Money's No Object – Details, episodes & analysis

What would you do if you won the EuroMillions?

Introducing Money’s No Object – a new podcast from The Fence, presented by our very own Joe Bishop.

Over the next eight weeks, we’ll be speaking to a coterie of aspirant lotto winners, from art critics to political pundits, all of whom would trade their livelihoods and reputations for a sniff at the pot of gold.

The first episode drops next week, with Joe speaking to Missy Flynn, co-founder of one of our favourite Soho haunts, Rita’s. Missy’s restaurant is that rarest of things: actually cool, actually good, where the drinks are poured heavy and the odds of running into Dua Lipa are 3/1 on a bad day.

Will the money corrupt Missy? Would it fund a rollout of Rita’s across Riyadh and beyond? Find out all this and more on episode one of Money’s No Object, soon to be available wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow Joe Bishop on Instagram – not on X, where he is currently shadowbanned.

Episode one: Missy Flynn, of chi-chi Soho eatery, Rita’s. Sadly not speaking to us over pork chops and gilda martinis, Missy stopped by our studio for a chat about Tabis, tacos and the lingering menace of Google reviewers.

Take a listen to episode one, available here on Substack, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other podcast hosts you could care to mention (and if we’re not there, let us know and we will be). Give us a like, or some feedback below, and if you’re so inclined, leave a five-star review so we can reap the benefits of Apple’s algorithm.

Episode two: the most influential man in lager, The Fence’s pints correspondent, Jimmy McIntosh. Since first supping from our foaming chalice in Issue 10, McIntosh has established himself as the nation’s pintman par excellence. His TikToks – where he tours grotty boozers with the moody surreality of Jonathan Meades – regularly rack up views in the hundreds of thousands, bagging a nomination for Best Programme at this year’s Fortnum & Mason Awards. Perversely, this has now conferred a level of on-the-street fame that makes it genuinely hard for him to enjoy a quiet pint alone.

Now the editor of Sir!, alongside his blossoming social media fame and sterling magazine dispatches, McIntosh sits down with creator and host, Joe Bishop, to talk about Guinness, child support and the tantalising prospect of blowing £24 million.

Episode three: In the hot seat this week, we have the only mononym in the British punditsphere, PoliticsJOE’s Ava-Santina (we’re not counting Christian Calgie from the Daily Express, and nor should you). Starting, as ever, with the central question – what would you do if you won the big one? – conversation drifts toward slumlording, Sardinian nonnas and Sadiq Khan’s dress sense.

Episode four: Dean Kissick. Dean is one of the most interesting and thoughtful cultural critics working today, and is the author of one of the most talked-about pieces of 2024, an essay unpicking how politics destroyed contemporary art. Kissick has an unimpeachable track record in both thought and taste – reputations we hoped we could disintegrate by asking him to talk about recklessly spending millions of pounds. Do we coax Dean into confessing a deep-seated love of leopard-print tracksuits and Jeff Koons sculptures? Play on to find out.

Episode six: Chris Floyd is one of the most famous photographers working in Britain today: he’s shot everyone from Debbie Harry to David Bowie, and he’s the person the Times calls when they need to get a photo of Keir Starmer looking normal.

Chris made his name in the 1990s, when he took some photos of an up-and-coming band of local musicians outside Maine Road stadium. In one of our naughtiest outings so far, Chris dishes the dirt on Guy Ritchie and James Corden and other irksome celebrities he has had the displeasure of working with.

Episode five: the Guardian’s new wine critic, Hannah Crosbie. Over the past five years, Hannah has set the staid world of wine writing alight, subbing in for Jancis Robinson at the FT, being profiled in Vogue, appearing regularly on Sunday Brunch and releasing the bestselling Corker – a ‘deeply unserious wine book’, in her own words – last year.

Heroically battling an eight or nine out of 10 hangover to sit in the Money’s No Object hotseat, Crosbie chats to host Joe Bishop about stinking vintages, old money confidence and why, even with millions, a one bed flat is more than enough (we heartily disagree).

Episode seven: Jeremy Lee MBE is the chef proprietor of the legendary Quo Vadis, and has been at the pass of a great many iconic restaurants in the capital, including a head chef spot at Terence Conran’s Blueprint Cafe. In today’s episode, Jeremy walks us through his dream kitchen, his desires on the trans-Siberian railway, and the brass neck of the Palace to not even serve so much as a cup of tea when receiving an MBE. One of the great raconteurs, Jeremy’s book, Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many is a must-have for any kitchen.

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Creator and Host: Joe Bishop

Exec. Producer: Charlie Baker

Exec. Producer: Kieran Morris

Engineer: Adam Cain

Music: Johnny White Really-Really

Episode eight: we are rounding things off with one of our own. Róisín Lanigan is Irish, that much is for certain. A journalist and author, she writes deftly across a myriad of topics, including Ulstermen in Benidorm, Hibernophilia, being a young divorcée and much more. Her debut novel, I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There is a haunting and darkly funny account of the London rental market. You can, and should, purchase a copy of it here. Alongside our intrepid host, Joe Bishop, she talks about everything from the pointlessness of space travel to creating a new House of Lords (a cool one, naturally).

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Creator and Host: Joe Bishop

Exec. Producer: Charlie Baker

Exec. Producer: Kieran Morris

Engineer: Adam Cain

Music: Johnny White Really-Really