Smith & Waugh Talk About Satire

Join us for an episode filled with spectacular spats, bruised egos, and top-tier literary shade. This month, Adam introduces a riotous tour through Britain’s greatest writerly bust-ups: from Lady Mary Wortley Montagu...

It's all treat and no trick this SpoOooky Season, as Jo and Adam welcome back Best Friend of the Pod, acclaimed novelist Leigh Stein, for a bumper Halloween special (rustle rustle). Together they discuss the origins and...

Inspired by the return of sketch show comedy to British television in the form of the surprisingly satirical Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping, Jo and Adam go on a whistle-stop tour of British sketch show comedy and...

In this episode, Jo and Adam turn their attention to American animated satire, revisiting their own memories of cartoon-watching while asking what makes animation such a distinctive vehicle for social and political...

This episode isn't a grab-bag in the sense of an oversized packet of Monster Munch, but it is a kind of mystery bag of miscellaneous treats that you might grab from a caravan site kiosk during the summer holidays as a...

Could You be Satire? Jo and Adam discuss the weird Netflix show about putting women in cages and quoting literature at them. Along the way, they chat about academia in popular culture, the dangers of quoting out of...

Inspired by Adam's recent adventures in Santiago de Comepstela, Spain, where he talked about satire at the second Conference on Feminisms and Humour: Humour-Sofías, and a new BBC Report which determined that comedy is a...

Jo and Adam warmly welcome you to their Eggztra Special Easter Eggstravaganza, which they hope will make you hoppy and not (hot)cross. It's (hotcross) bun a funny old couple of weeks for satire, so leave it to our...

Why is it that so many classic British sitcoms (such as Keeping Up Appearances, The Good Life and One Foot In the Grave) are set in the suburbs? The recent smash hit Amandaland seems to be drawing satirical inspiration...

"Motherhood is a bitch." So reads the tagline of the Amy Adams film 'Nightbitch', which recently arrived on Disney+. Adapted from Rachel Yonder's 2021 novel of the same name, the film has been widely reviewed as a work...

At the time of recording, Traitors UK is on TV, Nosferatu is dominating at cinemas, Donald Trump is one day into his second presidency, leaving Jo and Adam with many memes to discuss as they try to determine what will...

Come in, and know my satire, man! It is that time of year once again, when satire is all around you and you are cordially invited to the Smith & Waugh Festival Satirical Party! This year Jo and Adam take a look at the...

Jo and Adam reflect on their recent experience of venturing to a special screening at York Picture House Cinema on Halloween night to watch a film so disgusting viewers have been reported to have left the cinema to be...

Is there something strange [rustling and leaving faeces] in your neighbourhood? Who you gonna call? Smith & Waugh, of course! SpoOoky season is upon us once again and, as the veil between worlds draws thin, we invite...

As a new term begins, Jo and Adam get back in the mood for another year of learning and teaching by having a wonderful conversation with comedian, broadcaster, BBC writer, novelist an 8 time BAFTA winner Dave Cohen...

Don’t you even know what a brat summer is? Well, It can go that way, like, quite luxury, but it can also be so, like, trashy. Just, like, a pack of cigs, and, like, a Bic lighter, and, like, a strappy white top. With no...

Pour yourself a spenny natty wine, pump up the aux and get yourself gassed for a snappy genylex afters that is hundy p dank vibes. And if that makes no sense to you whatsoever, fear not, Jo and Adam are here to help...

Jo and Adam are back sooner than expected with an episode so topical it'll almost certainly by out of date by the time you finish reading this sentence! Rishi Sunak has called a general election, but something seems...

We need to talk about campus satire, again. Jo and Adam take a deep dive into two recent cultural takes which wear their satirical ambitions very much on their sleeves: the movie American Fiction, written and directed...

Hot on the heels of their recent foray into the Brontë “Potatoverse” (see Ep61), Jo and Adam stumble upon what alleges to be a complete history of English Humour which manages to condense women’s contribution to the...

Hot on the heels of their sell-out live show at the York Literature Festival (which only saw a slight drop off on the day in terms of the expected number of visitors), Jo and Adam return to investigate a series of...

Jo and Adam celebrate their 60th episode by each taking a deep dive into a work of satire very deep to them but that they've never discussed at length on the podcast before. For Jo, it's the funniest book of all time...

For the lucky ones who presented this podcast to Episode 59, they have the chance of winning a life-changing amount of low-key kudos. But if a Traitor remains undetected, they’ll steal all their credibility... So, Adam...

One magical winter's night, a Satireman comes to life and a magical adventure begins... That's right! They'll be satire tonight, and you'll soon be walking in a winter hinterland, because it's time again for the most...

Universities are home to reality warping bureaucracy, towering moral hubris, endemic charlatanism and rampant neoliberalism... according to the campus satire Jo and Adam discuss in this episode. Inspired by the new Nic...