It’s our FINAL episode of Sod’s Law, and I’m joined by my partner-in-everything Victoria to top it all off with a review of some of our favourite episodes!

This has been the best three years of our lives so far, and to everyone who’s listened, contributed, written in and even given us criticism, we want to send you a HUGE and resounding thank you!

During the last 150 weeks our lives have been forever changed by the people we’ve met or spoken to on this podcast, and if you’ve joined us along the way by listening or watching, we hope you’ve enjoyed them too.

We have no idea if or when we’ll be coming back to the world of podcasting, but in the meantime, make sure you have a fantastic day and thanks for listening!

Timestamps for the clips we chose to highlight are as follows:

00:07:48 - The Best and Worst Thing That Ever Happened to Me w/ Sandy Lewis (Ep #13)

00:12:05 - Relentless IVF w/ Lewis Vaughan-Jones (Ep #19)

00:21:32 - Closing Ranks w/ Leroy Logan (Ep #36)

00:28:25 - Adventure and Aviation w/ Amanda Harrison (Ep #77)

00:35:31 - Plastic Surgery and The American Dream w/ Dr Sheila Nazarian (Ep #87)

00:41:30 - Surviving Domestic Abuse w/ Abi Blake (Ep #134)

00:45:15 - Surviving the Indian Ocean Tsunami w/ Ani Naqvi (Ep #137)

00:55:12 - Trauma, Rinse and Repeat w/ Mike Herz (Ep #6)

00:57:46 - Cancer and Creativity w/ Jeffrey Knopf (Ep #17)

01:02:05 - CANcer not CAN’Tcer w/ Iain Ward (Ep #41)

01:06:08 - Cancer, Euthanasia and Existential Rage w/ Josh Linz (Ep #91)

01:20:09 - It’s Okay Not to Be Okay w/ Esther Marshall (Ep #73)

01:25:03 - Reclaiming My Story w/ Ben M Freeman (Ep #148)

01:26:43 - Run, Orange, Run! w/ Sally Orange (Ep #99)

01:34:59 - Trying to Be OK w/ Shiggi Pakter (Ep #50)

01:46:03 - Acting and Accidental Activism w/ Tracy-Ann Oberman (Ep #84)

01:50:09 - The Last Nazi Hunter w/ Efraim Zuroff (Ep #49)

01:55:29 - Postcard to a Little Boy: A Kindertransport Story w/ Henry Foner (Ep #62)

02:01:46 - The Jewish Palestinian w/ Mark Halawa (Ep #74)

02:08:26 - The Long Night w/ Noemie Lopian (Ep #111)

02:19:11 - Fighting Monsters w/ Major Andrew Fox (Ep #140)

02:23:12 - Behind Enemy Lines w/ Daniel Berke (Ep #90)

02:25:05 - The Afghan Interpreter w/ Rafi Hottak (Ep #147)

02:32:15 - Supporting Ukrainian Refugees w/ Tzvi Sperber (Ep #120)

02:38:57 - Injustice and Immigration w/ Hillary Walsh (Ep #143)

02:44:24 - Strictly Choreography w/ Dame Arlene Phillips (Ep #20)

02:50:12 - Theatre and Breaking the Mould w/ Louis Hartshorn (Ep #11)

02:52:36 - Musical Royalty w/ John Altman (Ep #39)

02:56:10 - Acting and Accidental Activism w/ Tracy-Ann Oberman (Ep #84)

03:00:20 - Capturing Rock and Roll History w/ Danny Clifford (Ep #24)

03:02:31 - Rock Stars Don't F**king Smile! w/ Danny Clifford (Ep #65)

03:17:57 - Freestyle Rap God w/ Chris Turner (Ep #3)

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This week I am talking with David Baddiel…

David is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author and self described Jewish atheist, who as well as being the co-writer of the de facto anthem of English football, has written a highly acclaimed book, Jews Don't Count, that largely highlights the double standards extensively employed (either knowingly or unknowingly) by anti-racists or progressives when dealing with antisemitism.

For the last 30 years or so, if it wasn’t his regular appearances on top UK comedy shows like Taskmaster or 8 Out of 10 Cats, or growing up reading his incredible children's books, or drunkenly singing Three Lions anytime there’s a whiff of the England football team winning a match, you couldn’t not be aware of some aspect of David’s work living in the UK.

Twitter - @Baddiel

Instagram - @therealbaddiel

Amazon.co.uk - Jews Don't Count

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This week I’m talking with Ben M. Freeman...

Ben is a Scottish, gay, Jewish educator and prominent thought-leader on Jewish education, history and identity, and he came on the podcast exactly one year ago to talk about his tremendous book, Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People, that I’ve quoted and referenced ever since!

Ben’s latest book, Reclaiming our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, the second in a Ben M. Freeman trilogy, comes out on 24th of October 2022, anywhere you get books.

Reclaiming Our Story explores the impact of Jew-hate on Jews, and the long history of internalised anti-Jewishness - it’s powerful stuff and you can pre-order it NOW!

benmfreeman.com

Twitter - @benmfreeman

IG - @benmfreeman

Amazon Preorder - Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride

Poem referenced at 1:30:11 is Diaspora Blues by Ijeoma Umebinyuo

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This week’s guest is Rafi Hottak…

Rafi is a former Afghan interpreter who severely injured whilst working with British forces in Afghanistan.

Rafi served as an interpreter for 5 years on the front lines of the volatile Helmand province, and in 2007 was seriously injured in an explosion that killed a senior British officer.

He suffered shrapnel wounds to the head, neck, arms and chest, and after it was made clear he was being targeted by the Taliban, he fled his home country to the UK in 2011.

Instead of being welcomed by the Home Office, he was accused of fabricating his service as an interpreter, and went through a battle to have his failed bid for asylum overturned - an embarrassing U-turn for the Home Office.

Since being granted refugees status and being allowed to live and work in the UK, Rafi has completed multiple qualifications and dedicates his free time to campaigning for members of the Afghan special forces who served alongside the British to be acknowledged and assisted by the Home Office.

Rafi is also a volunteer case worker for Azadi - a charity that assisted, and continues to assist, in the rescue and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the wake of the catastrophic Taliban takeover of Afghanistan just over a year ago.

Twitter - @MHottak

Support Azadi - azadicharity.com

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This week I’m talking with Claudia Roden…

Claudia is one of the world’s most unique cookbook writers and cultural anthropologists.

She grew up in Cairo as an Egyptian Jew, studied in Paris and London, and every step of her career so far has been beyond fascinating!

Over the years she has published multiple bestsellers, including the international award-winning The Book of Jewish Food, which has just been re-released as a special 25th anniversary edition, available anywhere you get your books!

As a result of 16 years of research and world travel, The Book of Jewish Food was originally released in 1997 when Jewish food was overlooked by the food industry, instead only being enjoyed behind closed doors.

In this book Claudia shone a light on the diverse flavours and cultural origins of those dishes, revealing the beauty and simplicity of traditional Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi food on the page for the first time.

In doing so she put Jewish food on the map, and changed the modern culinary landscape for good.

This new 25th anniversary edition includes new content and recipes, and it’d make the perfect gift for any home cook!

The Book of Jewish Food, 25th Anniversary Edition, published by Penguin

Other books by Claudia Roden:

Med, A Cookbook

A New Book of Middle Eastern Food

The Food of Italy

Photo credit ⓒ Stuart Simpson

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This week I’m talking with Stuart Goldsmith!

Stu is an award-winning standup comic and former street-performer who is best known to many as the host of the Comedian’s Comedian Podcast, where he interviews the top names in global stand up comedy...

He’s also an Edinburgh Fringe festival veteran, has performed at Melbourne Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs in Montreal and has performed live on CONAN… 

stuartgoldsmith.com

comedianscomedian.com

Instagram - @stuartgoldsmithcomedy

Twitter - @comcompod

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This week I’m talking to Pete Swift…

Pete is the co-founder and managing director of Planit-IE, one of the UK's most highly regarded inter-disciplinary design & landscape architecture practices.

His life story so far is one of endeavour, adventure and sustainability. His company, Planit-IE, is now a B Corp company… meaning that they are held to a standard, requiring they act with the understanding that we as humans are each dependent upon another, and therefore responsible for each other and future generations.

This doesn't stop at business - the day this comes out, Pete will be a couple of days into a solo 1,000 mile bike ride from Liverpool, UK to Oslo, Norway (Expedition to The Plus), to both raise money for a series of charities and to make a point: That running a successful business need not mean you can’t be as carbon positive as possible…

I also have to say, that my connection to Pete is none other than Victoria, my wife and co-producer on this podcast!

She’s worked for Planit-IE now for going on a decade and before recording I’ll admit to being a tad nervous…

This could have been a SERIES of podcasts, it was so interesting to me, and I know you’ll find it interesting too…

planit-ie.com

Expedition to The Plus:

planit-ie.com/news/expedition-to-the-plus

Fundraiser - justgiving.com/fundraising/dransfield-foundation

Instagram - @planitie & @peteswiftysan

Twitter - @PlanitIE & @peteswiftysan

bcorporation.uk

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This week I’m talking with Hillary Walsh…

Hillary is a former foster-care and juvi kid who grew up on the edges of society in white Midwestern America.

After extensive travel in her 20s, she discovered that US immigration law was where she could do the work she cared most about. Now a top US immigration attorney, Hillary is at the bleeding edge of challenging the way asylum seekers are viewed in America today…

newfrontier.us

Immigration Law Made Easy Podcast

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