All I can tell you is that they love oil so much, they're gonna extract it and then drill the oil itself. ~AA
I write, act, sing, broadcast and cook. Occasionally, even for money. One third of the @quietriotpod.bsky.social with @pimlicat.bsky.social and @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social Support me on https://ko-fi.com/quietriotpod
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All I can tell you is that they love oil so much, they're gonna extract it and then drill the oil itself. ~AA
Looking for this clip or speech to see if it included anything interesting. Entirely unreported. Not even on her own twitter feed. How are they so bad at this? ~AA
How is that pertinent?
New @greenparty.org.uk leader @zackpolanski.bsky.social says "people are exhausted of never feeling secure" and this is exploited "by charlatans like Nigel Farage". And he warns Labour: "We're not here to be disappointed by you. We're not here to be concerned by you. We're here to replace you." ~AA
BREAKING: The new leader of @greenparty.org.uk is @zackpolanski.bsky.social, having won the ledership by 20,411 votes to 3,705 votes. ~AA
"ANGELA! WHOM ARE YOU WEARING?" level reporting.
Coverage of the arrivals for cabinet has been genuinely hilarious this morning. Apparently, Lammy and Rayner have been plotting to greet each other. "Let's just guess that they planned it." ~AA
Next week, Boris Johnson with advice on monogamy. ~AA
"A few weeks after the Brexit referendum, a leave-voting friend of mine told me what the biggest benefit would be. “We will never hear about immigration again,” he said." ~AA www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"The public say this is a national emergency," he says caressing the Daily Mail. "Why don't you call it that? Why don't you call it that? Why don't you call a spade a spade?" Since @skynewsrss.bsky.social have such a firm editorial view, I'd love their definition of a national emergency. ~AA
Good morning, splendid peeps. It's @sturdyalex.bsky.social here, with your weekly news round. Stay tuned for breaking stories, analysis, opinion, and video from the wonkiest, geekiest recesses of politics - domestic and foreign. First cabinet after the break today and Parliament is back, too. ~AA
A superb ending to a superb first season. It goes in directions that I never saw coming, and I found myself better-informed and more curious about things that I didn't expect as well. A truly unique and intellectually nourishing pod series. Honestly, give it a listen
A masterful end to series 1, brilliant work! Particulary enjoyed the film comparisons to the modern "femme fatale". Oh, and the discussion/link to the triple star Algol. I will try and take a photo with the telescope later (weather permitting of course). Looking forward to season 2. Cheers.
That’s made driving around a really enjoyable experience.
I love how both of you glosses over the fact I HAD NO IDEA IT WAS AI and carried on regardless.
😂
Is that black binbags? Or dead crows? WHAT IS HAPPENING? I demand Cordelia Cupp.
I didn't use it and had no idea it was AI. I would never use it professionallu, but you need to chill out a bit when it comes to memes. They are all rip-offs anyway. It's part of the joke. Do you know who first circulated these images? Of course not. How is writing something witty on them different?
"i've got access to the kids, but they don't wanna see me"
The idea is the fun part. Execute it better and I'll delete this one. But don't act like you paid for The Phantom of The Opera and were less than impressed with the chandelier scene.
Via Ronald S. on FB.
I was half-joking. Don't ask me to defend a half-joke. It's harder to defend even than a joke-joke. All I was saying is that the MAGA-sphere has been rife, for years, with every kind of conspiracy, except the most obvious one ever.
Putin's MO is to punish most severely allies who get too big for their boots or speak out of turn. Anyway I WAS half-joking.
Because JDV has promised a faster pace.
Sure, of course, but also there are conspiracies in the MAGA sphere about EVERYTHING. Except this.
I'm not saying he did. I'm just saying that this has the hallmarks of poisoning days after he met with the world's most famous poisoner.
Would never happen.
Maybe Vance is even better.
Asolutely. Especially knowing what happened to the last guy.
I am AMAZED there are not more people at the very least pointing out that this lightning-fast deterioration in Trump's health, happened only a few days after he had a lovely cup of Polonium tea and a slice of Novichok marble cake, with his best friend from Moscow.
Once you have listened to the episode, you will know just how unintentionally funny this is as a response. - "This is Medusa's challenge: that some riddles don't have a definitive answer, that there is always more to know, more to explo-" - "NO, THANK YOU!"
...and what a series finale it was Thank you @sturdyalex.bsky.social for @alexpodyssey.bsky.social - it is a masterpiece. You could earn a generous crust, just reading Greek Mythology stories. I really enjoyed what you did to tell the story of Medusa.
I did Classics at A level. These podcasts are incredible. I wish we had been taught in this way.
Karma.
And, as almost always, the gateway drug is antivaxx, or transphobia, or both.
Nope.
Nope.
IYKYK
Pay this man! He cannot produce S2 on my support alone and the world needs S2. Have you seen the world lately? We NEED S2.
Most relatable thing ever.
This photo was taken of miners at the end of their shift during the Gilded Age before they were unionized. This Labor Day remember the blood, sweat, and tears that those before us paid to give the working class the basic rights we enjoy today. #UnionStrong #HappyLaborDay #NoGodsNoMasters
Is that even him?
Thank you. A x
Fair point, well made.
What do you take me for? AN AMATEUR?
I think it's time I admitted to myself that I have a problem and need help. Is there some sort of Indomie Anonymous meeting in London this evening?
"So I thought I would do the thing that would be most incomprehensible to 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒖𝒔 - I hope you are watching from your constellation, you sociopathic twink - I would treat him as the villain in 𝑯𝒆𝒓 story. Which he is. And one of many."
What a fabulous handle!
💃🏽
Hard to believe, looking at a 90-minute episode that loads of stuff DIDN'T make it.
Ditching Carol Ann Duffy's poem, Byatt's" Medusa's Ankles", the finale to Poulenc's "Dialogues des Carmelites", Mamma Rose's "What I got in me, what I been holding down in me" in Gypsy and Garland singing "I don't Care", were the hardest cuts in this episode. Maybe director's cuts for subscribers?
I will link one when I add the notes to the episode tomorrow. A x
Wuornous was SO close to making the cut, but at 90 minutes, some things had to go.
Thank you! And also for making me take occasional breaks and feeding me pasta during them. A x
This has been an extraordinary series. Making a special date in my diary to settle in for a deeply pleasurable listen later, and suggest you do likewise!
Wonderful end to a first season. Alex does a wonderful job of weaving Greek mythology through classical, popculture and historical lenses to look at what it meant then and what it means now and a bit in between. Alex also has a lovely soothing voice so it’s as relaxing as it is informative.
You know what to do if you want a full 20-episode Season 2.
You'd think. And it was actually the first I went to. But no. Young Renata just did not have the chest voice for that magical phrase "È morto. Or gli perdono!" and also kinda half-sings "E avanti a lui tremava tutta Roma". Have a listen to Adriana Guerrini, whom I used.
I doesn't currently FEEL as if I do. But I only know what I need when I hear it. On the Tosca thing it had to be neither so old-fashioned that it was ridiculous, nor so restrained that it was not melodramatic. I think Adriana Guerrini, whom I chose in the end, is blood-curdling.
My god, I have rarely disliked any mythological figure more than that prick Perseus.
@sturdyalex.bsky.social Oh Alex, this new episode is making me double up with laughter! (I also loved Natalie's novel about Medusa.) Thank you.
On Podyssey musical selection, in case of interest.
I've found, with some orchestral pieces, that the more pop recordings, which would ordinarily be low on a purist's list, like "Kostelanetz & His Orchestra", "Boston Strings", "Hollywood Bowl" etc. have arrangements/tempi that are more accessible and a middle-of-the-road aesthetic richness to them. x
But she is also right in that, because my collecting core is of 50s vinyl, I find the sound of late Mono/early Stereo recordings the softest and fullest - and the conductors and singers who were active then superior by orders of magnitude to what followed. One last thing that might be of interest...
There is more to it. For instance, for the Act II Tosca finale featured today, even looking only at the public domain choices on my shelves - so, pre-1955 or pre-1965 recordings (depending on territory) and live performances from archive - I had over forty choices. And I listened to them.
How did you know.
OK correction - back at work today so looked it up and although Douglas Carswell's parents lived + worked in Uganda for 2 decades from 3 years before his birth, and he says he grew up there, he was born in Westminster, London. Seems his family came back to use the NHS and then returned to Kampala.
Phew.
NOT a small part. A big, big, big part. I am a glorified audio stenographer, to these fabulous women.
Season Finale! I’m so proud to have been a small part of this podcast with my fellow experts. But the credit goes to @sturdyalex.bsky.social who has worked incredibly hard and produced an outstanding podcast. He really is as lovely, inclusive, funny and clever as he comes across on his podcasts 💜
Thank you! A x
The standout best podcast of all right now is @sturdyalex.bsky.social’s Poddyssey. Have a listen to the season finale! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...
Oh no. Going out with a bang.
This one's for all the stoners. I'm genuinely astonished at how good Podyssey has been. You'd have thought that everything that could have been said about these stories since the late Iron Age, has been said. Alex's show has proven otherwise.
😍
Wah! The final - so enjoyed doing these. Yet to listen so trying to guess if play it car home with family. Or am I talking ‘dirty’ again.
SEASON FINALE KLAXON 🎧👇
However, Podyssey for kids is one of the ideas for the between-seasons space. It needs supporting, though.
Well, Medusa's origin story is all about sexual assault, so no.
Season Finale is up. And it is a corker, if I say so meself.
🐍 MEDUSA - Here's Looking At You, Kid 🪦 Before Medusa was monstrous, she was beautiful. And before she was beautiful, she was powerful. She is a riddle that defies solution, from a time before the shape of things was settled. 🍊 open.spotify.com/episode/67sR... 🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...
I don't think he will take anything other than a copy of his birth certificate, Jane.
What a stupid hill on which to die.
You are, conservatively, the 100th. But that only fills me with pride at how established the feature is! xx
I also have @alexpodyssey.bsky.social which is actual story-telling. 🌹
"You're not going to engage with yet another long thread on the same topic, so I just made up your responses for you." Gee. Thanks.
Part of my Sunday and Thursday routines is to find time to listen to @quietriotpod.bsky.social . Really appreciate the sense making from the noise. Somehow they manage to refrain from the hysteria that infects other podcasters at times.
Today’s highlight was Kenny’s “It's as if the Titanic was a submarine when it was launched” comment, in relation to our desensitisation to Trump’s cognitive decline. Listening makes preparing veg for Sunday lunch so much more bearable.
From climate catastrophe to Tr*mps dodgy make up to onion bhajis this podcast has it all. 🌊🌀🧅
I thought it was what you are calling for.
Sorry, wrong kind of boats.
Can anyone point me to the media story about the largest ever warship export deal ever agreed by the UK that was announced this morning? It’s worth £10bn. It will protect 4000 jobs, provide growth for up to 400 small businesses. Where is our bloody media?
If you're sorry to be a pain you could try stopping.
Wowzers.
always good to check the edit history on Twitter as they can sometimes be revealing What Douglas Carswell has written today is awful bad in its final form, but his original tweet was worse He's not correcting a typo "From Epping to the sea, let's make England immigrant free" just showed his hand
![Douglas Carswell @DouglasCarswell From Epping to the sea, let's make England Abdul free 5h [Quote tweet @GBPolitics] NEW: Epping locals vow to stop paying council tax after the High Court ruled that asylum seekers can stay in a hotel [@DailyMail] Last edited 1:27 PM · Aug 31, 2025 60.9K Views](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2kf2qj56o2vq7jfaq4x4ogp6/bafkreiaumorv4doqx6ozqqxlsrvs4rne3cuqiyetljv3cdwozck6vszoxq@jpeg "Click to view full size")
![Douglas Carswell @DouglasCarswell From Epping to the sea, let's make England immigrant free [Quote tweet] @GBPolitics *NEW: Epping locals vow to stop paying council tax after the High Court ruled that asylum seekers can stay in a hotel [@DailyMail] 1:25 PM Aug 31, 2025 509 Views There's a new version of this post. See the latest post](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2kf2qj56o2vq7jfaq4x4ogp6/bafkreihz7cel6hmysoidvh5whqaenwplsnan2nabdaega3dc6rmdzunree@jpeg "Click to view full size")
Another great Sunday School edition of @quietriotpod.bsky.social today with @pimlicat.bsky.social and @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social covering Trump’s health, the media’s disingenuous Rayner obsession, potential impact of the Green leadership race on the left ….& environmental collapse. Tuck in!
You'd hardly know the Guardian had partnered with an AI company 🙄
Trump's presidency reaches the 'Is he dead?' stage, Angela Rayner is pilloried yet again for not breaking the law, and a big tub of sand helps Finland stay warm.
- “Hello, Alex, if you're listening." - "He's going to hate that so much. He gets such bad FOMO when he's not on Sunday School." - "Oh, it's grim. We're going to have to change his meds.” THE MASK HAS SLIPPED. @pimlicat.bsky.social @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social
I absolutely adore your podcast. It’s become the Sunday breakfast theme tune in our house. While current affairs on the beeb have been completely unwatchable for years, your podcast has filled this void perfectly!