“Want to listen to an arrogant, angry, thin-skinned, middle-aged Irishman with a lisp, who constantly stutters and smacks his lips, is incredibly close-minded (while claiming the opposite) and can’t take any criticism? Then this is your show.
Richie Allen loves living in the past, constantly telling his listeners that he is “an old trade unionist” (his daily virtue signal) and that he “worked in the MSM” (which he believes gives him credibility). He also constantly claims that he is a “proper journalist”, but it’s not clear what he does at this point in his career that qualifies him for that job title (maybe it’s because he likes to review MSM propagandists who never ask tough questions, and Allen will stop and explain what HE would ask if he was conducting the interview). Allen loves to criticize other interviewers for not asking probing questions, but when Allen interviews guests, he always gives a disclaimer before asking something uncomfortable. Heaven forbid anyone thinks Allen is a tough interview and/or doesn’t love a certain demographic group (and with his constant disclaimers, it’s not possible). He strangely never feels a compunction to give disclaimers when he’s attacking someone or some group he dislikes or doesn’t require constant verbal reassurance. To Allen, some demographic groups are more equal than others, and if he happens to speak to someone that doesn’t sing from his hymn book, he’ll babble about his accountants to establish his bona fides. Allen is quite PC when it suits his purpose.
Allen has a few very annoying habits: One, if he disagrees with someone, he will tell the guest that they “will have as much time as they need to make their point”, however he will then babble incessantly explaining HIS point of view until there is little time left. This is one of his most disingenuous behaviors, as he claims to always give equal time. That’s nonsense, and anyone who listens to him knows this to be a lie. When the show is winding down, he will of course give someone “the final word” which means the guest gets about 30 seconds or so. What a host. Once the interview ends and the guest is gone, he will then spend more time reinforcing his viewpoint while often getting annoyed at real-time tweets calling him out for his behavior.
Two, he constantly states the world is an awful place being run by psychopaths, however he declares he is a pacifist who decries all violence. I guess he thinks that these psychopaths will be dissuaded from destroying the world and imposing a global tyranny by “non-violent, peaceful protesting” and “mass civil disobedience” (which he believes is a waste of time). This is the ONLY solution he will ever suggest. It’s nonsensical (who benefits from Allen’s “solution”?), however he has no children (he’s not even married) so he has no skin in the game except his own. His ultimate goal is to stay on the air and make money, which is why he puts out the constant disclaimers. He’s far from the rebel he pretends to be. He’s also not leading any insurrection, so it’s not clear what he’s so worried about. He claims TPTB want to take him off the air, but he is much more valuable to them as a demoralizing agent. Allen is a voice of hopelessness.... (All is lost, there is nothing that can be done, it’s just a matter of time). The odds of him being a paid government disinfo/demoralization stooge are just as likely as him being the independent voice he claims he is. The truth is, if he was doing any real damage, he would be removed in the night without any fanfare.
Three, he will spend a minute telling a favored guest how he’s not sucking up to them, all the while sucking up to them. It’s bizarre. It’s easy to spot because he’ll say “and I’m not just saying this...”
Four, occasionally, he will ask for money, but he does it in a ham-fisted way. He will tell the audience how he never asks for donations, all the while asking for donations. He constantly threatens to quit, using emotional blackmail to get listeners to pay. He claims he is the most listened to independent show in the world. If true, his advertising revenue alone must net him a nice income.
Finally, Allen has a verbal tick that will begin to annoy you if you actively listen. He loves to say “wait for it”, to lead into some nugget he believes is worthy of providing his oral cliffhanger. It never is.
Allen has a number of repeat guests, which is great for him (no prep), but not so good for the listener. Skip those. The listener call in shows are also easy to bypass. He loves to tell his audience how hard he works, which helps explain his long and frequent vacations. He also loves to push his own app (developed by Broadcast Radio LTD), constantly telling his listeners to download it (even explaining how to use a VPN if you cannot get it in your country) but he never tells his listeners why that app is so vital. Perhaps a quick read of the app’s privacy policy will explain it, as listener user data is being vacuumed up. (User data is valuable... perhaps Allen gets a cut.)
Allen has started a new 30 minute morning show called “The Papers”, in which he just reads news stories from the UK daily papers. Unless you enjoy someone reading news articles, you can skip it.
With that said, It’s not ALL bad. The best part of his show is the opening, where he reviews the big news of the day. He will often go after the UK media propagandists, and his commentary is usually spot on... especially his roasts of the obnoxious James O’Brien, the Ginger Ninja (Kay Burley) and Julia Hartley Brewer, among others. He also has some interesting guests, and those interviews can be very informative. One thing that often makes the show an occasional good listen is that Allen will discuss topics that are verboten on MSM. He will also have opposing narratives explored, with guests that are silenced by the MSM. For this reason alone, the podcast is worth checking in on. Two stars.”
6.5 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
10/02/24