LIVE: Olly R reveals McSweeney threats if Mandelson not approved

Reminded of my never-ending attempts to correct the writers’ insistence on Ollie after we’d established he preferred Olly in S1. I think eventually he was Oliver Reeder when we had him up at the Inquiry.

Comedians cheesed off.

I feel the same way about flesh coloured headset mics in studio based programming. Objectively, they are way smaller than the Sony ECM lapel mics we grew up with, and yet so much more visually intrusive.

NEW SERIES STARTS TOMORROW

#BrokenVeil

Patreon.com/brokenveil

Very proper. I assumed it was out of print. Japanese import for £86, though…

The two golden rules for using AI to generate content: Know your sh1t. And know what's sh1t. It's become quite trendy to rant about the growing amount of poor quality AI-generated content circulating online - I myself have written about the coming AI Slopocalypse and how to survive it. But th...

The two golden rules of using AI in content creation: know your shit, and know what's shit. www.linkedin.com/pulse/two-go... Inspired by some particularly egregious recent incidents I experienced, and @naomialderman.bsky.social writing about the importance of discernment when using these tools.

This. Am absolutely borrowing Joel’s copy.

We did one on Newman & Baddiel, where we replaced them with paper cutout puppets

Silent scandal of cancer-linked drug used in forced adopt... Public inquiry called over forced adoptions and women exposed to the synthetic hormone DES

We covered an important (and upsetting) story on the last Radio 4 #TheNakedWeek of the series, all about forced adoption and a drug called DES. You can read about it in @theobserveruk.bsky.social today, written by our very own @catneilan.bsky.social.

observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Great when a show hits its stride. Bravo @jonholmes.bsky.social & gang for this week's Naked Week. BLEEPing joyful.

I’ve just blocked and reported one for overstating the value of landscape and animal companionship. The other stuff I didn’t understand.

I had to argue with the Channel every year for four years on this point. I always won, and eventually they stopped trying. I was working to construct a six week journey for the audience, not a three hour pizza party. Every cast announcement, poster reveal and Radio Times billing was part of it.

Why comedy can and should be a linear TV event - British Comedy Guide In an age of streaming box-sets, the power of linear, episodic distribution feels forgotten - despite its repeatedly-proven ability to build true comedy hits.

He’s got a point. Particularly for story of the week shows. But also true of anthology shows. The audience are on diminishing returns with something like Inside No. 9 for example. But also true for platforms, who have the chance to build word of mouth via linear TX.

www.comedy.co.uk/tv/features/...

Pure brinkmanship to be counting on a visa or work permit problem to save them cash given the reputational and sponsorship losses in the meantime.

List of actor credits from Inside No. 9 episode “Wuthering Heist”

Maybe. But audiences do often need a bit of help, especially if the names are tricky. I did this for “Wuthering Heist”, and it was better than just the names. Also, period stylee.

This is highly recommended. Everyone should read this: a measured, reasoned, non-judgmental piece on the use of AI in writing.

Brian & Roger on Radio 4

A new series of Brian & Roger starts on actual Radio 4 tonight at 11pm.

A show we’ve been making for 8 years now on our own, for the love of it, precisely because there was no way on God’s green earth it would ever be made for Radio 4.

I feel like Robert Oppenheimer.

Bubbly bubbly bubbly bubbly bubbly!

Or maybe you know Shy Reform supporters. I was amazed at the number of people I knew who voted Leave. I just didn’t expect it of them.

Very much looking forward to seeing @benaaronovitch.bsky.social in conversation at the British Library this evening.

It isn’t (I think) the implied sequencing of several instants, as in comic panels, because the elements aren’t repeated. Though I agree there is a perceptual difference in which order the panels are viewed.

It perhaps gives the illusion of a wider vista. It reminds me of the arguments for and against the use of widescreen aspect ratios and anamorphic lenses for TV. It makes composition more exciting because it gives the viewer more than one focus of attention at the same time.

*McDonald, obvs

AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying LLMs-gone-rogue dominated coverage, but had nothing to do with the targeting. Instead, it was choices made by human beings, over many years, that gave us this atrocity

This is it
www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ma...

After Jill MacDonald, the art genius behind so much of Puffin Post…

Understand Politics Podcast · Series · NEW in Understand: How Reading Made Us Did learning to read rewire our brains and change the way we live today? And with reading on the decline, what does this mean for our...

Need a break from all the madness? I really enjoyed this thoughtful series on how reading made us, with excellent contributions from @naomialderman.bsky.social and @jburnmurdoch.ft.com (amongst others)

Available on BBC iPlayer, and for those out the UK:

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/u... 🎙️📚

I remember sneaking an early read of the Moonraker script, and thinking they couldn’t possibly put ALL of it into ONE film. Also, the re-entry line was also definitely in there at that point, and I absolutely thought it would never make the final cut.

I very much enjoyed the play on words.

They are quite skint. Still no excuse for not commissioning proper tv, though.