Nick in Edinburgh: Simon Evans

Is Heaven Full of Sperm?

The Flat Earth

Is the Earth flat? No. So why do some people think it is?

Nick and Carey watch the documentary 'Behind the Curve' so you don't have to (although feel free to; it's quite entertaining). It turns out they already know one of the people featured in it.

Why do some people hold completely false beliefs? What can be done about it? Should anything be done? Does it really matter?

Chimpstorm

Nick's in London for a moment, so he and Carey take the opportunity to record an episode, this time about Danny Baker's unfortunate tweet of a picture of a chimp, titled 'The Royal Baby'. Let's be clear: neither of us think it was a good idea, but the ensuing storm and his incredibly quick sacking by the BBC are an interesting model of how quickly and unforgivingly the social media outrage machine operates.

Is is possible to be accidentally racist? If you are, does that make you a racist? Are words or images racist in themselves, or does the intent matter? And if intent doesn't matter, where does that leave us?

If you find these questions interesting, and think that listening to two stand-up comics discuss them in an unplanned way will enlighten you, then this is the episode for you.

This episode contains language that some listeners may find offensive (there's a C-word each, and also an N-word each, with context, which shouldn't need to be said , but there we are).

Episode 26: Dave Gorman

Apologies for the hiatus! Usually we'd put something like, 'Nick and Carey manage to get hold of Dave Gorman and grab an interview, etc.' but it would be more accurate to say, 'Carey manages to grab Nick and Dave' as Nick's been supporting Dave on tour for the past 3 months. It's not a long episode, recorded as it is in the dressing rooms, pre-show at the Royal Festival Hall, but Dave is, as ever, interesting, analytical and funny. Among other things, we discuss how Dave developed the genre that leads to other shows being described as 'Gormanesque', moving from the club circuit to doing your own thing, and Dave's favourite complaint from the previous tour.

Episode 18: Ayesha Hazarika

Ayesha Hazarika is a comedian, political commentator, and former adviser to Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman. She joins Nick and Carey to talk about her experiences in politics, the #metoo movement, the mainstream media's obsession with presenting everything as a two-sided confrontation, and Boris Johnson's recent theft of an old bit of Carey's material about burkhas. She is, as we’d hoped, a fantastic guest, but we hope she’s wrong about Boris being the next Prime Minister.

Episode 12: Free Speech

Nick and Carey discuss free speech, as they have EVERY RIGHT TO DO.

Episode 10: Antisemitism

What is antisemitism? What's a Jew? Why would anyone hate them? What are they up to? Do they control the media? Really? Not even the Jewish Chronicle? And is there a real problem with antisemitism on the left? Have either or both of Nick and Carey experienced antisemitism? And if both, why, given that only Carey is Jewish? Listen to find the answers to a couple, if not some, of these poorly-framed questions.

Language!

In this first-ever outdoors episode, Nick and Carey make some corrections and Nick apologises for using the N-word about the wrong cinematic dog. They then go on to talk about offensive language, and, towards the end, triggers and trigger warnings. Which should probably have come at the beginning. It should go without saying that there's strong language (it should go without saying, but it doesn't).