Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Nick Knowles' sandwich fury, Lizzie Cundy's awkward Meghan Markle rebuke and Eamonn Holmes' Spanish getaway.By Barely Contained

In democracies all around the world, criminal organizations are involved in electoral politics. Notable examples include the Sicilian mafia and Pablo Escobar's drug cartel in Colombia. We sometimes think of these criminal groups as having politicians in their pockets or as directing politicians to do their bidding at the barrel of a gun. But our gu…

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including G Flip partying like a rock star, Lana Del Rey's alligator tour guide romance and Oasis date clash chaos.By Barely Contained

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Craig Charles' Crispy Pancake crusade, Rafael Nadal's adorable mini-me and Kerry Katona's offer to Donald Trump.By Barely Contained

Today on Scope Conditions: college dorms shed light on where group culture comes from and how it molds us. At Harry Potter’s alma mater, each new student is assigned to a House that aligns with their true character. The mystical Sorting Hat takes the courageous ones and sorts them into House Gryffindor, while the studious know-it-alls go to Ravencl…

Josh Ho-Sang has played for every iteration of professional hockey you can think of: the ECHL, SHL, KHL, OHL, AHL, Team Canada in the Olympics, and of course, the big one, the NHL. He most recently won the 2024 Kelly Cup in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades, leading all other players in the playoffs in helpers with 17 assists. In his limited off…

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Jessie J's free Wikifeet account, Hugh Grant's concert carrots and a household anthem for almost four decades.By Barely Contained

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Jane McDonald's pork pie addiction, Nadia Sawalha's sad eight-word childhood admission and Richard Madeley's icy privates.By Barely Contained

GribCast - Two Random Songs by the Gribshnobler Fun to Play With, Not to Eat Funtronic Gameventions #retrosynth #music

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Flavor Flav slamming Jelly Roll's trolls, Kirstie Allsopp's dog mess fury and Alan Titchmarsh's slug hatred.By Barely Contained

Jo joins us for our first Conspiracy Corner go around where we discuss several of the wild theories surrounding Britney Spears’s life (and possible death?!) that have circulated in the midst of her conservatorship receiving so much media attention. Graphics by Rebecca Rice (@bexelbee) Theme Song by Vincent D'Angelo (@thatvinid) Follow us on Instagr…

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Bruce Forsyth's unstoppable libido, Megan McKenna's huge cake fail and Jade Thirlwall's driving test error.By Barely Contained

KC is a mental performance coach who believes that training your brain is just as important as training your body for success (and for the record, we agree!) She discusses the importance of visualizing not just your future goals and accomplishments, but also the obstacles you might have to overcome on the journey there, as well as what makes for an…

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Gemma Collins comparing herself to Jesus, Kevin Costner getting a puppy and Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford's practical jokes.By Barely Contained

Most governments around the world – whether democracies or autocracies – face at least some pressure to respond to citizen concerns on some social problems. But the issues that capture public attention — the ones on which states have incentives to be responsive – aren’t always the issues on which bureaucracies, agents of the state, have the ability…

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Piers Morgan's pigeon lady fury, Thylane Blondeau's sunglasses battle and Kim Kardashian's third thumb.By Barely Contained

It's the podcast which has four dinners in a day then goes to Miami to be the body double of a gangster doppelgänger. That’s right, it’s the Christmas special, with Chris Beckett and Matt Withers unwrapping reports of Steven Seagal and George Galloway's feline tug-of-war, Vanilla Ice's pre-internet drug lord meet-ups and Demi Lovato's handles for f…

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Kerry Katona offering an OnlyFans discount to Nigel Farage, Chloe Ferry's shabby online tree and the worst Christmas film ever.By Barely Contained

Laurent "Lou" Correa has lived many lives. He was born in Versailles and grew up playing basketball, a sport that would lead him first to the United States and then onto playing as a professional. Back in France and sidelined by injury, Lou entered the US green card lottery and, amazingly, won. We discuss his decision to transfer from basketball to…

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Maisie Smith and Max George's homelessness setback, Keri Russell's barefoot firewood delivery and Nicole Scherzinger's bed sheet appearance on The One Show.By Barely Contained

Jonathan Fraser returns to The GribCast to share and discuss the music he has released since his last time on the show, plus guest appearances from drummer Elias Jackson and singer Lainey Lavender. Fraser is a musician from Huntington Beach, California, who's output covers several genres, from Post Black Metal, to melancholy acoustic guitar, from n…

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Emily Ratajkowski's little-seen spectacles, a great Frasier conspiracy theory and Jonny Regan's trip to the shops.By Barely Contained

Today on Scope Conditions, what’s the secret to successful peacekeeping? We often think of civil conflict as being driven by organized, armed groups – like rebel militias and state armies. But as our guest today reminds us, a leading cause of conflict around the world is communal violence – fights that break out between civilians over land, cattle,…

Scott Edwards’ primary passion at this point in his life are his wife, dogs, and his three kids (one of whom happens to be one of the co-hosts of this very podcast), but today he joins us to discuss how his love for ice hockey was translated into becoming a professional referee. He tells us about his time growing up on the east coast with a gaggle …

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Wagner fans fearing his demise in a plane crash, Molly Marsh debuting a 'cute' new hibiscus tattoo and Grimes' galactic retirement plans.By Barely Contained

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including an unorthodox tribute to Mick Jagger on his 80th birthday, Richard and Judy's Italian lunch and Christine McGuinness's lingerie-clad duck shock.By Barely Contained

Chelsey Goldberg is the very first guest to join us in person for an awesome conversation. She is a professional women’s ice hockey player who currently plays for team Adidas in the PWHPA. She talks us through her move from California to the east coast and back again, the many injuries she overcame throughout her years of playing, and all the ways …

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including a silent tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth, Kanye West's shoeless shopping trip and the BBC's Sophie Ellis-Bextor iPlayer snub.By Barely Contained

Today on Scope Conditions: when is racial status a unifying force in politics? Shared experiences of prejudice and discrimination can sometimes help create shared political identities within and across racial minority groups and strong incentives for collective mobilization. But as our guest today points out, neither race nor racial-minority status…

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Harry Styles' cheeky quip, Pam Ayres' royal revelations and a probe into the whereabouts of the cast of Last of the Summer Wine.By Barely Contained

In this episode, I chat with Mark W. Tiedemann, Author of Science Fiction and Historical Fiction, Blogger, Photographer, and musician. We discuss his novels Compass Reach and Granger's Crossing (just out from Blank Slate Press) and his short stories Camphor and Follow, Past Meridian, both published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine. Along…

Danny Breda is the young head coach of Trine University Men’s Rugby team in Indiana. Growing up playing an unpopular sport in and around Baltimore, MD., Danny brings us through his playing career, how he made his way into coaching, and the road to his dream job. He explains his experience building the Trine Men’s Rugby team from the ground up and e…

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Princess Diana's wafer-thin ham appearance, a distracting Tipping Point contestant and Bhad Bhabie's unexpected retirement.By Barely Contained

Join the Gribshnobler and LadyMsGee as he reads her The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, in its entirety (originally for Victober). Though this episode does contain the entire science fiction novel, it does also include background sounds such as chair rocking and cat noises, along with mistakes, comments, jokes, brief tangents, etc.. Think of it like y…

Lola Mormino is a personal trainer, nutritionist, and owner of Lola's House Gym/Physical Fitness Center in Westlake. She takes us through her harrowing journey in life battling against a multitude of health issues that literally started the day she was born and how she's been able to overcome it all by way of her passions, to now owning her own bus…

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Snoop Dogg's Coronation Street dream, a Kate Bliss height query and Helen Flanagan melting the internet. Plus news of an episode-by-episode Rude Dog podcast.By Barely Contained

Lauren Greer is a screenwriter who has written for shows like “Timeless”, “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector”, and “Gen V”, the highly anticipated spinoff of “The Boys”, coming later this year. Lauren takes us through her journey in the film industry and explains how playing both ice hockey and field hockey prepared her to work in a writer…

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Natalie Cassidy's shower confession, Fern Britton's paperback apology and Devin Booker and Kendall Jenner unfollowing each other on Instagram.By Barely Contained

Jon Bebey is a physical therapist by trade, but today he’s here to discuss his passion for financial planning and literacy. Jon takes us through the steps he took to become financially independent in the midst of a pandemic and the worthy sacrifices that come with saving money. He also discusses a few of the biggest money-eating traps and how to av…

Today on Scope Conditions, can we teach voters how to tell truth from lies? Around the world, governments and political parties wield misinformation as a powerful political weapon – a weapon that is massively amplified by social media. A large and growing literature has investigated how misinformation spreads and ways of combating it – from correct…

Here’s a small taste of what’s to come: us talking nonsense but mostly us talking to some really interesting humans about their passions. We’re excited to present Passion Punch – a place where people can nerd out about the things they can’t live without. Special thank you to amazing Rebecca Rice for her amazing work on our logos! Find her at @bexel…

Matt Withers and Chris Beckett return for another look at the latest online celebrity journalism, including Hulk Hogan's toilet paper emergency, Gavin Henson's huge beard and Hilary Duff's Laguna Beach snub.By Barely Contained

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers get 2023 off and running with a selection of the latest online showbiz stories, including Nicole Kidman's decent falafel roll, Sam Smith's animal print bikini bottoms and five celebrities who wear Crocs.By Barely Contained

The Gribshnobler is joined by 3 contributors to Hugo Book Club Blog to discuss the Hugo nominated short science fiction story Passengers by Robert Silverberg, a haunting work about social interaction and aliens taking over our minds. Part of the 1970 Hugos series of episodes, and featuring music by Bloodhag and Rich God. Check out Hugo Book Club Bl…

It's the podcast which has four dinners in a day then goes to Miami to be the body double of a gangster doppelgänger. That’s right, it’s the Christmas special, with Matt Withers and Chris Beckett unwrapping reports of Machine Gun Kelly's odd leech snap, a massive Love Actually spoiler and Winnie Harlow's trip to the Crypto Dot Com Arena.…

Today on Scope Conditions: why the judge’s gavel is sometimes mightier than the sword. Political trials – or show trials – are a well-known mode of repression in authoritarian settings. We often think of a show trial as a sham version of the real thing: the autocrat affords his enemy a semblance of due process to give off the appearance of fairness…

Chris Beckett and Matt Withers ignore Matt Hancock's jungle antics and delve into some of the fortnight's lesser-reported celebrity news, including Mikaela Testa's seductive hamburger eating, David Beckham's little farm car and an Only Fools and Horses reunion with a difference.By Barely Contained

Happy Halloween! Tune in for a brand new music special from The GribCast. Including Rock, Progresssive Rock, Gypsy Punk, Jazz Fusion, experimental music, Synthwave, metal, dark ambient, and, taking inspiration from some classic pulp magazines I recently required, this episode also features two short stories (by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Isaac…

Happy Victober! Join The Gribshnobler as he reads aloud Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, in its entirety, to LadyMsGee. This is not a typical audiobook though, leaving in comments and jokes and various life and background noises, including getting water, cat shenanigans, chair rocking, lots of sniffling, etc... Does The Gribshnobl…

Today on Scope Conditions: what drives discrimination against immigrants – and what can be done about it? When social scientists have sought to explain anti-immigrant bias, they’ve tended to focus on one of two possible causes: the perceived economic threat that migrants might pose to the native born or the cultural threat driven by differences in …