Geoff Norcott's Working Men's Club

Summary

Podcast Summary: Geoff Norcott's Working Men's Club

Podcast: Comedy of the Week, BBC Radio 4
Host: Geoff Norcott
Air Date: May 4, 2026

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Overview

This episode of Geoff Norcott's Working Men’s Club, recorded live in Leeds, takes a comedic yet probing look at the state of male identity, anger, and privilege in modern Britain. Geoff Norcott uses humor and audience interaction to dissect stereotypes about men—particularly the trope of the "angry middle-aged white man"—and asks whether societal grievances are justified or just a byproduct of changing fortunes and expectations. Along the way, he explores topics such as mental health, wealth inequality, generational shifts, and male privilege, always keeping the tone irreverent and lively.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Yorkshire Pride and Comedy of Exclusion

• Norcott pokes fun at Yorkshire stereotyping, highlighting the region’s immense pride and what it offers Britain.
• Audience banter: Matt claims “Yorkshire gave the world Sean Bean.”
  • [01:10] “Everything's Yorkshire, innit? He's just from Yorkshire, isn't he?” – Matt
• Norcott reassures listeners the club isn’t “manosphere,” joking that men wary of discussions about feelings can escape to a “listening booth at the back” blasting chants from the darts.
  • [00:14] “Don’t worry, it won’t go all Andrew Tate, but it might go a bit Andrew Flintoff.” – Geoff Norcott

2. Men’s Mental Health and Social Shifts

• Norcott discusses the UK government’s new Men’s Health Strategy and the social stigma of men talking about feelings, noting the difficulty in places like Leeds:
  • [02:41] “There are places near here where ... they think mental health is someone who's much healthier than they need to be.”
• Coverage of the Premier League’s “Together Against Suicide” campaign and the subtle messaging in a Norwich City video about male emotional isolation.

3. “Manly Hypotheticals” and Audience Interaction

• Regularly uses hypothetical questions to diffuse tension, involving both men and women in the audience:
  • [04:52] Karen, a prison worker, jokes she’d stand with both Kanye West and Prince Andrew, “Because I work in a prison.”
  • Guinness Zero debate: Vicky insists that even non-alcoholic beer drinkers should buy a round, “Because it's the same price as a pint of beer.” [06:41]

4. Stereotypes, Gary Neville, and Angry Middle-Aged White Men

• Focus shifts to Gary Neville’s assertion that “angry middle-aged white men” are the root of social division.
  • Norcott critiques Neville's hypocrisy and divisive persona, humorously noting: [08:04] “Gary Neville is so argumentative and divisive. He could rescue my dog from a canal and I'd shout, 'put my dog down, you irritating git.'”
  • Points out the media’s double standards, and teases that without this demographic, Neville would “have a much smaller audience for your stupid podcast.”
• Norcott notes that while angry online behavior is mostly from men like himself, this behavior is rooted in cultural and class grievances compounded by socialization:
  • [11:17] “Among our mates, we love to banter ... in a pub, these moments pass quickly ... but from a stranger disembodied at 3am, they lose some of their charm.”

5. Privilege, Class, and Gender Pay Gaps

• Norcott delivers a nuanced take on privilege, questioning whether it is as monolithic as often portrayed—suggesting that class is often overlooked in discussions about male advantage.
  • [13:55] “Personally, throughout history I'd have preferred to be a middle class woman than a working class man. ... Imagine being a young white male who never had much power to begin with.”
• Invites female audience members to discuss which male privileges they would want:
  • Amanda identifies the gender pay gap: [14:24] “Men to give up their higher paid salaries.”
  • Norcott responds: [14:33] “In my experience, usually [the funny female comics are] in the bigger room.”
  • Amanda later concedes, if roles were reversed, she “wouldn’t necessarily share” the advantage, which Geoff thanks her for honestly admitting.

6. Economic Anxiety and the Middle-Aged Male Malaise

• Norcott suggests one reason for male anger is economic: declining wealth, stagnating wages, and delayed or threatened retirement.
  • [15:50] “If any white males have the right to lament their fading prospects, it's Gen Z.”
• Jokes about pension projections and how retirement age keeps drifting further away, especially for manual laborers.
  • [22:06] “I'm not sure this government has factored in how a plumber ... is supposed to still do his job at 68. ... most of them take four minutes to get out of a chair.”

7. Marriage, Happiness, and Longevity

• Statistics show married men are happier and live longer, while for women, marriage brings less benefit.
  • [22:40] “Main benefit for women is if you wake up in a bad mood, there’s someone to blame.”
• Invites Liam to speculate which member of Take That will “go first.” Liam humorously picks Jason Orange for a “breakdancing accident.” [23:45]

8. Banter Versus Toxicity, Generational Change, and Accepting Loss of Privilege

• Norcott acknowledges that while “angry middle-aged white men” do populate online abuse, there’s a need to ask why instead of simply blaming.
  • [25:20] Quotes Franklin Leonard: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”
• Concludes with practical advice: process anger in healthy ways, don’t project online, and maybe just “write it in the comments section of Gary Neville’s podcast.” [26:59]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "[02:46] Mental health is someone who’s much healthier than they need to be. Did you hear about Gary? Ran a marathon. I think he's mental." — Geoff Norcott
• "[04:52] Because I work in a prison." — Karen, on why she’d stand next to Kanye West and Prince Andrew
• "[08:04] Gary Neville is so argumentative ... he could rescue my dog and I'd shout, 'put my dog down, you irritating git.'" — Geoff Norcott
• "[11:17] Among our mates, we love to banter ... but from a Stranger disembodied at 3AM, I dare say they lose some of their charm." — Geoff Norcott
• "[14:33] Usually in the bigger room." — Norcott, on where to find funny female comedians versus his own gigs
• "[23:48] Jason Orange. Dramatic breakdancing accident.” — Liam votes on which Take That member will 'go first'

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Important Timestamps

• [00:02-01:30] – Yorkshire pride, regionalism, and the “man club” conceit
• [02:30-03:40] – Jokes on mental health in Leeds and sports-based suicide prevention
• [04:28-05:15] – Audience hypotheticals: awkward questions (Kanye West, Prince Andrew); prison work anecdote
• [06:35-07:05] – Guinness Zero and rounds: do non-drinkers still pay?
• [08:00-11:50] – Gary Neville and the “angry middle-aged white man” trope; analysis of online abuse and banter
• [13:00-16:00] – Discussion on class, privilege, and male identity; women’s audience responses
• [20:30-22:30] – Retirement anxiety; the shifting “Valhalla” of men’s golden years
• [23:45-24:19] – The Take That mortality debate
• [25:00-27:00] – Closing arguments on anger, privilege, and advice on channeling resentment

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Overall Tone & Style

• Language register: Sarcastic, witty, self-aware; consistently pokes fun at both “laddish” culture and modern progressive narratives.
• Atmosphere: Inclusive, interactive, but not afraid of uncomfortable truths or divisive opinions.
• Balance: Mixes sharp social commentary with observational humor, audience jokes, and flights of nostalgia.

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Conclusion

Geoff Norcott’s Working Men’s Club blends stand-up comedy with thoughtful social analysis, offering both laughs and insights about the modern male experience. The episode highlights the reality that anger, privilege, and social status are complicated and often misunderstood, sympathetically examining the “angry male” stereotype while questioning received wisdom—and making sure everyone, regardless of gender or politics, gets their share of laughs along the way.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Geoff Norcott's Working Men's Club. If this is the first time you're listening and you're worried it all sounds a bit manosphere, don't worry, it won't go all Andrew Tate, but it might go a bit Andrew. Flint off. However, for the men in the room who aren't always at ease talking about feelings, if you do need a timeout, there's a listening booth at the back with the chant from the darts on a constant lo. 10 men in the room who knew what I was on about. Just a quick reminder, however, that this show is not exclusionary. And I mean, the subject matter absolutely is exclusionary, but anybody is welcome to listen. There are actual women in the audience tonight. Give us a cheer. But just like American immigration under Donald Trump, we've checked their last five years of social media to see if they've ever said anything derogatory about Luke Littler or Fawlty Towers. And for tonight's episode, we're once again back in Leeds. An airport, rugby and football teams, a thriving nightlife. What doesn't Leeds have? From my experience, I'd say humility. And no one, no one has as much pride in their county as people from Yorkshire. I mean, you'll never hear someone from Shropshire going, shropshire, Shropshire. Possibly because nothing interesting has ever happened in Shropshire. I mean, fair play, the Industrial Revolution did start in Shropshire, but they haven't given the world anything as interesting as Billy Bremner's hair. First question, Yorkshire. Given anything else to Britain and the world that you'd like to celebrate tonight? I know we here. We got a hand up at the back there. What's your name? Matt. Matt, what has Yorkshire given the world? Sean Bean. Sean Bean United. It's a bit of a niche reference. Now you're giving away Sean Bean. What is. What do you think is something in Sean Bean's acting that is unique and that you appreciate just the voice, the. The character he brings, Everything's Yorkshire, innit? He's just from Yorkshire, isn't he? I mean, that sort of underlines the point. One of the things that we consider on this show is how men are really feeling, which we'll come to later as the subject to this week's show. It's a focus we've continued from the first series when we wondered why this country has a minister for women but not for men. Possibly because Ministry for Men sounds like a nightclub on Canal street and a bloody good one. However, to this government's credit, they did, under Health Secretary Wes Streat. In. Bring in the first ever men's health strategy. All I'll say is 2024, the first series of this show went out. 2025, the government take action. You do the math. Now, the proper Radio 4 listeners would have rightly noted that I just said math, which is the American usage. So just for safety and to avoid death threats from retired English teachers, you do the maths. I would happily concede, however, that women's bodies are more complex than men's. There are more moving parts, but men can't get pregnant. Not that you think that these days. Looking at the blokes outside Wetherspoons. Yeah, you thought that was gonna be an edgy trans joke. It was just a bit of good old fashioned fat shaming when it comes to how men are feeling. The men's health strategy is taking on the stigma around mental health, which is still a hard sell in parts of Leeds. There are places near here where. Where they think mental health is someone who's much healthier than they need to be. Did you hear about Gary? Ran a marathon. I think he's mental. The government are also partnering with the Premier League for the Together Against Suicide campaign. Now, many of you would have seen moving videos by the likes of clubs such as Brighton and Norwich City on this very subject. In the Norwich City video, we see an introverted man and an outgoing fellow sitting side by side in the same seats week in, week out. One guy is forever grumpy and the other is always smiling and singing. However, one day there's an empty seat and it's not the guy you expect. Moving stuff. So, as ever, we'll use manly hypotheticals to break the tension when we get a bit too close to actual feelings. So here's a manly hypothetical. Would you rather be pictured standing next to Kanye west or the artist formerly known as Prince Andrew? We will need answer for this, so would you a photo? We got a hand up somewhere. What is your name? Karen. Karen. Okay, well, the share price of your name fell off a cliff, didn't it?

[B]

Stop it.

[A]

And the worst thing is you can't even complain. Sorry, Karen. Sorry. You're playing my silly game of answering questions and I've just. I'm so sorry.

[B]

I thought you were better than that.

[A]

I thought you were better. I mean, if you thought I was better than that, you didn't listen to series one. I would say. Who would you rather stand next to, Karen?

[B]

Well, both, actually.

[A]

You'd rather stand next to. Wow. Kanye and Andrew Mountbatten. Why is that?

[B]

Because I work In a prison.

[A]

And to be clear, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor denies any wrongdoing. The Men's Health strategy will also target risky behaviors like drinking, poor diet, smoking and gambling. Which is one way to ruin a perfectly good night out, eh, lads? I mean, seriously, you take all that out and it's just discussing your life with friends no one wants. Even though there are still some policy issues to iron out, I'm gonna do something no one's done for quite a while by saying free cheers for the UK government for finally acknowledging that half the population dying younger and doing worse at school might warrant specific attention. Maybe labour could now grapple with other head scratchers. Like, why does no one respect the guy with the silly voice who keeps changing his mind? Look, do not bring me in. Sorry, kid, but we should always acknowledge progress. And since my last series, there is undoubtedly undeniably more focus on male well being. Last Christmas we had the viral John Lewis Rave dad commercial. If anything suggested the male representation had become a bit negative, it was an advert going viral. Because the dad wasn't a dick and the son wasn't a sociopath. It was refreshing to see acknowledgement of the codes around male emotional intimacy. But I'll be honest, I feared the worst when I saw a pale 18 year old with jet black hair sitting on his own thought, hello. The adolescent sequel looks a bit depressing. Emergency hypothetical. Okay, if you're drinking Guinness zero, do you still have to buy a round? Okay, we've got any hands up for this? We've got a positive answer over here. What is your name?

[B]

Vicky.

[A]

Vicky. Nice to meet you, Vicky. So if you're drinking Guinness zero, do you still have to buy around?

[B]

Absolutely, absolutely.

[A]

Why is that?

[B]

Because it's same price as a pint of beer.

[A]

Yeah, but they're not having any fun, Vicky.

[B]

Well, that's their own silly fault. That don't mean rest of us are.

[A]

Do you drink non alcoholic beers?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Have you ever drunk one while driving

[B]

a non alcoholic beer?

[A]

Yeah. Cause you can.

[B]

Well, that's what I've been drinking tonight.

[A]

No, but while you're actually driving, like while you could do it. It's not illegal. I'll tell you from experience, it feels illegal. It's the same as when you give it to a baby.

[B]

Yeah, in my line of work I can't really say that I've drank a non alcoholic beer whilst driving.

[A]

Vicky, thanks very much for contributing. Give her a round of applause. But it hasn't all been positive for men in the cult. Another focal point for debate was Gary Neville asserting that all of society's divisions were being caused by angry middle aged white men. And that's our focus for tonight's episode and also what we were going to call this series. Now, personally, I know I'm out on a serious limb here in Leeds. I don't mind admitting it. I have some problems with Gary Neville and I know I'm an edge lord, but I had problems with his assertion. One, I looked at Gary Neville critiquing angry middle aged white men and thought in the words of the great historians from Newman and Medill, that's you, that is Gary Neville. Gary Neville is so argumentative and divisive. He's one of those rare blokes who can even piss off people who agree with him on almost everything. I mean, he's tactically astute, he speaks a lot of sense about football fans being priced out of the game. He hates var. But I'm still, I'm just not having him. I mean, he could rescue my dog from a canal and I'd shout, put my dog down, you irritating git. Whether it was on a football field looking terrified of Roy Keane or in a podcast studio looking terrified of Roy Keane or hiding in the commentary gantry because he's too scared to be in the same room as Roy Keane, the whole Gary Neville brand is an angry wind up merchant. Secondly, Gary, without those angry middle aged white men, you'd have a much smaller audience for your stupid podcast. Thirdly, we all know the rules for the liberal media that Neville works in, so the suspicion lingered that he wouldn't have dared stereotype any other communities that way. Would he claim that the problems, for example of going to the doctors are caused by nosy female receptionists with a God complex? Or that the worst thing about his stupid podcast is all the laughing? For God's sake, stop laughing and tell us whether United should have started with a back free. Where was I? Oh yeah, angry middle aged white men. So Gary Neville's always been outspoken about his political views on social media. He recorded this particular video shortly after an attack on the Jewish community in Manchester, which was very much not carried out by angry middle aged white men. However, that's not to say that what Neville said was completely without risk. He might not have taken any risk within the liberal bubble, but as everyone in the public eye knows, if you are going to get criticised on social media, the assailants are most likely to be male and a lot of them will be middle aged and yes, white. I've had a few Myself, though, the most cutting insult I ever had was after the first episode of Mass Report went out. There were plenty of people calling me a right wing bootlicker or Bill Hicks for people who shop at Stone Island. But. But one woman did more psychological harm than all of them when she tweeted. Well, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Sort of like finishing sex and your partner going, good for you. Neville's accusations came at the end of a hot summer where many people had hung St. George's crosses and union flags around their community. He concluded all of those flags came from a toxic place. Now, I'm patriotic and I don't want to presume the worst about men from any community, especially my own, but I can't lie. If I drive into a town with a lot of flags up and a kid makes me the enticing offer of a fiver to guard my car, I'll generally think of it as an investment. Also, they need to get some taller men to put those flags up or a ladder, because why are they always at half mast? I drove through Bromley the other day and I thought Nigel Farage had died. Listeners across the political spectrum will have their own ideas on what motivates a white English male to climb a lamppost to hang a flag. But I want to focus on the anger bit. I don't think angry middle aged white men are causing all the division in Britain, but they're certainly responsible for some of it. And if they are angry, surely we should be curious as to why. I'd argue some of it is just straightforward grumpiness. Grumpiness is an inherent part of the middle aged blokey brand. It often starts with growing irritation at smaller things. So let's go for a simple one now. Any just simple everyday things that make you, and this is only for the men now that make you annoyed. Grumpy. There seems like there's a gentleman at the back there. What's your name, sir? Colin. Colin. And what things make you grumpy and middle aged, Colin? Cretins on e Scooters. Cretins on e scooters. In terms of things that make you grumpy, I'll go for some low hanging fruit. For me, it's people playing music out of their phones on public transport. Yeah, I thought that might get you that one. Yeah, on the one day a month that you still commute. Furious, ain't you? However, feeling a bit grumpy doesn't excuse going online and saying hateful things to strangers. And data from the Alan Turing Institute does corroborate the idea that the majority of it comes from guys like me. However, I wonder if part of that, at least, is cultural. Part of white men's socialization comes from the publisher, where walking in and calling everyone a prick is considered a tad on the formal side. Among our mates, we love to banter, and if one of our friends delivers an opinion we think is poorly thought through, we'll often pick them up with nuanced challenges such as Shut up Dave, no one cares. Also, you are bald in a pub. These moments pass quickly enough amid the general ping pong of masculine word rallies, but from a Stranger disembodied at 3am, I dare say they lose some of their charm. But online insults are at the lighter end of things, and there are, sadly, people who systematically abuse others, often bringing in race and gender as an aggravating factor. But where does that come from? And why does it seem to be on the rise in the online sphere? An LSE report as far back as 2017 chronicled a number of reasons why working class white men felt they were losing their social status. This kind of anxiety gets short shrift in liberal circles who presume that merely being white and owning a penis is a lifelong golden ticket from Willy Wonka. But that's a very broad view of being male, which doesn't take into account the qualifying issue of class. Personally, throughout history I'd have preferred to be a middle class woman than a working class man. I mean, who would you rather be, Lady Chatterley or her lover? I mean, I'm sure Lamellos would have loved to spend the afternoon collecting wild flowers, but he was too busy yanking the guts out of a pheasant. I mean, yeah, it did sound euphemistic out loud. Class means that the very concept of privilege is more slippery than some people let on. I mean, imagine being a young white male who never had much power to begin with. Then you turn on a late night discussion to see someone called Hegemony talk about how you as a man should surrender your privilege. I mean, if you're a manual worker in Wigan, you might ask, exactly which privilege of mine would she like? Does she want to get up at 5am to stand in the cold? Does she fancy getting arthritis? And why do all Jeff's examples of underprivileged men live in Wigan? Have you even heard of Mansfield? Ladies, let's talk about male privilege. This is a question for ladies. Now think about a male privilege and think about which one you'd like men to give up, which you might like to have? What are male privileges that you might quite like? What's your name?

[B]

Amanda.

[A]

Amanda, what male privilege would you like

[B]

men to give up their higher paid salaries?

[A]

Well, you know, you say that I'm someone who's done support for Sarah Milliken and Katherine Ryan. So I take your point. I take your point to a point. Do you know a really funny thing, actually, Amanda, was I was doing a show, one of my first ever tours, and it sold so badly, right? We'd have to downgrade from the main room to the smaller room, but it's still selling so badly, we had to downgrade to the canteen. And at that time, I was doing support for Sarah and Catherine and some. We did a Q and A with the audience. The guy said to me, where are all the funny female comics, Jeff? I said, in my experience, usually in the bigger room. A fair point, Amanda, but in not

[B]

all pay sectors, some pay sectors are equal, like the police, etc. However, some aren't.

[A]

Okay, Amanda, could I ask you an honest question? Right, just say women were men and you were earning more than a man and a man wanted a bit. Can you just be honest? Would you go, oh, yeah, absolutely. Spread the love.

[B]

No.

[A]

Right. That is an issue. I appreciate your honesty. Give it up for Amanda, everybody. And we might. We might return to that point. We might return to that point. But I understand that feminism, to exist, has to paint in fairly broad brushstrokes, like comedy. It doesn't work if you constantly read out the exceptions. Can you imagine that? Have you ever noticed how women leave things on the bottom step of the stairs? But not all women, and certainly not single women. And let's not forget those old single women who live in bungalows. Also, we need to bear in mind the bigger picture globally, when it comes to privilege, it's fair to say that men are still doing okay. But how does the UK compare? Going into this episode, my hunch was that one reason men are angry is because their financial strength is being eroded. I researched how much the gender wealth gap has narrowed in the last 10 years. However, and you might like this, Amanda. Annoyingly, I found out that the wealth gap in particular got worse for women since COVID which obviously is annoying for women, but it was annoying for me because it didn't help. My point. The women's budget group suggests that women used up more of their savings during the pandemic and immediately after, which put a check on progress. But it's more complicated still. If we're looking at overall wealth, yes, men score higher, but A lot of that is held in pensions and skewed by the unique position of men over the age of 65. Ladies Men of that age have got some serious pensions. So, you know, forget trying to date a six footer in finance. What you really need is someone called Nigel. Mid 60s, still lives with his mum, but got a footsie index tracker in the early 90s. If any white males have the right to lament their fading prospects, it's Gen Z who haven't just faced different economic realities, but also workplace ones too. More than one in three young men feel that their identity has led to miss promotions. The irony being that the diversity and inclusivity drive of the last decade was signed off on largely by older white men who, realizing they were the proverbial dinosaur standing in front of the meteor, acted accordingly. But the important question is, this, was the thing which hit the dinosaurs a meteor or a meteorite? Any answers to that? Because I know there would have been some men I knew. I knew. What's your name, sir? Jonathan. Jonathan, was the thing which hit the dinosaurs a meteor or a meteorite? Neither. It was an asteroid boom. Absolutely. There's also the issue of liberal men who talk a good game on feminism, but only if it involves them sharing out the privilege of blokes with slightly more than them. Like those progressive fellas who encourage their partners to have a natural childbirth and breastfeed because it's best for baby. And also because they're not the ones having their hips displaced or their nipples chewed off. Now cheer if you're a man who still thinks that men have too much power. You're a man, okay? Now cheer if you think that you personally have too much power. Okay, slightly less so. That worked almost too well. Now, speaking of latte drinking soy boys, the producer of this show is so liberal he won't use a disabled toilet because get this, he's not actually disabled. I said to him, ed, come on, he'll be fine, just don't pull the red string. I was talking with him about an audio award he was up for and he mentioned that he'd been nominated eight times but had never won. He also mentioned with some horror that it had never been won by a woman or a person of colour. I suggested that maybe if he stopped entering, there'd be more chance of someone who wasn't a white man winning. And now I've mentioned it on air. How much of a dick is he gonna look if he enters this year? And they say I can't do. Woke up the idea of Sharing your privilege is a nice one, and I might be up for it, but I have another big reservation. Would women do the same if their starting point was the same as men's? Amanda There aren't many examples in the animal kingdom of the alphas sharing out their power. I've yet to hear David Attenborough say the lion is challenged by the young pretender to the throne and the lion says, you know what, I've had a really good run. It's time we get in some new talent. And that is in no way a comment on how long Gary Lineker remained on Match of the Day. I also wonder if there are specific things about being a middle aged man which lead to thinly suppressed rage which then seeks outlet in social media. Middle aged men in the UK, particularly those aged 40 to 59, often report low happiness and life satisfaction, experiencing the biggest dip in well being between the ages of 45 to 54. Now the cynical among you might say that would appear to coincide with the likely window for a wife's menopause. Just to be clear, that is not what I'm saying. It's simplistic, frankly patronizing. And could somebody open, slash, close the window and stop breathing so loudly? This period in a man's life is linked to high anxiety and the pressures of balance in both work and family responsibilities. By the time you're in your mid-40s, those little people who rely on you now want even more expensive stuff. Only now you've got to deliver because they're old enough to remember when you couldn't get a decent gig and spent two years eating baked beans in a onesie. For all the progress that women have made in the workplace, studies based on ONS figures indicate that men still earn more than women in over 70% of UK households. Is that a privilege or a crushing pressure which makes you have these weird nightmares where you're being pursued by an old pound note around the bank of England as depicted in Mary Poppins. Except this time you're M. Banks and instead of being fired by Dick Van Dyke, it feeds you to some giant pigeons. In other news, has anyone tried magic mushrooms before bed? Now this isn't to say that life becoming economically harder means that you can create a fake profile to abuse a female football pundit. I'm just asking why Gary Neville's angry middle aged white men feel that way rather than simply blaming them for all society's ills. If the economy is part of the problem, when do things get better? Well, Labour's deregulation could Lead to an economic boom the likes of which we'd never seen. And the fact that that got a laugh on its own does the word. They might realize that actually reducing the tax burden could kick start the. Okay, no one's buying this. So I guess we'll have to look at retirement now. It was easier for blokes two generations ago whether you had a pension or not. You reached 65, retired, walked the dog for a week, then died of a massive heart attack. Once upon a time, retirement was the point where men's happiness curve started to once again move in the right direction. But that curve is now bending out of reach. I did my pension sums in preparation for this episode. And having looked at all the figures genuinely, I'll be able to stop doing comedy in the year 2057, when I'll be 78. Probably be on a cruise ship by then. But by then, the world be carved into three superpowers, and our ocean liners won't be able to go beyond the English Channel, which will have been renamed the Gulf of Donald. The Valhalla. The Valhalla of retirement is becoming a more distant sunset for most men. But let's not forget what that means for people who actually do manual work. I'm not sure this government has factored in how a plumber starting work today is supposed to still do his job at 68. It's hard to imagine the older men in my family wriggling around an attic when most of them take four minutes to get out of a chair. For most men, the economic situation seems unlikely to to change dramatically. So what else could they do to be less angry? For men, being married is also pretty important. Not only are married men happier, they live longer. For women, I'm afraid there's no extra life for you. The main benefit is if you wake up in a bad mood, there's someone to blame. But interestingly, married women, and particularly mothers, are more likely to report that their life felt more worthwhile than men's. It's a bit deep. So another manly hypothetical. This is my favorite one. Which one of take that will go first? You must have views on this. Which one will take that? It's a bit. We'll include original lineup. Okay. What's your name?

[C]

Liam.

[A]

Liam. Okay, Liam, which one to take that is gonna go first?

[C]

Jason Orange. Dramatic breakdancing accident, Spinning on his head. It's gonna happen. It's gonna happen.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, like, I can't fault your logic, man.

[C]

Yeah, he's reached that age, he thinks he can still do it.

[A]

He'll give it a go. Do you think he might have eased back on the breakdance in his late 40s? He still does it, though. Put a few drinks inside of his nightmare.

[C]

That's it. We all have those moments. You know

[A]

we don't, Liam. It's the truth of it, Jeff.

[C]

We do

[A]

give it up for Liam. So, yes, in the online space of the angry people you encounter, it is statistically likely to be straight, white, middle aged men. Not least because there are more of us. However, there are angry middle aged men in every culture. And I'd argue that in the wider global game of male toxicity, putting up a few flags might be at the lighter end of things. Middle aged men's societal stock might still be higher, but it ain't what it was. As the film producer Franklin Leonard once said, when you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression. Yes, Franklin, but in an era of modern progressive politics, aren't we supposed to take account of how I feel? My lived experience. And my lived experience is that I'll retire with less than my dad and my son has never known a male host of Strictly We Dream On. Come on, Rylan. Our ability to fulfill our most fundamental role of provider is harder than it's ever been. We're tired, and the vast majority of us won't be able to retire for a long time. Okay, I've clearly got the metaphorical violin out, so let's have some actual violin. We're still not that great at talking about our feelings. We know that man flu is real, just as sure as we know that saying we're ill will open us up to ridicule. Even though it's a double standard. Jokes about us going bald are objectively hilarious. We know that the fact we walk the dogs twice a day, even in extreme weather, will never be acknowledged as an act of service. We are aware that knowing the names of the next three storms isn't a transferable skill. But aren't you glad that that someone can tell you the name of the storm ripping your roof off? We know the moustache doesn't look brilliant, but it took the whole of Movember for it to even show, so at least let it stay till January so some other bloke with a tash can nod at us and say, well done, mate. We know that, yes, technically, football wasn't better in my day, but where's the harm in just pretending it was? Nostalgia ain't nostalgia if you have to actually prove it. So I'm not excusing people saying horrible things online or worse still, in person. If your issue really is with immigration or diversity drives, the only logical people to be angry with are those in power. And surely there must be a point when you're sitting alone downstairs and it occurs to you, am I really punching the walls because a black woman is playing a green witch? Or is it something else? Projecting anger doesn't make it go away. It doesn't make it go away. Maybe take that feeling and try and process it. Do some exercise, go for a walk. Or write it all down and see if it still feels like something worth putting in the public domain. Do something nice for the missus, grab the kids, tell them you love them. And if after all that, the raging anger is still there, do the only sensible thing. Write it in the comments section of Gary Neville's podcast. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for listening to Geoff Norcott's work in Men's Club. Geoff Norcott's Working Men's Club was written and perform by me, Jeff Norcott. The producer was Ed Morrish and it was a peer production for BBC Radio 4. Hi, it's Geoff here. If you liked that episode of My Working Men's Club, you can hear more on BBC Sounds. Just search Stand up specials

[D]

hello Wicked Wunderkinds and Degenerate do gooders. It's Russell Cain here, host of Evil Genius, the show that takes famous faces from history and and knocks them off their high horse by revealing three unfortunate facts about their life. We shine a UV torch on the hidden evidence, then present our findings to a jury of three comedians who will decide evil or genius? Join us as we rifle through the drawers of history, then make a mess on the carpet. Listen to Evil Genius first on BBC Sounds.