Steve Roud was Local Studies Librarian for the London Borough of Croydon and served as Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society for over fifteen years. He has been researching British folklore for over thirty years and is the joint author of the Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore, plus other books on traditional drama and folk song, and the Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland, which won the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award in 2004. His publications include London Lore (2008) and The Lore of the Playground (2010). He also compiles the Folk Song Index and the Broadside Index, two internationally acclaimed computer databases of traditional folk and popular song. He lives in Sussex.

Steve Roud

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Helen Keen

Miriam Underhill

Helen Keen, Peter Serafinowicz and Susy Kane star in this funny, off-beat but factual expedition through the universe, boldly going where no Radio 4 comedy show has gone before. 
 
 
“A pithy sweet programme … with a joke stuffed script” Miranda Sawyer, The Observer 
“Beautiful...A gem” The Sunday Express 
“Informed, enthusiastic and funny” Daily Mail 
“A sort of stand up version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” The Times 
 
This “shamelessly nerdy…deeply silly” (Radio Times) space extravaganza features fewer close-ups of Professor Brian Cox looking cool in front of a rocket than Wonders of the Universe, but more weird, wonderful and occasionally woeful stories about the geniuses, Nazis and Satanists who plotted to propel humankind to the stars. Find out the many and varied ways to leave the planet as It Is Rocket Science! takes you on a “gleefully irreverent” (The Scotsman) whistle-stop comic tour of the Great Brains who put monkeys, ladies, dogs and gentlemen into orbit. 
 
Discover the daring Mercury 13 women - the astronauts and moonwalkers that never were, hear the adventures of Felix the French Space Cat, raise your eyebrows at the career trajectory of Wernher von Braun, from Nazi to Disney to NASA, meet the man who (metaphorically) connects rocket fuel to Aleister Crowley, explore your options in case an asteroid is heading directly your way, and discover some of the more surprising suggestions scientists have advanced for how to get in touch with life on other planets, from giant burning parallelograms in the Sahara to sending nude pictures into space.... 
 
“Factually accurate yet funny” (The Telegraph), the show won several major awards including The Association of British Science Writers’ Royal Society Radio Prize. 
 
“Harnessing a sharp comedy sensibility to an arsenal of fascinating facts, she’s a treat for anyone who matches a sense of humour with an inquiring mind” The Guardian [on Helen Keen]

It Is Rocket Science: The Complete Series 1-3

A BBC Radio 4 comedy show

Jason Hazeley

Simon Evans

David Tyler

Frank Skinner hosts series 3 of the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day – shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad & the baffling 
 
Everyone has an online life, and when the great British public put pen to keyboard to leave a review, they almost always write something hilarious. And our all-star panel have to work out just what they were reviewing – and maybe contribute a few reviews of their own... and more... So if you’re the person who went on Trip Advisor to review Ben Nevis as “Very steep and too high”, this show salutes you! 
 
In episode one, Frank & the team discuss looking too much at cats, looking too much like dogs and what to do when your crowbar is the wrong size. With Ian Smith, Jo Caulfield, Pierre Novellie and Rachel Parris. 
 
In episode two, Frank & the team discuss the most fashionable way to wear a pizza, the most unfashionable way to wear a Tam o’Shanter and the tallest swimming trunks in the world. With Dee Allum, Marcus Brigstocke, Hasan Al-Habib and Bella Hull. 
 
In the third episode, Frank & the team discuss the usual; potatoes, limes, feathers, drainage systems of Ancient Civilizations etc etc... With Simon Evans, Harriet Kemsley, Chloe Petts and Rajiv Karia. 
 
In episode four, Frank & the team find out the right way to get frightened by lions, the wrong way to clean a delicious crevice, and what to do if your arms don’t reach the kitchen. With Ahir Shah, Louise Young, Freya Parker and Pierre Novellie. 
 
Episode five, and Frank and the team check out a hospital in Prague, a cheesesteak in New Jersey and how real men cut their nosehairs. With Simon Evans, Jo Caulfield, Kerry Godliman and Ed Byrne. 
 
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for episode six as Frank and the team don green tights and angels’ wings and jiggle suspiciously to play a Xmas-flavoured episode of the panel game. With Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Sunil Patel, Simon Evans and Ania Magliano. 
 
And in the final episode, Frank & the team discuss giant frogs, redundant tingles and being unexpectedly Danish. With Lucy Porter, Anna Thomas, Finlay Christie and Daliso Chaponda. 
 
Production credits 
Hosted by Frank Skinner 
Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simons Evans with the producer David Tyler 
Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Gareth Gwynn, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche 
 
A Pozzitive production for the BBC. 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18 Nov – 30 Dec 2025 
 
(C)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

One Person Found This Helpful: Series 3

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Panel Game

BBC Radio Comedy

A collection of four series of the award-winning satirical show – plus 12 Christmas SpecialsWith its wickedly funny mimicry and on-point parodies, Dead Ringers became an instant classic when it hit the airwaves in January 2000. In these four series, first broadcast between 2020 and 2023, the team give us their inimitable impersonations of the famous and infamous: from Donald Trump and Joe Biden to Liz Truss, Professor Chris Whitty and Holly Willoughby.Finding the comedy in Covid, they take on social distancing, the test and trace system, masks and R numbers. There’s a special maths lesson from Matt Hancock, a fight between Good Boris and Bad Boris about when lockdown should start, and a covert recording of Dominic Cummings – as well as tips from Dr Michael Mosley on how to stay healthy in post-pandemic Britain.Plus, Keir Starmer shows the nation his Ramsay MacDonald in Naked Attraction, Rishi Sunak contracts a nasty dose of the 1970s, we learn the explicit secrets of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s OnlyFans account and we’re introduced to some surprising new contestants in Love Island. Angela Rayner has some unusual items for The Repair Shop, The Archers is revamped for Gen Z, the cost of living crisis hits Ready Steady Cook – and there’s a treat for anyone who’s ever watched a Wes Anderson film and wondered why.Also featured are twelve fantastic festive specials, including a compilation episode in which Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens join Dead Ringers creator and producer Bill Dare to present a selection of the funniest Party Leader sketches since 2014, when David Cameron vs Ed Miliband was the only show in town.Cast and creditsStarring Jon Culshaw, Lewis MacLeod, Jan Ravens, Debra Stephenson, Jess Robinson, Duncan Wisbey, Naomi McDonald, Anil Desai and Jason ForbesProduced and created by Bill DareProduction Co-ordinators: Sarah Sharpe, Caroline Barlow, Katie Baum and Dan MarchiniSound Designer: Rich EvansWritten by Nev Fountain & Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Ed Amsden & Tom Coles, Jeffrey Aidoo, Simon Alcock, Daniel Audritt, Rebecca Bain, Davina Bentley, Alex Bertulis-Fernandes, James Bugg, Kat Butterfield, Sarah Campbell, Gareth Ceredig, Lewis Cook, Cody Dahler, Robert Darke, Tasha Dhanraj, Sophie Dickson, Charlie Dinkin, Chris Donovan, Toussaint Douglass, Aidan Fitzmaurice, Jade Gebbie, Alex Hardy, Rajiv Karia, Athena Kugblenu, Kate Lipson, Cameron Loxdale, Jane McCutcheon, Vivienne Riddoch, Christina Riggs, Nicky Roberts, Katie Sayer, Cassie Smyth, Peter Tellouche, Edward Tew, Rachel E. Thorn, Joe Topping, Paige Wilson, Duncan WisbeyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 12 June-17 July 2020 (Series 20), 11-25 December 2020 (Christmas Specials), 11 June-16 July 2021 (Series 21), 10-24 December 2021 (Christmas Specials), 17 June-22 July 2022 (Series 22), 9-23 December 2022 (Christmas Specials), 16 June-21 July 2023 (Series 23), 15-29 December 2023 (Christmas Specials)© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Dead Ringers: Series 20-23 Plus Specials

The BBC Radio 4 Impressions Show

Tom Jamieson

Nev Fountain

The impressions show that needs no introduction - with bonus End of Year specials 
 
Radio 4’s award-winning and hugely popular comedy show is back with yet another helping of political-vituperation, media-mauling and celebrity-savaging. Sit back and treat your ears to a bumper edition of superb satirical impressions from the team - Jon Culshaw, Lewis MacLeod, Jan Ravens, Jess Robinson, Duncan Wisbey and Jason Forbes. 
 
Series 26 delivers Greta Thunberg coming to Rachel Reeves’s rescue and Gary Lineker trying something new… Enjoy a mad mix of super injunctions, super heroes, the Epstein files and, er, Diane Abbott. In this series the team's vocal firepower has Iran playing host to a surprising WMD Inspector, Laura Kuenssberg being de-escalated, and Ross Kemp on Grooming Gangs. Trump drops the F-Bomb, Lammy drops another clanger, money saving expert Martin Lewis drops into NATO and in a moment of pure, meta-madness Netanyahu, Trump and Putin play Just A Minute. 
 
Since January 2000, Dead Ringers has served up razor-sharp caricatures and explosively satirical truth-bombs and this latest offering is no exception. Laugh-out-loud as these impressive impressionistas make listening magic out of current affairs. 
 
 
Cast and credits 
Starring Jan Ravens, Jon Culshaw, Lewis Macleod, Jess Robinson, Jason Forbes, Duncan Wisbey and Kieran Hodgson 
 
Written by Nev Fountain, Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Tom Coles, Sophie Dickson, Toussaint Douglass, Rob Darke, Cody Dahler, Edward Tew, Jon Holmes, Davina Bentley, Katie Sayer, Alice Bright, Chris Donovan, Peter Tellouche, Lizzy Mansfield, Rachel E. Thorn, Jennifer Walker, Cooper Mawhinny-Sweryt, Alex Buchanan, Chris Ballard, Joe Topping, Phoebe Butler, David Whitehead, Nicky Roberts, Pete Redfern, Vicky Richards, Ali Panting and Declan Kennedy 
 
Created by Bill Dare 
Produced by John Holmes 
Executive Producers: James Robinson, Peter Strauss and Richard Morris 
Production Co-ordinators: Caroline Barlow and Jodie Charman 
 
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13th Jun - 18th Jul 2025 (series 26), Dec 2025 (Specials) 
 
©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Dead Ringers: Series 26 Plus Christmas Specials

Olga Koch

Charlie Dinkin

Olga Koch explores the world via computer science in this STEM stand-up show 
 
Comedian Olga Koch has a masters degree in the social science of the Internet and can turn almost any file into a PDF. In these three series, she looks at life through the eyes of a computer scientist, taking the universal truths you hold dear and tearing them to shreds using logic. 
 
With the help of her sassy digital assistant ALGO (played by Sindhu Vee, Tia Kofi and Rajiv Karia), she uses stand-up and storytelling to unpack concepts such as Nationality, Beauty, Health, Privacy, Fun, Intelligence, Friendship and Family. She talks us through what you need to know to become a British citizen (including what time the pubs open, and every single line-up of the Sugababes since 2007); uses recursion and Harry Styles to examine what being beautiful means; goes on a mission to get healthy, and wonders if encryption really works and why no one can set a good password. 
 
What are the fundamentals of fun? What can Colonel Sanders and the Creation Museum tell us about intelligence? Can you be best friends with a bot – or a politician? And can your family be more than just your random relations? These questions, and many more, are tackled by Olga, as she and ALGO take a hilarious journey through the inherent absurdities of our modern world. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Olga Koch and Charlie Dinkin 
Additional Material from Rajiv Karia, Cody Dahler and Kate Dehnert 
With Sindhu Vee, Tia Kofi and Rajiv Karia as ALGO 
Producer: Benjamin Sutton 
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Baum 
 
Series 1 
Nationality 
Beauty 
Health 
Privacy 
 
Series 2 
Fun 
Intelligence 
Friendship 
Family 
 
Series 3 
Love 
Religion 
Money 
Death 
 
First broadcast 8 Jul-29 Jul 2021 (series 1), 23 May-13Jun 2023 (series 2), 17 Oct-7 Nov 2024 (series 3). 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

OK Computer: Series 1-3

A BBC Radio 4 Stand-Up Comedy Show

Five fantastic series of the award-winning impressions show &ndash; plus 13 superb Specials 
 
Serving up razor-sharp caricatures and explosively satirical truth-bombs since January 2000, Dead Ringers is one of Radio 4&rsquo;s most popular and critically-acclaimed comedy shows. In these five series, first broadcast between 2015 and 2019, media mauling and celebrity savaging are once more the order of the day, as Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey poke fun at the worlds of politics and entertainment. 
 
In the wake of the Brexit vote, the team give us their in-depth analysis of the highs, lows and madness of the EU referendum campaigns. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are the targets of some post-election skewering; Donald Trump has a &lsquo;dino-mite&rsquo; idea; and there&rsquo;s terror in store as a haunted Boris Johnson meets the Mr Hyde to his Mr Hyde. 
 
Plus, Morrissey, Pam Ayres and Chas n&rsquo; Dave gives us their best James Bond theme tunes; David Sedaris and Alan Bennett have a biscuit-off; Joan Bakewell explains Love Island to Radio 4 listeners &ndash; and British superheroes the National Treasures welcome their newest member: Lorraine Kelly... 
 
Also featured are 13 sparkling Specials, including a wealth of tinsel-topped Christmas editions; 2016&rsquo;s speculative &lsquo;A Look Back at the Year 2020&rsquo;; the one-off drama &lsquo;An Alien Has Landed&rsquo;, imagining what would happen if an extra-terrestrial visited Earth; and the 2019 Election Special, examining every twist, turn and embarrassing face-saving platitude from the candidates. 
 
Cast and credits 
Starring John Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Duncan Wisbey, Lewis MacLeod and Debra Stephenson 
Produced and created by Bill Dare 
With Sanjeev Bhaskar (An Alien Has Landed) 
Guest cast: Josh Berry (Series 18, Episode 5) 
Production Coordinator: Beverly Tagg 
Music composed by John Whitehall 
 
Written by Nev Fountain, Tom Jamieson and Laurence Howarth with: Simon Alcock, Ed Amsden, Liam Beirne, Jack Bernhardt, Catherine Brinkworth, James Bugg, Sarah Campbell, Tom Coles, Lewis Cook, Max Davis, Sarah Doran, Sara Gibbs, Alex Hardy, Alex Harvey, Danielle Harvey, Laura Major, Jane McCutcheon, Charlotte Pearson, Vivienne Riddoch, Mike Shephard, Edward Tew, Duncan Wisbey 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 14 August-11 September 2015 (Series 15), 25 December 2015 (Christmas Special), 1 January 2016 (New Year Special), 18 June-22 July 2016 (Series 16), 23-30 December 2016 (Christmas Specials), 16 June-21 July 2017 (Series 17), 22-29 December 2017 (Christmas Specials), 17 February 2018 (An Alien Has Landed), 8 June-13 July 2018 (Series 18) 7-21 December 2018 (Christmas Specials), 7 June-12 July 2019 (Series 19), 13-27 December 2019 (Election Special &amp; Christmas Specials) 
 
&copy; 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Dead Ringers: Series 15-19 Plus Specials

Tom Neenan

Modern technology is terrifying. The average smartphone carries out three-point-three-six billion instructions per second. The average person can only carry out one instruction in that time. Stop and think about that for a second. Sorry, that's two instructions; you won't be able to do that. 
 
But what if modern technology was... literally terrifying? What if there really was a ghost in the machine? Travel through the bad gateway in this modern ghost story as award-winning writer and performer Tom Neenan ("The Mash Report", "Spitting Image") discovers what horrors may lurk in our apps and gadgets... 
 
With a full cast including Nina Sosanya (W1A, His Dark Materials), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing), Andy Nyman (Fiddler On the Roof, Ghost Stories), Freya Parker (Lazy Susan) &amp; Georgie Glen (Call The Midwife, The Thick Of It) 
 
In the first episode of series 3 - hang on, let me just put you on hold... 
 
In Show 2, Tom &amp; Heidi are trapped in a terrifying situation - and have to make a horrifying decision... 
 
In the next episode, a brand-new exercise bike means Tom has to stay ahead of the pack - in every sense... 
 
... and in the final episode, we discover there is something even worse than a nightmare as sweet dreams turn very very sour... 
 
 
This show comes from Pozzitive, proud producers of Cabin Pressure, John Finnemore's Double Acts, Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!, Agendum, Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive &amp; Kevin Eldon Will See You Now...

The Hauntening

The Complete Series 3 of the BBC Radio 4 Comedy

Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry traces the evolution of the mobile phone, from hefty executive bricks that required a separate briefcase to carry the battery, to the smartphones available today. There are more mobile phones in the world than there are people on the planet: Stephen Fry talks to the backroom boys who made it all possible and hears how the technology succeeded in ways that the geeks had not necessarily intended. For example, the engineers who designed the early texting facilities didn’t imagine that anyone might want to reply. (Just in case, they added a short list of possible pre-set answers: yes, no and maybe). They also thought taxifones and fax machines for your car would be winners. In the early nineties, Nokia, then famous for toilet paper and rubber boots, was on the brink of collapse; until the new CEO made a bold decision to focus solely on mobile phonesThanks to Margaret Thatcher opening up the airwaves, Britain became a world leader in mobile phone technology. And today, 85% of the silicon chips inside all mobiles are designed by just one Cambridge-based company.Series produced by Anna Buckley.

Stephen Fry On The Phone The Complete Radio 4 Series

Melvyn Bragg

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the cosmos, from the origins of the universe to dark matter and dark energy 
 
'Consistently superb' John Banville 
 
In Our Time is a linchpin of the Radio 4 schedule, attracting over 2 million listeners a week since its launch in 1998. Erudite, edifying and enlightening, it tackles serious ideas succinctly, providing fascinating insight into subjects ranging from the Fibonacci Sequence to Frida Kahlo. 
 
In this special thematic anthology, we traverse the solar system, the galaxies and the multiverse, voyaging across space to explore 25 celestial objects and phenomena. Included are programmes on the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets - among them our near neighbours, Venus and Mars. Also featured are discussions on comets, asteroids and black holes, as well as eclipses, exoplanets and the mysterious, invisible substance known as 'dark matter'. Topping and tailing the collection are episodes dealing with the science of astronomy, examining Ptolemy's geocentric theory of the universe and the relationship between astronomy and the British Empire. 
 
Hosted by veteran broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, with contributions from expert scholars and academics including Sir Martin Rees, John Gribbin, Carolin Crawford and Sir Roger Penrose, these captivating colloquies will inspire anyone with a sense of wonder and a thirst for knowledge. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Natalia Fernandez, Thomas Morris, Simon Tillotson, Julia Johnson and Phil Tinline 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Ptolemy and Ancient Astronomy 17 November 2011 
The Multiverse 21 February 2008 
The Universe's Origins 20 May 1999 
The Universe's Shape 7 February 2002 
The Age of the Universe 3 March 2011 
Galaxies 29 June 2006 
The Sun 10 July 2014 
The Moon 3 November 2011 
Eclipses 31 December 2020 
The Planets 27 May 2004 
Venus 27 December 2018 
Mars 11 January 2007 
Saturn 14 January 2016 
The Kuiper Belt 2 March 2017 
Exoplanets 3 October 2013 
The Life of Stars 27 March 2003 
The Death of Stars 9 June 2022 
Black Holes 12 April 2001 
Asteroids 3 November 2005 
Comets 17 January 2013 
The Cool Universe 6 May 2010 
Dark Matter 12 March 2015 
Dark Energy 17 March 2005 
The Vacuum of Space 30 April 2009 
Solar Wind 23 January 2020 
Astronomy and Empire 4 May 2006 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

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