Don't know why 'The Sun' doesn't shine

In this episode, we wade into the swampy, sensational, deeply unserious world of The Sun, a British tabloid so notorious that calling it a “newspaper” feels like an insult to both news and paper. What started in the 1960s as an optimistic, politically neutral publication meant to reflect “the age we live in” quickly devolved into a right-wing chaos machine famous for Page 3 girls, fabricated scandals, culture-war tantrums, and front-page headlines bold enough to make even WhatsApp forwards blush. It’s the perfect playground for our brand of comedy commentary, because honestly, The Sun makes parody redundant.

We dig into the history behind its rise and rot. And because this tabloid never met a boundary it didn’t want to violate, we also explore its long list of invented stories, sexist attacks, the Hillsborough disaster, Elton John libel cases, and that one deranged Meghan Markle column that genuinely made the whole country break character. The Sun has delivered decades of material that proves offbeat learning doesn’t always have to be wholesome. This is the story of a paper that shaped a nation, ruined a few reputations (and its own), and is now slowly being outlived by memes. 

If you love random topics wrapped in skepticism, humour, and just enough outrage to keep things spicy, this deep dive into Britain’s most infamous tabloid is very much your episode.

Important links:

1. Link to Kapow's IGT episode - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQiyGceDK3V/?igsh=MW9ya29jZXhraHZybw==

2. About The Sun’s “coverage” of the Hillsborough tragedy – https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/why-the-sun-is-hated-by-liverpool-fans--banned-in-many-places/2hrhnj5tch2r1ae7tllvac6fb 

3.  YouGov UK survey on trust on media – https://pressgazette.co.uk/media-audience-and-business-data/uk-newsbrand-trust-rankings-sun-least-trusted-bbc-ft-most/

4. ‘Historic Newspapers’ about The Sun – https://www.historic-newspapers.com/en-in/blogs/article/sun-newspaper-history?country=IN

5. The pre-fucked version of The Sun – https://moneyweek.com/408160/15-september-1964-the-sun-newspaper-is-launched

6. ‘The Conservation’ speaking about the change of ownership of The Sun – https://theconversation.com/at-60-the-sun-hasnt-set-but-the-tabloids-light-is-fading-238126

7. Wikipedia of The Sun – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_(United_Kingdom)

8. BBC’s coverage of The Sun swinging from the Left to the Right and back repeatedly – https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-16996844

9. The Guardian’s coverage of The Sun being its sexist, disgusting self – https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/jan/14/pressandpublishing.politicsandthemedia

10. ‘Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits from Propaganda’ book – https://archive.org/details/pressganghownews0000gree/page/n9/mode/2up

11. The Sun’s sexist attack on Meghan Markle – https://apnews.com/article/prince-harry-meghan-sexist-column-sun-c880a9d5ac0ed2cc300fc3a0fcb56cdd

Don’t Know, Do Care is the brainchild of Ashmita, Sandy, and Prakhar, three friends from different backgrounds and interests. Ashmita works in sustainability, Sandy's an entrepreneur (puke) who’d rather not be, and Prakhar works with Sandy and is just trying to make sense of it all. 

Three mildly confused friends, one weirdly specific topic each week. We don’t know much, but we care just enough to talk about it for up to an hour each week.

Don’t Know, Do Care is produced by "Ghar Pe Productions", edited by Prakhar and Sandy, critiqued (thoroughly) by Ashmita, and enjoyed mostly by our friends. Thanks for giving us a listen!