Shots Fired at The White House & Marathon Heroes
4/29/202641 min
Jemma and Marina start with the emotional highs of the London Marathon: stories of resilience, community and the kind of humanity that restores your faith in people. Then they take a sharp hand brake turn into the chaos of global politics.
From a dramatic incident at a White House event to the online reaction that followed, Jemma and Marina wade through fact, speculation and the sheer pace of modern news. There’s talk of late-night posting sprees, political theatre, and how quickly serious moments risk becoming just another scroll.
Plus: a headline-grabbing interview moment, a viral TV appearance that has to be heard to be believed, and a reminder that in 2026, the line between reality and absurdity feels thinner than ever.
It’s funny, unsettling, occasionally baffling and very much the world we’re living in.
Enjoy!
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
Uh, I'm, I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody. Uh- Oh, you think, do you think he was referring to you? I'm not a pedophile. Excuse me, excuse me [upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to The Trawl, where the takes are hot, the logic is optional, and the scrolling is relentless.
Gemma Forte· Host0:25
I'm Gemma Forte.
Marina Purkiss· Host0:26
And I'm Marina Purkiss, and while we spend our time doing marathon scrolls, better, more physically fit and heroic souls than us actually run them.
Gemma Forte· Host0:35
They do the marathon every year. It's just wonderful, isn't it? It's just this slice of pure happiness and... Well, not f- [laughs] I mean, I was just- For people who are running it ...
Marina Purkiss· Host0:47
tearing up at my, tearing up, yeah, reading all the stories.
Gemma Forte· Host0:50
Absolutely incredible stories. It's such a r- And, okay, I'm gonna start with stating the obvious. Just go straight in with something really banal. Trawlers, it's a long way to run, isn't it?
Marina Purkiss· Host1:00
[laughs] It really is. I'll never forget watching my brother Harry do it, and he was in so much pain at the end, and me and my sisters, we were, like, running with him just, just for the last 100 meters. It was very emotional. I have a friend, Ross Stirling, he did the marathon with a fridge on his back. He called it Fridget Jones. And he- Oof ... was running for an amazing cause, for War Child, and I think he raised, he raised over, like, 20 grand, like, a huge amount.
Gemma Forte· Host1:26
Oh, well done, Ross.
Marina Purkiss· Host1:27
But, um, he had some fridge competition, actually, 'cause there