Radio Roundup
Sep. 25th, 2017 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tealinOnce again I haven't been listening to as much radio as I normally do; in large part this is due to listening to French-language radio while drawing, in order to 'keep my ear in' and not lose the barely functional level I reached at Annecy (I could have a brief conversation about a sandwich! Quel expérience!) and is why I have strange Québecois songs to share with you. But there's still loads going on in the Anglosphere, so here's what I might have been listening to if I'd been filling my days with English instead:
FUN FACTS
Expletive Repeated: Why Swearing Matters - A really fascinating study of swearing and how profanity has evolved generationally, especially in the last 20 years.
Decolonization: The Next 150 on Indigenous Lands - Canada's 150th birthday prompts some serious analysis of the colony-country's relationship with its original inhabitants, and their land.
Are We F'd? - Why is there such resistance to the idea of climate change? Is it a social problem as much – or more than – a scientific or political one? How can there be any clear thinking when people have so much of their identity wrapped up in the issue?
Not a show (yet), but the 2017 Massey Lectures are coming up in November and I am so excited.
Lord Byron - Comedian Mark Steel takes a look at the frankly unbelievable life of the original Bad Boy.
Spotlight Tonight - Nish Kumar nailed the Now Show monologue and the hosting of topical sketch show Newsjack, and now has his own show from which to lampoon the ghastly state we're all in. Because that's what the world needs right now, more lampoons stuck in it. (no, listen, it's funny, and we all need a laugh.)
FACTUAL FICTION
The Worst Journey in the World - The radio play that started all ... [gestures] ... this. Its current iPlayer manifestation expires tomorrow, so listen up if you're gonna.
Lights, Camera, Kidnap! - Based on a true story about some South Korean filmmakers who were abducted by Kim Jong-Il to make a film for him.
Apollo 21 - Mockumentary looking back on the moon landings from 40 years on, hosted by a mysteriously Northern Buzz Aldrin.
FICTIONAL FUN
Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett's first City Watch book, dramatised for radio. Vimes sounds too middle-class and Sybil sounds about seventy, but it's so good to revisit them I almost don't mind.
All the Time in the World - Speaking of Terry Pratchett, I'd be amazed if this Arthur C. Clarke short story about a thief and time didn't inspire Thief of Time.
Tove Jansson Short Stories The creator of the Moomins went on to write more serious grownup books, but lost none of that brilliant insight and wry love for authentic characters.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen - An entry in the genre of British folkloric YA (think The Dark Is Rising), this time set in the North.
Think the Unthinkable - The sitcom about an abysmal consultancy company is back ... It's not Cabin Pressure, but it's one of the few sitcoms I genuinely enjoy, so worth trying out (I think) if you'd like some lighthearted character comedy.
Woman in Black - Halloween is coming up, and the spooky autumnal programming is starting to creep onto the iPlayer. There was a movie made of this Susan Hill book, but as always the pictures are better on radio.
WELL NOW YOU'RE JUST BEING SILLY
The 99p Challenge - The king of gloriously stupid panel games – like those sleep-deprived crazy riffs with your college buddies, but if your buddies were Sue Perkins, Armando Iannucci, Simon Pegg, and their lot.
Genius - In which a guest genius and a funny host evaluate genius life hacks, creative problem solving, and just plain goofy ideas from the audience.
Armstrong & Miller - Barmy sketches ... as you know, one of my favourite things. This show is from near the forefront of the modern Barmy Sketch movement, but holds up pretty well.
Museum of Everything - While everyone else thinks of pirates when they hear Bristolians, I think of the curators of the Museum of Everything, a barmy sketch comedy on the theme of semi-obscure regional attractions. Not to be confused with The Museum of Curiosity (though goodness knows I do).
Just a Minute - The perennial jaw-droppingly clever mile-a-minute rhetoric game, this one being particularly special in that it welcomes back Mighty Marathoness Sue Perkins.
FUN FACTS
Expletive Repeated: Why Swearing Matters - A really fascinating study of swearing and how profanity has evolved generationally, especially in the last 20 years.
Decolonization: The Next 150 on Indigenous Lands - Canada's 150th birthday prompts some serious analysis of the colony-country's relationship with its original inhabitants, and their land.
Are We F'd? - Why is there such resistance to the idea of climate change? Is it a social problem as much – or more than – a scientific or political one? How can there be any clear thinking when people have so much of their identity wrapped up in the issue?
Not a show (yet), but the 2017 Massey Lectures are coming up in November and I am so excited.
Lord Byron - Comedian Mark Steel takes a look at the frankly unbelievable life of the original Bad Boy.
Spotlight Tonight - Nish Kumar nailed the Now Show monologue and the hosting of topical sketch show Newsjack, and now has his own show from which to lampoon the ghastly state we're all in. Because that's what the world needs right now, more lampoons stuck in it. (no, listen, it's funny, and we all need a laugh.)
FACTUAL FICTION
The Worst Journey in the World - The radio play that started all ... [gestures] ... this. Its current iPlayer manifestation expires tomorrow, so listen up if you're gonna.
Lights, Camera, Kidnap! - Based on a true story about some South Korean filmmakers who were abducted by Kim Jong-Il to make a film for him.
Apollo 21 - Mockumentary looking back on the moon landings from 40 years on, hosted by a mysteriously Northern Buzz Aldrin.
FICTIONAL FUN
Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett's first City Watch book, dramatised for radio. Vimes sounds too middle-class and Sybil sounds about seventy, but it's so good to revisit them I almost don't mind.
All the Time in the World - Speaking of Terry Pratchett, I'd be amazed if this Arthur C. Clarke short story about a thief and time didn't inspire Thief of Time.
Tove Jansson Short Stories The creator of the Moomins went on to write more serious grownup books, but lost none of that brilliant insight and wry love for authentic characters.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen - An entry in the genre of British folkloric YA (think The Dark Is Rising), this time set in the North.
Think the Unthinkable - The sitcom about an abysmal consultancy company is back ... It's not Cabin Pressure, but it's one of the few sitcoms I genuinely enjoy, so worth trying out (I think) if you'd like some lighthearted character comedy.
Woman in Black - Halloween is coming up, and the spooky autumnal programming is starting to creep onto the iPlayer. There was a movie made of this Susan Hill book, but as always the pictures are better on radio.
WELL NOW YOU'RE JUST BEING SILLY
The 99p Challenge - The king of gloriously stupid panel games – like those sleep-deprived crazy riffs with your college buddies, but if your buddies were Sue Perkins, Armando Iannucci, Simon Pegg, and their lot.
Genius - In which a guest genius and a funny host evaluate genius life hacks, creative problem solving, and just plain goofy ideas from the audience.
Armstrong & Miller - Barmy sketches ... as you know, one of my favourite things. This show is from near the forefront of the modern Barmy Sketch movement, but holds up pretty well.
Museum of Everything - While everyone else thinks of pirates when they hear Bristolians, I think of the curators of the Museum of Everything, a barmy sketch comedy on the theme of semi-obscure regional attractions. Not to be confused with The Museum of Curiosity (though goodness knows I do).
Just a Minute - The perennial jaw-droppingly clever mile-a-minute rhetoric game, this one being particularly special in that it welcomes back Mighty Marathoness Sue Perkins.
