Down the Local

About Down the Local

Down the Local is a UK podcast that takes listeners on a pub-to-pub journey across the country, uncovering the real conversations happening in Britain today. Hosted by Phil Dave, this weekly TALK podcast dives into the biggest everyday issues, social trends and hot topics that are driving people up the wall. Each episode is recorded in a different local pub, where Phil chats with real punters about everything from the cost of living, culture and modern life frustrations. Expect authentic opinions, lively debates and plenty of humour straight from the heart of the community. Joining Phil Dave each week are popular TALK contributors, bringing expert insights, strong viewpoints and engaging banter that add depth and entertainment to every discussion. If you’re looking for a British podcast about real people, real opinions and the issues that matter most right now, Down the Local delivers honest, unfiltered conversations—served fresh from the bar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Talk

Category

government · news · news

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

21 Nov 2025

Latest episode

3 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

4 of 27 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   3 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Media Fear, Cyclists on Roads, and Casual Offices

   Broadcaster & Journalist Sinead Garvan, Television Presenter & Forecaster Jo Wheeler, and Commentator & Writer Gavin Wilson debate media fear, childhood obesity, cyclist road use, and office dress codes in this interview.

2. 

   25 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Forced Votes, Office Lines, and Charity Muggers

   Ben Habib, Fariza Balgymbayeva, and Kieran Galpin debate compulsory voting, workplace compliments, charity muggers, and password frustrations in this interview episode.

3. 

   18 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Street Safety, Broken Trust, and Screen Time

   Barrister Steven Barrett, Research Associate Viggo Terling, and Broadcaster Alex Dyke discuss knife crime, broken trust, and screen time's impact on children in this interview.

Inside a recent episode

Media Fear, Cyclists on Roads, and Casual Offices

Published 3 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Here's the news, this is what's happened today. Very factual, very straightforward. But now, it's all for clicks and reads. And so therefore, if a certain story is getting a lot of clicks, Journalists are just going to find out more and more, keep putting it out in different forms, and for as long as people are reading it, you're going to get more of it. And so you get sudden widespread coverage of, as you say, the hantavirus, or wars, or whatever it may be. As long as people are reading, you'll keep getting it. They're also clambering for space, aren't they? Whether it's to fill like a half-hour programme, whether it's to fill the website, the news pages. […]

Who has been a guest on Down the Local

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Sinead Garvan
• Jo Wheeler
• Gavin Wilson
• Ben Habib
• Fariza Balgymbayeva

Contact Down the Local

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.