My comedy politics podcast, Partly Political Broadcast, has hit episode 100 this week. Yes that is a lot of time that neither I, nor the listeners, will ever get back.
My show is a comedy politics podcast that combines those two things but, you know, purposefully, which makes it different to current global happenings.
Every week there is also an interview with an expert who explains a current issue, properly. These experts have recently included Dr Dave O’Brien at Edinburgh University explaining his study into working class representation in the arts; Rose Whiffen from The Democracy Club on how they help people find out more about who to vote for; and Mia Sullivan from Soas Detainee Support on the government’s immigration measures.
That’s all broken up with awful jingles I make in my spare room; jokes; information about the past week’s events; and a lot of imaginative descriptions of politicians.
Over 100 episodes there have been many things that I’m super pleased to have done on the show but here are a few quick faves:
1. Boris Johnson
These 5 descriptions of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson:
– “Offspring of a bag of piglets and Worzel Gummidge” (Episode 22)
– “Star of the 1992 film Beethoven” (Episode 55)
– “Hairy sandbag of disappointment” (Episode 70)
– “Happy slapped uncooked dough” (Episode 74)
– “Soft play area gargoyle” (Episode 87)
2. Tanni Grey-Thompson interview
Getting to chat to Paralypmic gold medallist Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson in Episode 52 all about what it actually is that cross party peers do in between falling asleep in the House Of Lords.
3. Jacob Rees-Mogg song
The Jacob Rees-Mogg song (with some wonderful illustrations by Mushy Bees):
4. How gods vote
Finding out way back in Episode 18 which mythical creatures and gods were voting Leave or Remain.
5. Episode 98’s intro
This paragraph from the intro of Episode 98:
“According to the government, an administration error lead to the Home Office swooping in and ruining the lives of many British citizens of the Windrush generation, people who have lived and worked in the UK for decades. I mean, c’mon. I’ve made loads of admin errors in my time and worst that ever happened was a double booking or a lost invoice. I’ve never fucked up admin so much that people got deported. But it must’ve just been an error right because how else could you explain that a government like ours would have such a change of character so quickly? It’s miles apart from all those detention centres that detain immigrants indefinitely, Brexit, or you know, those vans that were commissioned to drive around and tell people to go home or face arrest. That’s arrest as one word, it wasn’t a passive aggressive way to tell people who came to the UK to work really hard, that they should have a well deserved break. Former aide to the PM and man who looks like he should spend his time singing the tales of Frodo Baggins, Nick Timothy, quit Twitter after suggesting that Prime Minister and only person for whom the recoil reflex is her default setting Theresa May, had not authorised the racist vans in 2013. But it turned out, like everything Nick Timothy’s ever said to anyone, he was wrong. Instead it seems May not only backed the scheme but also personally intervened to make sure the language on the vans was toughened up because previously I think they were just going to say ‘hey, where are you from? No I mean originally?'”
6. Jeremy Corbyn
These 5 descriptions of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn:
– “A Quentin Blake drawing” (Episode 47)
– “Man who looks like he travels round schools to tell them about the importance of harvest” (Episode 56)
– “Official Japanese mascot for garden centres” (Episode 63)
– “What happens if you anthropomorphise a loaf of Soreen” (Episode 77)
– “Only parliamentary representative from Donaldson’s Dairy” (Episode 86)
7. Bob Singha interview
A fascinating chat with Master Youth Coach Bob Singha in Episode 91 about the rise in youth crime where he swore so much his sister told him off afterwards.
8. The Snap Election
Having the Prime Minister and only woman who has the same face whether she’s eating a lemon or not Theresa May call a Snap Election minutes after I’d released that week’s episode, resulting in me having to release another one straight after.
9. Donald Trump
These 5 descriptions of US President Donald Trump:
– “The real life version of how Pixar might animate the wind” (Episode 42)
– “American Pat Butcher” (Episode 48)
– “Only known child of the Mother of Vinegar” (Episode 74)
– “Public health warning about why you shouldn’t give the Lorax crystal meth” (Episode 77)
– “Physical manifestation of heartburn” (Episode 99)
Here’s to another 100 episodes! If you fancy giving it a listen you can subscribe at Acast or on iTunes, Stitcher, PodBastard, AudioWang, HairyCastard or various other podcast apps I’ve just made up.