Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

The Eye team discuss failing ceilings, the return of Big Liz Truss, wave goodbye to Mohammed Fayed and reveal why the Tees Valley isn't suing us (yet). Featuring Jane Mackenzie, Adam Macqueen, Helen Lewis, Andrew Hunter Murray and Ian Hislop.

Andy, Helen and Adam take a look at the completely resigned Nadine Dorries, the Revenge of the Maybot, and the Great Royal Reboot (where you press a big button and then nothing happens). Plus, Richard Brooks digs into the figures at a very successful - then mysteriously unsuccessful - PPE supplier.

Ian, Helen and Adam join Andrew to discuss the government’s new invention of ‘The Week’, the complete anchor Dan Wootton, and the smallest conceivable audience at the Edinburgh Fringe. Plus, Jane Mackenzie reveals what’s behind the spate of buildings going on fire up and down the country.

Elon Musk’s X marks the spod; debanking Nigel Farage and debagging Coutts; the reinvention of Rishi – the petrolhead PM; plus the inside story of the Royal Free hospital’s stem cell scandal.

Episode 83. Helen Lewis, Adam Macqueen and Jane Mackenzie join Andrew Hunter Murray to discuss the week's news: Have I got Huws For You, the imminent by-election bonanza and things (schools) falling apart. Plus, Solomon Hughes and Sarah Shannon reveal the UK's water situation.

Episode 82. Ian Hislop, Adam Macqueen and Helen Lewis take a look back at the week’s news, including Jeremy Clarkson’s car crash of a column, super injunctions that may or may not exist and children identifying as cats, or possibly just taking the piss. Plus journalist Richard Brooks goes down on the solar farm in Oxfordshire and looks for where the sun isn’t shining.

Episode 81. Ian Hislop, Adam Macqueen and Helen Lewis take a look back at the week’s news - including Boris Johnson’s dangerously thin column, big SLAPPS and newspaper fire-sales; and medical correspondent Phil Hammond answers all your inquiries about the Covid Inquiry.

Episode 80. Find out which of this year’s six entries won the grand prize, in a mini-episode recorded live at the Paul Foot Award in London. Featuring Ian Hislop, chief judge Padraig Reidy, and the Mystery Winner.

Episode 79. In the second half of the Paul Foot Award Shortlist, teams from the Sunday Times, Vice and the Guardian reveal what they've been digging into - namely Boris Johnson and the BBC chairman, Baroness Mone and a £200million PPE deal, and the dangerous rise of Andrew Tate. Tune in later this week for Part III, live from the award ceremony!

Episode 78. In the most exciting crossover event in podcast history, the Paul Foot Award comes in three parts this year. In Part I the brilliant hacks from the Times, Observer and Newsquest Cumbria tell their stories, of unregulated psychologists in the family courts, dangerous police Taser use and British Gas breaking into people's homes to fit prepayment meters.

Episode 77. Matt Muir provides the Eye’s take on new AI technology ChatGPT, which may well obliterate mankind in a new and exciting way, while Jane Mackenzie reveals the latest on open-cast mines in Wales, which might contribute to wiping out the species in an old-fashioned way.

Episode 76. A mega-millions local government derby: Richard Brooks explains the mysterious dealings behind the Teeside ‘Freeport’, and Tim Minogue reveals how Croydon council managed to go bankrupt three times in two years. Free acre of highly contaminated waste ground with every download!

Episode 75. For the first time since 2019 the Eye returns to the National Theatre for a live rendition of the Private Eye Annual. Including the dulcet tones of Lewis Macleod, Jan Ravens, Harry Enfield, and Ian Hislop. Merry Christmas!

Episode 74. Jane Mackenzie and Solomon Hughes unravel the tangled tale of who owns Britain’s military housing (spoiler: not only is it not the British government, it isn’t even owned in Britain) and Sarah Shannon takes a quick World Tour of the *other* countries involved in the World Cup who’ve been living up to the high standards set by Qatar. Free kick with every download!

Episode 73. NHS and Saudi Deals. Heather Mills and the Eye’s medical correspondent Phil Hammond explain the ambulance crisis, appointments crisis, and all the other crises currently afflicting the national health service and what (if anything) can be done about them; and Solomon Hughes partially lifts the lid on a mysterious deal between the UK government and Saudi Arabia, which is currently too secret for the British taxpayer to know about. 40 free new hospitals (as promised by Boris Johnson) with every download!

Episode 72. Finally being held not-over-Zoom for the first time in three years, this special episode comes from the Paul Foot Awards held to celebrate investigative journalism and commemorate the Eye’s great campaigning journalist Paul Foot. Download now to learn about six fascinating and enraging stories from six brilliant reporting teams!

Episode 71. Richard Brooks reveals the latest on Ehud Sheleg, former Conservative Party treasurer and now Sir Ehud following the donation of a few million pounds; and in a Jubilee Special, Adam Macqueen discusses ‘The Queen And Eye’ and Brenda’s 70-plus appearances on the cover over her 70-year reign. Free gong with every download!

Episode 70. Antony Goldman and human rights correspondent Dr Grim reveal how Russia has spent decades practising for its war on Ukraine in other bits of the world. Plus a rare Good News Special: Eye hack Jane Mackenzie reveals what’s been going on in the government’s troubled Covid-catch-up programme for schools.

Episode 69. Richard Brooks and Solomon Hughes discuss their recent appearance with editor Ian Hislop before the Parliamentary Committee on Standards, discussing MPs’ second jobs (and asking the MPs on the committee about their own financial interests). Free £100,000-a-year consultancy position with every download!

Episode 68. Tim Minogue of Rotten Boroughs tells the story of a pub landlord bankrupted and imprisoned by a local council vendetta, who has finally secured justice after more than 20 years; and housing correspondent Rachael Claye lifts the lid on the government’s (latest) promise to sort out the cladding crisis to see how much good it will actually do.

Episode 67. Francis Wheen and Adam Macqueen provide the lowdown behind the punch-up that's knocked the royal family sideways; and Lewis MacLeod and Jan Ravens bring the Eye's 2021 annual to life in our traditional 'Not At The National Theatre Due To Covid' show. 30 minutes of free glorious isolation from the world with every download!

Episode 66. Jane Mackenzie and Karen Liebreich explain the sewage crisis which is sluicing its way into Britain’s rivers and coasts, and human rights correspondent Dr Grim discusses the Iranian regime’s prison system. A thousand free litres of raw effluent with every download!

Episode 65. Richard Brooks and Solomon Hughes cover both ends of the Covid wealth gap - from the companies making mega-millions out of lazy procurement processes all the way to the workers having their wages levelled down rather than up. Free major government contract with every download!

Episode 64. The Eye’s medical correspondent Phil Hammond discusses what comes next in the fight against Covid, and Jane Mackenzie covers the fight over what happens next under Stonehenge. Free sarsen with every download!

Episode 63. It Was 60 Years Ago Today. Adam Macqueen and Ian Hislop discuss the forthcoming '60 Yearbook', a guide to the last six decades as seen by Private Eye. Free plug with every download!

Episode 62. Stay six Feet away from everyone else and tune in to the best investigative journalism broadcast of the year, featuring a cast of thousands of brilliant journalists and insights into their work. Featuring Cobra meetings, Barnard Castle, dubious Covid contracts, David Cameron’s text messages, and much, much more.

Episode 61. Richard Brooks and Solomon Hughes return for a follow-up episode about ACOBA and the revolving door - spoiler alert, the problems haven’t been fixed - plus a Reader’s Complaints Special with editor Ian Hislop.

Episode 60. Jane Mackenzie and Solomon Hughes discuss the new ‘Integrated Review’ of Britain’s defences in the 21st century, and the thrilling new war machines that don’t quite exist yet; and Heather Mills turns over mobile homes to reveal the pitfalls that lie beneath them. Free BAE Systems Tempest fighter aircraft with every download!

Episode 59. Jane Mackenzie reveals how the government’s catch-up tutoring programme for Covid-hit schools is going to work (or not work), and Ian Hislop and Francis Wheen discuss the suddenly fashionable Robert Maxwell and his habit of putting on the writs.

Episode 58. Richard Brooks has been on a pilgrimage to Kent to uncover the hidden chaos of Brexit; Tim Minogue reveals the unexpected downsides of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, and Francis Wheen laments the departure of one of the Telegraph's finest hacks, who also happens to be the Chinese ambassador to Britain.

Episode 57. MD, AKA Phil Hammond, gives a roundup of the year’s Covid news, Richard Brooks and Solomon Hughes look under the bonnet of the government’s latest outsourcing disasters, we speak to Sarah Shannon about Farmed Salmon, and say farewell to the Eye’s friend John Sessions. Free (glass of) port with every download!

Episode 56. In a one-off departure from our usual format, Ian Hislop interviews James Alefantis - the Washington restaurateur whose pizza restaurant has been swept up in multiple conspiracy theories - first Pizzagate and now QAnon.

Episode 55. Eye hacks Tim Minogue and Adam Macqueen discuss the latest goings-on at BBC News, who's being sacked and who isn't (yet); Phil Hammond, aka MD, reveals what's going on at The Agency Formerly Known As Public Health England; and Ian Hislop provides some insight into the magazine trade, via the Eye's latest sales figures. Free advert for subscription with every download!

Episode 54. Richard Brooks reveals the big governmental lessons from COVID-19, Heather Mills and Sarah Shannon discuss the beggaring of sailors around the world by complacent shipowners, and Francis Wheen reports on the bugging the Fabulous Feuding Barclay Brothers have been engaging in.

Episode 53. This month's podcast comes to you from the Paul Foot Awards 2020, featuring all the shortlisted entries for the best investigative journalism of the year. Includes cameos from Ian Hislop and Chief Judge Padraig Reidy, and sound effects from the star-studded Paul Foot Awards party, recorded last year as parties are no longer allowed. Free canapé with every download!

Episode 52. This month’s podcast is all about COVID-19. The Eye’s medical correspondent, MD, discusses the latest developments, plus some faint lights at the end of the tunnel, and a team of the Eye’s hacks reveal how the pandemic has affected the EU, education, housing, social media, and the Street of Shame. Free face mask with every download! (Only joking, there are none left anywhere)

Episode 51. This month’s podcast is all about the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the Eye’s coverage of it. Featuring Adam Macqueen, Jane Mackenzie and Francis Wheen. Free tin of tomatoes with every download! (Only joking, there are none left.)

Episode 50. Rachael Claye and Peter Apps discuss the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire and the web of failures leading up to the tragedy in 2017. Also, the Eye's Francis Wheen reveals why the Commonwealth is looking askance at its high-rolling Secretary General - who used to work for Private Eye...

Episode 49. Richard Brooks and Nick Wallis reveal the extraordinary twenty-year scandal that has been dogging the Post Office, the editor discusses how to make fun of the Royal Family, and Flunkey's true identity is revealed (or not). Free sub-postmaster with every download!

Episode 48. An all-star cast brings the Private Eye annual from page to stage for a Christmas bonanza. Starring Ian Hislop, John Sessions, Lewis MacLeod, Jan Ravens and Harry Enfield. Free tiding of comfort and joy with every download!

Episode 47. A podcast tribute to the Eye's first editor, Christopher Booker, including interviews with Adam Macqueen and Ian Hislop. Free E.J. Thribb-threnody with every download!

Episode 46. As the magazine reaches its 1500th episode, Page 94 interviews Ian Hislop in an OBN special, finds out about the ghost on the 3rd floor, and challenges the Eye's official quizmaster to a quiz.

Episode 45. Recorded live at Private Eye's annual Paul Foot Awards, this special episode interviews the investigative journalists who have hacked their way through thickets of secrecy and obfuscation and made their way onto the shortlist for the prestigious award. Free canapé with every download!

Episode 44. Triple bill for the last in the series! Richard Brooks on the mysterious man running the Tory party's finances; Tim Minogue on cash-strapped councils coming a cropper; and Ian Hislop and Heather Mills on the stories that run for years...and years. Free 'I was reading about this in 1996' badge with every download!

Episode 43. The Eye's human rights correspondent, the mysterious Dr Grim, reveals what it's like being one of China's Uighur Muslims (spoiler: it's not great), and Adam Macqueen and Francis Wheen commemorate the passing of one of the Eye's great sparring partners/legal threats, Lady Falkender. Free lavender notepad with every download!

Episode 42. Phil Hammond (AKA M.D.) and Heather Mills discuss the state of Britain’s mental health provision, and Marcus Berkmann spills the beans on everyone’s favourite quiz column.

Episode 41. A triple bill for 2019: Jane Mackenzie discusses the dangerous cuts to the fire service and Adam Macqueen reveals the 'local' telly which is anything but. PLUS a special report from Francis Wheen on whether Brexit is more like Agincourt, Suez, or the Battle of Hastings. (Spoiler alert: it's all of them!)

Episode 40. A star-studded cast of Harry Enfield, John Sessions, Jan Ravens and Lewis MacLeod join editor Ian Hislop for a live show at the National Theatre looking back at the year's news. Free plug for the Private Eye Annual with every download!

Episode 39. Solomon Hughes talks us through the woes of the privatised probation service, and cartoonist Richard Jolley gives us a guide to the EU-phemisms cartoon. Free £150 bottle of wine with every download!

Episode 38. Page 94 returns! A special episode all about Putin's money-laundering pals, and the British bankers, lawyers and accountants who are letting it happen. Free Belgravia mansion with every download!

Episode 37. School’s out for summer - and, in lots of places, for ever. Jane Mackenzie and Solomon Hughes discuss the government's bizarre new school system - plus, the Eye's social media maven Matt Muir makes his Page 94 debut with a dissection of Facebook's recent woes. The last before the summer holidays - Page 94 Will Return!

Episode 36. As the NHS hits 70, Phil Hammond gives a rundown just how run-down it is, and Francis Wheen delivers an 'Eye Told You So' about the Vote Leave spending skulduggery during the Brexit referendum, featuring a mysterious young man called Darren.

Episode 35. Sarah Shannon talks us through the travails of a doomed tidal energy project, and Francis Wheen tells the rollicking tale of Telegraph-owning twins the Barclay brothers and their attempts to bang up a blogger. Free speech with every download!

Episode 34. A special episode from the Paul Foot Awards, featuring the cream of British investigative journalism, interviews with the judges, and the whole shortlist. Free lukewarm canapé with every download!

Episode 33. A new series of Page 94! The Eye's tax correspondent Richard Brooks discusses the men who broke capitalism while pretending to be accountants, and Adam Macqueen reveals the Eye's role in Jeremy Thorpe's downfall. Plus, we go to a party.

Episode 32. Eye hack Heather Mills explains the delays and chaos of the new Universal Credit system of benefits - and, as a CHRISTMAS TREAT, a special preview of the Eye’s annual Eye Annual show at the National Theatre. Free advert for the Private Eye Annual with every download!

Episode 31. Page 94 speaks to Richard Brooks and Christian Eriksson about the shadowy millionaires keeping their money in sun-kissed foreign islands, and to Grizelda about cartoons and cartooning. Free 'I Remember When The Paradise Papers Were Called The Panama Papers' T-shirt with every download!

Episode 30. A special episode on bungling police, including investigations into the Eye's own subscriber list and Ted Heath. With appearances from Jane Mackenzie, Rosie Waterhouse, Francis Wheen, and Ian Hislop. Free Get Out Of Jail card with every download!

Episode 29. Heather Mills discusses the contaminated blood scandal which has finally been granted a public inquiry, and the series ends with a medley of Eye contributors - led by Our Man In Brussels, Ben Fox - telling us everything we know about Brexit, and everything we don't. Free movement of people with every download!

Episode 28. A special episode from the awards ceremony for investigative journalism, including dodgy fishing quotas, dodgy Garden Bridges, exorcisms and more. Free press with every download!

Episode 27. Election-Free Special! A strong and stable episode all about how Britain's getting involved in dodgy trade deals overseas, plus the first edition of CSI:94, investigating who murdered Britain's Forensics Science Service. Free enormous bribe with every download!

Episode 26. An election medical special: the Eye's medical correspondent, MD, talks about the Conservatives' last 7 years running the NHS, and a special EYE TOLD YOU SO feature from tech correspondent Emma Woollacott on the NHS computer catastrophe. Free 'I Love Jeremy Hunt' sticker (totally pristine, never before used) with every download!

Episode 25. Eye housing editor Rachael Claye discusses the government's recent Homelessness bill and the state of the housing market, PLUS Ian Hislop on why the Eye's writers trade under assumed names. Free nom de plume with every download!

Episode 24. Page 94 returns for a new series! This week: the Eye's military correspondent Paul Vickers reveals the tangled web between the army and private firms, and diarist Craig Brown discusses the best way of channelling the 45th President of the USA. Free Type 45 Destroyer with every download!

Episode 23. With Ian Hislop, Jane Mackenzie and Tim Minogue. Free Satire Detector with every download!

Episode 22. A second special inter-series episode! Ian Hislop has been editor for thirty years. To celebrate, Eye hack Adam Macqueen interviews editor Ian Hislop about his three decades on the Editorial Throne. Free "That's Enough. Ed." sticker with every download!

Episode 21. A special bonus in-between-series episode! This week, the revolving door between government and big business, with the authors of our special report Richard Brooks and Solomon Hughes. Free £300,000-a-year job at a FTSE 100 firm with every download!

Episode 20. A special report with the Eye's Heather Mills, discussing the murky history of the Deepcut barracks and the tragedies that resulted from Army mismanagement. Last in the series - free 'Bring Back Page 94' petition slip with every download...

Episode 19. Tim Minogue and Sarah Shannon reveal why so many pubs are closing, and Adam Macqueen and Maisie Glazebrook spill the beans on the Eye's notorious fortnightly lunches. Free pint of Gnome '61 with every download!

Episode 18. The Eye's investigative team spill the beans on the why the Private Finance Initiative, the ingenious government money-machine which makes whole schools fall over. Plus an interview with the gag-writing team of Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, the men behind the Angry Baby and the Letter From Corbyn. Free ruinous 30-year contract with every download!

Episode 17. Francis Wheen and Adam Macqueen give the latest on the least-effective celebrity injunction of all time, PLUS Jane Mackenzie on 21st-century libraries. Free three-letter judicial acronym with every download!

Episode 16. Richard Brooks and Solomon Hughes give the Private Eye take on the Panama Papers and offshore tax havens, PLUS Nick Newman on the art of Dave Snooty And His Pals. Free Definitely Legal And Perfectly Above Board British Virgin Island Company with every download!

Episode 15. SERIES THREE BEGINS! This week, the Eye Online: Ian Hislop and Adam Macqueen discuss the Eye's digital strategy (spoiler alert: there isn't one) and the ways newspapers are surviving the digital age. Plus an interview with Ed Barrett, author of From The Message Boards. Free Independent website with every download!

Episode 14. A special feature on the two kinds of care - health and social - and the yawning gap between them, with the Eye's medical correspondent MD and In The Back's Heather Mills. PLUS, an exclusive (and very gossipy) chat with the man behind the literary pages, DJ Taylor. Free biting critique with every download!

Episode 13. Exciting interviews about collapsing buildings with architecture correspondent Piloti (AKA Gavin Stamp) and collapsing lawsuits with the Eye's in-house lawyer. Free editor (barring contempt of court) with every download!

Episode 12. Freedom Of Information SPECIAL EPISODE, interviewing the Eye's crack investigative squad. Free-Dom of Information with every download!

Episode 11. Adam Macqueen and Francis Wheen (aka 'Private Eye's Google') on the stories which have been bubbling away for 30 years, and David Ziggy Greene on the art of drawing the news as it happens. Free flexidisc (ask your parents) with every download!

Episode 10. SERIES TWO BEGINS! This week, an investigative double bill: Solomon Hughes on big business at party conferences, and Richard Brooks and Christian Eriksson on the Eye's all-new map of British property owned from tax havens. Free Cayman Island with every download!

Episode 9. For episode 9.4, a triple letter score: Letters after one's name (Solomon Hughes on the honours system), Letters From Berlin (Anthony Goldman, Private Eye's global bureau chief) and Letters From The Great British Public (Tristan Davies, Chief Subeditor). Final episode of Series 1 - free hanky with every download!

Episode 8. An interview with Michael Heath, who's been drawing funny things for sixty years and a surprising look at exactly who owns all the land in Britain. Free Tax Haven getaway with every download!

Episode 7. A look at the magic of the cartooning process, plus Adam Macqueen with an indispensable guide to phone hacking at the Mirror. Free Alan Yentob voicemail with every download!

Episode 6. Ian Hislop on the fine art of the magazine's covers and Tim Minogue on the murky world of Rotten Boroughs. Free 'I am outraged, please cancel my subscription' form with every download!

Episode 5. Ian Hislop on Prime Ministerial Parodies, Adam Macqueen on locking up journalists, and Phil Hammond on the Conservative and Labour pledges about the NHS. Free Sun reporter with every download!

Episode 4. Craig Brown on the art of parody and investigative hack Heather Mills on murky goings-on in the village of Botton. Free manifesto pledge with every download! (Warning: manifesto pledge is an aspiration only and not a promise. Price of podcast may be raised to £9000).

Episode 3. Dealing with two enormous, intractable, but very different problems: higher education and Piers Morgan. Free extended metaphor with every download.

Episode 2. Francis Wheen on everything you ever wanted to know about HSBC and the Telegraph, plus an interview with Ian Hislop and Nick Newman about the Eye's own Gnome Mart. Free ant with every download! (Please note: ant may be lost in transit)

Episode 1. A new half-hour audio treat which goes behind the scenes at the Paul Foot Journalism Awards and remembers cartoonist Martin Honeysett. Featuring: FIFA, football, floods, flogging arms and flinging cakes in cartoonists' faces...