Comedian Alison Spittle explores some of her longest and deepest held grudges. The kind of thing most people would be ashamed to still be thinking about 30 minutes later, let alone contemplating exacting retribution decades on. Studies show that the role you play in the school nativity can affect your life. And Alison is taking those studies very seriously. She was once cast as Mary - big gig - but forced to drop out after the director said she lacked focus. 30 years on, it's still something she...
Jan 20, 2025•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Dara and Isy are joined by the astronaut Helen Sharman to learn about how humans learned to survive in space - with some diverting conversations about glitter, cat statues, hibernation, and shell suits. What? Seriously?? is a new podcast which combines comedy with quirky history, hosted by Dara Ó Briain and Isy Suttie, who will unravel an extraordinary real-life tale each week with the help of a celebrity guest Dara and Isy unearth stories that are definitely true, but also kind...
Jan 13, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Inspired by an email from his 74 year-old father, comedian Ahir Shah introduces us to the The Seven Blunders of the World. In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi published an article in the journal Young India, outlining what he called the Seven Social Sins. They were wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, religion without sacrifice, and politics without principle. One hundred years on, the world is a very different pl...
Jan 06, 2025•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bill Bailey stars as Guy Starling, a middle aged man who, after 45 years, and for reasons quite unknown to him, is suddenly revisited by his imaginary childhood friend, Hennikay. When Guy’s great business idea – developing a phone-based app designed to stop people using phone based apps – unsurprisingly fails, he needs to find a job. And so he attends a sales seminar with Shining Path, who are apparently, "the number one providers of after-life finance packages in the UK". However, his attention...
Dec 30, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this Christmas special, Frank Skinner and his guests decipher the good, the bad, and the baffling, as they try to work out a mystery item - based entirely on its online reviews. Which traditional panto features an animatronic dinosaur? What’s the worst present they’ve ever received? And is that one star write-up “bit claggy, made me feel sick” a review of some stuffing or Love Actually? Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Kat...
Dec 23, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sarah Mills' comedy guide to dealing with a fallible and embarrassing body. Since losing part of her bowel, comedian Sarah Mills has used a stoma bag. She might tell you that having a bag attached to her belly to collect her poo has made her unembarrassable - but the truth is she has always been completely shameless. Now, with the assistance of her outrageously candid celebrity guests, she wants to smash the taboos around bodily malfunctions and help us all banish bodily embarrassment for good. ...
Dec 16, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast "No Script. No Prep. No Clue." Alasdair Beckett-King plays host to a panel of improv comedy all stars in this new spontaneous series, full of ridiculous challenges & completely made up games. Presented by Alasdair Beckett-King. Starring Cariad Lloyd, Steen Raskopoulos, Alexander Jeremy, and Emma Sidi. Devised by Shoot From The Hip Producer: Sam Holmes Executive Producer: James Robinson Production Co-ordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries Sound Editor: Joe Bayley A BBC Studios Audio Production...
Dec 09, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paul celebrates his 50th stand-up show for Radio 4 with questions about anniversaries, 2011 (the year of his first show on the network), and his home borough of Croydon. In return, his audience tests his knowledge of tax years, anagrams, and the Crystal Palace. Written and performed by Paul Sinha Additional material: Oliver Levy Additional questions: The Audience Original music: Tim Sutton Recording engineer: David Thomas Mixed by: Rich Evans Producer: Ed Morrish A Lead Mojo production for BBC R...
Dec 02, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Joining Kiri Pritchard-McLean this week is comedian Daliso Chaponda who champions Denial as the best medicine (or does he?). Urology Consultant Mr Bob Yang explains how a pineapple-flavoured UTI vaccine is changing lives, Dr Dana Damian takes Kiri on a journey through the body with tiny swallowable Origami Surgical Robots, and paramedic Thomas Martin teaches Kiri how to stay alive with Defibrillators. And the panel hear from David, one of the few people in the world who can claim he was brought ...
Nov 25, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this second omnibus episode, comedian Stuart Mitchell examines his own cost of living crisis with a move into the high flying world of banking - and just when he thinks he has it all, the world crashes around him. Stuart gives up everything he has worked so hard for in an attempt to be true to his self and is left wondering if his journey was really worth it, when he's scrambling to pay the bills? Each episode, Stuart looks at a chapter of his own unbelievable, but absolutely true, life story...
Nov 18, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ever struggled to find the right word for a feeling or sensation? Unspeakable sees comedian Phil Wang and lexicographer Susie Dent invite celebrity guests to invent new linguistic creations, to solve those all too relatable moments when we're lost for words. This episode we hear Jack Dee’s new word for when you try to sound cool but end up sounding exactly your age, Miles Jupp’s new word for being fed up by a world in which there is an app for everything, and Ria Lina’s new word for something th...
Nov 11, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ivo Graham brings 2 more celebrity guests to Radio 4, to tell us about their obsessions. Comedian Fatiha-El Ghorri and Paul Gorton of the hit BBC show 'The Traitors' join Ivo this week. Fatiha El-Ghorri is obsessed with trainers, and judges the audience on theirs while Paul details the hours he spends in his gaming room. Ivo also delves into the audience to find out what their obsessions are, and finally Ivo is joined by a Very Obsessed Person, or 'VOP'. This week, Ailish Morrison comes on to te...
Nov 04, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the first of two US election specials Pie (Tom Walker) is tackling the thorny issue of democracy and is quickly derailed. As he takes his usual balanced (not) approach to the US presidential candidates Jules (Lucy Pearman) dangles a juicy carrot. There’s a big gig in the offing; if only he can stop ranting about one of the candidates. Can you guess which one? Written and performed by Tom Walker. Additional material by Daniel Abelson and Will Franken Jules …. Lucy Pearman. Sam ….. Aqib Khan Ro...
Oct 28, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast This show was first broadcast in June 2023, as Janey faced a terminal cancer diagnosis. Last week, Janey revealed she is now receiving end-of-life care. This is another chance to hear Janey's powerful personal story of strength and survival, all told in her brutally honest, brutally funny signature style. In this episode, Janey does what she’s always done: turning her own dark and difficult experiences into laugher, as she paints a vivid picture of life in the East End of Glasgow in the 60s, and...
Oct 21, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
