CakeWatch

otto and the moog's Great British CakeWatch

About the show

Steve - @guitarmoog - and Chris - @ottocrat - investigate cakeism: the philosophy of having your cake and eating it, as preached and practised by the British government in its approach to Brexit. Each week, we explore the latest developments as we head towards Brexit and spend time wading through the weeds from the perspective of two long-standing Brussels and UK government insiders. Our aim: to inform you, our listeners, about EU realities and so, hopefully, to equip you to spot lies and to thwart attempts to manipulate you. There may be swearing. We are regularly joined by guests and occasionally by special guest co-hosts.

CakeWatch on social media

Episodes

  • Episode 72: The Four-Letter Guest

    6 October 2020  |  1 hr 25 mins
    european politics, history, philosophy

    Chris is joined by not one but two very special guests for ninety minutes of reliving late night undergraduate philosophy discussions as we ponder what it is to be a liberal

  • Episode 71: Specific and Limited Return

    23 September 2020  |  49 mins 23 secs
    boris johnson, brexit, conservative party, future relationship

    The podcast returns, in a specific and limited way, after a long hiatus during lockdown. Chris and Garvan debate which is the biggest lie of all: is it the Northern Irish backstop? Or sovereignty? Why not both?

  • Episode 70: Our Friends In The North

    4 March 2020  |  1 hr 49 secs
    brexit, european parliament, green deal, green party, mental health

    Alviina Alametsä is a Member of the European Parliament from Finland whose particular policy interests are public mental health and conflict resolution, so who better to talk to Cakewatch about tackling the Brexit aftermath?

  • Episode 69: Back to the Future

    4 February 2020  |  1 hr 3 mins
    brexit, fta, future relationship, trade agreement

    Will the future EU-UK relationship look like the one outlined by the European Commission in its proposal for a negotiating mandate? Chris Kendall and David Henig discuss.

  • Episode 68: One Thousand Days

    22 January 2020  |  1 hr 43 mins
    brexit

    As we head into the final week of the UK's EU membership, we discuss Steve's album 'One Thousand Days', the challenges which EU citizens in the UK continue to face, and how one can help the other.

  • Episode 67: We Raged Against the Lying of the Right

    16 December 2019  |  1 hr 36 mins
    brexit, electoral reform, eu, eu politics, european union, federalism, uk politics

    The fight to Remain in the EU is over, but we did not go gently. The culture war now shifts to other fronts, and it will be a war of attrition. We talk a bit about that.

  • Episode 66: Goodnight and Good Luck

    11 December 2019  |  14 mins 54 secs
    boris johnson, greens, labour, lib dems, snp, tories, uk election, uk politics

    Steve and Chris have a message for you.

  • Episode 65: Vote Early Vote Often Vote Tactically

    3 December 2019  |  1 hr 12 mins
    brexit, conservative party, eu, eu politics, general election, labour party, uk politics

    EU and politics blogger Jon Worth joins Chris to take a deeper dive into tactical voting recommendations for next week's UK general election, plus some reflections on differences between politics in the UK and in other EU countries.

  • Episode 64: Centrist Unicorn Hunt

    19 November 2019  |  58 mins 2 secs
    brexit, conservative party, election, eu politics, labour party, tactical voting, uk politics

    We train our laser sights on some unicorns of the centre and discuss why voting tactically is the morally right thing to do.

  • Episode 63: Honey Badger

    21 October 2019  |  1 hr 3 mins
    brexit, eu, europe, european parliament, peoples vote, politics, referendum, uk politics

    Laura and Chris discuss the weekend's People's Vote march, the Johnson 'deal', and the view from Brussels, a city further enriched last week by the visit of Remainers Now. They talk about what brings them here.

  • Episode 61: Brexit is a Legacy Issue

    2 October 2019  |  1 hr 6 mins
    brexit, conservative party, eu, revoke, tories, uk politics

    The Bad News: Brussels wants the UK to “just get on with it”. The Good News: the populist revolution is eating itself. Or is it?

  • Episode 60: Bettel The Devil You Know

    17 September 2019  |  1 hr 24 mins
    boris johnson, brexit, europe, general election, labour party, lib dems, no deal, politics, referendum, uk politics

    Johnson's arrogant, disrespectful brinkmanship; hardening EU antagonism; and ways forward out of (or further into?) this mess. Plus: what happens the morning after an Article 50 revocation?

  • Episode 59: Rentrée

    4 September 2019  |  1 hr 24 mins
    brexit, conservative party, eu, labour party, uk politics

    After a night watching the House of Commons taking back control, are there grounds for hope? The minority government versus hung parliament contest is in its endgame.

  • Episode 58: Transatlantic Perspective

    5 August 2019  |  1 hr 4 mins
    brexit, eu, johnson, trump, uk politics, us politics

    How do Americans view Brexit and the EU? Jason Knoll is a High School teacher from Wisconsin and also a huge fan of the European Union. He joins Chris via Skype from Verona, Wisconsin, to talk transatlantic about politics, parallels, and survival during difficult times.

  • Episode 57: Act Three Scene Three

    23 July 2019  |  1 hr 12 mins
    brexit, conservative party, eu, uk politics

    Peter Wilding returns to the podcast to chat to Chris about the ongoing English Revolution and whether the Gammon Jacobins will have very long to savour their victory.

  • Episode 56: Montagegate

    25 June 2019  |  1 hr 18 mins
    brexit, eea, efta, eu, referendum, single market, uk politics

    Steve Analyst returns as co-host with Chris to talk about his latest monster Twitter thread documenting the manipulation of news footage in an attempt to convince Leavers that they knew they were voting to leave the Single Market.

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