What a Time to Be Alive! cover art

What a Time to Be Alive!

Scenes from a Strange Age

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What a Time to Be Alive!

By: Marina Hyde
Narrated by: Marina Hyde, Richard Osman
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*Read by the author and co-host of the smash hit podcast The Rest is Entertainment*

**FEATURING A BONUS Q&A WITH RICHARD OSMAN**

'Our funniest, sharpest writer on the great British unraveling' Jon Ronson

'Enthralling, devastating, hilarious, envy-inducing prose' Sathnam Sanghera

'You gobble it up far too quickly and then feel a bit guilty about how delicious it was' Dawn French

'She's a genius, and there should be a statue of her in every town in the land'
Dominic Sandbrook

Marina Hyde has been one of Britain's favourite columnists for over two decades. What a Time to Be Alive! is her final Guardian column collection and is a welcome blast of humour and sanity in an unhinged era .

Welcome to the dystopian soap opera of modern times. Travel to space with Lauren Sanchez and Katy Perry, let the waters close over you as Bear Grylls baptises Russell Brand in the Thames, and experience the full body impact of the Gwyneth Paltrow ski massacre trial. Lettuce also remember Liz Truss, meet - and bid farewell to - the guy they called 'No-Drama Starmer', and celebrate the inaugural winner of the Fifa Peace Prize as he threatens to annex countries and follows all the way through on starting wars. Experience the magic of Donald Trump's cavalcade of henchmen, watch with nothing but optimism as our Silicon Valley overlords hit their imperial phase - and let your jaw drop as Brooklyn secedes from the Beckhams.

Truly, these are times that make you want to put your hands over your eyes, even when your hands are already over your eyes. The only thing to do is read Marina Hyde's Guardian columns and howl with laughter.

'This country's foremost living satirist' Vogue

'Hyde's columns are the solid-silver lining of Britain's political shitstorm' Caitlin Moran

©2026 Marina Hyde (P)2026 Guardian Faber Publishing
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Marina is so funny this book had me laughing so much. Hearing her read them in her own style but most of all the great feeling of hearing someone say what you couldn’t put into words about all this madness.

Hilarious

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The content is of course superb - even if it’s already been published in Marina’s Guardian column. But the recording is terrible. Marina has a fat tongue and a bizarre lisp which makes discussing Liz Truss’ short stint almost funny.

The audio is terrible

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I like Marina from the podcast and hadn’t really read her columns, they are brilliantly satirical and clever. Enjoyed it

Brilliantly witty

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a wonderful romp through the idiotic last few years. the bonus interview is especially great. thank you.

Funny and thought provoking

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Marina Hyde’s capacity to skewer the wanton idiocy and hypocrisy of our times in unparalleled. From the political class to silicone valley’s technocracy her aim is both unerring and superbly amusing. Her vision gin clear, her perspective illuminating, her prose stands with the best.

Coffee spittingly funny

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