Kirsty Wark

Politics in comedy: Matt Forde gives his take - BBC Newsnight

It's the 75th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival. Political satirist, comedian, and podcast host Matt Forde speaks about his new tour Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right.

BBC Radio 4's The Reunion brought together most of the main cast of 1994's TV news satire The Day Today, though not the ever elusive Chris Morris. Steve Coogan was down the line from the Lake District (presumably on a windy fell outside a restaurant from The Trip, while Rob Brydon ate pudding). Patrick Marber joined via Zoom too, while Armando Iannucci, Doon Mackichan and David Schneider were in the studio with Kirsty Wark. The recollections were riotous and giggly, but also instructive about how the news has changed. They didn't think Morris's interviewee-baiting, surreal vox pops would have worked now ("The power's now with whoever's stopped at the market," Schneider suggested). I also loved Wark teasing Coogan about ingesting helium to play a thinly veiled parody of Gerry Adams, whose voice was disguised on TV at the time. "You've never done dangerous substances before?" "Well, I have," Coogan replied, "but not ones that are funny."

Review: The Reunion - The Day Today, Radio 4

Want to feel old? Listen to this week's The Reunion, which brought together (most of) the key members of The Day Today, which was first broadcast by the BBC...27 years ago.

HIGNFY slammed for "weak & tedious" Welsh language gags

Friday night's episode of Have I Got News For You has been slammed online after cracking 'jokes' claiming that the Welsh language was unpronounceable.

Simon Amstell: Carnage review

There's no doubt that Simon Amstell's Carnage is a film with a very heavy message.

Radio Times review

Comedian James Acaster kicks things off nicely with his first pet hate, which is simply: geese. They are "the worst of all the animals," he argues via a nice routine on their lairy attitude. Which naturally is topped by host Frank Skinner, who goes off at a tangent with a story about geese and Rod Stewart - and as we know, Skinner's tangents and flights of fancy are what hold the show aloft, when it would otherwise be little more than "Gripe Idol". His routine about his tea-making approach is wonderful and leaves Heston Blumenthal spluttering in despair. Also on tonight: Kirsty Wark, who really doesn't like plastic flowers.