The Louis Theroux Podcast

Louis is joined by writer, podcaster and subject of not one, not two, but three Louis Theroux documentaries, Megan Phelps-Roper. 25 years on from them meeting, the pair swap notes on Megan’s departure from the church, crossing paths with J.K. Rowling and how social media amplifies our worst impulses. Warnings: Strong language and adult themes. If you've been affected by the topics discussed in this episode, visit spotify.com/resources. Links/Attachments: The three video/audio extracts are from ‘The Most Hated Family in America’ (BBC) TV Show: Deadwood (2004-2006) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348914/ Podcast: The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling (2023) https://open.spotify.com/show/0pOqilA3erTXXQ3cf422Ct Podcast: The Daily Podcast (2017-present) https://open.spotify.com/show/6wVeXmXdT9nh5QKiZxPSmy Book Series: Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling (1997-2007) https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/discover/harry-potter/resources/series-overview/?srsltid=AYCX9vLX_rGZirNt8zcub_I762yQTqKsHXrX6pejimhQdlgtQZgLXYR4 Book: Kill All Normies, Angela Nagle (2017) https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/zer0-books/our-books/kill-all-normies Podcast: Joe Rogan Experience #974 - Megan Phelps-Roper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOnefFVBEb0 Credits: Producer: Tom Fuller Senior Assistant Producer: Maisie Ellen Williams Junior Production Manager: Rosie Pender Production Executive: Francesca Bassett Original Music: Miguel D’Oliveira Video Editor: Scott Edwards Audio Editor: Tom Guest Series Producer: Millie Chu Executive Producer: Arron Fellows A Mindhouse Studios Production for Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Louis speaks with the Poet Laureate of Punk, the Bard of Salford, the Doctor: performance poet John Cooper Clarke. The pair discuss John’s time touring with the Buzzcocks, meeting Chuck Berry backstage, and how his poetry inspired Alex Turner to form Arctic Monkeys. Warnings: Strong language and adult themes. Links/Attachments: Book: Have It, John Cooper Clarke (2026) https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/have-it/9781037404191 Book: I Wanna Be Yours, John Cooper Clarke (2020) https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/i-wanna-be-yours/9781509896127 Advert: Honey Monster & John Cooper Clarke (1988) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ced-0BwY9E Poem: A Subaltern’s Love Song, John Betjeman (1940) https://allpoetry.com/A-Subaltern's-Love-Song Poem: Slough, John Betjeman (1937) https://allpoetry.com/poem/8493391-Slough-by-Sir-John-Betjeman Song: That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, The Smiths (1985) https://open.spotify.com/track/48veRDsAEBOJJnVnnabV99 Poem: Evidently Chickentown, John Cooper Clarke (1980) https://open.spotify.com/track/3bJxvUhRN4nJgab71HkIjc TV Show: The Sopranos (1999-2007) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141842/ Poem: TWAT, John Cooper Clarke (1979) https://open.spotify.com/track/0yEZiblovbuepAogvzSe2w Poem: I Wanna Be Yours, John Cooper Clarke (1982) https://open.spotify.com/album/2etRijq79Wz2U9TIy9ZpdM Song: I Wanna Be Yours, Arctic Monkeys (2013) https://open.spotify.com/track/5XeFesFbtLpXzIVDNQP22n Film: House of Usher (1960) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053925/ Book: Tales of Mystery & Imagination, Edgar Allen Poe (1839) https://wordsworth-editions.com/product/tales-of-mystery-and-imagination/ Book: Les Fleurs du Mal, Charles Baudelaire (1857) https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/the-flowers-of-evil-les-fleurs-du-mal/ Poem: The Man Who Didn’t Love Elvis, John Cooper Clarke (2018) https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/the-luckiest-guy-alive/9781509896066 Poem: Salome Malone, John Cooper Clarke (1978) https://open.spotify.com/track/597ALlSF9Zz08DmYaTrKAr Song: I’m A Lazy Sod, Sex Pistols (1977) https://open.spotify.com/track/760CNZQRrfO7Dse1mkYVn6 Poem: A Cheap Agnostic Funeral, John Cooper Clarke (2026) https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/have-it/9781037404191 Producer: Millie Chu Senior Assistant Producer: Maisie Ellen Williams Junior Production Manager: Rosie Pender Production Executive: Francesca Bassett Original Music: Miguel D’Oliveira Video Editor: Scott Edwards Audio Editor: Tom Guest Executive Producer: Arron Fellows A Mindhouse Studios Production for Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Louis sits down with writer, activist and filmmaker Naomi Klein. They discuss Steve Bannon’s hip hop musical, why data centres are so dangerous, and the tech overlords/edgelords that inspired her latest book, End Times Fascism. Warnings: Strong language and adult themes. Links/Attachments: Book: End Times Fascism, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor (2026) https://naomiklein.org/end-times-fascism/ Book: Doppelganger, Naomi Klein (2023) https://naomiklein.org/doppelganger/ Interview: The full-length interview with Elon Musk, The Economist (2026) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuoqKYxDHVc Play: The Thing I Am, Steve Bannon (1996-1997) https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/opinion/sunday/steve-bannon-hip-hop-shakespeare-rewrite-coriolanus.html Podcast: Bannon’s WarRoom (2019-present) https://open.spotify.com/show/0WyF2LaTcrpWfrTIeKjs1L Book: No Logo, Naomi Klein (1999) https://naomiklein.org/no-logo/ Song: Heart of Glass, Blondie (1979) https://open.spotify.com/track/4v2rkl1mC3zVAz0nXMx9r4 Documentary: Bowling for Columbine (2002) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310793/ Credits: Producer: Tom Fuller Senior Assistant Producer: Maisie Ellen Williams Junior Production Manager: Rosie Pender Production Executive: Francesca Bassett Original Music: Miguel D’Oliveira Video Editor: Scott Edwards Audio Editor: Tom Guest Series Producer: Millie Chu Executive Producer: Arron Fellows A Mindhouse Studios Production for Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Louis is back on the road, this time to visit actor, footballer and professional hard man Vinnie Jones at his Sussex farm. The pair discuss Vinnie’s journey to sobriety, a bizarre standoff with Steven Seagal, and the real story behind those photos with Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne. Warnings: Strong language and adult themes. Links/Attachments: TV Show: The Gentlemen, (2024-present) https://www.netflix.com/title/81437051 Book: A Kestrel for a Knave, Barry Hines (1968) https://www.waterstones.com/book/a-kestrel-for-a-knave/barry-hines/9780141184982 Film: Kes, (1969) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064541/ Film: My Cousin Vinny, (1992) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104952/ Film: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, (1998) https://www.netflix.com/title/16944044 Film: Snatch, (2000) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208092/ Film: Year One, (2009) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045778/ Film: Swordfish, (2001) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244244/ Producer: Millie Chu Senior Assistant Producer: Maisie Ellen Williams Assistant Producer: Andy Cook Junior Production Manager: Rosie Pender Production Executive: Francesca Bassett Original Music: Miguel D’Oliveira Video Editor: Scott Edwards Audio Editor: Tom Guest Executive Producer: Arron Fellows A Mindhouse Studios Production for Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Louis is joined in our brand-new studio by writer, documentarian and creative doppelganger Jon Ronson. Jon tells Louis all about delving into culture wars, how public shaming has created a ‘superbug’ of shamelessness, and the cast of ‘unravelling men’ in his new book, The Castle. Warnings: Strong language and adult themes. Links/Attachments: Book: The Castle, Jon Ronson (2026) https://jonronson.com/book/the-castle/ Book: Them, Jon Ronson (2001) https://jonronson.com/book/them/ TV Episode: Finding Frances, Nathan For You, Comedy Central (2017) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7277634/ TV Show: The Ronson Mission, Channel 4 (1993) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235493/ Book: So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, Jon Ronson (2015) https://jonronson.com/book/so-youve-been-publicly-shamed/ Podcast: Things Fell Apart (2021-2026) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m002j8rl Book: The Dice Man, Luke Rhinehart (1971) https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-dice-man/luke-rhinehart/9780006513902 Article: Something is Wrong on the Internet, James Bridle, Medium (2017) https://medium.com/@jamesbridle/something-is-wrong-on-the-internet-c39c471271d2 Documentary: Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes (2006) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1263704/ Documentary: Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere (2026) https://www.netflix.com/title/81920687 Credits: Producer: Millie Chu Senior Assistant Producer: Maisie Ellen Williams Junior Production Manager: Rosie Pender Production Executive: Francesca Bassett Original Music: Miguel D’Oliveira Video Editor: Scott Edwards Audio Editor: Tom Guest Executive Producer: Arron Fellows A Mindhouse Studios Production for Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices