes and utter nonsense.


    Side effects may include sighing, eye-rolling, despair and the sudden urge to rewatch The Princess Bride and believe in true love all over again.


    Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast

    Patreon

    https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast

    Youtube

    https://www.youtube.com/@TheTrawl

    Twitter

    https://twitter.com/TheTrawlPodcast


    If you’ve even mildly enjoyed The Trawl, you’ll love the unfiltered, no-holds-barred extras from Jemma & Marina over on Patreon, including:


    • Exclusive episodes of The Trawl Goss – where Jemma and Marina spill backstage gossip, dive into their personal lives, and often forget the mic is on

    • Early access to The Trawl Meets…

    • Glorious ad-free episodes


    Plus, there’s a bell-free community of over 3,300 legends sparking brilliant chat.


    And it’s your way to support the pod which the ladies pour their hearts, souls (and occasional anxiety) into. All for your listening pleasure and reassurance that through this geopolitical s**tstorm… you’re not alone.


    Come join the fun:


    https://www.patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.