
Morning, All
The world's real news, retold with a raised eyebrow.
Every morning a weary, impossibly well-spoken Englishman called Benedict Faulkner-Vane reads the world's real news back to you with a straight face and a raised eyebrow, in the spirit of Blackadder and Yes, Minister. Presidents, princes, central bankers and generals get exactly the respect they have earned. Beside him sits Gaz, a cheerful Mancunian who has been reading up on all this and is confident he has the answer. He does not.
Each episode is about seven minutes: the single most absurd thing that happened overnight, then the Gulf, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe, the Cunning Plan of the Day, the Sir Humphrey Award for the finest official sentence that commits nobody to anything, and one small true story to send you out smiling. Nothing is invented. Every fact is checked; the only thing added is the eyebrow.
There are occasional specials too, where the same two men deliver the morning brief for a day in history, starting with the day after Yorktown in 1781.
New episode daily. Best with coffee.
Latest
A triumphal arch acquires a sniper's nest, and China's chief enforcer of loyalty is expelled for disloyalty. The only entirely new thing on earth turns out to be a very small cat with a poultry habit.
Follow it in your podcast app
New episodes then arrive on their own each morning.
- Copy this address:
- On an iPhone, open Apple Podcasts, go to Library, tap the three dots at the top right and choose Follow a Show by URL, then paste it.
- In other podcast apps, look for Add podcast by URL (or RSS) and paste it.
Recent episodes
- 22 Sep 2026 · A Triumphal Arch With Room for the Sniper AmmunitionTue 22 Sep 2026 · 9 min
- 21 Sep 2026 · An Arch With Snipers, A Beetle With A BudgetMon 21 Sep 2026 · 8 min
- 20 Sep 2026 · Permanent Control, Full Sovereignty, and a Deer's Second SwimSun 20 Sep 2026 · 8 min
- 19 Sep 2026 · Force Majeure, Infinite Life, and Two Escaped ChimpanzeesSat 19 Sep 2026 · 13 min
- Special, 31 Aug 1904 · One Well, Seven Hills and a Lift from the ManagerSat 19 Sep 2026 · 7 min
- 18 Sep 2026 · An Arch, A Veto, And Forty-Eight Very Expensive AeroplanesFri 18 Sep 2026 · 13 min
- The Correspondent: an old discovered pilot from the early days of Benedict and GazFri 18 Sep 2026 · 4 min
- 17 Sep 2026 · A Shipping Pledge With A Saudi-Shaped Hole In ItThu 17 Sep 2026 · 8 min
- Special, 16 Aug 1947 · Two Countries and No BorderThu 17 Sep 2026 · 9 min
- Special, 20 Oct 1781 · The Colonies Have Left the BuildingThu 17 Sep 2026 · 8 min
- 16 Sep 2026 · Red Lines, Empty Magazines and a Cloud That ForgotWed 16 Sep 2026 · 5 min