Danielle Ward is one of the UK's hidden comedy treasures, from her involvement in the excellent Dave Gorman show on Absolute Radio, to her occasional appearances on Radio 4's News Quiz she is always a brilliant contributor.
Do the Right Thing is a panel show featuring some of the best comedians on the British circuit, but unusually for a panel show this is not available on TV or Radio, it is only available as a podcast, and is not affiliated to any station or organisation.
This freedom means that the boundaries are pushed rather further than they could be on the radio, yet it is still well produced and edited.
Martin White provides the brilliant music to introduce rounds and a host of comedians take part, as well as regulars Micheal Legge and Margaret Cabourn-Smith panelists have included Jon Holmes, Shappi Khorsandi and Al Murray.
The format of the show is kind of irrelevant, it is the interaction between regulars and guests that really matter, and mostly Danielle's excellent hosting of the show.
Download at the British Comedy Guide here.
Friday 23 December 2011
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Favourite Podcasts - 22 - Righteous Indignation
Ghosts, UFOs, miracle cures, yetis, monsters and more ghosts. No, this is not the line up of documentaries on ITV3, these are some of the topics covered by the podcast Righteous Indignation.
I will admit that I am catching up with old ones (in December 2010 at the moment), but I really enjoy this podcast. The topics are tackled from a broadly skeptical viewpoint, but with plenty of 'believers' interviewed in a balanced and human way. Even if the person being interviewed holds the craziest views in the world this podcast will always treat them as a real human being, and also discuss the positive side of the persons opinions.
Hayley Stevens, Trystan Swale and Micheal Marshall are your regular hosts, but with other brilliant contributors (usually from Liverpool or Manchester skeptics, or Ladies who do Skepticism). There is much silliness and messing about, and also some serious content that makes you think about the extraordinary claims that some people make.
This is not an academic look at the subjects it covers, it is for the average thinking person, and will inspire people to think critically about things that their friends of colleagues may say at work or in the pub.
Download at the RI website, or follow on Twitter.
I will admit that I am catching up with old ones (in December 2010 at the moment), but I really enjoy this podcast. The topics are tackled from a broadly skeptical viewpoint, but with plenty of 'believers' interviewed in a balanced and human way. Even if the person being interviewed holds the craziest views in the world this podcast will always treat them as a real human being, and also discuss the positive side of the persons opinions.
Hayley Stevens, Trystan Swale and Micheal Marshall are your regular hosts, but with other brilliant contributors (usually from Liverpool or Manchester skeptics, or Ladies who do Skepticism). There is much silliness and messing about, and also some serious content that makes you think about the extraordinary claims that some people make.
This is not an academic look at the subjects it covers, it is for the average thinking person, and will inspire people to think critically about things that their friends of colleagues may say at work or in the pub.
Download at the RI website, or follow on Twitter.
Monday 19 December 2011
Favourite Podcasts - 21 - Mark Kermodes Film podcast
This was probably the first podcast I ever downloaded, and has been running for years and years, way before podcasts were common. It must be the flagship podcast of BBC Radio five live.
Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo are an unlikely pairing, Mark is emotional and opinionated, Simon is calm and professional, but this combination seems to work well.
Not only is a great round up of films released in the UK each week, but it also makes great entertainment (or Wittertainment as they call it), Mark's rants about certain films have become legendary bits of radio, just search YouTube for "Kermode rant" and you will get a good taste.
Sometimes the in-jokes get a bit much, but recently they have addressed this problem and they are kept to a minimum.
It's become a long podcast (90 minutes) but is great entertainment each Friday. Whether you like film or not its worth a listen.
Download at the BBC Podcasts website here.
Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo are an unlikely pairing, Mark is emotional and opinionated, Simon is calm and professional, but this combination seems to work well.
Not only is a great round up of films released in the UK each week, but it also makes great entertainment (or Wittertainment as they call it), Mark's rants about certain films have become legendary bits of radio, just search YouTube for "Kermode rant" and you will get a good taste.
Sometimes the in-jokes get a bit much, but recently they have addressed this problem and they are kept to a minimum.
It's become a long podcast (90 minutes) but is great entertainment each Friday. Whether you like film or not its worth a listen.
Download at the BBC Podcasts website here.
Saturday 3 December 2011
Favourite Podcasts - 20 - 7 Day Sunday
7 Day Sunday was a show on BBC Radio 5live, presented by Chris Addison, with random visits from Al Murray, Sarah Millican, Andy Zaltzman, Andrew Collins and other occasional guests.
It was the basic BBC model of discussing the weeks news with comedians, but Chris Addison brought a flair to it that other shows in this slot have failed with. He is just astonishingly quick witted, sometimes getting himself in trouble as his wit is quicker than his appropriateness filter!
Sadly this show seems to be on a long break, and I am not sure if it will be back, but it was fun while it lasted.
If it is back then you will find it here.
It was the basic BBC model of discussing the weeks news with comedians, but Chris Addison brought a flair to it that other shows in this slot have failed with. He is just astonishingly quick witted, sometimes getting himself in trouble as his wit is quicker than his appropriateness filter!
Sadly this show seems to be on a long break, and I am not sure if it will be back, but it was fun while it lasted.
If it is back then you will find it here.
Favourite Podcasts - 19 - In Our Time
Melvyn Bragg is a national treasure, very few people know such a huge amount about a huge amount of topics, and can speak about them passionately and eloquently.
He can also be a very, very grumpy man.
Which is the combination that can make Radio 4's In Our Time a great listen. Melvyn and three experts in their field talk about a topic. Topics are drawn from history, science, philosophy, culture and religion.
Some of my favourite topics in the last year have been Dave Hume, The Hippocratic Oath, Cogito Urgo Sum, The Moon, and free will.
At it's best the conversation is lively and your head will explode with ideas, Melvyn makes sure that no one contributor dwells on a detail too long, and is not scared to tell them to shut up!
At it's worst it is very dull, but I am not scared to turn it off and delete the episode anymore! A lot is dependent on the topic that week.
Download at the BBC Radio 4 website.
He can also be a very, very grumpy man.
Which is the combination that can make Radio 4's In Our Time a great listen. Melvyn and three experts in their field talk about a topic. Topics are drawn from history, science, philosophy, culture and religion.
Some of my favourite topics in the last year have been Dave Hume, The Hippocratic Oath, Cogito Urgo Sum, The Moon, and free will.
At it's best the conversation is lively and your head will explode with ideas, Melvyn makes sure that no one contributor dwells on a detail too long, and is not scared to tell them to shut up!
At it's worst it is very dull, but I am not scared to turn it off and delete the episode anymore! A lot is dependent on the topic that week.
Download at the BBC Radio 4 website.
Favourite Podcasts - 18 - Sidepodcast F1 debrief
I have already featured one podcast from these guys (An Aside With Joe) a few weeks ago, but Christine and Mr C also produce a general F1 podcast every few weeks or so.
The F1 debrief consists of 'Good week, Bad week', a guide to what is going well and badly in F1, a brief review of the last practice and qualifying sessions and an analysis of the race itself.
For the the best bit the listener feedback section at the end, the Sidepodcast community is a geographically diverse, but passionate group of people. From screaming rants about an aspect of F1, to a well crafted poem or song - you never quite know what the Sidepodcast listeners are going to send in next.
It is great fun, and not to be taken seriously, but you will learn one or two things about the sport along the way.
Oh, and Christine may just randomly talk about Pandas for a section. Something for everyone.
Download here at Sidepodcast.
The F1 debrief consists of 'Good week, Bad week', a guide to what is going well and badly in F1, a brief review of the last practice and qualifying sessions and an analysis of the race itself.
For the the best bit the listener feedback section at the end, the Sidepodcast community is a geographically diverse, but passionate group of people. From screaming rants about an aspect of F1, to a well crafted poem or song - you never quite know what the Sidepodcast listeners are going to send in next.
It is great fun, and not to be taken seriously, but you will learn one or two things about the sport along the way.
Oh, and Christine may just randomly talk about Pandas for a section. Something for everyone.
Download here at Sidepodcast.
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