Top 5 Christmas Songs, with Ellie Carr

In this episode, we sit down with artist and designer Gavin Day to unpick, unpack and unravel the hidden mysteries and secret powers of fonts and typefaces - how they can make meaning, move mountains and, in certain situations, save lives. Through this conversation with Gavin, a passion for letterforms emerges that may frighten some, may arouse others, and might just convince the uninitiated to look a little closer at the world of words that has been crafted around them by those silent warriors of the electronic pen: designers.

On today’s show, returning guest Kate McInnes confronts her lifelong struggles with Buffy addiction over a sprawling conversation about the power of YA fantasy, childhood horror, the things we lose as we grow older and the things we don’t. Expect unprovoked attacks on beloved characters, searing hot takes, surprising inclusions and a few genuine tears, as we bring Buffy back to life one last time.

On today's show, we sit down with writer, rager, misbehaver Duncan Vicat-Brown to discuss the LEAST-LIKED works by acclaimed directors who most film fans generally love, and try to get to the bottom of what causes a film by a seasoned and/or 'hot' filmmaker to fly so widely off-target that, on release and for years or even decades after, it languishes in obscurity, ignominy and shame. From generation-defining wunderkinds to current Oscar hopefuls, Duncan will grapple with catalogues and legacies as he attempts to redeem and redefine the lost works of some of our greatest artists - and Richard Kelly.

In this first episode of a new season, we let novelist and podcaster Caroline O'Donoghue loose on TV's favourite family, dissecting what made them work so well for so long and wrestling with their legacy - both as complex, nuanced and often contradictory individual characters, and as a collective cultural force.  Caroline is the author of four published novels including the immensely popular and excellent 'All Our Hidden Gifts' series - the second instalment of which is tearing up shelves in bookshops around the world right now. Buy and read those books, and listen to her bring her fathomless insight and insider perspective to the cartoon family that changed the way we think about cartoons, television, and life - The Simpsons.

In this special festive episode, Christmas pals Ellie and Tom set out to name the five greatest Christmas songs of all time and end up discussing THIRTEEN of variable quality, cruelly mock almost every musician they bring up, and generally exude the kind of belligerent mean-spiritedness that is inextricable from the Great British Christmas (all whilst extolling the virtues of kindness and goodwill to all men - naturally).

In today's episode, David Sykes waxes lyrical on his top 5 Marvel movies, the unique phenomenon of the world-beating franchise, and the lasting resonance of superhero stories throughout the ages. Along the way, we identify key decisions that led to Marvel effectively owning the culture and changing the art form - and the consequences of its unprecedented success. 

In this episode, we talk to Kate McInnes about the best and worst Britain has to offer in architecture, construction, town planning and megalomania - and how, taken together, it all stands as a monument to the indomitable human spirit. A twisted tourist guide top 5 that breaks the mould and all the rules. Just chat; no facts. Preemptive apologies to any residents of Saltaire, Milton Keynes and Welwyn Garden City.

In our second episode, we are joined by Mr. Kiss-Kiss-Bang-Bang himself, Richard Wallace. Our mission: to finally pin down James Bond and get him to reveal his secrets, armed with nothing but our wits and a little bit of Le Chiffre ball torture thrown in for good measure. We trace the evolution of Bond as it relates to Britain’s changing status on the world's stage, mercilessly and shamefully rip the late Sir Roger Moore, and finally make our predictions for the future (or lack thereof) of this one-of-a-kind uber-franchise. Oh, and Richard drops pure science with his Top 5. Do you expect us to talk? You should - it's a podcast and that's really all there is to it.

In our first episode, horror expert and veritable scream queen Ellie Carr helps us define and dissect the slasher genre in its historical and cultural context, before giving us a very idiosyncratic and thoroughly convincing Top 5 that is by turns illuminating, insightful and horribly, hilariously bizarre. Finally, Ellie manages to nail down a universal truth at the heart of the genre which is at once brilliant, beautiful and heartbreaking.