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Winner - ‘Best History Podcast’ - Independent Podcast Awards 2025
‘Top 30 Podcasts To Listen To Right Now’ - The Radio Times 2025
Direct from PG Towers, join social historian Dr Lee Arnott and TV producer Dave Moor for a lighthearted look at the world of TV, Film and Popular Culture of yesteryear that has since been considered problematic. Each week we focus on a different piece of pop culture, and put it into context by looking at the news events and cultural landscape of the year it was released. Out and proud, Dr Lee and Our Dave present a humorous take on life as LGBTQ+ men of a glorious age, and present a digestible mix of academic social commentary, unflinching life lessons, media analysis, and hot takes on feminism, race, politics and cancel culture.
88 Episodes
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In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we’re joined by actor, writer, comedian, and classic TV chronicler Toby Hadoke for a deep dive into Series 3, Episode 10 of the enduring British cult sci-fi phenomenon Blake’s 7 from 1980. Toby brings his insight, humour, and encyclopaedic genre knowledge to a conversation about what made the series daring, flawed, and unforgettable. We explore the show’s gender politics, performances, production challenges, and the fascinating contradictio...
Dear Gazers, As Our Dave and Dr Lee are off on holiday there’s no Problematic Gazette this weekend. So instead please enjoy this episode from the Gazer Vault. To ease you into the festive season we focus on the Christmas favourite ‘Love Actually’. But beware, it’s not all cutesy lovehearts and romantic festive fayre, anything but! Enjoy!! Join Lee and Dave for a lighthearted look at the world of TV, Film and Popular Culture from yesteryear that has since been considered problematic. Thi...
In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we peel back the layers of the notorious 2014 documentary series Benefits Street, zeroing in on its explosive first episode. We explore how the show, the tabloids and even the government framed poverty, constructed narratives of the “deserving” versus “undeserving” poor, and used editing to transform real lives into sensationalist entertainment. And just how did a mortgage crisis in the USA contribute to austerity in the UK? Join us as we unpack ...
Welcome to The Problematic Gazette, a bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week. To watch video versions of our full episodes check out The Problematic Gaze YouTube channel here! Click here to follow us on all our socials Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze. And if our fellow Gazers want to...
In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we step back into 1979 with Series 3, Episode 1 of Mind Your Language — a British sitcom that turned cultural stereotypes into punchlines and classrooms into chaos. Once celebrated as lighthearted comedy, the show now raises serious questions about race, representation, and the politics of humor. We unpack the episode’s jokes, characters, and reception — asking: What did 1979 find funny? How did the show reflect Britain’s uneasy relationship with multi...
Our Dave and Dr Lee welcome Gazers to The Problematic Gazette, a bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week. To watch video versions of our full episodes check out The Problematic Gaze YouTube channel here! Click here to follow us on all our socials Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze. ...
Pack your wedding dress and your ABBA mixtape, darling — this week we’re heading to Porpoise Spit. Muriel’s Wedding made us laugh, cry, and secretly want to walk down the aisle to “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.” But beneath the sequins and self-tan lies a biting portrait of 1990s Australia — where success meant a white dress, a husband, and a ticket out of small-town obscurity. Dave and Dr. Lee take a nostalgic (and occasionally uncomfortable) look at how female friendship, fat-shaming, and f...
Ever watch an old TV show or film and think, “Could you get away with that today?” Join TV writer Dave Moor and social historian Dr. Lee Arnott as they take a wry, thoughtful and lighthearted look back at six decades of television and film — from Sex and the City to Threads, The Golden Girls to Love Actually, Benny Hill to Only Fools and Horses. Each week we revisit the shows, news headlines, and pop culture moments that shaped their eras, asking the awkward questions with humour, heart, and ...
Fresh from winning 'Best History Podcast' at The Independent Podcast Awards, welcome Gazers to The Problematic Gazette, a bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week. To watch video versions of our full episodes check out The Problematic Gaze YouTube channel here! Click here to follow us on all our socials Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help ...
In this special Halloween episode, The Problematic Gaze dives into Robert Hiltzik’s Sleepaway Camp (1983), a cult classic slasher that mixes lakeside gore with one of the most infamous twists in horror history. What begins as a standard teen body count film turns into a messy collision of gender anxiety, repression, and moral panic. We unpack how Sleepaway Camp reflects (and distorts) early ’80s fears around gender nonconformity, the portrayal of trauma and queerness in horror, and how its sh...
Fresh from winning 'Best History Podcast' at The Independent Podcast Awards, welcome Gazers to The Problematic Gazette, a bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week. To watch video versions of our full episodes check out The Problematic Gaze YouTube channel here! Click here to follow us on all our socials Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help ...
In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we hop into the telly TARDIS back to January 8th, 1975 — and land smack in the middle of The Benny Hill Show at the height of its powers: ratings through the roof, international fame, and a cast of women who seemed contractually obligated to wear only lingerie and smiles. Benny Hill was a comedy genius, no doubt — a master of physical timing, quick-cut gags, and musical parodies. But beneath the laughs (and above the hemlines) lies a cultural artifact ...
Fresh from winning 'Best History Podcast' at The Independent Podcast Awards, welcome Gazers to The Problematic Gazette, a bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week. To watch video versions of our full episodes check out The Problematic Gaze YouTube channel here! Click here to follow us on all our socials Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help ...
In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we rewatch the very first episode of Game of Thrones with our eyes wide open — and the rose-colored glasses off. Once hailed as a gritty feminist epic, the show’s legacy now looks a lot messier. We dig into how Game of Thrones glorified sexual violence, punished ambitious women, and stripped its female leads of power and complexity. But it didn’t stop there: we also unpack the show’s troubling handling of race — from the white savior fantasy of Daenery...
Welcome Gazers to The Problematic Gazette, a welcome bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week. To watch video versions of our full episodes check out The Problematic Gaze YouTube channel here! Click here to follow us on all our socials Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze. And if our fellow...
This week on The Problematic Gaze, we dive paws-first into the fur-covered chaos of Are You Being Served?’s infamous 1977 episode “Mrs. Slocombe Expects.” It’s pregnancy panic at Grace Brothers when Mrs. Slocombe’s feline-related misunderstanding leads to a scandalous stir—and some jaw-dropping innuendos that would never make it past the censors today. We unpack: The smirking sexism behind the staff room banterThe not-so-subtle class digs and gender politicsAnd the complicated legacy of Mr. H...
Welcome Gazers to The Problematic Gazette, a welcome bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week. To watch video versions of our full episodes check out The Problematic Gaze YouTube channel here! Click here to follow us on all our socials Please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts. They really help to spread the word of The Problematic Gaze. And if our fellow...
This week on The Problematic Gaze, we’re joined by the brilliantly opinionated Michael and Hilary Whitehall, hosts of The Wittering Whitehalls Podcast, for a dive into one of the more bizarre corners of 1960s British television: The Avengers episode “Quick-Quick Slow Death” from 1966. From first hand tales of Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg and Honor Blackman, with a side swerve of Dame Peggy Ashcroft and Tony Hadley, Michael and Hilary are the perfect guests to explore the 1960's and all th...
Welcome Gazers to The Problematic Gazette, a welcome bonus addition to our main show. Our Dave and Dr Lee chew the fat, read out Gazer comments and discuss things we've seen, read and heard this week. In this episode, Dave is late to the Only Murders In The Building party and Dr Lee survives his post wedding blues to report on unfolding events in Morpeth! To watch video versions of our full episodes check out The Problematic Gaze YouTube channel here! Click here to follow us on al...
In this episode of The Problematic Gaze, we dive headfirst into the controversial Cagney and Lacey episode titled "The Gimp." Aired in the gritty 1980s heyday of network TV, this installment tackled disability, desire, and the thin blue line — but did it break ground or just break bad? Join us as we unpack the ableist tropes, dated language, and surprisingly progressive moments that still spark debate today. Was The Gimp a bold move toward inclusivity or just another case of good intentions g...
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