The week’s most unsettling headline dropped out of Utah: far-right agitator Charlie Kirk has been shot dead at a university event, a shocking act of political violence in an already overheated United States.

On Social Meltdown, Graeme and Dylan sift through what’s confirmed, what’s conspiracy, and why this matters far beyond one man’s fate.

Kirk built his brand by pushing anti-LGBTQ talking points, anti women's rights, spreading election lies, and culture-war outrage—and now his killing risks turning him into a martyr for the very movement he helped radicalise.

Answering messages from listeners, we talk about the shooter’s reported motives, the rumours of a mysterious plane that “went dark,” and what this says about a society where toxic rhetoric and collapsing trust make violent flashpoints feel inevitable.

A brutally honest look at how democracies crack when hate becomes a business model.

Find out more and follow us -

https://linktr.ee/TheSocialMeltdown

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🔥 Topics this episode:

• UK emergency "alert" - a blatant nuclear zap drill vs. China’s nuclear parade - the same week
• Zack Polanski: Green Party’s new eco-populist leader
• Trump renames the Pentagon “Department of War”
• Listener reactions: fear, laughter, and mass-text panic
• What would you do with the real 3-minute warning?

This week on Social Meltdown, Graeme Smith and Dylan Evans dive head-first into the week’s chaos — from the UK’s bizarre “zap drill” phone alert to China rolling out nuclear weapons alongside Russia, Iran, and North Korea. While one side tests push notifications, the other shows off nukes — so what does that say about the world we’re living in?

We also take on the Green Party’s new leader, Zack Polanski — an openly gay former actor and hypnotist who calls himself an “eco-populist.” Can he really take on Farage and make socialism and the environment interesting again? Did he really offer to hypnotise your boobs bigger during a stint as a psychotherapist? Does it matter given the situation we're in?

Meanwhile in the US, Trump is rebranding the Department of Defense into the Department of War — with talk of using it for immigration raids and using his military on "rebel" cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC.

Plus: we pull the best listener letters of the week — from awkward zap alert train rides to parents dealing with terrified kids, and whether the government should be allowed to mass-text us about food shortages and energy crises. And we close with the big one: if the real 3-minute warning ever came, what would you do?

Find out more and follow us -

https://linktr.ee/TheSocialMeltdown

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pot Noodles have gone all woke and cardboard, an emboldened far right is waving flags everywhere, and Elon Musk is sharing AI porn. It's another totally normal week on planet what the f*ck.

Meanwhile the polar bears are livid as the ice caps melt and Russia gets ready to open Club Med: Siberia.

Dylan Evans and Graeme Smith are here to laugh at the collapse — from student debt to supermarket raids — with your letters on which alien you’d sleep with and where in LIDL you would hide if society collapsed somewhat faster than we have been anticipating.

Find out more and follow us -

https://linktr.ee/TheSocialMeltdown

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.