Andy Zaltzman interview

From newsagent sandwiches to The Day Today, the standup and John Oliver collaborator reveals the things that make him laugh the most.

Andy Zaltzman brought out his satirical chops for The Now Show last week. Now into its 49th series, Radio 4's Friday-night political pee-take is a station stalwart. There's much to enjoy about this show. I like its speed and intelligence, its one-liners can be proper zingers and it does that great thing of scattershot, apolitical attack. But. I've never been much of a fan of hilarious songs, and I don't enjoy how it slots in the newbies. (Here's someone you don't know, audience. Laugh a little less than you have been.) There is something about long-serving Radio 4 shows that means they turn into smuggeries. It's a little to do with the regulars, and even more to do with the live audience, which laughs at anything the regulars say and is a bit snotty about everything else. Still, The Now Show has been brave and refreshed its contributors. It needs to shake up its format, too.

Andy Zaltzman interview

The Bugle is back - just in time to catch the biggest upset in US electoral history and the Brexit fallout. With a nee army of comedians, he'll tackle world issues with the same wry wit - and bullshit.

Leicester Comedy Festival line-up announced

Next year's Leicester Comedy Festival will have as many events as ever, despite the headline sponsorship deal coming to an end.

Review: Unspun With Matt Forde, Dave

Matt Forde's new political series nearly hit the buffers before it had even been recorded. Forde's first guest was scheduled to be Labour leadership contender Owen Smith, but he pulled out. Forde suggested on the show that Smith was concerned about appearing laddish. It was a shame, but his stand-in, former Home Secretary Alan Johnson was good value for money anyway.

Unspun with Matt Forde review

A bold commission from what was once the home of the repeat, an ultra-topical political show recorded the night before transmission.

50 must-see comedy shows at the Edinburgh Fringe (Link expired)

Here at WOW 247 we've pooled together our comedy brains to pick out a whopping 50 shows we think make a good starting point for any Fringe adventurer.

Fringe preview: The Stand

Iconic Edinburgh venue keeps its finger on the Fringe pulse with an exciting programme of established names and up-and-coming talent.

Andy Zaltzman is against Brexit (Link expired)

Time being the uncompromisingly stubborn one-trick pony that it is, 23rd June will soon be amongst us. A day when the nation will awake, sniff the air, and say to itself: "I love the smell of referendums in the morning."

Andy Zaltzman: Satirist for Hire - review

It is hard not to see Satirist for Hire as an experiment: an effort by Zaltzman to stretch himself and see how well he can respond to the unexpected. Yet the material that he has prepared in advance is so clearly superior the experiment can be said to be only a qualified success.