Please note this audio has been updated as of 5 October 2026

*Read by the author and co-host of the smash hit podcast The Rest is Entertainment*

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

*** THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ***

'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