Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
Topical comedy from the sharpest satirical minds in the business. Listen first on BBC Sounds, every Friday.
Is the news driving you up the wall? You’re not alone. Let the comedians take the strain and work out what’s been funny this week. Features BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz, Dead Ringers, The Naked Week and Too Long; Didn’t Read.
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Episodes (50)
Too Long; Didn't Read: Ep 5. The Special Relationship
With UK-US relations in the spotlight, Catherine Bohart wants to know just what the special relationship means in 2025. With the help of Felicity Ward, Amb. John Bolton and our regular roving...
Too Long; Didn't Read: Ep 4. We've got our work cut out
With unemployment on the rise, Catherine and friends want to know why Britain isn't working. Is it AI? Is it older workers taking early retirement? Or is there something bigger going on?To find out...
Too Long; Didn't Read: Ep 3. Let's get this party started
Why does Britain have so many new parties? And why are none of them the fun kind? Catherine Bohart investigates the rising challengers to the two-party system, with the help of Zoe Lyons, Ian Dunt and...
Too Long; Didn't Read: Ep 2. It's a taxing subject
Wealth tax - no brainer or non starter? Catherine Bohart unpicks the arguments raging about the mooted solution to Britain's infamous financial black hole with plenty of silliness thrown in. With...
Too Long; Didn't Read: Ep 1. There's something in the water
Columns. Analysis. The Guardian's Long Read. Who has time? Catherine Bohart, that's who - and she's going beyond the headlines to give you the lowdown on one of the biggest stories this week, with the...
Dead Ringers: Ep 6. Super-injunctions, Superheroes, and, er, Diane Abbott.
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.This week: Super-injunctions, superheroes, Epstein files and, er, Diane...
Dead Ringers: Ep 5. Man of Steel, Woman of Salt Path
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.This week: A Salt Path surprise, a Man of Steel (tariffs), and Postman Pat...
Dead Ringers: Ep 4. Welfare woes and Wimbledon
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.
This week: The Government’s welfare woes, the BBC’s chant chastisement, and...
This week: The Government’s welfare woes, the BBC’s chant chastisement, and...
Dead Ringers: Ep 3. Glastonbury, Benefits, and Bombs.
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions. This week: Trump drops the F-Bomb, Lammy drops another clanger, and money...
Dead Ringers: Ep2. De-escalation and nuclear proliferation
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.This week: Iran plays host to a surprising WMD Inspector, Laura Kuenssberg is...
Dead Ringers: Ep1. Greta, Trump and Eau de Farage
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.This week: Greta Thunberg floats her boat at Rachel Reeves, Trump and Elon...
The News Quiz: Ep 8. Musk and Trump Break Up
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Glenn Moore, Felicity Ward, Athena Kugblenu and Marie Le Conte to break down the week in news. The panel discuss Musk and Trump's messy break up, getting Britain ready for a...
The News Quiz: Ep 7. Tariff Turmoil
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Armando Iannucci, Ria Lina, Ian Smith and Cindy Yu for more topical comedy quizzing. This week they explore Trump’s tariff turmoil, the King’s Canadian holiday, mixed...
The News Quiz: Ep 6. Big Deals
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Andrew Maxwell, Ian Smith, Alex Kealy and Times columnist, Cindy Yu. They cover a triumph or a surrender (depending on who you ask) as well as reflecting on where you're...
The News Quiz: Ep 5. An Island of Strangers
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Alasdair Beckett-King, Sara Barron, Daliso Chaponda and ITV Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana. Discussion points include this week's immigration White Paper, tighter...
The News Quiz: Ep 4. Conclave Concluded
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Geoff Norcott, Ria Lina, Ava Santina and Alasdair Beckett-King to break down the week in news. The panel discuss the results of the UK local elections, the reaching of a...
The News Quiz: Ep 3. Power Outrage
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Geoff Norcott, Lucy Porter, Ed Byrne and Marie Le Conte to unpack the week in news. Topics include the loss of power in the Iberian Peninsula, the gaining of power in the...
The News Quiz: Ep 2. Elections (Local and Papal)
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Andrew Maxwell, Zing Tsjeng, Jessica Fostekew and Pierre Novellie to unpack the upcoming local elections, the Conclave in the Vatican, Trump's planned UK visit, and...
The News Quiz: Ep 1. Space, Steel and Strikes
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Zoe Lyons, Mark Steel, Athena Kugblenu and Hugo Rifkind to unpack bin workers strikes in Birmingham, pop stars popping to the stars, talks of tariffs, steeling oneself in...
The Naked Week: Ep6. Tariffs, Theme Parks, and Twister.
The Naked Week team are back to place satirical news-tariffs on current events with a mix of correspondents, guests and, occasionally, live animals.This week we mourn the death of globalisation, take...
The Naked Week: Ep5. Tariffic Trump retaliation, and Woop Woop - it's the sound of the Thought Police.
The Naked Week team are back to place satirical news-tariffs on current events with a mix of correspondents, guests and, occasionally, live animals.This week we 'woop woop' at the sound of the Thought...
The Naked Week: Ep4. Performing, Potholes, and Paddington.
The Naked Week team are back to place satirical news-tariffs on current events with a mix of correspondents, guests and, occasionally, live animals.This week we Spring (Statement) into action with a...
The Naked Week: Ep 3. Benefits, Borders, and a game of Truss or Towers.
The Naked Week team are back to place satirical news-tariffs on current events with a mix of correspondents, guests and, occasionally, live animals.This week we apply for a job in the parliamentary...
The Naked Week: Ep 2. Brick Walls, Dead Wood, and Charlie.
The Naked Week team are back to place satirical news-tariffs on current events with a mix of correspondents, guests and, occasionally, live animals.This week we use a housebrick to explain what's...
The Naked Week: Ep 1. Oval arguments, awful algorithms, and a game of Top (Donald) Trumps.
The Naked Week team are back to place satirical news-tariffs on current events with a mix of correspondents, guests and, occasionally, live animals. This week we fail to wear a suit, dance around the...
The News Quiz: Ep8. Mr. Starmer Goes To Washington
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Scott Bennett, Sara Barron, Alex Massie and Lucy Porter for The News Quiz recorded from Scarborough. In the last of the current series, the panel unpack the Prime Minister's...
The News Quiz: Ep7. Lying and Reassurance
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Zoe Lyons, Ian Smith, Laura Lexx and Hugo Rifkind as they unpack Trump and Putin in talks in Saudi Arabia, the solutions to prison overcrowding, and the Welsh solution for...
The News Quiz: Ep6. Corruption Leagues and Leaked WhatsApps
Topical panel quiz show, taking its questions from the week's news stories.
The News Quiz: Ep5. Tariffs, Tabloids and Typewriters
On The News Quiz this week, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Ayesha Hazarika, Susie McCabe, Geoff Norcott and Pierre Novellie to discuss Britain's attempts to court the US and the EU, Trump's tariff...
The News Quiz: Ep 4. Gear shifting and Shoplifting
This week on The News Quiz, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Simon Evans, Athena Kugblenu, Susie McCabe and Hugo Rifkind to unpack the week's new stories. In the week Keir Starmer set his sights on growth,...
The News Quiz: Ep 3. The Donald and The Dons
This week on The News Quiz, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Andrew Maxwell, Val McDermid, Jay Lafferty and Stuart Mitchell to unpack the week's new stories. Recorded from the Gardyne Theatre in Dundee, the...
The News Quiz: Ep 2. Unconditional Discharge In Charge
This week on The News Quiz, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Nish Kumar, Sara Barron, Glenn Moore and Zing Tsjeng to unpack the week's new stories. The panel look into Donald Trump's unconditional discharge...
The News Quiz: Ep 1. Checked Facts & Unfettered Fictions
This week on The News Quiz, Andy Zaltzman is joined by Geoff Norcott, Paul Sinha, Angela Barnes and Anushka Asthana to unpack the week's new stories. The panel look into Donald Trump's international...
Best of The News Quiz 2024
A satirical smorgasbord of The News Quiz's best bits of the year. Covering international tensions, a UK General Election, and of course the question on everyone’s lips, what exactly was a ‘Brat...
The Naked Christmas Week: Books, Trump, and When Is Bins?
Landing slap-bang in the no-man’s land between Christmas and New Year, the Naked Week team will be heading out of the trenches to challenge the news to a game of football. This week, we find out which...
The Naked Week: Ep4: Spies, Uncanny Ghosts, and Christmas Crackers
The team give the news a hard stare as they try to recruit a spy and steal some of the Uncanny podcast's listening figures by contacting Nigel Farage with a ouija board.From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes...
The Naked Week: Ep 3. Prisons, Syria, and Kemi's Catchphrase.
The team look at the week's news and, while trying understand how rebels took Syria so quickly, a military strategist helps us to take the Warwickshire stronghold of Nuneaton. Plus Rupert the...
The Naked Week: Ep2. Spin, Milestones, and Monopoly (Qatar edition)
We interrogate how many milestones make a mission, look at how some MPs fund their offices and with all the Gregg Wallace unpleasantness we put a crisis management expert under pressure to give...
The Naked Week: Ep1. Lobbying, art, soup, and farms
The team look at the week's news and pull back the curtain on the dark arts of lobbying. Plus, to draw attention to climate change, an art critic throws Michelangelo's David at a pyramid of tomato...
Dead Ringers: Ep4. Revolting Farmers
Jeremy Clarkson and Nigel Farage weigh in on the new land tax, Rachel Reeves defends her CV and Donald Trump talks turkey.This week's impressionists are Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Duncan...
Dead Ringers: Ep 3. New World Disorder
Donald Trump makes some surprising new additions to his team, there’s an unexpected guest at COP29, Nigel Farage accepts that climate change is real, and Justin Welby explains the real reason for his...
Dead Ringers: Ep 2. America Went There
What really swung it for Donald Trump and how did Joe Biden really react to the result? Kemi Badenoch’s first decision as Tory leader, and Nigel Farage’s Trump victory podcast.This week's...
Dead Ringers: Ep1. Budget Politicians
What was Rachel Reeves’ real inspiration for her budget? What advice is Kamala Harris giving to Joe Biden, and what exactly is a ‘working person’? JD Vance and Tim Walz make their first appearances on...
The News Quiz: Ep 8. Interference, Incentives and Interruptions
This week on The News Quiz, join guest host Ian Smith, along with Geoff Norcott, Amy Hoggart, Alasdair Beckett-King and Susie McCabe, as they break down accusations of Labour door-knocking across...
The News Quiz: Ep 7. Inflation and Incinerators
This week on The News Quiz, the panel assess the fall in inflation, Wes Streeting's latest bright idea.Written by Lucy Porter, with additional material by: Mike Shephard, Tasha Dhanraj, Peter...
The News Quiz: Ep 6. Cleverly Timed Exits
This week on The News Quiz the panel unpack Sue Gray's cabinet exit, the arrival of man (and possible Irish Law firm) Morgan McSweeney and James Cleverly pipped at the post.Written by Geoff...
The News Quiz: Ep 5. Peace & Peaks
Alasdair Beckett-King, Zoe Lyons, Scott Bennett, and Cindy Yu join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news.This week on The News Quiz the panel look for the solution to world peace, check in with the...
The News Quiz: Ep4. Conference & Confidence
Robin Morgan, Ian Smith, Alice Fraser, and Ash Sarkar join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news.This week on The News Quiz the panel plough through Keir Starmer's first Labour conference as PM, analyse the...
The News Quiz: Ep3. Work & Play
Simon Evans, Ian Smith, Aditi Mittal and Anushka Asthana join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news.This week on The News Quiz the panel go through the PM's wardrobe, take a splash into the Lib Dems'...
The News Quiz: Ep2. Prisoners and Pensioners
Simon Evans, Ria Lina, Glenn Moore, and Coco Khan join Andy Zaltzman to quiz the news.This week on The News Quiz the panel look towards a cold winter for pensioners, an early fall for prisoners, and...
About this Podcast
Copyright
(C) BBC 2025
Language
en
Categories
Comedy