BBC Radio 4 released a new podcast back in 2011 compiling it’s funniest moments and packaging them all up into one stream. Titled Comedy of the Week, the podcast, which started on Monday the 10th January, is available to download through the Radio 4 website and on iTunes, and based on the first few episodes, it was clear that the compilation was going to be a just shy of half an hour’s worth of comic class.
The first podcast featured Mark Thomas’ The Manifesto, which is built around a stream of sometimes crazy, sometimes inspired policy suggestions sent in by the audience and discussed throughout the show. The most popular suggestions are put together in a manifesto flurry at the end of the show, setting out the generally approved new policies.
The episode on the first Comedy of the Week podcast featured a proposal for the invasion of Jersey to recoup the non-dom taxes lost and a pseudo X factor style vote for football player’s wages after ever single game – if they’ve played admirably and managed not to dive or break anyone’s legs then they’ll probably have enough to fill up the Ferrari to make it home. Both suggestions were genius in themselves, but it’s the comic nature of the discussions that makes The Manifesto so good.
A different new show will be featured every week in the podcast, so it’s a good opportunity to test out some of Radio 4’s funniest shows to see if they’re worth listening to on a regular basis. We definitely reckon The Manifesto is a winner and it’s well worth tuning into. As of 2013 it’s in it’s 5th series, which finished airing on the 9th May 2013, but fret not if you’ve missed any of its 6 episodes as they’re available for £1.29 from iTunes.
Other comedians that have featured on the Comedy of the Week podcast have included Lenny Henry, Paul Sinha and Tom Wigglesworth, as well as shows like Just A Minute and Ed Reardon. The other great thing about it to consider is that it’s completely free, so it’s worth every penny. The next episode in the Comedy of the Week podcasts will be available on Monday of each week, but if you subscribe they’ll be added to your library each week.
The only downside is that the entire back catalogue isn’t available to listen to, which would have made it very close to perfect.
Comedy of the Week podcast review: 3.9/5
